Mandy Moore

The Best of

Definitely premature collection of an underrated artist.

Review Score:

(6/10)
Mandy Moore may not have had as much success as Spears or Aguilera, but she had a lot to offer. The self-titled 2001 album was a rock-solid dance/pop collection, and she was able to prove the critics wrong when they thought "Candy" was the only trick up her sleeve.

If she'd had another three or four years to make more music, a greatest-hits set might be justified. Unfortunately, this best-of does reek of a quick cash-in by the record company, because Moore has had only two full albums of original material thus far, added to one covers record and a half-album (I Wanna Be with You) which reprised a number of tracks from her debut. Three tracks from soundtracks bolster the track list a little, but still, it hardly makes a musical history worthy of a greatest-hits set. The music, judged on its own, holds up somewhat. The early material is thin, but enjoyable in its own way -- it *is* teen pop, after all. But Moore's always had a strong voice and personality, and the three tracks from the Mandy Moore album certainly see her taking command.

Looking at the DVD, which collects her music videos, it's no wonder Mandy Moore decided to shorn her locks and go for a dark brunette look. She once said in an interview that being blonde made her look more anonymous. But I think these videos are even more to blame. To put it simply, it's the usual modern-music-video hogwash -- put your artist in lots of costumes with lots of gyrating, unchoreographed hardbodies around you, and just keep wiggling your behind at the camera. A great single like "In My Pocket" deserved better; if the director had bothered studying the lyrics, he might not have turned this video into another body-ogling soft-porn orgy. Several of the other videos do have multiple locations, but by and large they are "stare-at-the-camera" pieces, with no concept or narrative, that look like they were shot in one day and then subjected to bells and whistles in editing to attempt to hide their vacuousness.

The DVD has one major plus, though, which is the tracks from the live "Sessions at AOL" included here. While I can't be sure everything is played live (headphones on musicians would suggest a click track, which in turn suggests pre-recorded tracks being used), Moore sounds great here, freed into a casual environment. It almost reminds me of Mariah Carey's MTV Unplugged performance in 1992, when Carey proved she could excel without studio sheen. With her focus on her film career and that momentum-slowing covers record, it's hard to tell where Moore will go musically, but she remains one of the few artists her age with the potential and vocal ability to become something special.

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