The Toy Box: Kim Wilde

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Retro Spins: Kim Wilde - Close

We're at the finish line on our journey through Kim Wilde. It started out rough, got a little better, then tapered off a little bit. However, things could definitely end on a high note.

Why?

Because today we're diving into her 1988 released, Close. It's Wilde's most successful album to date. It not only returned the singer to the UK top ten with multiple singles, but the album itself would spend eight months in the UK album charts.

Lead single, Hey Mister Heartache, saw Kim and Junior collaborating again, and while the track did become a hit, it was overshadowed by her second single, You Came. The latter would reach the top ten in multiple countries, as well as the top forty in the USA. Her third and fourth singles, Never Trust A Stranger, and Four Letter Words, also reached top ten status in the UK. Attention for the album would further be bolstered by Wilde appearing as a special guest, and opening act for the European leg of Michael Jackson's Bad tour.

Okay, that sets the bar pretty high. Let's see where this goes.

Very adult contemporary, is what I would label the majority of Close. It has a much more mature sound than her prior pop efforts, which while not necessarily a bad thing, also attributes to part of its lack of charm. A comparative example would be Duran Duran's Notorious (1986). Wherein you get a more mature sound, a series of good tracks, but also leaves you with a yearning for some more of that bubblegum pop that drew you to them in the first place. That's what Close is ultimately lacking. A good bit of cheesy pop, which serves no other purpose than to get your toes tapping.

Overall, the album didn't resonate with me, and in hindsight, perhaps that's my fault. See, when you listen to an entire discography back to back you lose something. That loss is the length of time that those albums came about. See, if I were to have heard Wilde's albums each year, I would have gotten the opportunity to grow up with them, in essence maturing with Kim, and better adapting to the changing themes and tones. However, because I went from bubblegum pop to maturity, literally overnight, this sudden shift feels out of place from what my ears were accustomed to hearing.

Close is not a bad album. Not by a long shot. However, it also didn't have songs that screamed to me, "You must add these to your shuffle list." At the end of it, I passed on all of them.

I suppose, if nothing else, I'm glad that Kim ended her 80's era of music on a high note, for her, the highest it ever peaked. She's also continued to release music since, with her most recent being just this year, January 2025's Closer. At the age of 64, she seems to have no desire to stop anytime soon.

As for me, I'm off to find my next discography to complain about.

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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.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 7, 1985

Retro Spins: Kim Wilde - Another Step

Two more albums to go in my Kim Wilde journey, and it all continues today with 1986's Another Step.

While Kim continued to make minor waves in Germany and the UK, she had yet to really pop in the USA. Things would only seem to get worse when her first single, Schoolgirl flopped upon release. However, fortune would smile with the release of her second, a cover of The Supremes Keep Me Hanging On. Her version would reach number two in the UK, and become her first and only number one in the USA.

With its success, Wilde became the fifth female UK artist to have a number one hit in the USA. The single would also revitalize her career in the UK, and this was further aided by the third single, and duet with Junior, Another Step (Closer To You).

As I listened to the album, I found myself rather enjoying it all. The first five tracks, You Keep Me Hanging On, Hit Him, Another Step (Closer To You), The Thrill Of It, and I've Got So Much Love were all pretty solid. It all featured great guitar licks, and Kim, herself, was also at the top of her game vocally. Finally, she was getting the material she deserved.

The energy dropped significantly with the CD and cassette "bonus track", Victim, and didn't boost at all with the failed single, Schoolgirl.

Then the entire album seemed to shift in style, from funk driven Say You Really Want Me, to the Motown style She Hasn't Got Time For You. It was certainly unique, sometimes in a good way, but overall, unmemorable. Truthfully, while I dug the Kim Wilde meets Michael Jackson thriller funk of Say You Really Want Me, I lost interest in the album from that point on.

Perhaps it was just too drastic a shift, but Another Step really didn't finish out as strongly as it started for me. In fact, it was kind of boring by the end of it. I actually skipped the last two ballad heavy tracks after giving them a brief opportunity to impress. I was just done at that point.

As for Kim, she teamed up with Mel Smith in 1987 to record and release the Christmas single, Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree. The song would produce another top ten hit for her, but not be her final chart topper. In 1988, her final for the era, Kim would release Close. It would go on to become her biggest selling album of all time.

Well, that's big expectations being set, and one I'll be checking out tomorrow to see if the juice is worth the squeeze.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 6, 1980

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 6, 1986

Retro Spins: Kim Wilde - Teases & Dares

Today we continue the lackluster discography journey of Kim Wilde. She's an artist I really wanted to love, invested a lot of funds into her full 80's discography, and so far, have not been seeing the return via fantastic songs.

Wilde left her original label, RAK in 1983, signing with MCA for her 1984 studio album, and fourth to date, Teases & Dares. It failed to find commercial success in her home country, faring better in Germany, France, and Scandinavia. M'boy! The bar is already set so high.

Despite its lackluster debut, it did produce a couple of charting singles, The Second Time, which was a top ten hit in Germany, and top thirty in the UK. While the second single, The Touch failed, the third, Rage To Love, would become a top twenty hit in the UK. Okay, so it's not a total loss.

Taking a deep breath, and diving in, I'm met with the opening track, and aforementioned failed single, The Touch. It's not terrible, and gives me a bit of hope that maybe the critics just missed something when initially hearing it. This was followed by Is It Over, and Suburbs In Moscow, both which I really dug.

