20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Chely Wright

Background

20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection contained twelve tracks of original material Chely Wright had recorded for two separate record labels between 1994 and 2001: Polygram/Mercury (1994–1996) and MCA Nashville (1997–2001). The album's first three tracks were originally pulled from Wright's recordings on Polygram/Mercury Records, beginning with the opening track "Till I Was Loved by You". Music critic Johnny Loftus called the latter and the second track ("Sea of Cowboy Hats") both "fun honky tonk" recordings. The remainder of the songs contained on the album were recorded during Wright's time spent with MCA Nashville, beginning with her 1997 hit "Shut Up and Drive". While recording for MCA, Wright's material shifted towards a country pop sound. This transition is notable in songs such as her 1999 song "Single White Female" and 2001's "Never Love You Enough".

Critical reception

20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection received positive feedback from the online music website Allmusic, where music critic Johnny Loftus reviewed the album. Loftus gave the album four and a half out of five stars, commenting, "Recommended as an easy entry point for newcomers, since longtime fans will already have all of the material here."

Loftus especially noted how Wright's musical transition in the late 1990s helped create a different style for her music, stating, "...Wright made the transition to a more pop-oriented sound with aplomb and no sacrifice of her vocal sass, so her first look back should nod to where she's been while tipping its cowboy hat to where she's going. The set's last two tracks do this; "Jezebel," after all, was a huge hit single, and smartly blends fiddle and banjo with drum programming and the big changes of a pop chorus."