Disco de Kim Wilde: “Never Say Never”

It took a decade, but Kim has finally released an album that brings her back to her pop-punk and new wave roots. After a tease of a `new wave' sounding rocker with Nena a few years back, she brings it all home with this album, which is a perfect blend of guitar punk-pop and electro dance tracks, including remakes of many of her classics. Personally, I'd have preferred it be ALL Kim on Kids in America, but it doesn't really hurt the flow of things, and it's cool to have Nena return the duet favor on You Keep Me Hangin On. Here's the balance:

1. Perfect Girl (perfect punk pop, with great rhythm guitar and a sexy girl group melody reminiscent of Kim's classics from the early 80s. My vote for next single with a kick butt electro house mix!!!)

2. You Came (rock remake of her synthdance classic from the late 80s. I prefer the groovenut dance mix on the import CD single. Get it while it's hot!)

3. Together We Belong (slower rocker, great catchy chorus)

4. Forgive Me (crazy sexy synth/electropop dance track)

5. Four Letter Word (was never crazy about the original, but this version, still a downtempo track, is somewhat better)

6. You Keep Me Hangin On (duet with Nena, excellent synthdance update)

7. baby obey me (eek! This sounds like a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song--think "Under the Bridge")

8. Kids In America (so hard for ANYONE to remake this classic, even Kim herself. This duet sounds like something that would have been remade by Hilary Duff for one of her films, the way she remade the Go-Gos)

9. I Fly (major punk-pop rocker)

10. Game Over (another punk-pop rocker)

11. Lost Without You (moody, grungy rocker)

12. View from a Bridge (a speedy electropop dance remake--chorus sounds awkward this fast, but overall, a good modern remake)

13. Maybe I'm Crazy (the most commercial house/dance track on here. Catchy, maybe too catchy)

14. Cambodia (disappointed. Expected more from an Oakenfold mix of this remake. It's a trancy breakbeat mix that sort of takes kim's vocals for granted)

I am so pleased to be the first person to review this album!

After 11 long years, Ms. Wilde returns with her 10th album of original music, aptly titled NEVER SAY NEVER. See, Kim, it never pays to say you have retired from the music business! :) Your fans won't let you!

Being one of Kim's strongest fans in the U.S., I have been on pins and needles to get this CD. It's been in my CD player since the day I got it from Germany and WOW there is not a disappointing track on it. Welcome back Kim! You have made me (and so many, many other fans) very, very happy!

1 PERFECT GIRL: When Kim said she was going to do a rock chick CD, she was not kidding. What a perfect opening song! Sort of reminds me of the duet she did recently with Nena ANYTIME ANYWHERE ANYPLACE.

2 YOU CAME: So much has been said about this remake. So beautiful, and video is fantastic! (Buy the Deluxe edition. I thought the DVD player would have to be able to play PAL format -- which mine does -- but this played fine in my NTSC iMac. You get the video for this song and In Bed With Kim Wilde - the alternate video!)

3 TOGETHER WE BELONG: Beautiful, sexy song. The beginning is so nice, again Nena-ish / Kim Wilde AAA sound.

4 FORGIVE ME: If there was ever a song to wake us up about how we are destroying our world, this is it. Haunting lyrics, gorgeous melody!

5 FOUR LETTER WORD: Always one of my most favorite Kim songs, this remake is now a beauty. Even more beautiful than the original!

6 YOU KEEP ME HANGIN ON FEATURING NENA. How nice to see Nena be a part of Kim's grand comeback. Great song (again)! The original video for this song is still a dance club classic!

7 BABY OBEY ME: The slowest song on the CD, it's beautiful.

8 KIDS IN AMERICA: What would an album of remade Kim classics be without this song? Still the best!

9 I FLY: Another rock chick song! Fantastic! I predict this will become a radio staple before long.

10 GAME OVER: Sexy drums and ryhtms, this song could have been on any of Kim's original RAK albums... it's that classy!

11 LOST WITHOUT YOU: Haunting, sexy, a classic in the making.

12 VIEW FROM A BRIDGE: A welcome Kim original remake, this one is even sexier and more haunting. An excellent selection to remake!

