20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Chely Wright

Album Review

Chely Wright's volume of 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection is her first greatest-hits retrospective and includes highlights from each of the country vocalist's five albums. Opening with the fun honky tonk of "Til I Was Loved by You" and "Sea of Cowboy Hats," the set soon moves into more textured Tony Brown country-pop for the radio favorite "Shut Up and Drive" and the smart, fun (and number one single) "Single White Female." In fact, the collection pulls four songs from Single White Female, which might shortchange the grittier feel of her early work. But that's okay — Wright made the transition to a more pop-oriented sound with aplomb and no sacrifice of her vocal sass, so her first look back should nod to where she's been while tipping its cowboy hat to where she's going. The set's last two tracks do this; "Jezebel," after all, was a huge hit single, and smartly blends fiddle and banjo with drum programming and the big changes of a pop chorus. Recommended as an easy entry point for newcomers, since longtime fans will already have all of the material here.