Shine: The Hits
by Newsboys

The Newsboys' original 'hits' compilation, and arguably, the most successful undertaking of compiling their hits together in one place.

Where it misses:

1. For some reason, the 1999 album "Love Liberty Disco," released a year before this collection, is completely overlooked despite having at least a few big hits from it on CHR radio (the title track and "Beautiful Sound" would have fit nicely).

2. The new re-make of "God Is Not a Secret" featuring TobyMac is welcome, however, the re-mix of their signature hit "Shine" is not. The original version from the Going Public album should have been included instead.

3. Although the mega-mix is fun, at 8 minutes, it takes space that could be used to add another 2-3 songs instead, and with a total running time of under 72 minutes, there is enough disc space left for a few more songs on top of that. Perhaps "Real Good Thing" from Going Public (which was later included on the Newsboys' 2007 collection "The Greatest Hits"), and "Let It Go" from Take Me to Your Leader?

4. Even though many fans will complain about the seemingly-odd inclusion of "I Got Your Number," (the earliest selection on this CD, from their debut album Read All About It), I say, why stop there? It would be nice to include a track from each of their next two albums (perhaps "Simple Man" and "One Heart," from Hell Is for Wimps and Boys Will Be Boyz, respectively), to show the evolution of the band and how they got from "I Got Your Number" to "I'm Not Ashamed."