13 MAYBE I'M CRAZY: On Kim's You Came 2006 single, this song is strong enough to stand on it's own. As a matter of fact, I am surprised it was not released by itself as a single. One of my favorite new Kim songs! Excellent, most excellent. Let's see a hot video for this!

14 CAMBODIA Paul Oakenfield Remix: a fitting remake to end this fantastic new album.

Now buy it! Let's make Kim's comeback the best comeback ever! Her fans have known for years that she had much more music in her. Let's hope this is just the beginning of many, many more years of new music!

KIM RETURNS IN FANTASTIC FORM, NOW LET'S SUPPORT HER!

This album is a most welcome come back from Kim Wilde. To the US market she's only responsible for two 80's hits, the #1 dancy pop version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" from 1986 and of course the fierce new wavey "Kids In America" in 1982. But Kim in her home country became quite an icon, in fact she was up until the days of Kylie, the most succesful of the UK female singers. After releasing three pretty new wave classics in the early 80's she switched to more dance pop fare and continued to score big. But a bit of a sabbitcal left others to claim her throne, but here finally Kim decided to hit the studio again and this time she did it with an interesting concept - some new songs and some newly recorded and rearranged versions of her older classics but all in the new wavey rock vein rather than her dance mode. That is why Never Say Never had to be a part of my CD collection. Containing new rocking versions of "Kids In America", "View From A Bridge", "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (with Nena returning a favor as Kim appeared on a chart topping Nena song a few years ago), "You Came" and "Four Letter Word" the new songs are just as good including the opener "Perfect Girl" which would have fit on any of Kim's early albums and the very rocking "Game Over." Kim is full of sass and crass through these songs and my favorite is the ode to the planet "Forgive Me" which takes a new wave beat to the lyrics of at least one person feeling horrible for destroying our Earth.

It's hard for me to review this CD. It is obvious the past reviewers are fans of Kim as I am and have been waiting too long for a follow up to Now & Forever. I have to admit this is a solid CD and Kim rocks as hard as she did when she first started. Focusing on the remakes she did a great job on You Came and the duet on Kids In America was a pleasant suprise. On the other end of the scale Four Letter Word offered nothing new and View From The Bridge sounded as if it was bring re-recorded for 1983. I feel she could have dug deeper in her catalog and picked non-singles to re-record. There were no ballads on this CD and I would have love to have heard an updated version of Thought It Was Goodbye or She Hasn't Got Time For You '06.

As for the new tracks, I find all of them a step in the right direction. They all seemed to have a harder edge that what we are used to hearing from Kim. Personal favorites are the upcoming second single Perfect Girl, Together We Belong and Forgive Me. And although these are great tracks I can't imagine any of the new tracks as singles (from a US point of view which is extremely different from the European audience this was intended).

One last note; even though I think it would have been great, it's nice she didn't cop out and release a dance CD like any other 80's artist would have done. The Paul Oakenfold remix of Cambodia was in my opinion the best mix that has ever been done to a Kim Wilde song.

I purchased this CD and it arrived a week ago. I'm a big fan of Kim Wilde, and this CD does not disappoint. As it turns out, I could have saved some money by not buying the "Deluxe" edition, since everything on the DVD is also available on YouTube and on Kim's own web site. But now I have it, and should they ever disappear online, I'll have it on the DVD. (Amazingly enough, my computer was able to play the PAL-format DVD!)

The music is great. As with any CD, there are some tracks that I really like and some that are "just OK". As for her remakes, "You Came" rocks, and while I actually like her original version better, the new version is really good. I do like the re-recorded "Four Letter Word" better than the original. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" featuring Nena is awesome, and "Kids In America" featuring Charlotte Hatherley really kicks.

Kim's new songs reflect current musical trends, but are still unmistakably Kim Wilde. "Perfect Girl" is a perfect song, and is my favorite of her new works. I wouldn't mind hearing a ballad or two just to show off Kim's fabulous voice. Any Kim Wilde fan out there will enjoy this new CD. I highly recommend it!