Review – Kim Wilde

Kim Wilde is a fresh girl of only 20 years. She is the daughter of Marty Wilde, who hit the charts some 20 years ago himself with a couple of hits. Kim only sings the songs written by her father and brother Ricky (19). Brother also produced the record. It sounds like a family business with Kim as the flag. And I have to sa ythe her first hit “Kids in America”, which made our country in the spring, is a very classy hit. It was such a hit that it soon had a follow-up called “Chequered love”. Both are on her selftitled album which was just released. It seems like dad with his experience in the business knows exactly what to write, and that he has supported his daughter exactly in the right way to do things in the business that made an impact immediately. Her songs are so slick, so controlled, so professionally made, that I have doubts about the input of daughter herself. And that in turn means that I have the wrong criteria to judge the music.
Let’s be clear. The record industry has one main goal: to sell records. What did you think? They are interested in artists that sell the most records. For them it may be what it is, just as long as it sells. That doesn’t mean there are no intelligent hits: a good melody, original ideas in the music, a good story that makes for an impressive video. The collection of songs by Kim Wilde meets these criteria perfectly. On top of that Kim has a beautiful voice. There’s no more than that, and this strange record doesn’t want to be more than that.