Man, Kim Wilde just hasn't been working out for me. Knee deep in her entire discography from the 80's, and a big fan of her single, Kids In America, I was really hoping to find a new favorite artist. So fart, that's not been at all how things have worked out.
To make matters worse, today's Retro Spin brings us to her 1983 released Catch As Catch Can, which critically was a failure. This doesn't exactly set hopes high. Probably the most noteworthy mention for the album was its initial scarcity on CD format.
CD technology had just been released when the album was released, and as such, it was among one of the earliest to be released on the new format. However, this was only in Japan. As a result, it became a highly sought after, and cost, collectible for Wilde fans since then.
It wouldn't be until 1995 that EMI would release it on CD in other countries as part of a three disc set called The Originals. This set would feature her three RAK Records releases, which included her self titled debut, Select, and Catch As Catch Can. Unfortunately, this was a limited release, and it too went on to be scarce and expensive.
Catch As Catch Can finally saw a broader CD release in 2009 by Cherry Pop, who were remastering and re-releasing multiple albums from Wilde. This version also included a series of bonus tracks featuring b-sides, 7 and 12 inch mixes, as well as instrumental versions of select songs.
That's a whole lot of drama for an album that was relatively panned as her worst to date (at the time). So, I guess with that said, let's dive in and see just how bad it is.
Ironically, House Of Salome, the album opener was really good. Not quite as good, but okay, was the following, Back Street Joe. But, then things went South.
By the time the excessively long intro for song five, Dream Sequence began, I found myself saying, "Can we please move things along here?" At six minutes, the song felt long for the sake of being long. The instrumental intro itself was a minute and a half long. If that wasn't a nuisance enough, the tempo is so slow in comparison to everything prior to it.
From there, I walked away, made a phone call, did some laundry, came back, saw the album was still on, typed this sentence, and sat through the remaining two songs. As I'm sure you can tell, overall, this was not an impressive listening session.
As for Kim Wilde, she left RAK Records after the album's release, and signed with MCA. Her next two releases, 1984's Teases & Dares, and 1986's Another Step, would both fail on the front of album certifications. However, they do each contain a song I know I like from Wilde. So, we'll see how they pan out.
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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS September 4, 1982 |
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