Search - Amy Grant :: Greatest Hits

A Comprehensive Collection

Mark Baker | Santa Clarita, CA United States | 10/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With three decades of music under her belt, Amy Grant has already produced two best of collections. And while they are both great, there was no place to find a sample of her entire career. Until now.



This disc is an attempt to collect the hits from Amy's entire career, and it does a remarkable good job. With just nineteen songs, it hits all the highlights. It includes "Simple Things," the title track from her last major studio release and "Old Man's Rubble" from her self title debut. In fact, it includes at least one song from each of her major studio releases (not counting the hymns projects or the Christmas releases) except for her third, "Never Alone." Heck, it even includes "Stay for Awhile." That song originated on Collection and went on to become a hit in its own right.



And there are plenty of classics here, from "Baby Baby" and "Saved by Love" to "Thy Word," "El Shaddai," and "Father's Eyes."



Having said that, there are some drawbacks. Fans who already own all her releases will find absolutely nothing new here. All nineteen tracks have been previous released. While they have been digitally remastered to sound better, I must admit I don't notice the difference. Of course, when you are getting almost an hour and twenty minutes of music, this is being picky.



An equally picky point is the over representation of "Heart in Motion." I know it was her biggest release by far. But it gets five tracks, which is about a quarter of the disc space. And, to be honest, it's not my favorite of her releases. Seems like one or two could have been cut to include a song from somewhere else. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that "Sing Your Praise to the Lord" didn't make the cut. That would have been a good switch.



Finally, there's the timing. Amy's last two releases have been a greatest hits and a live disc. I know she just changed record labels, but I would have preferred to see this after another studio release.



In reality, these are all minor quibbles. Any fan of Amy's music will find lots of memories in these nineteen songs and be glad to have them all in one place."

Another Heartbeat

Michael Kerner | Brooklyn, New York U.S.A. | 10/26/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The past few years have really brought out anew for pop star Amy Grant. She had moved back into her Christian roots well with her core audience, but unfortunate, she hasn't been able to click with newer music buyers. Since her A&M catalog was recently moved over to EMI, on her label Sparrow. While so many acts have done well with a new label in catalog sales, Amy still has a long way to return to the success she had a long time ago. A few years ago, it was well said with her previous hits package Greatest Hits 1986-2004 which did very well with the actual appeal. Now that she has another hits package, does Amy Grant really have the appeal she once conquered with record buyers?



Amy Grant's 2007 Greatest Hits mixes in a bit of the old and the new that Amy had delivered well from her 90's pop mix, to her contemporary mixes of soul and Christian music. The songs have been remastered nicely, and tries to deliver nicely as a re-introduction to Amy to a whole new audience. The collection includes some of her great gems like Every Heartbeat and Baby Baby, to her contemporary Christian classics like Lead Me On and Father's Eyes. While the collection works fairly well for new fans, it misses a few great songs from her pop era that worked better from her previous hits package. The collection overlooks a few great tracks like The Next Time I Fall, her often overlooked duet with former Chicago singer Peter Cetera, as well as The Things We Do For Love, which she did for the Ellen Degeneres film Mr. Wrong, and her delightful cover of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi from House Of Love, which had a very colorful video, and a better beat than when Joni recorded it years ago.



All in all, Amy Grant's Greatest Hits isn't a bad collection though, but it just doesn't deliver like the A&M days really did, or her previous Greatest Hits 1986-2004 album, which unfortunately is no longer in print. Hopefully, there could be a better hits collection that could attract Amy's great pop days like that one did, but this one could've had more to be desired, and that makes it a missed heartbeat.



Album Cover: B



Songs: C



Price: C+



Remastering: B-



Overall: C 1/2+"

Amy Throughout the Years - a Wonderful Collection

AllenatHome | Pewaukee, WI USA | 04/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thoroughly enjoy this CD. There is a selection of both the Christian and secular sides of her work. The soundmix is wonderful and she is very, very talented. I can very much recommend this CD to anyone that likes her style of music."