The Best of Nelly Furtado (Deluxe Version)

Album Review

Not one of Nelly Furtado’s albums sounds like the one that came before — an admirable trait in an artist but not one that lends itself easily to a hits compilation. The Best of Nelly Furtado, released for the holiday season of 2010, doesn’t hide this freewheeling eclecticism, probably because it’d be impossible to do so, but the changes in sound don’t quite cause whiplash either, because similar-sounding singles are grouped together. Her earliest hits (“I’m Like a Bird,” “Turn Off the Light,” “....On the Radio [Remember the Days]”) are gathered at the beginning while her dynamic collaborations with Timbaland (“Promiscuous,” “Maneater”) anchor the collection at its middle, the three newer songs (“Girlfriend in the City,” “Stars,” the single “Night Is Young”) appearing at the end with selections from Folklore and Mi Plan acting as bridges between these clusters. This is enough to keep The Best of Nelly Furtado flowing smoothly while still displaying a range so wide that it still is hard to believe that the fragile “I’m Like a Bird” and wild, carnal “Maneater” are from the same person, even if they are on the same disc.