Tlc - Now & Forever: The Hits
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Free Music Notes for Now & Forever: The Hits
Free Music Review: TLC @ Their Best!
Hit: 4 Stars
This album shows what TLC has done over the last 10+ years. From the singles from the very beginning to the end.... One down fall on this album is that the tracks have been shortened for some reason, but there are a few new tracks that are really hot!
1. Ain't 2 Proud To Beg [4:08] - We start from the beginning, this track has a very hip-hop flavour to it, and its great 2 dance 2 7/10
2. What About Your Friends [4:04] - Another up-tempo song, it's a great sing-a-long song
3. Hat 2 Da Back [4:07] - I luv this track, its definitely one of the best TLC tracks ever, great lyrics, great hook, it makes you wanna dance! 9/10
4. Get It Up [4:14] - I don't really feel this song but I'm sure many people do, it has a very old-school flavour 5/10
5. Baby Baby Baby [3:58] - Another track from the 90's, and its not too bad, a mid-tempo track that had great flow 7/10
6. Creep [4:26] - Creep is a very cool track, the hook is great 7/10
7. Red Light Special [4:37] - I never did like this track, the lyrics are ok, but I think it could have been produced better 5/10
8. Waterfalls [4:18] - The chorus is a re-make from something that I cant recall. This song is good but its Left Eyes' rap that puts flow into it 7/10
9. Diggin' On You [4:14] - This track reminds me of an early Aaliyah track, with the 1990's R&B sound, its alright 6/10
10. Kick Your Game [4:14] - This song is ok, the lyrics are cleaver but that's about it 6/10
11. Silly Ho [4:15] - This song is good, it has a great hook, it's for girls who are mistaken for ho's when they are not 7/10
12. No Scrubs [3:38] - One of the best TLC tracks ever, Left Eyes rap spices it up, Chilli should be doing more singing on the rest of the TLC songs......9/10
13. Come Get Some (Featuring Lil' Jon) (New Track) [4:19] - This is the BEST track of all TLC time I believe. The hook is hot, the lyrics are hot, it is great! I strongly recommend checking this track out! 10/10
14. Unpretty [4:00] - A song 4 the girls who have ever been called unpretty 7/10
15. Girl Talk [3:35] - The first single off 3D, in the past Left Eye period. It's a hot track, I luv it, and it does have Left Eye rapping on it! You go girl! 8/10
16. Damaged [3:52] - This song is meaningful, I like the lyrics, I think its hot! 7/10
17. Whoop De Woo (Previously Unreleased Track From 3D Session) [3:52] - This is a fun track that has never been released. I like it, it's a party track 8/10
18. In Your Arms Tonight [4:29] - I don't really like this song, it sounds like a Justin Timberlake song with female vocals 4/10
19. Turntable [3:24] - This is a dong dedicated to the Lopes family, a great way to end the album, it's a very meaningful song 9/10
Free Music Review: Not quite all of it.
Hit: 4 Stars
Greatest hits albums are usually made for casual fans or real fans very careful with their money. The casual fans will more than likely be satisfied with Now and Forever, but hardcore fans might not be too thrilled.
As a hardcore fan myself, I bought this record for Get It Up, the new songs, and the rap version of No Scrubs. It's understandable that with greatest hits, the songs have to be edited to make enough space, but I don't like the songs edited at all. Part of the greatness of a song gets taken away when it's trimmed.
Secondly, I have issues with three of the particular versions of certain songs for this collection.
Hat 2 Da Back-when Hat 2 Da Back was made into a video, a remix was used. It was far superior to the Ooooooh On the TLC Tip album version. Instead of including this remix, which can't be obtained anywhere, they include the regular version that anybody could hear who picks up the first record. The remix would have been a treat for hardcore fans.
Girl Talk-this version on the greateast hits is different from the 3D album version. More effects are added and T-boz and Chilli sing the song slightly differently. It's as if the wrong take of the song was used. Chilli's ad-libs are also less pronounced than the 3D version. One more difference:
with the funniest line in the song..."powers like Austin but you're more like Mini Me.." T-boz's voice is actually made to sound like Mini Me.
Damaged-a second guitar is missing from the Hits version, plus it sounds like the live drums used on 3D have been replaced with a drum machine which gives the song a more r&bish sound rather than the hard rock sound it had before. This version does not sound nearly as good as the original, which is disappointing. 3D didn't sell well, and it's not farfetched to think more people will pick up the Hits collection: which means more people will hear this gutted version of a song that could have easily been tlc's biggest hit under better circumstances.
