Kim Wilde
's fifth album was her eventual American breakthrough, finally giving the British singer a Top Ten hit with a
Hi-NRG
cover of
the Supremes
'
"You Keep Me Hangin' On."
Competent but not groundbreaking, it was a perfectly fine, albeit not particularly memorable, single, which pretty much sums up the rest of
Another Step
as well. All of
Wilde
's previous records were produced by her brother
Ricky Wilde
, but although he's in charge of not quite half of this album, the rest is essayed by the
Michael Jackson
-related hitmaking team of
Bruce Swedien
and
Rod Temperton
,
synth pop
expert
Richard James Burgess
, and, on two tracks,
herself. Naturally, the tag-team approach gives
a frustratingly all-over-the-place feel, but
's voice, considerably improved from chirpy early records like
"Kids in America,"
mostly holds the album together. The album's other singles, the
Temperton
/
Swedien
effort
"Say You Really Want Me"
(which, to no one's surprise, sounds like a
reject) and the
soul-pop
duet with
British R&B
singer
Junior
"Another Step (Closer to You),"
sound like label-mandated product. Other tracks, like the perky
"I Got So Much Love"
and the downright giddy
"Schoolgirl,"
are more listenable, but the now-dated state-of-1986 production makes even the decent tunes a bit trying at times.
is an improvement over 1984's dismal
Teases and Dares
, but that's not saying much. ~ Stewart Mason