Very Best Of Kim Wilde, The - Kim Wilde > Reviews > A chip off the old block

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Plenty of good pop/dance numbers and one classic
Disadvantages:	One or two dull ones

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Dad Marty was one of rock'n'roll's most accomplished performers of the pre-Beatles era, and daughter Kim proved herself a chip off the old block with a career that started in 1981 and has flourished, albeit with ups and downs, ever since. Good songs and good hooks have kept her riding high, and as her albums tended to be two or three goodies and too many fillers, a 'Best of' is the answer. From her early days on the RAK label, "Kids in America" and "Chequered Love" still sound glorious, and after her move to MCA she shone again with the effervescent "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (a good example of how to cover a Supremes track properly, unlike Bananarama's pallid "Nathan Jones" three years later), her duet with Junior Giscombe, "Another Step (Closer To You)", the lovely "You Came", and the Hi-NRG "Never Trust A Stranger". "If I Can't Have You" was always a rather uninteresting song and she can't really do much for it, but we're all allowed the odd lapse.
But in my opinion, the real 22-carat corker on this collection is her 1985 Top 20 hit, "Rage To Love", a superb rockabilly tune which, her vocals apart, sounds like the Stray Cats. It was remixed by none ther than the mighty Dave Edmunds - now, a Kim album with Dave producing, there's a thought!