Back in 1988 when Rick Astley first came onto the music scene, I thought he would have his hit and then just fade away. True, the Stock Aitken and Waterman songs sound identical, but Rick's vocal and guitar work help to break some of the monotony. I have had this album since it was released and if you only listen to the S.A.W. hits, then you would not think this is a good effort at all.

Pass on those and listen to his originals like "Slipping Away," "No More Looking For Love," and "You Move Me," those three are just awesome! To end it all, he really gives a beautiful rendition of the standard "When I Fall In Love" that squashes the later version put out by Celine Dion. He does it a-la Nat King Cole style that pushes this record to the 4 star limit. Not quite 5 because of the cheesy S.A.W. production.

Rick deserves a hand for his TALENT. Enough said.

Rick Astley was yet another client of the 1980's Stock-Aitken-Waterman bubblegum pop hit machine like Kylie Minogue and Bananarama. His debut, Whenever You Need Somebody, yielded three hit singles including "Never Gonna Give You Up" and its equally infectious twin "Together Forever." But despite their sound, Astley was a talented vocalist from the start. Imagine Tear For Fears's Roland Orzabal lightening up but losing the falsetto-that's Rick Astley.

That S-A-W disco sound meshed with the strings-synthesizer really enhanced Astley in his #1 hit single "Never Gonna Give You Up." It sounds like a real utopian promise for girls: "Never gonna give you up/never gonna tell a lie/never gonna break your heart and desert you." Ditto "Together Forever", which despite sounding so much like the previous song, deserves special mention of its own. Anyone wanting an upbeat wedding song should play this: "Together forever and never to pass/Together forever with two/And don't you know I would move heaven and earth/to be together forever with you." Awwwwww, isn't that sweet?

The engaging title track is a cousin of Bananarama's "I Heard A Rumour," though without the splashy oomph of the trio. The third single, "It Would Take A Strong Strong Man" veers into 70's soul like Aaron Neville or Barry White. How does he feel about this woman? Take the words of the title, then add "to ever let you go."

If the couple wed to "Together Forever" ended up on the skids, they could play "The Love Has Gone" in the divorce lawyer's office. Despite the usual backbeat, Rick displays a slightly subdued tone and small wonder. He also displays a unique pinched sound at a lower register.

"Don't Say Goodbye" returns to that lively burst of sound and it does offer some source of hope that the previous song doesn't: "Time has made us strangers, maybe we can't go on/but if love can take the changes/don't say goodbye girl."

"Slipping Away" continues the pace and has some brass in it. "No More Looking For Love" has some soulful backing vocalists and Rick's lower register. "You Move Me" is a disheartening song about a man who loses his dead-end job and wonders what went wrong, but at least he has his girl. The album ends with the Nat King Cole standard "When I Fall in Love," proving that he does ballads well. For further proof, there's "Cry For Help" from his Free album.

A good start from Astley, whose last gasp of greatness would be his contribution to Elton John's Lion King song, but hey, if Kylie Minogue can make a comeback, why can't he?

Wow. This is one of those rare instances when a label just gets a reissue SO right it's ridiculous. Not only is the sound fantastic, but the original album is accompanied by pretty much EVERY single remix, b-side and rare track recorded by Astley around the time of his first album. Since Stock Aitken Waterman club mixes have been so hard to find on CD, this massive reissuing of both this album and the follow-up "Hold Me in Your Arms" is huge, because you get all the 12" remixes of all the singles. There's even the very rare pre-Never Gonna Give You Up duet single "When You Gonna" by Rick & Lisa in its single and 12" versions.

