POP!

Various Artists
(BMG)

RATING: three

Normally there isn’t much to say about pop compilations like this. It’s an easy formula: take all the hits off of a dozen or so of your basic bestsellers, place them all in one disc, and package it all up with a nice new album cover and a title, preferably with the word “party” somewhere in there.
Pop! (subtitled “Party Flavour!”) follows the formula to the letter, but surprise surprise, offers a bit more. The 18 tracks on the album are already generous, but then there’s an extra VCD with videos for the first six tracks. That’s a nice enough bonus, but better than that is the surprisingly competent selection that made it to the CD.

Most of the 18 tracks are obvious enough. Any idiot would know to put Pink’s “Get the Party Started” as the disc’s opener, and of course you’ve got to put “Rock the Party” by Five somewhere, along with Christina Aguilera’s “Come On Over Baby,” something by Britney Spears—why not “Overprotected”?—and a healthy helping of boy band tracks: ‘N Sync’s “Girlfriend,” the Dan Huff remix of the Backstreet Boys’ “Drowning,” Blue’s “All Rise,” LFO’s “Every Other Time.” Then you’ve got to put in your BeeGees remakes, just for fun: “Nightfever” by B3 and “Chain Reaction” by Steps will both do nicely.

All of these qualify as usual fare for an all-hits compilation like this, but BMG’s offering distinguishes itself by putting in a twist or two. Dido and Groove Armada lend a much-needed hipness to the collection just by being there, but the choice of slightly lesser-known tracks (“Hunter” and “My Friend”) make it all that much more cool. Alicia Keys, who shows up early in the party, is a welcome guest even when she trots out only the expected (“Fallin’”), though the change in pace is in itself a good thing. And Kosheen, whose name may not have the same cachet as the rest of the artists on the album, are a welcome discovery for anyone who may have missed their album, with its infectious single “Hide U.”

This is not to say that there aren’t any misses. The latter part of the compilation is noticeably weighed down with weaker tracks and lamer names—I mean, who the hell invited O-Town to this gig?—and Westlife’s soulless, unimaginative cover of Sarah MacLachlan’s “Angel” and Aaron Carter’s annoying “I’m All About You” simply have no place in here.

But those few rotten parts aren’t enough to ruin the compilation, and overall, Pop! is surprisingly impressive for what it is. It wouldn’t have required much on the part of the record label to put together something like this, but someone somewhere was willing to put in some thought to it, and the result is one of the few all-hits compilations actually worth getting.—Kristine Fonacier