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 -- it, in a way, 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 launchpad 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} 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide