At the beginning of the '90s, teen currency shifted from {\bubblegum}'n'{~Tiger Beat} to {\grunge}'n'{~Maximum Rock & Roll}. Although it may have been pushed from the spotlight, {\teen pop} hadn't died -- in a way, it went underground, spending time on the fringes of pop culture. One of the leading lights of the exiled teen brigade was {#The New Mickey Mouse Club}. For several years, it toiled away on the {@Disney Network}, earning a small fan base -- but, more importantly, providing a launch pad for several careers, including that of {$Britney Spears}. Like her fellow {#NMMC} alumni, {$'N Sync}, {$Spears} shot to stardom in the late '90s, just as she was on the verge of late adolescence. By that time, everything old was new again. Albums like her debut, {^...Baby One More Time}, were topping the charts as if they were {^Hangin' Tough}, which is only appropriate since it sounded as if it could have been cut in 1989, not 1999. {^...Baby One More Time} has the same blend of infectious, {\rap}-inflected {\dance-pop} and smooth balladry that propelled {$the New Kids on the Block} and {$Debbie Gibson}; due to {$the Backstreet Boys}' producer, {$Max Martin}, who is also the mastermind behind {$Spears}' debut. He has a knack for catchy hooks, endearing melodies, and engaging {\Euro-dance} rhythms, all of which are best heard on the hits: the ingenious title track, {&"Sometimes,"} {&"(You Drive Me) Crazy,"} and the utterly delightful, {\bubblegum}/{\ragga} album track {&"Soda Pop."} Like many {\teen pop} albums, {^...Baby One More Time} has its share of well-crafted filler, but the singles, combined with {$Britney}'s burgeoning charisma, make this a pretty great piece of fluff. [The import edition includes a bonus CD.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide