Best of Brandy [Import]

These days everyone is releasing a greatest hits collection. It seems that even those who had one great hit a couple of misses and a myriad of b-sides and remixes are releasing a collection, The Very Best Of Dr. Alban anyone?. Back in the day, a collection was an anthology, only a few greats reached that level of grandiosity. Now even Britney is scurrying to put one together at any chance. They have become big business. As a consumer, one would want a collection of supposed sure-fire hits than an album that requires time to digest.

However, as a result of this overproduction of `greats' the title has become sort of a cliché and only a few hold as much substance as The Immaculate Collection or #1s.

This one, however, is a keeper. Brandy, after four amazing albums in a row, released the hits that made her a voice of a generation.

Bursting onto the scene with the innocent and instantly infectious "I Wanna Be Down," Brandy has yet to release a miss. Even when the sales went down, she released one of the best albums of 2004 - Afrodisiac.

This Best Of includes all the hits from the global number one "The Boy Is Mine" with Monica to the heavy on staccato "What About Us?."

The ballads a ever-present with "Have You Ever?," "Almost Doesn't Count," and "Brokenhearted" with Boyz II Men front man Wanya Morris.

It comes as no surprise that this record embodies 90's nostalgia as the feminine urban sound was kept alive by Brandy, her duet mate Monica and the late Aaliyah.

Tracks like "Baby" and "Best Friend" will bring back memories. The collection also includes a remix of "I Wanna Be Down" with Queen Latifah.

Other cuts that did not make albums are also included like the Phil Collin's cover of "Another Day In Paradise" with brother Ray J and Quincy Jones' rehashing on "Rock With You."

The latest hits "Who Is She 2 U" and the Kanye West aided "Talk About Our Love" add some new sounds.

Brandy has always created music for the people. Great melodies, simple lyrics and groovy sounds are all part of what makes Brandy still a star.

This album is a record to listen to and a record of our times. Brandy is set to switch labels after this package, let's just hope she continues her legacy.

Although Brandy was only in her mid-teens when her debut album was issued in 1994, there was something relatively mature about her voice that set her above and beyond most others in her age range. A decade later THE BEST OF BRANDY collects as many of her key cuts that can fit on a single CD, and serves as the Brandy album to own for those who want the highlights (fans will no doubt want to keep the original albums, though). With a couple of exceptions, the tracks are presented in chronological order, and the earlier tracks clearly benefit from fresh remastering.

It's indicative of how big a splash she made on the pop scene in the mid-1990s that more than half of this anthology covers only the period from her first to her second album (1994-1998), and it's a tribute to the producers and songwriters that these are generally the most memorable cuts. They include four key tracks from her 1994 self-titled debut, the WAITING TO EXHALE cut "Sittin' Up In My Room," a cover version of "Rock With You" lifted off a Quincy Jones album, and six (!) from 1998's NEVER SAY NEVER.

After that her voice continued to mature, and this set lifts (only) two tracks each from 2002's FULL MOON and 2004's AFRODISIAC. While the tracks selected here from those CDs are worth repeated listens, one starts wondering if her career is on the verge of settling into a depersonalized procession of dial-a-producer, dial-a-rapper cuts. Granted not everyone has the talent to write personal songs, but I hope in the future her music will find a way to reveal more of herself. If nothing else, the nice soulful version of Phil Collins' "Another Day In Paradise" included here suggests she has a lot of options available to place her voice in varied contexts. No matter what happens in the future, THE BEST OF BRANDY is a solid collection that lives up to its name.

Brandy has never been one of your typical soul belters nor has she been a pretty all dancing/some singing r'n'b puppet princess. What this retrospective shows is that over the last 10 years, she has used her warm, husky voice with subtelty and to excellent effect. Production on all of her albums has been sympathetic allowing her voice to almost "float" over the music at times giving it an ethereal quality. This is top notch contemporary pop/r'n'b that plays well to Brandy's strengths particularly on tracks like The Boy Is Mine, Sittin' Up In My Room and Talk About Our Love. Having said all this, for some reason Warner has released a different Best of Brandy in this part of the world. According to the track list here on Amazon the US release is missing Top Of The World, Missing You, Sittin' Up In My Room and Talk About Our Love while my version doesn't have Angel In Disguise, Brokenhearted, Best Friend and He Is. I think I got the better deal.