Loving & Free / I've Got The Music In Me

構成数 : 2枚
合計収録時間 : 00:00:00
Edsel's 2015 two-fer of Kiki Dee's second two albums revives the 2008 remasters -- the bonus tracks from those EMI editions are here, just not paired with the same albums -- which means this is a handy way to get two of Dee's finest records. Her patron Elton John returns to the producer chair for Kiki Dee, and the result feels somewhat like a streamlined, softer version of Caribou: perhaps a little bit heavier on the soft rock tunes, but still containing a fairly snazzy kick along with a hint of country-rock troubadourism and a hint of orchestral majesty. A touch of disco helps tie this to 1977 and also underscores how this is a fine mainstream pop album of its era. Stay with Me, arriving two years later, is slicker to the point that it doesn't always stick. Some of this is due to producer Bill Schnee, who helps steer proceedings toward nondescript soft rock but there's an appeal in that anonymity, particularly when it's draped in strings and constructed out of electric pianos. Dee acquits herself well throughout the album, but its punchiest -- and most memorable numbers -- like "One Jump Ahead of the Storm" are so impeccably constructed, it almost doesn't matter who sings it; it's about the production, not the song, which means it's a good record even if it doesn't always feel like it belongs to Kiki Dee. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine