17

Performer: Ricky Martin
Artist: Christina Aguilera
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: A 17-track retrospective that features selections from each of the 17 years of Ricky Martin's career, 17 is a peculiarly literal but nonetheless fascinating summary of the Puerto Rican pop star's life and work. 17's evenhanded approach devotes as much attention to selections from Martin's earliest records, RICKY MARTIN and ME AMARAS, as it does to international blockbusters like "Livin' La Vida Loca." As a result. this compilation should serve as an unexpectedly refreshing introduction to some of the highlights of Martin's early Spanish-language-market-oriented career. The "17" in Ricky Martin 17 stands for the 17 years of Martin's career -- and this compilation celebrates by plucking a track from each of those years, offering an extensive if not exactly thorough overview of his career. Given its approach, it should be no surprise that this is heavy on Latin material, to the extent that even his huge crossover hit, "Livin' la Vida Loca," is here in Spanish rather than English. Therefore, this isn't a compilation for the curious fellow pop travelers who only want to hear turn-of-the-millennium monsters like "She Bangs," a hit single that's not even here. Instead, this is a sampler, giving a taste of what Martin has done over the years, and in that regard it's successful, even if it's not definitive. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Getting his start as part of teenyboppers Menudo in the '80s, and staying in the public's eye as an actor on General Hospital, Ricky Martin launched his own solo career by the late-'90s. Nobody could have predicted Martin's meteoric rise, topping the charts and selling out arenas on the strength of his monster Latin dance hit "Livin' La Vida Loca."

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