''Another Step'' is the fifth studio album by English pop singer

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...

, released on 3 November 1986 by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. The album contained her comeback worldwide hit "

You Keep Me Hangin' On "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown girl group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge ...

", which reached No. 1 in the US, as well as the UK top 10 hit "

Another Step (Closer to You) "Another Step (Closer to You)" is a song from the Kim Wilde album '' Another Step'', performed as a duet with Junior Giscombe. It was released as the third single from the album. Wilde co-wrote the song with Steve Byrd, who originally sang the ma ...

" and " Say You Really Want Me".

Overview

The album contained 12 tracks (13 on the CD and cassette) and a varied team of songwriters, as well as Wilde herself co-writing more than half of the tracks. The first half was uptempo, whereas the second consisted of ballads. Most of the tracks were produced by

Ricky Wilde Ricky may refer to: Places * Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic * Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic *Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky ...

, but there were also production duties fulfilled by

Rod Temperton Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English songwriter, producer and musician. Temperton was the keyboardist and main songwriter for the 1970s pop music, disco and funk band Heatwave, writing songs including "St ...

and

Bruce Swedien Bruce Swedien (; April 19, 1934 – November 16, 2020) was an American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. Swedien fir ...

known for working with

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and there were also

Reinhold Heil Reinhold Heil (born May 18, 1954) is a German-born musician and film and television composer based in Los Angeles. He initially achieved success in Germany as a member of the post-punk and Neue Deutsche Welle bands Nina Hagen Band and Spliff and ...

Richard James Burgess Richard James Burgess (born 29 June 1949) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, author, manager, marketer and inventor. Burgess's music career spans more than 50 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s a ...

and

Dick Rudolph Richard Rudolph (August 25, 1887 – October 20, 1949), was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants and Boston Braves (baseball), Boston Braves through 13 seasons spanning 1910–1927. He attend ...

. The album's first single was " Schoolgirl", which was released only in Australia and several European countries (although not the UK). This single was the first Kim Wilde had co-written herself. The first single released globally was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

hit "

". In the United States it became Wilde's first number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, in the summer of 1987. It also reached No. 1 in Canada and Australia, and was almost equally successful in the UK, where it peaked at no. 2. The next single was "

", a duet with English R&B singer

Junior Giscombe Norman Washington "Junior" Giscombe (born 6 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter often known as Junior who was one of the first British R&B artists to be successful in the United States. He is best known for his 1982 hit single, "Mama Use ...

, which went to top 10 in the UK. The third globally and final single off the album was " Say You Really Want Me", which caused a minor controversy when the video was banned from children's programming because it showed Kim writhing on a bed having fun with a pearl necklace. Despite the raunchy image and publicity which accompanied the specially-remixed song, it didn't set the charts alight and the album saw no further single releases. The album reached US No. 40, her only album to do better in America than in the UK, where it only hit No. 88 on the first release. Elsewhere, the album was a massive success in Norway, where it hit No. 2, and in Canada, where it hit No. 11, and selling Gold. All of the tracks on ''Another Step'' were a departure from the

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

sound of the previous studio albums. There were more guitars than before: "The Thrill of It" and "I've Got So Much Love" had a distinctive 'rock' feel. The final five songs were ballads, the most noteworthy being Kim's self-penned and produced "Don't Say Nothing's Changed" which closed the album. A re-package of this album was released a few months after the initial launch, with a new sleeve design and the addition of bonus tracks, and this time the album made it to number 73 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. Although this failed to reignite interest, it has since become a collectors item for fans. Kim Wilde cemented her reputation as a singles artist with this album, as again overall sales were disappointing despite the huge success of the songs released from it. She has since voiced her regret that she did not put more effort into cracking the US market after she had scored her first number one hit there.

Critical response

Writing for ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'', Caroline Sullivan called ''Another Step'' "her best LP ever" and praised Wilde for embracing her camp appeal. Comparing "Missing" to the work of

Kathy Kirby Kathy Kirby (born Catherine Ethel O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 19 May 2011) was an English singer, reportedly the highest-paid female singer of her generation. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's " Secret Love" and for re ...

, Sullivan elaborated; "side two in its entirity could have been airlifted directly from 1962, when a song was a song and, as such, afforded properly melodramatic treatment." More praise was reserved for the "tenderness and poignancy" in her voice, a quality the reviewer compared to that of

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...

. A second review for ''Melody Maker'' (this time by Mick Mercer) was less positive, describing her "small voice and very limited range" as "hopelessly unconvincing when approaching anything remotely resembling balladeering territory". ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' praised "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "Hit Him" but found the rest of the first half of the album to be "quite undistinguishable." Side two was described as "much more appealing", with the self-written and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

-influenced "Don't Say Nothing's Changed" singled out for praise along with the preceding "How Do You Want My Love". ''

Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph The ''Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph'' is the local newspaper for north and east Northamptonshire and is the sister paper of Northampton's ''Chronicle & Echo''. It is based at Newspaper House in Rothwell Road, Kettering, and has since 1996 b ...