Track listing:

CD1

1-01 Never Gonna Give You Up 3:35

1-02 Whenever You Need Somebody 3:55

1-03 Together Forever 3:27

1-04 It Would Take A Strong Strong Man 3:41

1-05 The Love Has Gone 4:20

1-06 Don't Say Goodbye 4:10

1-07 Slipping Away 3:53

1-08 No More Looking For Love 3:14

1-09 You Move Me 3:43

1-10 When I Fall In Love 3:03

1-11 When You Gonna (7" Mix) 3:32

1-12 Just Good Friends 3:47

1-13 I'll Never Set You Free 3:27

1-14 When You Gonna (Extended Mix) 7:34

1-15 Never Gonna Give You Up (Cake Mix) 5:49

1-16 Whenever You Need Somebody (Lonely Hearts Mix) 7:35

1-17 Together Forever (Lover's Leap Extended Remix) 7:05

CD2

2-01 Whenever You Need Somebody (7" Mix) 3:29

2-02 Together Forever (Lover's Leap Remix) 3:23

2-03 When You Gonna (The Borough Anarchy Mix) 7:54

2-04 Never Gonna Give You Up (Escape From Newton Mix) 6:26

2-05 Whenever You Need Somebody (Rick Sets It Off Mix) 7:55

2-06 Together Forever (House Of Love Mix) 6:57

2-07 It Would Take A Strong Strong Man(Matt's Jazzy Guitar Mix 7:48

2-08 When You Gonna (Home Boy Mix) 5:59

2-09 Never Gonna Give You Up (Escape To New York Mix) 7:03

2-10 Whenever You Need Somebody (XK 150 Mix) 4:39

2-11 When You Gonna (Bonus Beats Mix) 4:47

2-12 Never Gonna Give You Up (Instrumental) 6:18

2-13 Whenever You Need Somebody (Instrumental) 3:52

2-14 It Would Take A Strong Strong Man (Instrumental) 3:32

This is the new deluxe edition which encludes bonus tracks and on cd 2 The remixes.

Many never released to the public. The remixes are worth the price alone!! You can't get these any where else. An inside look/listen into remixing and how much

differance musical changes can make. A must for any Rick Astley fan and well

worth the imported price. Rick and Edsel records have out done themselves!!!!

As far as I myself am concerned Rick Astley was a happy musical part of my growing up that greatly influenced the soul,funk and R&B music I was already deeply involved listening to. Almost emmediatly I was very impressed with the freckle faced young red head with the booming baritone. Looking back? His persona was someone like somewhat more earnest Michael McDonald and a less sexually charged George Michael. Sadly as time went on Rick himself would become the poster child for "antieightiesitis" as I call it,used as a human punching bag for critics of the decade. In recent years that developed into the online gag of "Rick rolling" that's also had the effect of riviving interest in Astley himself. But what all started it? What other then this man's best known hit really made him so penetrating?

Turns out there's a lot to merrit this. The first three songs are an almost hit parade with "Never Gonna Give You Up" starting it,the similarly themed title song in between and "Together Forever" as the third. These songs are all very well constructed late 80's dance-pop with some wonderfully composed and performed vocal refrains. "It Would Take A Strong Man" basically brings out more of the gospel soul influences of his sound. Rick himself also gets a chance to show himself as a more than capable songwriter on the shuffling Brit funky soul of "Slipping Away" (another highlight of this album to me outside the mildly poppier first three songs) and the somewhat deeper and funkier grooves "No More Looking For Love" and "You Move Me". He ends the album on a well sung interpretation of "When I Fall In Love".

Overall this album presents the Stock Aitken Waterman production team at the top of their game,producing music that quite contrary to critical rhetoric is far from bland and generic in this particular case. That's because of Rick himself. He's a very participatory artist here,writing songs and even playing guitar on the songs he wrote. A lot of these songs,even the big hits have a pretty heavy bottom for a lot of dance-pop music of the time. That's because most dance-pop of this period was usually inspired by some variation of synthesized new wave and/or disco. That is with dance-pop being another word for disco music half the time anyway. And even with the big hits being very 70's disco/dance inspired Rick's main influences are very obviously soul,funk and R&B. And even on the poppiest melody here that aspect of his talent manages to shine through.