Kim+wilde

There's no doubt many heard Kim Wilde searching for the beat on "Kids in America," but know now that she finds it – thus, the rest of this sterling debut comes dangerously close in quality to that killer kickoff. The second cut, "Water on Glass," follows the sound from the wild streets to Wilde's brain, maintaining a high level of exuberant class. Weird staccato runs down the streets of "Our Town," while "Everything We Know" chills into an icy groove. Wilde only wants to be free in "Young Heroes," and by side two's single, "Chequered Love," she gives permission to touch her and do anything (surprising, considering her pro-pop dad and brother wrote the whole LP). Hard guitars and xylophones get physical, until horns and ska skip into "2-6-5-8-0"; by this point in the record, Wilde can pull off anything she wants, and ends up sounding like a No Doubt B-side. "You'll Never Be So Wrong" mellows the turgid tempo but not the precise passion, and she just plain gets upset in "Falling Out." From the womb to the end of "Tuning in Turning On," Kim Wilde is one excellent inaugural, one excellent chapter in the evolution of hi-NRG, and one excellent slab everyone should own.

Close is the sixth studio album by Kim Wilde, released in 1988. Produced by Ricky Wilde and Tony Swain, Close was the final album on which Marty Wilde had co-writer credits. The album is widely perceived by fans and critics (and Kim herself) as Wilde's most well-balanced, with many kinds of pop represented: dance, ballad, rock and midtempo. The album's lead single was "Hey Mister Heartache", featuring backing vocals from Junior Giscombe — but its success was dwarfed by the follow-up single, You Came, which hit the Top 10 in many countries and just missed the U.S. Top 40. "Never Trust a Stranger" and "Four Letter Word" also reached the UK Top 10, although a fifth single "Love in the Natural Way" was less successful.

Love Is is the eighth studio album by Kim Wilde, released in spring 1992. Kim Wilde found herself working with Rick Nowels on this album, the same songwriter who had written for Belinda Carlisle and later for Madonna amongst others. Three of the eleven tracks were produced by him while the remaining eight were produced by Ricky Wilde. The majority of the tracks on this album were co-written by Kim. She'd taken a long hard look at herself, resulting in the song "Who Do You Think You Are?", in which she reflects on how she had behaved through the years in her career. There were more love songs on this album; titles such as "Touched By Your Magic" and "Heart Over Mind" are an indication of the themes of the lyrics.