Missing Songs?
Of course we can debate the song choices of the record. Personally, I don't think In Your Arms Tonight should be on here. It isn't even their best non single song from 3D, So So Dumb is. Come Get Some sounds like any other Lil Jon song and
could have been replaced with another track from Fanmail, which is under-represented on here. They could have included Dear Lie, which was made into a video, or they could have used a great album track like Come On Down. I would even argue the mediocre Turntable should be replaced with Switch, which is one of the coolest songs from CrazySexyCool.
Other than these complaints, Now and Forever is a good purchase for people who like tlc, but never liked them well enough to get the studio albums.
Free Music Review: They Weren't Too Proud To Beg
Hit: 4 Stars
I often try to look at what a lot of the new R&B acts have thses days. Nevertheless, a lot of the girl groups really don't seem to have what they did about a decade ago. Whether it is Destiny's Child, or Spice Girls, nobody was ever as influential within the feelings of Soul, R&B and Hip Hop like TLC. Arguably, the most successful female R&B trio of all time, they were not just defiant as a trio, they broke so many barriers in the style, messages and meanings that came around. Yet, it is somehow very sad to hear their delightful memories, nearly two years after the tragic death of Lisa "Left Eye Lopes." Still, that message really lives on.
The 2005 Now & Forever: The Hits is a single disc retrospective of what made TLC a trio that really withstood the test of time. The compilation was released nearly a year ago overseas, has finally hit the U.S. market. The compilation really does deliver extraordinarily well. The album consists of so many of their best songs like Unpretty, the #1 smash Waterfalls, Girl Talk, the seductive Red Light Special, I Ain't Too Proud To Beg, and No Scrubs. Arguably, there really isn't that much to be overshadowed, except one oversight. The album only overlooks one single from the final album 3-D, Hands Up. One of the very few minor hits T-Boz and company didn't hit on the record.
Arguably, it is just a shame TLC isn't making any great music anymore. Nevertheless, the impression they've made will definitely last a lifetime. Now & Forever: The Hits is a must have for anybody who wants the best of TLC in one convient package, that is too proud to beg.
Album Cover: B+
Price: A-
Mastering: B+
Songs: B+
Overall: B 1/2+
Free Music Review: Some classic material. Until the end...
Hit: 4 Stars
This greatest hits collection, which was finally released after 2 years, has all of the classics. "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "Creep", "Waterfalls" and countless others. It even has the hard to find version of "No Scrubs" with Lisa's rap, which shoul've been included on Fanmail in the first place. But when the album gets to the end, it includes songs that weren't even singles from the mediocre flop, "3D". "In Your Arms Tonight", "Turntable", they weren't singles. Or at least not greatest hits. So why shorten songs, like "Red Light Special", when the stuff at the end could be cut out? It doesn't even have Lisa rapping, so what's the use. Plus, they're pretty bad songs, as most on 3D. (3D only has ONE song with a rhyme from LeftEye that was made for the track. The rest of the songs that she's on, her vocals were copied and pasted to the song.)
But they copy and pasted her vocals from "Friends" for the unreleased track from the 3D sessions, "Whoop De Woo". It's an okay song. Not a reason to buy this complete album.
But "Come Get Some" is a different story. It's actually a pretty good song, with some of Lil' Jon's best production. (It was released as a single two years ago when this CD was supposed to come out, but it didn't come on. The only time I heard it on the radio was at one in the morning.
Overall, this is a good collection of TLC's hits. But if you already have all of the albums, I would reccomend just downloading the two unreleased songs on iTunes. because they're not good enough to buy this whole album if you already have all of the songs.
Free Music Review: All the crazy songs, the sexy songs, and the cool songs.
Hit: 4 Stars
Nice to have this collection finally get released. It should have come out in the states first anyway. Being a casual fan, and only owning "Crazy Sexy Cool" and "Fanmail", this collection was made for me. Included are the hits "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "Baby-Baby-Baby", "Waterfalls", "Unpretty", and numerous others. A big plus is that this also has the rap version of "No Scrubs", and I really missed that on "Fanmail". I admit I'd like another track or two from "Crazy Sexy Cool", like their cover of "If I Was Your Girlfriend", but no big deal. Overall a great disc from one of the best acts of the 90's. Long love Lisa, and good luck to T-Boz and Chili.