Paula Abdul, GREATEST HITS: STRAIGHT UP!

 Paula Abdul had a bare-bones greatest hits collection as part of the 10 Great Songs series, but she also had a more comprehensive collection in 1997.  Greatest Hits: Straight Up! provides more music from the '80s-'90s singer -- and shows that her musical style didn't change at all from start to finish.

Unlike 10 Great Songs: Paula Abdul, Straight Up! covers all three of Abdul's albums (Forever Your Girl, Spellbound, and Head Over Heels), plus a song from the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack.  Like the other collection, though, Straight Up! doesn't offer anything beyond the original songs.  There are no rarities, live versions, or other material not on the original albums

Paula Abdul's success was as much based on her dancing/choreography and sex appeal as on singing and music, and Straight Up! reinforces that.  (It's a shame there's no music video collection of hers instead of a music album.)  Her songs covered the standard radio-friendly range of perky romance ("Forever Your Girl," Opposites Attract"), slow ballads ("Rush, Rush," "Will You Marry Me"), dance tunes ("Straight Up," "Vibeology"), bad guys ("Cold Hearted," "One or the Other") and general optimistic perkiness ("The Promise of a New Day," "It's All About Feelin' Good").  The songs sometimes manage the "fun fluff" type of music, but even the best can't escape the weak lyrics and unexceptional voice of the singer.

Anyone who listened in the music will probably know the biggest hits off Paula Abdul's first albums (whether they want to or not), but anyone hearing them again on Straight Up! will probably be reminded of her limits as a singer, not some forgotten greatness.  And the lesser-known songs -- mostly at the end of the album -- won't add anything to her reputation.

Overall grade: C-
Reviewed by James Lynch

10 GREAT SONGS: PAULA ABDUL

Long before she was a judge who helped determine the next big singer on American Idol, Paula Abdul actually made music. (It's true!) The budget "10 great song" series collects some (all?) of her hits from the late '80s and early '90s with 10 Great Songs: Paula Abdul.

This compilation is, well, pretty basic. There are six songs from Abdul's 1988 debut album Forever Your Girl and four from the 1991 follow-up Spellbound. (There's nothing here from Abdul's last album, 1995's Head Over Heels.) There are no rarities, remixes, B-sides, lost tracks, or live versions here -- or even the lesser-known songs from the two albums on this collection.

And how do these hits sound over two decades later? About the same as when they were released: pop fluff. The songs here are all about love (except for the relentlessly optimistic "Promise of a New Day"), either about being in love ("Forever Your Girl," "Knocked Out," the strange "Vibeology") or love gone bad (the man-bashing "Cold Hearted," the wondering "Straight Up"). While Paula Abdul isn't a bad singer, her voice is far from exceptional; and the songs are pretty much routine upbeat pop or slower ballads. The songs are mixed up rather than presented in the original albums' release date, but there's no musical or lyrical development between the albums: They all sound like they could have been made at the same time. This may be the best of Paula Abdul -- certainly her most popular -- but the "great" in this compliation's is somewhat ironic.

10 Great Songs: Paula Abdul is a simple, straightforward presentation of Abdul's hits. This collection demonstrates what made Paula Abdul so radio friendly: extremely simple lyrics, a perky voice, and upbeat pop songs mixed with slower ballads. Decades later, it makes some sort of sense that she would help choose the American Idol winner - who's expected to be more popular than necessarily good.

Overall grade: C-
Reviewed by James Lynch