Things tapered off with the ballad, Fit In, but quickly jumped back to up tempo with Rage To Love. It's a song familiar to the sounds of The Stray Cats, a band which I'm also needing to get into (very soon).

The second half of the album opens with The Second Time, a surprise hit which initially turned me on to Teases & Dare. It's one that's been on my shuffle list for some time now, and I frequently let it play through when it comes around. I dig the funky bass line which drives the track. There were a handful of tracks which finished the album out, and among them, Janine, and Shangri-La stood out.

With all of this I have to say that overall I really enjoyed listening to this one. Where was this Kim Wilde three studio releases ago? Further, what were the critics talking about? This gives me hope to continue my journey through her final two 80's releases.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 5, 1981

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 5, 1987

Retro Spins: Kim Wilde - Catch As Catch Can

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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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 4, 1982

Retro Spins: Kim Wilde - Select

It's been a long time since I listened to a Kim Wilde album, and it's time for her to get her chance back in the spotlight.

Kim Smith was born to mother Joyce Baker, and father, Marty Wilde (AKA Reginald Smith), the latter a highly successful rock and roller. Marty scored several 1950s and 1960s hit singles including Endless Sleep, Sea of Love and Bad Boy, being among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll. Between her father and brother, Ricky, who wrote virtually all of her material, Kim would find major success as a solo artist.

This all began when brother Ricky, who was actively worked on his own producing career used his sister for backing vocals on a demo. This was heard by producer Mickie Most, who took an immediate interest in Kim's voice. Working with her father and brother, the demo for Kids In America was recorded, and presented to Most, who was blown away. He signer her to RAK Records, and work commenced on her 1981 self titled debut.

While this album didn't fare well with me, critics gave it favorable reviews. The initial demo, now turned first single, reached number two in the UK, and became a top five hit in several other countries. However, in the US, it would peak at number twenty-five. Follow-up single, Chequered Love, would also become a top five hit in several countries, while the third and final single, Water On Glass, would peak at number eleven in the UK.

Her 1982 follow-up, Select, while not as successful as her debut sales wise, would produce two France number one hits, Cambodia, and View From A Bridge. Kim was hesitant to perform live shows, and this caused a bit of controversy for the singer. She would finally perform live for the first time in Denmark in September of 1982 before embarking on a tour of the UK.

Listening to Select, I was greeted by album opener, Ego. It was fairly solid, and a good starting point. However, as things progressed from there, I found myself tapering off in interest.

I was hoping that single, View From A Bridge, would be a turning point, getting me back in the fold, and serving to make me a fan. This didn't happen. Frankly, I'm not sure how it reached number one. Especially in 1982, when there were so many amazing singles. This song was just okay.

The irony here is that I really like Kim's voice. It's distinct, unique, and can definitely grab your attention. However, the material she's working with, for the most part, isn't that good. It's kind of disappointing because I really want her to smash it out of the park. It's really disappointing because I also made it a point to track down all of her studio albums. It was one of those bug bit me days, and suddenly, I needed them all in my collection. Maybe that was my fault. Maybe I expected too much.

When Can You Come Over came on, and was followed by Wendy Said, I started to hear something. That was a mixture of distinct 50's / 60's jukebox style writing, mixed with 80's new wave. While I get that this makes sense with the origin of the two songwriters, her father and brother, something else dawned on me. For that answer, I thought back to my listening session of New Edition's doo-wop cover tribute album, Under The Blue Moon. Specifically, what I didn't like about that release. Individually, I love these two eras, but when combined, it just doesn't work for me. This could be why I frequently want to like Kim Wilde, but don't. Even the final track, and subsequently last single, Cambodia, didn't hit any high notes with me.

I'm dying her, Kim. I want to get into your music, but it's just not working for me.

1983's Catch As Catch Can was the last album she released on RAK Records before moving to new label MCA. However, the album would not be successful. Great...I guess I have that to look forward to.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 3, 1983

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 3, 1988

Retro Spins: Kim Wilde - Kim Wilde

Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde
1981

Welcome back to another Retro Spins - My second to be exact.

Last week I listened to Survivor's Eye of the Tiger, which turned out to be a fantastic bit of tunes with four new tracks making their way to my IPOD shuffle.

Sadly, Kim Wilde didn't fare as well.

Kim's self-titled debut album from June of 1981 is all over the place in terms of music styles. You get solid rock tracks, pop, a splash of punk, even a dash of Caribbean and of course slow ballads. Unfortunately, this mix match of styles doesn't allow the album to flow as smoothly as it could. Just as you're getting into a certain style the tone changes and you find yourself readjusting only to rinse and repeat.

The album is notable for its singles Kids in America and Chequered Love. Kids in America hit the charts in May of 1982 - Almost a full year after the album's initial release, but despite climbing the charts throughout the weeks never pulled its way to number one in this year. The latter track while a popular single among fans never managed to pique on the charts.

I will give the album a thumbs up for not only its two tracks noted above, but also Water on Glass and You'll Never Be So Wrong which got added to the IPOD shuffle during the Retro Spins listening session. They're not as catchy as Kids or Chequered, but they're decent tunes which I could listen to a couple more times.

Overall, though, this is not one of my favorite albums. It has some good tracks, but due to the consistent changing music styles it makes it a little difficult to get into it.

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