Various Artists - Now That's What I Call Music!, Vol. 10 (CD)

All Music Guide

By the summer of 2002, the volumes of Now That's What I Call Music arrived fast and furiously, separated by just a couple of months. They move so fast that they don't necessarily have enough genuine hits to fill out all 20 tracks on the compilation, so the compilers balance the big songs ("Can't Get You Out of My Head," "Girlfriend," "A Thousand Miles," "How You Remind Me") with hits that almost made it ("We Are All Made of Stars," "Overprotected," "Halfcrazy," "I've Got You"), could make it in a couple months after the compilation is released ("First Date," "Don't' Say Goodbye"), or clearly won't make it ("Stillness of Heart," "A New Day Has Come"). Such is the case with NOW 10, which almost has too many songs that didn't quite catch with the public to recommend it as strongly as earlier volumes in the series, when it was nothing but hits all the time. But, there are some very good singles here, enough to keep it interesting and entertaining and, above all, NOW 10 is recommended becau...se it capture the particular sound and spirit of the time it covers. In this case, the summer of 2002 did have a few really good singles on the airwaves, but the music industry was in a bit of a slump, both in terms of sales and quality. This captures that feeling quite well, actually, since it has some clear also-rans along with the hits -- and, unlike radio in 2002, there are enough hits and good songs during this hour to make it worth listening to, overall. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Read more Less