Search - Kim Wilde :: Teases & Dares

Was fantastic. Now I'm older

Daniel J. Hamlow | 11/29/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm 33 years old now (and Kim's about 40 with children!). When I first heard her voice and - at the tender age of 15 - saw her sing I was captivated. Somehow after all this time I still cannot lose my enthusiasm for her. But is the music any good? And is this album any good? Well yes and no. When I was half as old as I am now she was the absolute last word in pure, quality, sexy, powerful, stylish pop. Today? Well, I'm a bit more sensible.I still continued to collect her music, (mainly out of loyalty) however and I have to say, some of the tracks on this album really do stand the test of time. Bladerunner has a very clever, well written feel to it with an interesting approach. This is not early eighties mindless pop - even if it is a bit silly at times. Even more raw (and immature but none the worse for that) was an earlier album, "Select" with, in an innocent kind of way, more powerful tracks still. Is this album an improvement? Well it's clearly progression but looking back on it it's still difficult to say it's quality with any kind of credibility. I'm really, really trying to say something significant about Kim's wonderful music but to be honest, this album is really just "nice noise". A lot of these song's lyrics really don't stand up to close scrutiny but then no-one ever said Kim Wilde stood for anything except harmless pop. "Fit In" is a perfect example of a young girl (I think this is the only track she actually wrote herself on this album and in fact probably represents Kim's first attempt at writing) learning to express emotions. It's really a bit weak.Songwriting aside, "Janine" is altogether a much more polished piece. Quite powerful in a young 'not very confident' kind of way this really does have a very likeable, strong melody and is delivered in an honest, sincere way that is reminiscent of a lot of Kim's early work.If you don't expect quality to rival Debbie Harry, Aimee Mann, or Cyndi Lauper then Kim Wilde has a whole lot to offer, even today. I still have enormous, sentimental respect for a singer who I know is not first rate but still has enough for me to have bought every one of her albums.Buy this album simple because she's so gorgeous!"

Very Good Synthesizer-Pop Music

11/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kim Wilde is a very good pop artist. She has good vocals all the way through this album. My favourite tracks are "The Touch", "Janine", "Rage to Lover", "The Second Time", etc. If you enjoy pop music,go and get this album. Since the tracklistings are not present, here they are: 1. The Touch, 2. Is It Over?, 3. Suburbs of Moscow, 4. Fit In, 5. Rage to Love, 6. The Second Time, 7. Bladerunner, 8. Janine, 9. Shangi-La, 10. Thought It Was Goodbye."

Heavily synthesizer-oriented album for Kim isn't bad

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 08/15/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The third album from Kim Wilde wasn't exactly a favorite of mine when I first bought it back in 1988, but having rediscovered it on CD in 1994 through the East Coast import company Voice Records, I've come to regard this as one of Ms. Wilde's treasured jewels. Certain songs made her one of pop's queens of betrayed and unrequited love. With such introspective songs, she's one of the rare romantics of our time.Teases & Dares, an exercise in Mini Moog, Yamaha DX7, and Synclavier synthesizers, was released in 1984 and in a year that saw Prince and the Revolution, Bruce Springsteen, and Tina Turner dominate the charts in the U.S., it's hardly surprising that Kim Wilde went unnoticed. Yet in assessing the releases of 1984 today, I see that it helped boost the use of electronic rhythm and sounds, as evidenced by the first two songs on the album. And comparing this with the power-pop/rock of her breakthrough debut album, it shows how Kim evolved with each new album, just like David Bowie and Prince.I get a sense of isolation, loneliness, and crisis in self in "Suburbs Of Moscow."The next song, "Fit In", is a sad lonely song that espouses anything but automatically going with the flow. Yes, loneliness is the cost of free and different, but is it worth it, is what I get from this song. The theme is to a par with Missing Person's "Go Against The Flow.""Rage To Love" is an upbeat number with pounding bass rhythm and that "doobee doop doop wop wop!" chorus. Not only do I like this but I remember Genesis having a Kim Wilde poster promoting this song on the wall in their "Anything She Does" video back in 1986. The small things I remember from way back then!"The Second Time" An interesting aside on this song: the cassette lists this song as "Go For It." Okay, whatever. No matter what the title, it still kicks butt with its funky synthesizer beat."Bladerunner" is a haunting sci-fi fantasy, with bits of dialogue from the Ridley Scott film in the background.The most energetic cut here is "Janine" (not the David Bowie song from Space Oddity), and would qualify as a crucial cut in a 1980's revival dance party, along with songs from other Wilde albums like "Kids In America," "Hit Him," and "You Came." The last two songs, "Shangri-La" and "Thought It Was Goodbye" demonstrate how Kim Wilde is well-suited for slow numbers. The chorus of how we wouldn't know "Shangri-La" if it hit us in the face shows further proof that Kim is an idealist. The goal of idealists are to find themselves, but they may become so deeply engrossed their authentic or perfect self, that they lose sight of what they might have found. "Shangri-La" seems to travel along the same lines.Kim's next album would have a different sound altogether and would bring her a #1 single here and in the U.K., but that's another review. Stay tuned!"