| Shania Twain--reclusive, happily married, mother of one--has sold more than 40 million albums with flirty, hook-laden, beat-heavy, country-tinged pop that has all the subtlety of a musical wet T-shirt contest, yet is as irresistible as Swiss chocolate and Pringles. There are a few heartfelt, moon-in-June love ballads on this generous and long-awaited 20-song collection, which includes three new songs along with all the predictable chart-toppers and near-chart-toppers. But it's the mostly non-stop, up-tempo booty-shakers--too often with garish overproduction and vapid lyrics--that, for the unconverted, tend to run together after a while. No doubt, this relentlessly upbeat retrospective will keep Twain's millions of fans jumping up and down on their sofas. --Bob Allen |
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