Arriving about a month before
Hilary Duff turned 18 and presumably right around the time her record contract was coming to an end, 2005's Most Wanted is a tossed-off hodgepodge of seven previously released songs (including the hits "So Yesterday" and "Fly"), three new remixes (including one of the hit "Come Clean"), and three new songs. Nothing screams contractual obligation quite like this kind of grab bag, and hardcore fans will be hard-pressed for a reason to add this to their collection, since they not only have nearly everything here, the new songs -- the single "Wake Up," which sounds like a sweet-natured, slightly listless spin on
Gwen Stefani's "Cool"; the persistent electro-pulse of "Beat of My Heart"; the lightweight
Ashlee Simpson-styled rocker "Break My Heart" -- sound a bit like leftovers. While this isn't a terrible album by any means, it's not particularly a good one, since
Duff's two pop albums have distinctive personalities that don't necessarily mesh together (2003's
Metamorphosis is unabashed teen pop, 2004's Hilary Duff is a post-
Ashlee/
Avril rock makeover), and are both more fun than this. If all you're looking for is the two hits on one disc (and you don't really mind that one is remixed, not in the version that you heard on the radio), Most Wanted suits the bill. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine