straightorbroken
rebel heart
The artistic migration of Kim Wilde from Debbie Harry variant to glossy wind-machine pop goddess suffered somewhat with 1990s Love Moves relative sales slump, but the singer enjoyed something of a minor commercial rebirth with her 8th album Love Is in 1992. Kim’s pop professionalism fuses real pop sounds onto her stock and trade electronic numbers. Buying herself a hit single, Love Is Holy saw the singer damage the UK top 15 for the first time in 5 years with a Belinda Carlisle reject. The Girls Aloud esque Who Do You Think You Are possesses a retro flair. The dated I Believe In You is a huge favourite with its fast pace, surly verses and naff production. The plaintive rock-ballad Million Miles Away might be an A-Ha rip-off, but happens to be an excellent one. Ill-chosen single Heart Over Mind would have been a nice Wilson Phillips album closer. Try Again is those closest she gets to reaching the heights of her best ballads Can You Hear It and Someday. When Kim gets distressed about the world’s problems I usually give her the wide berth, but whatever newspaper headline she read that day must have really struck a chord. Weepy closer Too Late lights the same match twice, though it does have that satisfying final track feeling. Left off for whatever reason, I've Found A Reason goes on the rampage, one of her best. Birthday Song reaches Mylene Farmer levels of greatness, it's another stunning outtake that's better than the unmentioned filler throughout the album.
