C+C Music Factory: Super Hits

Album Review

"Perhaps next time a C+C compilation will be executed properly...." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, from his review of the 1996 C+C Music Factory collection In the Groove.

When I wrote those words, I was a little exasperated. Sony had released two C+C Music Factory compilations within two years, neither of which did its job properly. It's an easy job: Take the hit versions of the handful of C+C Music Factory hits and put them on one disc. Neither Ultimate nor In the Groove did that. Instead, they included remixed versions of the singles. These were pleasant enough, but anyone who knew these songs from the radio was bound to be disappointed. Those disappointed fans should be somewhat satiated by the budget-line release Super Hits. Of the three C+C Music Factory comps, it comes the closest to fulfilling those basic objectives, since it has the hit versions of "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)," "Here We Go," and "Things That Make You Go Hmmmm...," plus two tracks from the first (and best) album: "A Groove of Love (What's This Word Called Love?)" and "Just a Touch of Love." However, instead of including such second-tier hits as "A Deeper Love," "Pride (In the Name of Love)," and "Keep It Comin'," it throws in selections from the forgotten second album. One of those, "Do You Wanna Get Funk," was a minor hit, but the rest is expendable (especially the "C+C Music Factory MTV Medley" tacked onto the end). Perhaps the compilers decided that "A Deeper Love" and "Pride" weren't worthy candidates because they technically were Clivilles & Cole tracks, not C+C Music Factory hits, but that's just splitting hairs — they should have been here, since without them, the disc feels like a reshuffled Gonna Make You Sweat with bonus tracks. However, Super Hits is cheaper than the full-length album, which may be enough for most casual fans...even if they may wonder where "Pride" is.