Catch as Catch Can (album)

Catch as Catch Can is the third studio album by Kim Wilde, released in autumn 1983.

Catch as Catch Can
Studio album by
Kim Wilde
Released24 October 1983
StudioRAK Studios
GenrePop, synth-pop
Length41:35
LabelRAK
ProducerRicky Wilde
Kim Wilde chronology
Select
(1982)		 Catch as Catch Can
(1983)		 Teases & Dares
(1984)
Singles from Catch as Catch Can
  1. "Love Blonde"
    Released: 18 July 1983
  2. "Dancing in the Dark"
    Released: 24 October 1983
  3. "House of Salome"
    Released: 30 January 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Having toured the UK and Europe in November and December 1982, there was a silence of six months. Kim Wilde returned with the single "Love Blonde", a jazz/swing-inspired track that lyrically mocked the blonde bombshell image that some media had dealt Kim in the previous years. But the sound was unique to the single; the rest of the album continued the electronic theme that was introduced on Select. Most of the songs were again written by Marty and Ricky Wilde, except the second single "Dancing in the Dark", which was written by Nicky Chinn and Paul Gurvitz. Ricky Wilde produced the album.

Some of the songs seemed to be telling a story ("House of Salome", which was released as a single in selected countries, and "Sing It Out for Love") whereas "Dream Sequence" was one of Marty's more imaginative lyrics, describing what seems to be a random sequence of images. The cool blue cover image was provided by photographer Sheila Rock.

The album suffered from mixed reviews in the press and the lack of successful singles. Even a second European tour could not help the decline in sales.

At the time of release, the new compact disc format was introduced. In Japan, the album was released on this new format. In later years, this release became a much sought-after item among Kim Wilde fans, who often paid more than $100 to get their hands on a copy. Elsewhere in the world, the album has been released on CD only once, as part of a 3-CD box set named The Originals (1995). Available for a limited period only, this also has become a collectable item. It was finally re-released on 18 May 2009 as a remastered special edition following Kim Wilde and Select in April.

Critical response

Catch as Catch Can received mixed reviews from contemporary critics. Record Mirror found the album to contain "something for everyone" and praised Ricky Wilde for "showing a constantly changing style and no two songs are the same". Kim's "'young and snotty'" voice was compared to Michael Jackson's on the "hot and funky" "Back Street Joe", while "Sparks" was described as "dangerously close to sounding like good old Cliff (National Pop Institution) Richard himself".[2] Smash Hits described Wilde's voice as "pretty-but-slight" and found the songs to be "a mass of uninspired synth patterns and plodding arrangements."[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Marty Wilde and Ricky Wilde except where indicated.

Side one

  1. "House of Salome" – 3:36
  2. "Back Street Joe" – 4:31
  3. "Stay Awhile" – 3:42
  4. "Love Blonde" – 4:08
  5. "Dream Sequence" – 6:06

Side two

  1. "Dancing in the Dark" (Nicky Chinn, Paul Gurvitz) – 3:44
  2. "Shoot to Disable" – 3:37
  3. "Can You Hear It" – 4:29
  4. "Sparks" – 4:08
  5. "Sing It Out for Love" – 3:34
Bonus tracks (2009 remastered CD edition)
  1. "Love Blonde" (7" version)
  2. "Back Street Driver" ("Dancing in the Dark" B-side)
  3. "Love Blonde" (12" version)
  4. "Dancing in the Dark" (Nile Rodgers Re-Mix) (Chinn, Gurvitz)
  5. "Dancing in the Dark" (Instrumental) (Chinn, Gurvitz)

Personnel

Musicians

Production

  • Pete Schwier, Will Gosling, Simon Schofield, Keith Fernley – engineers
  • Chris Dickie, Dietmar Schillinger, Mike Nocito – tape ops
  • Nile Rodgers – mixing on "Dancing in the Dark"

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[4] Gold 20,000[4]
France (SNEP)[5] none 166,100[6]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Mason, Stewart. "Kin Wilde - Catch as Catch Can review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  2. "Review - Catch as Catch Can". Record Mirror. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  3. "Review - Catch as Catch Can". Smash Hits. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  4. "Kim Wilde" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  5. "French album certifications – Kim Wilde – Catch as catch can" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  6. http://www.infodisc.fr/Ventes_Albums_Tout_Temps.php?debut=2650
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