Kim Wilde Albums (10)
What The Critics Say
Because Kim Wilde's original British label, RAK records, had been unable to establish the singer as an American star despite her 1981 semi-hit "Kids in America" -- her third album hadn't even found a U.S. distributor -- Wilde and her manager father (former '50s pop star Marty Wilde) moved to the multinational conglomerate MCA, which recast the young singer in an entirely new light. Gone was the new wave synth pop feel of her earlier work, replaced by a sleekly electronic Hi-NRG disco sound and a sexier image. Although the change in direction would reap rewards (financial ones, anyway) in the future, Teases & Dares is a limp, shaky record, probably the weakest of Wilde's career. Frustratingly, the best songs are those which hint at a more intriguing direction, that of a sort of new wave torch singer. Dramatic ballads like "Fit In," "Shangri-La," and "Thought It Was Goodbye" (all of which, interestingly, were written by Wilde herself, a new development) are much more listenable than soggy, repetitive dance tracks like "The Touch" and "The Second Time." However, both of those songs were hits, and so Wilde's future was sealed. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kim Wilde's sixth album is the first since the commercially viable but artistically weak artistic makeover that began with 1984's Teases and Dares to approach the quality of her first three albums. For the first time in three albums, Wilde sounds as if she's comfortable with the music she's making; that this music is clearly inspired by the chart success of the Stock-Aitken-Waterman production team, then having enormous hits with Bananarama, Kylie Minogue and others, might seems a little calculated, but it must be said: Stock, Aitken & Waterman had huge hits because they made unapologetically catchy, uncomplicated pop singles, and that's never a bad thing. Toning down the Hi-NRG disco sound of her two previous albums, Wilde moves into a dance-pop style that suits both the songs and her voice better. The production is handled by Ricky Wilde and Tony Swain (who had co-produced Bananarama's early records), and although it's still slick, the album isn't nearly as antiseptic as Another Step or Teases and Dares. The singles "You Came" and "Hey Mr. Heartache" are much improved (both were U.K. hits, although the album didn't generate much heat in the U.S.) over Wilde's recent chart efforts, and album tracks like "Four-Letter Word" and "European Soul" sound like the singer's having fun for the first time in a while. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kim Wilde's second album didn't score any hits on the level of the debut's "Kids in America," although the dramatic "Cambodia" was a sort of cult favorite in some circles. That said, it's a far better album than the patchy debut; the songs, again by brother Rikki Wilde with occasional collaborations by father Marty Wilde, don't have the bubblegum tinge that colored much of 1981's Kim Wilde. The arrangements are more synth-oriented, at times approaching the dark atmospherics of Japan or Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The occasionally melodramatic lyrics cover topics like police brutality and paranoia -- unsurprisingly, new insights aren't much in evidence -- and even the love songs, like the delicate "View from a Bridge," aren't exactly happy. The overall vibe of this album is so chilly that the one basically upbeat song, "Can You Come Over," sounds really out of place, but overall, it works. Wilde sings with a clinical detachment here that suits her voice quite well; whenever Wilde tries to emote musically, the results sound forced and melodramatic, but her icy edge on this album is surprisingly appealing. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kim Wilde's third album was never released in the U.S. -- EMI America had dropped the singer after 1982's career high point, Select, didn't spawn any hits -- which is a shame since this admittedly uneven album is a key transition point in her career. Catch as Catch Can is probably Wilde's most experimental album, a continuation of the dark-hued synth rock feel of Select with hints of the more commercial dance-pop sound that would characterize the rest of her career. Certainly the first single, the gimmicky, campy strut "Love Blonde," is the oddest single of Wilde's career. Elsewhere, the genuinely beautiful ballad "Can You Hear It" (probably the prettiest song Wilde ever recorded), "Sparks," and the quirky "Dream Sequence" have an atmospheric, nearly psychedelic tinge, thanks to hazy backing vocals and diffused, dreamy arrangements. However, other songs like the opening "House of Salome" and the stuttering "Back Street Joe" point toward the purely electronic Hi-NRG disco sound that would characterize 1984's Teases & Dares, and indeed pretty much every Kim Wilde release thereafter. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
There's no doubt many heard Kim Wilde searching for the beat on "Kids in America," but know now that she finds it -- thus, the rest of this sterling debut comes dangerously close in quality to that killer kickoff. The second cut, "Water on Glass," follows the sound from the wild streets to Wilde's brain, maintaining a high level of exuberant class. Weird staccato runs down the streets of "Our Town," while "Everything We Know" chills into an icy groove. Wilde only wants to be free in "Young Heroes," and by side two's single, "Chequered Love," she gives permission to touch her and do anything (surprising, considering her pro-pop dad and brother wrote the whole LP). Hard guitars and xylophones get physical, until horns and ska skip into "2-6-5-8-0"; by this point in the record, Wilde can pull off anything she wants, and ends up sounding like a No Doubt B-side. "You'll Never Be So Wrong" mellows the turgid tempo but not the precise passion, and she just plain gets upset in "Falling Out." From the womb to the end of "Tuning in Turning On," Kim Wilde is one excellent inaugural, one excellent chapter in the evolution of hi-NRG, and one excellent slab everyone should own. ~ Doug Stone, All Music Guide
