I am so pleased to be the first person to review this album!

After 11 long years, Ms. Wilde returns with her 10th album of original music, aptly titled NEVER SAY NEVER. See, Kim, it never pays to say you have retired from the music business! :) Your fans won't let you!

Being one of Kim's strongest fans in the U.S., I have been on pins and needles to get this CD. It's been in my CD player since the day I got it from Germany and WOW there is not a disappointing track on it. Welcome back Kim! You have made me (and so many, many other fans) very, very happy!

1 PERFECT GIRL: When Kim said she was going to do a rock chick CD, she was not kidding. What a perfect opening song! Sort of reminds me of the duet she did recently with Nena ANYTIME ANYWHERE ANYPLACE.

2 YOU CAME: So much has been said about this remake. So beautiful, and video is fantastic! (Buy the Deluxe edition. I thought the DVD player would have to be able to play PAL format -- which mine does -- but this played fine in my NTSC iMac. You get the video for this song and In Bed With Kim Wilde - the alternate video!)

3 TOGETHER WE BELONG: Beautiful, sexy song. The beginning is so nice, again Nena-ish / Kim Wilde AAA sound.

4 FORGIVE ME: If there was ever a song to wake us up about how we are destroying our world, this is it. Haunting lyrics, gorgeous melody!

5 FOUR LETTER WORD: Always one of my most favorite Kim songs, this remake is now a beauty. Even more beautiful than the original!

6 YOU KEEP ME HANGIN ON FEATURING NENA. How nice to see Nena be a part of Kim's grand comeback. Great song (again)! The original video for this song is still a dance club classic!

7 BABY OBEY ME: The slowest song on the CD, it's beautiful.

8 KIDS IN AMERICA: What would an album of remade Kim classics be without this song? Still the best!

9 I FLY: Another rock chick song! Fantastic! I predict this will become a radio staple before long.

10 GAME OVER: Sexy drums and ryhtms, this song could have been on any of Kim's original RAK albums... it's that classy!

11 LOST WITHOUT YOU: Haunting, sexy, a classic in the making.

12 VIEW FROM A BRIDGE: A welcome Kim original remake, this one is even sexier and more haunting. An excellent selection to remake!

13 MAYBE I'M CRAZY: On Kim's You Came 2006 single, this song is strong enough to stand on it's own. As a matter of fact, I am surprised it was not released by itself as a single. One of my favorite new Kim songs! Excellent, most excellent. Let's see a hot video for this!

14 CAMBODIA Paul Oakenfield Remix: a fitting remake to end this fantastic new album.

Now buy it! Let's make Kim's comeback the best comeback ever! Her fans have known for years that she had much more music in her. Let's hope this is just the beginning of many, many more years of new music!

KIM RETURNS IN FANTASTIC FORM, NOW LET'S SUPPORT HER!

It took a decade, but Kim has finally released an album that brings her back to her pop-punk and new wave roots. After a tease of a `new wave' sounding rocker with Nena a few years back, she brings it all home with this album, which is a perfect blend of guitar punk-pop and electro dance tracks, including remakes of many of her classics. Personally, I'd have preferred it be ALL Kim on Kids in America, but it doesn't really hurt the flow of things, and it's cool to have Nena return the duet favor on You Keep Me Hangin On. Here's the balance:

1. Perfect Girl (perfect punk pop, with great rhythm guitar and a sexy girl group melody reminiscent of Kim's classics from the early 80s. My vote for next single with a kick butt electro house mix!!!)

2. You Came (rock remake of her synthdance classic from the late 80s. I prefer the groovenut dance mix on the import CD single. Get it while it's hot!)

3. Together We Belong (slower rocker, great catchy chorus)

4. Forgive Me (crazy sexy synth/electropop dance track)

5. Four Letter Word (was never crazy about the original, but this version, still a downtempo track, is somewhat better)

6. You Keep Me Hangin On (duet with Nena, excellent synthdance update)

7. baby obey me (eek! This sounds like a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song--think "Under the Bridge")

8. Kids In America (so hard for ANYONE to remake this classic, even Kim herself. This duet sounds like something that would have been remade by Hilary Duff for one of her films, the way she remade the Go-Gos)

9. I Fly (major punk-pop rocker)

10. Game Over (another punk-pop rocker)

11. Lost Without You (moody, grungy rocker)

12. View from a Bridge (a speedy electropop dance remake--chorus sounds awkward this fast, but overall, a good modern remake)

13. Maybe I'm Crazy (the most commercial house/dance track on here. Catchy, maybe too catchy)

14. Cambodia (disappointed. Expected more from an Oakenfold mix of this remake. It's a trancy breakbeat mix that sort of takes kim's vocals for granted)

I've been a fan since the early days and watched her continued progress with joy. This album keeps the old Kim style but adds the edge from her first albums. Even if you're not a "fan," this is solid, well-produced contemporary pop. Welcome back! You've been missed.

Okay, Kim is back, and it's not all good, but it's not all bad either. Major gripe? Naturally, we wait 11 years and get half an album full of remakes of old hits, mostly popular overseas. Let's hit those first:

"You Came:" This has been played on the internet so many times, I think I actually like it better than then old version from Close sometimes. It's less slicked over and more "rockified" if there is such a word, and it could work on U.S. radio if her age weren't so against her. America hasn't been very kind to her in the first place, proving once and for all how much more open minded the European musical market is.

"Four Letter Word:" It was so beautiful to begin with. Why ruin it with this shoddy arrangement?

"You Keep Me Hangin' On (featuring Nena):" Excellent. The best remake on this album, and way better than the hit single from Another Step. This kicks holy anus in a very, very good and dancable way!

"Kids in America (with Charlotte Hatherley):" Not all that different from the original version off the debut, but more motorbike-ish and cool.

"View From a Bridge:" We've seen this view before, and it was prettier in 1982.

"Cambodia:" This just plain sucks, and there isn't any way around it. The old version walks all over it!

The rest of the album is an interesting exercise in a retired rock star coming back to reclaim her old crown. With the help of Nena's longtime producer Uwe, she pulls off a reasonalbly good return with songs that celebrate her early twenties sound, except with a fresh rocker vitality she's been missing for a very long time. Songs like "Perfect Girl," the Kylie-esque "Baby Obey Me," and "Game Over" alone are worth acquiring this disc for, not to mention the superb interview on the bonus disk. I just love Kim's wicked little laugh!

This isn't one of Kim's glory days albums and, after 11 years of retirement, what can you expect, but you should check it out if you're a big Kim Wilde fan for as long as I've been (I have 25 years behind me). Sure, I prefer her more poppy, but it was this style that brought me to her in the first place. If you're a new fan, I say welcome; you have so much more wonderful KW music to discover.

I was worried that all of the positive reviews were coming from fans who would love anything new with Kim Wilde's name on it. But boy was I wrong!

This is a fun, updated Kim Wilde that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's slightly more guitar heavy than her earlier stuff, but it didn't lose any of the electronic and fun side I've enjoyed from earlier Kim Wilde songs. Not only did a number of the songs become quick favorites, but the remake of Kids in America is a perfect upgrade to the original for the year 2006.

Pick it up! You'll enjoy it!