Jump5 - The Very Best Of Jump5

Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Any group, like these Californian kids, who've got the promotional muscle of the Disney Channel behind them will probably be pretty unimpressed with the news that their past albums have produced quite a few turntable hits for Stoke-on-Trent's Cross Rhythms City Radio. But, in fact, that's a rather impressive achievement for a group who've never played a UK gig. If you're yet to encounter this bubbly foursome (they used to be a fivesome) let me explain that, at their best, these teenagers offer squeaky-voiced pop with funky bits and more catchiness than a flu' epidemic. Not that you get the full effect of Jump5's perky pop on this compilation. Such Cross Rhythms radio favourites as "Change A Heart Change The World" (from 'Jump5'), "Forever In My Heart" (from 'All The Time In The World'), "Why Do I Do" and "Do Ya" (from 'Accelerate') and "In My Heart" (from 'Dreaming In Color') are all missing from this compilation in favour of blander, less memorable tracks. But maybe that just says something about the formulaic state of much American radio. And there ARE some catchy oldies here as well. The three new recordings put on this greatest hits package to ensure staunch fans buy it, are a mixed bunch. "Don't Run Away" is a rather dull pop rock song while their cover of "Friends", which in 1984 Michael W Smith took to number seven in the US CCM charts, is cheesy but fun. The real new song standout is "Beautiful To Me", a great song about developing the right attitude about ourselves regardless of how we look.