Wilde & Exciting

Kim Wilde comes from a good and harmonious artists nest. Father Marty is a famous English rock & rollstar from the first hour and writes the lyrics for her modern music, while brother Ricky takes on the instrumental part of the songs. The best of it all is Kim herself. An undercooled looking girl from this time, who appeals to a broad young audience. To all girls, because they want to look just as modern but not controversial like Kim, to the fashion-aware punks because of the rough and non-conformist element in her looks and to the disco boys because of the elements of style and distinction her appearance also includes. It isn’t clear to me whether Kim is real or not. The whole Wilde circus is constructed so smartly, that this could be the latest marketing concept. Suspicious elements are the label RAK, which usually boasts one hit wonders, and the fact that Kim, despite her chart successes, isn’t performing live yet and says she hasn’t got a group to do that. Who are the three boys on her album sleeve, then? People who can only pretend and Kim Wilde’s music is really being played by session musicians? Whatever it may be, Ricky has succeeded in putting up an attractive wall of sound around Kim on this album. New wave-like and poppy rock, that is full and commercial and in which keyboards play an important role. Only in ‘Everything we know’ and ‘26580’ are little trips to reggae-like rock, but then Kim has to be careful, if she doesn’t want to be called a Blondie carbon copy. The lyrics by Marty, dealing with (romantic) business that concern twenty year olds, are rather vague, but fit well in the whole thing, that sways between progressive rock and hitparade music. And Kim recites them with her slightly hoarse voice. Commercially Kim Wilde is going to be a great name, because what is offered here is Wilde and Exciting and mostly appreciated because – if there were more Kim Wildes – today’s pop business would look a lot rosier from a business point of view.