Number 51 from the Now team! (Now That's What I Call Music! 51)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Now That's What I Call Music! 51
Date:	03/02/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some really good song selection and placement

Disadvantages: Some tracks that don't deserve their places

Now 51 has an impressive array of hits, spread across its two discs. The 42 tracks are set up in a similar format to how the Now That's What I Call Music crew have generally compiled each release, which means that the more dance orientated tracks are to be found on the second disc, with the first disc containing more of the commercially poppy tracks. I like this release from the Now team, and there are only a couple of tracks that I'm not so much of a fan of.

Disc 1 starts off with the immensely popular Hero from Enrique Iglesias, and although I wasn't particularly a fan of Blue's Fly By II or Shaggy's Me Julie, you can't deny that they were very popular and deserve their place on this album. The rest of the tracks on the disc are also very good and deserving of their places, apart from Hear'Say's Everybody, which I felt was a bit of a flop and a disappointment after theuir instant first hit. Ex-Spice Girls Victoria Beckham and Geri Halliwell also feature with singles on here, although neither of them are particularly impressive. The rest of the tracks are good on here.

Disc 2 starts off with a great track: Handbags and Gladrags by the Stereophonics, and the track that launched Nickelback into commercial success, How You Remind Me. The rest of the disc does have a good selection of dance and RnB tracks, with particularly good tracks that I like being Afroman's Crazy Rap and Ja Rule and Ashanti dueting on the hit Always On Time. Backstreet Boys' Drowning seems vaguely out of place here, and I wasn't a fan of Samantha Mumba's Lately, although I appreciate the commercial appeal and relative success of all of the tracks on this disc.

Ultimately, this is quite a good offering from the Now team. The majority of the tracks are good selections, and the impressive thing about this release, particularly with the second disc, is the order of the tracks. They all seem to flow quite well, with the exception of the Backstreet Boys seeming out of place. Both discs contain a number of instantly recognisable and memorable hits, and I recommend this one if you're looking for a good collection of music from the early part of this decade. Now 51 is currently available from amazon.co.uk for around the £3 mark, although used copies are going for considerably less.

Summary: A good Now CD