Martina McBride

The Playlist series of recordings by Sony/BMG is an attempt to repackage yet again an artist's hottest-selling recordings without jewel boxes in environmentally friendly packaging, adding some CD-ROM information and retailing them at a super cheap price. They sound OK, they usually have an artist's biggest selling songs, but they don't necessarily represent an artist very well unless, of course, that artist happens to be a singles hit machine. Martina McBride certainly is, and has been for nearly 20 years. In this case, virtually every hit single is included in this set save for one --and that omission is simply criminal. While "Independence Day," "This One's for the Girls," "It's My Time," and "Wild Angels" are all here -- some of them as remixed versions that are indeed rare -- the one glaring absentee from this set is the smash "Anyway." How this compilation's producers could omit this track is beyond reason. (Except maybe they still want to sell you the most recent album previous to this set.) Other than that it's solid, but most fans have all this stuff anyway. This one is worth staying away from on principle. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide