The Best of Mandy Moore

The Best of Mandy Moore
Greatest hits album by Mandy Moore
Released	November 16, 2004 (2004-11-16)
Recorded	1999–2003
Genre	Pop dance-pop pop rock teen pop
Length	53:16
Label	Epic
Producer	Jive Jones Tony Battaglia Shaun Fisher Keith Thomas Kenny Gioia Shep Goodman James Renald John Fields
Mandy Moore chronology
Coverage (2003) The Best of Mandy Moore (2004) Candy (2005)

The Best of Mandy Moore is the first greatest hits album from American singer Mandy Moore, released on November 16, 2004 by Epic Records.

The compilation contains tracks from all of the singer's studio albums released up to 2003: So Real (1999), I Wanna Be with You (2000), Mandy Moore (2001) and Coverage (2003).

History

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blender	[2]

Mandy Moore was reportedly displeased that this collection, along with the album Candy, featured songs from her first two albums since she disowned that period of her career.^[3] The compilation did not receive any promotion or participation from Moore, was not released worldwide and landed at #148 in the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The DVD additionally featured music videos and live performances.

The album has sold 104,000 copies in the United States.^[4]

For an unknown reason, the "Walk Me Home" music video featured on the DVD portion of this album is edited from its original version. The plotline about how Moore is actually daydreaming about being with an actor is gone.

Writing and composition

Moore's earliest hit to be featured on the album is "Candy", the first single from her debut album So Real (1999). This song stands as a classic example of a teen pop song from the late 1990s/early 2000s. The song was written, composed, and produced by Denise Rich, Dave Katz, Denny Kleiman, Jive Jones, Tony Battaglia and Shaun Fisher. "Candy" it performed only moderately well on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking just outside the top 40, at #41. It entered the chart on #88 and reached its peak in its eighth week on the chart.^[5] The two other songs that are included from So Real are: "Walk Me Home" and "So Real". The two singles failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100, however, when "Walk Me Home" was re-released in 2000, it entered the Pop 100 chart on #39 and reached its peak #38 the following week. The song charted these only two weeks.

"I Wanna Be with You" was the only single released from her second studio album I Wanna Be with You (2000). The single was released in early 2000 and soon became Moore's highest chart topper, going all the way to the Top 25. It also became her only top 40 chart placement. It spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached #24 in its 9th week on the chart.^[5] The single was more successful in Australia, spending over 25 weeks in the top 100 and reaching number 11 on the ARIA charts. It also hit number 21 in the UK, becoming her second single to chart there, as well as her second top forty and is to date, her last single to chart there."I Wanna Be with You" is a string-heavy pop song with slight R&B influenced beats. The song is written in the key of E♭ Major and is set in the time signature of common time. It is moderately paced with a tempo of 76 beats per minute. The song also follows the sequence of Ebmaj7–Ab–Eb7–Abmaj7 as its chord progression. Moore's vocals in the song spans from the note of A♭₃ to D♭₅.^[6] The version used in the film has more poppy beats.^[7]

"In My Pocket" was the first single from her self-titled third studio album. The song was a mix of techno/R&B beats with a Middle Eastern sound; the song was slightly more mature than other Moore songs and was an entirely different approach for her as an artist at the time. This song missed the Billboard Hot 100 but still charted in the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number two (equivalent to #102) on June 12, 2001. It performed modestly on CHR radio (the format in which Moore received most of her airplay), peaking at number twenty in Radio & Records. The song also peaked number twenty-one on the Pop 100 charts, where it stayed for nine weeks.^[5] "Crush" It was the album second single, following the mildly successful "In My Pocket". The song peaked at number 19 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. It did chart also on the Pop Songs chart, where it stayed for five weeks and peaked at number 35.^[5] The early 2002 release of the final single, "Cry", tied in with the film A Walk to Remember, Moore's debut as a lead actress.^[8]

The fourth studio album Coverage (2003), were included four songs, among which is the own version of "Have a Little Faith in Me", and "Drop the Pilot".

Critical reception

The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Allmusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine said:

Of all the major teen pop stars who ran wild at the turn of the millennium, Mandy Moore was perhaps the least successful, if she's judged merely on terms of chart success. Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera certainly racked up more hits and headlines than Mandy, and she never had a single as undeniably catchy and irresistible as Jessica Simpson's "I Think I'm in Love with You" (which Jessica herself never managed to top after she became a household name, either). So it would seem that The Best of Mandy Moore released in November 2004, at the end of her contract with Epic, would be little bit more than footnote to the teen pop phenomenon of the early 2000s, and that may be true if success is only calculated on those aforementioned charts or cultural impact. So why is The Best Of so much more satisfying a listening experience than Britney Spears' Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, released just a few weeks before this collection? Well, part of it is due to the fact that Mandy is simply a better singer than Britney. Maybe she doesn't have quite as much charisma as Spears, but she can carry a tune and her voice doesn't grate over the course of a 14-track album like the way Britney's can. Then, there's the fact that these songs, since they weren't as widely heard as "Oops...I Did It Again" or "Genie in a Bottle", just sound fresher. And while there are no knock-out singles here although her biggest hit, "Crush," comes close there's a greater musical variety, and the chronological running order emphasizes that Mandy Moore is growing as a singer and recording artist, getting better with each subsequent album instead of stagnating like many of her peers. As a result, this turns out to be one of the better artifacts of the teen pop boom as an album, it's stronger and more enjoyable than almost any other teen pop record from its time, and by the time it's over, you're curious about where Moore will go next.^[9]

Track listing

Storyline edition with bonus DVD

• 14-track album plus music videos

1. "Candy"
2. "Walk Me Home"
3. "So Real"
4. "I Wanna Be With You"
5. "In My Pocket"
6. "Crush"
7. "Cry"
8. "Have a Little Faith in Me"

• Live from AOL Sessions

1. "Moonshadow"
2. "Senses Working Overtime"
3. "Drop the Pilot"
4. "Have a Little Faith in Me"
5. "Shake It Off"
6. "Storyline"
7. "Break Free"
8. "Problem"

Charts (album)

References