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Totally Hits 3

11/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Totally hits 3 is soooo cool. It has a cool variety of songs and most of them are songs that already have been hits and are my favorites. And it has remixes too. I would recommend this cd."

4 Years, And Finer With Time

GMac | Anywhere, USA | 09/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I may be writing under about three different names, but this is still the same writer. My "latest" music purchase was a bit srtiking, I bought "Totally Hits 3", which was released during Fall 2000, when I was in 9th grade. Now I'm a freshman in college! Four(4) years have passed, yet these songs still as good as they were back in 2K. Here's a retro breakdown:

(1) Madonna "Music"(Deep Dish Dot Com Radio Edit) B. A good dance song, just lacking the techno zing of the original version. Deep Dish has compromised Will Orbit's originality in favor of standard beats.

(2) Pink "Most Girls" A-. Broke no new ground, but still managed to be a catchy, slick and promising debut song that announced Pink as a powerful artist. A great production to balance pop and R&B. And because Babyface produced it; it has a similar sound to TLC's "Fanmail" LP (1999)

(3) Matchbox Twenty "Bent" B+. Matchbox Twenty has done better. Rob Thomas' heartfelt lyrics remain the highpint of the piece. The song is well made and has some true dimension,yet it could use a little more zip, still good though.

(4) Vertical Horizon "Everything You Want" A-. Proves that less can be more. By laying back, the song lets its deep, powerfull lyrics seep into the soul. I don't understand why the group vanished though; on the basis of this and "You're A God", they clearly had alot of talent.

(5) Third Eye Blind "Deep Inside Of You" C. There's suposed to be a message here, but the song is too long and becomes pretty standard. In the end, there isn't any of the depth which drove their two best tracks; "Hows It Gonna Be?" and "Never Let You Go". It's a real dissapointment; hit or not.

(6) Barenaked Ladies "Pinch Me" B+. Lays back just like #4, this one is a bit more specific with content, very easing. It has the ability to bring forth memories and nostalgia; which is a hard feat to accomplish for any type of music.

(7) Faith Hill "The Way You Love Me"(Radio Mix) B+. I enjoyed every minute of this song, and I dont even like country that much. The reason for that is that Faith Hill's powerful voice lends so much energy to the song, making it flow perfectly. This is one of those country songs that EVERYONE should hear.

(8) Dido "Here With Me" A-. The exact deep, emotional and touching work I expect from Dido. Unlike Britney or Christina, she never tries to hard, and just lets her songs work their magic. This is a very well done adult-pop ballad which is almost mesmerizing.

(9) Toni Braxton "He Wasn't Man Enough" A-. A strong, felt R&B song, Darkchild's production makes it one of her best; in the same league as "Un-Break My Heart". Darkchild's beat combined with Toni's fiery voice and style creates a winning cimbination for the listener.

(10) Christina Aguilera "What A Girl Wants" B. A light, catchy pop tune that just isn't anything new. It may a little too soft, yet you can't really complain too much when the song so willing to please. An enjoyable listen, even if it's unnessacary.

(11) Next "Wifey" A. This is the perfect blend of traditional and contemporary R&B. It has shades of hip-hop, yet its still very heartfelt and good natured. This is a sweet, blissful breeze of a song, which is remanisent of some of the best works R&B/rap by Arrested Development and Tony! Toni! Tone! from the early '90s.

(12) Debelah Morgan "Dance With Me" B-. The beat and style come close to saving the average material. She has a nice voice set to fiery beats, and despite moments of true inspiration; the song never fully picks up enough. Good, but could have been much better.

(13) Joy Enriquez "Tell Me How You Feel" C+. I can't complain about the song's listenability, it's fun, but forgetable. JUst like track #12, it's another dance song that needs some more ambition injected into it; it doesn't even come close to pushing any envelopes.

(14) Vitamin C "Graduation" A.This is THE anthem for ALL graduations. A spoken word song can be very dangerous (i.e. All Saints' disasterous "Never Ever"), but Vitamin C makes it work with stunning impact and dimension. Never before has a song summed up all the feelings from a graduation so nicely with such power and depth. It's a nice companion to Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen).

(15) The Corrs "Breathless" A. A perfect pop tune. Its light, catchy, fun and completely enjoyable. A triumph on both the vocal AND insturmental levels. The song is destined to put a smile on your face and warm your heart with beautiful lyrics and beats.

(16) Whitney Houston "Fine" B. It's not in the same league as "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" or "Heartbreak Hotel", yet it's impossible to dislike. It's just not a highlight of her long, impressive career. This also happened to be Whitney's last memorable single; as it's follow up became the awful "Watchulookinat" from "Just Whitney" (2002).

(17) John Michael Montgomery feat. Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski "The Little Girl" B. The material is well done and touching, if not a little too Hallmark. It's a just like a "tearjerker movie"; purposly programmed to extract emotions, but isn't really heartfelt

Bottom Line: ***.The album is a nice summation of music back in 2000. My only complaint is the lack of hip-hop; where is Common's "The Light" and De La Soul & Redman's "Oooh"? That aside the album makes a perfect counter part to go along with "NOW 5". And as a flashback: it's just about perfect to bring back memories."

Another Stew of Hits

NorthofCB | Bells, TN United States | 11/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another great album by the "Totally Hits" folks. All these are actually hits, and most are multiple play worthy songs. "Wifey" "Tell Me How You Feel" and "Graduation" are the only ones I am either not crazy about or doubt their hit power. Other than that the album is great. I was greatly surprised to find Dido and John Michael Montgomery here, nice ones."