Mix Me Up & Call Me Grandma! (Now That's What I Call Music! 56)

Member Name: GramiWay

Product:	Now That's What I Call Music! 56
Date:	15/08/09 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some nice tracks

Disadvantages: Naff halves on both discs

I've decided to review a few of my Now That's What I Call Music' albums. Just because they were released many years ago it doesn't mean that they don't still generate huge interest from the public who like to pick them up cheap from places like Amazon and such and relive the musical classics of yesteryear or avid collectors who wish to complete their collection, so this review will no doubt be helpful to someone.

Released in Christmas 2003, Now 56 has the very cold and attractive, icy looking cover with blends of blue, white and purple and featured the biggest hits from the closing months of that year. Personally a lot of the music around in 2003 bored me to tears but this was a very strong Now album that focused on a lot of good pop music that was around at the time and one or two guilty pleasures.

The attraction of the Now CDs is that you can pick up many tracks all on one CD. They are great for perhaps an older generation or just really anybody who likes a lot of the stuff played on radio but isn't interested in purchasing entire albums by said artists.

Now 56 was before the series started to base its first disc on the more pop-RnB hits and leave CD2 to dance and more rock/alternative orientated tracks. As of such the track list is quite scattered with a wide variety of genres and artists all included on the two discs. I find this works better as it improves the listening experience so you don't have a certain amount of tracks geared towards one specific audience all clumped together.

- Disc One -

'Where Is The Love?' by the Black Eyed Peas starts off the album. 2003's best seller and listening to it now it does sound incredibly dated. The vocals sound so old fashioned and cheesy and only the chorus and beat manage to save the song. Rachel Stevens is up next. The former S Club 7 member branched out with the raunchy 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex'. A song penned by Cathy Dennis it is a slick and sexy RnB number with all the pop hooks and polished production familiar from her pop band days.

There's also 'Slow' by Kylie Minogue. One of my least favourite Kylie songs it has a much more laid back sound than her usual material but still relies heavily on a strange, hypnotic, rhythm that bounces along over Kylie's purring and vivacious vocals.

Don't get me wrong there are worse moments on the album such as the hideous 'Be Faithful' by Fatman Scoop or Javine's massacre of 'Surrender [Your Love]' but these are beaten down by the infectious 60's based beat of Emma Bunton's 'Maybe'. Her vocals and just the fast paced, furious mood of the song make this one of her best solo singles whilst the Sugababes attack us with 'Hole In The Head', Girls Aloud tone things down with the rather bitter 'Life Got Cold'. Iconic hits of the decade like 'Superstar' by Jamelia and Beyonce's 'Crazy In Love' also make the cut. The latter always seems to win me over no matter how much I hate Beyonce. The verses and contribution from Jay Z are dismal at best but it's just the soaring chorus that oozes confidence and a killer hook that sells the track.

Disc One also showcases the annoyingly awful amount of reality TV show stars around in 2003 with boyband Phixx's 'Hold On Me'. A modernised Duran Duran esque track in the making which is actually very good.

- Disc Two -
Elton John's annoying 'Are You Ready For Love?' is up first here. Re-released in 2003 due to it's use in a Sky Sports advertising campaign it made Number One and is just as irritating as the rest of Elton's back catalogue. Justin Timberlake and Robbie Williams fly the flag for the male solo artist camp though 'Rock Your Body' as catchy and funky as the beatbox interval is was over six months old at this point and 'Something Beautiful' is a poor and uninspiring ballad from Robbie that tries to be witty with its video mocking the reality TV culture but the song itself is limp and bland.

I do love Busted's 'Sleeping With The Light On'. A more laid back affair for the pop trio whilst Amy Studt was a very underrated talent and 'Under My Thumb' is angsty pop-rock that Avril Lavigne would kill to get her hands on. It's only a sample of Studt's wonderful debut album 'False Smiles'.

This disc is lacking the big hits and is rather poor in comparison to the first. There's dull contributions from the likes of 50 Cent or Ashanti whilst Lisa Scott-Lee tries to make it alone with 'Too Far Gone'. A very enthusiastic disco number that has vocals closely resembling nails on a chalkboard.

There are some great upbeat offerings though such as 'Love Me Right' by Angel City or the epic 'Finest Dreams' featuring Kelis in a very raunchy and electronic vocal and produced by Richard X. Jaimeson's 'Complete' also has its foot firmly in the garage based department but combines catchy hooks with a thudding beat to make a rather good track.

The CD ends with slower tracks courtesy of Daniel Bedingfield, the Stereophonics with one of my favourites 'Maybe Tomorrow' and of course the Christmas no1 of 2003 'Mad World' by unknown singer and pianist duo, Michael Andrews and Gary Jules. The Tears For Fears classic is just given a modern polishing production wise but other than the vocalists singing it, there's nothing that different from the original.

Now 56's tracklisting alone should tell you that this was a time where manufactured music still ruled the roost. Before the surge of artists playing their own instruments and writing for themselves this was the music that was popular. Obviously there are some great pop classics here but there's a lot of dud tracks that I had no idea what they were until I actually listened to the CD, despite some of them coming from very big artists at the time. If you do fancy a trip down memory lane and the tracklist is appealing then by all means check it out but do avoid an otherwise rather weak addition to the Now collection.

Disc one
1.Black Eyed Peas : "Where Is the Love?"
2.Rachel Stevens : "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex"
3.Kylie Minogue : "Slow"
4.Blue : "Guilty"
5.Fatman Scoop featuring The Crooklyn Clan : "Be Faithful"
6.Beyoncé Knowles featuring Jay-Z : "Crazy In Love" and
7.Sugababes : "Hole in the Head"
8.Liberty X : "Jumpin"
9.Jamelia : "Superstar"
10.Lumidee : "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)"
11.Stacie Orrico : "Stuck"
12.Lemar : "Dance (With U)"
13.Javine : "Surrender (Your Love)"
14.Emma : "Maybe"
15.S Club 8 : "Sundown"
16.Ultrabeat : "Pretty Green Eyes"
17.Sophie Ellis-Bextor : "Mixed Up World"
18.Phixx : "Hold On Me"
19.D-Side : "Invisible"
20.Louise : "Pandora's Kiss"
21.Girls Aloud : "Life Got Cold"
22.Atomic Kitten : "If You Come To Me"


Disc two
1.Elton John : "Are You Ready For Love"
2.Justin Timberlake : "Rock Your Body"
3.Robbie Williams : "Something Beautiful"
4.Nickelback : "Someday"
5.Busted : "Sleeping with the Light On"
6.Mark Owen : "Four Minute Warning"
7.Amy Studt : "Under the Thumb"
8.Texas featuring Kardinal Offishall : "Carnival Girl"
9.50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg : "21 Questions"
10.Ashanti : "Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)"
11.Joe Budden : "Pump It Up"
12.Jaimeson : "Complete"
13.Lisa Scott-Lee : "Too Far Gone"
14.Angel City featuring Lara McAllen : "Love Me Right (Oh Sheila)"
15.Richard X featuring Kelis : "Finest Dreams"
16.Rishi Rich Project featuring Jay Sean & Juggy D : "Dance With You"
17.UB40 featuring The United Colours Of Sound : "Swing Low"
18.Starsailor : "Silence Is Easy"
19.Stereophonics : "Maybe Tomorrow"
20.Daniel Bedingfield : "Never Gonna Leave Your Side"
21.Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules : "Mad World"

*Track listing from Wikipedia to save me getting RSI!

Summary: The soundtrack to current music - November 2003