'' found Wilde's vocals "attractive rather than arresting" and singled out "I've Got So Much Love" as a

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

-style soaring ballad. A reviewer for the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

'' unfavorably compared "I've Got So Much Love" to the work of

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

but found the "sugary soul" of tracks like "She Hasn't Got Time for You" and "Brothers" slightly more pleasing. Despite comparing Wilde's bared midriff on the front cover to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and noting the influence of

in "The Thrill of It", ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' found the sound on the album to be "firmly entrenched in her old "

Kids in America "Kids in America" is a song recorded by English pop singer Kim Wilde. It was released in the United Kingdom as her debut single in January 1981, and in the United States in spring 1982, later appearing on her Kim Wilde (album), self-titled de ...

" style" and described "You Keep Me Hangin' On" as a "brutal massacre of the old Supremes classic". A short review in ''

Just Seventeen ''Just Seventeen'', often referred to as ''J-17'', was a fortnightly magazine aimed at teenage girls, published by Emap from October 1983 to April 2004. A special preview edition was given away free with sister magazine ''Smash Hits'' on 13 Octob ...

'' described the singer as "The girl who was Madonna before Madonna ever thought about making records". '' Q'' described the first track as "a remarkably drab version" and said of the sound of the record – "if you've followed her career to date you've practically heard this album already -bassy synths, crunching guitars and the rebel-by-numbers yell you'd expect to hear emanating from a leather clad blonde."

Track listing

Side one # "

" ( Holland-Dozier-Holland) – 4:10 # "Hit Him" (O.S. Blandamer) – 3:32 # "

" (Kim Wilde,

Steve Byrd Stephen John "Steve" Byrd (25 September 1955 – 2 October 2016) was an English guitarist and session musician who has worked with artists including Kim Wilde (from 1982–95), Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, ZZebra and many others. Initially a self-t ...

) – 3:18 # "The Thrill of It" (Kim Wilde, Steve Byrd) – 3:51 # "I've Got So Much Love" (Kim Wilde,

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s hit singles including "Endless Sle ...

) – 2:55 # "Victim" (Kim Wilde, Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:01 # " Schoolgirl" (Kim Wilde, Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 3:35 Side two # " Say You Really Want Me" (

Danny Sembello Daniel Sembello (January 15, 1963 – August 15, 2015) was an American songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He produced recordings by artists including George Benson and Pebbles, and he had his compositions recorded by Chaka K ...

, Donnell Spencer, Jr.,

Richard Rudolph Richard James Rudolph (born October 27, 1946) is an American songwriter, musician, music publisher, and producer. Life and career Richard Rudolph is the son of Muriel Eileen (Neufeld) and Sidney J. Rudolph. His grandfather, Julius Abraham Rud ...

) – 3:40 # "She Hasn't Got Time for You" (Kim Wilde, Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:12 # "Brothers" (Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:44 # "Missing" (Kim Wilde, Steve Byrd) – 4:23 # "How Do You Want My Love" (Kim Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 3:53 # "Don't Say Nothing's Changed" (Kim Wilde) – 3:53 * "Victim" only included on the Cassette and Compact disc versions Bonus tracks (2010 remastered CD edition) #

"Songs About Love" (Kim Wilde) ("Schoolgirl" B-side) – 4:55 # "Loving You" (Kim Wilde, Ricky Wilde) ("You Keep Me Hangin' On" B-side) – 4:56 # "Hold Back" (Ricky Wilde, Marty Wilde) ("Another Step (Closer to You)" B-side) – 3:58 # "Another Step (Closer to You)" (7" version) – 3:30 # "Say You Really Want Me" (7" version) – 4:03 Bonus CD (2010 remastered CD edition) # "Schoolgirl" (Head Master Mix) – 6:33 # "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (W.C.H Club Mix) – 6:27 # "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (W.C.H Mix) – 9:06 # "Another Step (Closer To You)" (Extended Mix) – 5:53 # "Say You Really Want Me" (Extended Version) – 6:34 # "Say You Really Want Me" (The Video Remix) – 9:47 # "Say You Really Want Me" (David Todd Remix) – 5:44 # "Say You Really Want Me" (Radio Edit) – 5:09 # "Say You Really Want Me" (Instrumental) – 4:22 # "Say You Really Want Me" (7" US Version) – 3:30 # "Say You Really Want Me" (7" Promo/North American Album Version) (Incorrectly labelled as Urban Version) – 3:57 # "Megamix" (You Keep Me Hangin' On / Another Step (Closer to You) / Say You Really Want Me) – 8:05

Personnel

* Kim Wilde – lead and backing vocals, synthesizers (11), drum programming (11) *

– synthesizers (1-5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13), Fairlight III programming (1-5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13), backing vocals (2, 9), guitars (10) * Paul Fox – synthesizers (6, 12), synthesizer programming (6, 12), additional arrangements (6, 12) *

– keyboards (7), Fairlight III programming (7) *

– keyboards (8), arrangements (8) *

Guy Fletcher Guy Edward Fletcher (born 24 May 1960) is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known for his position as one of the two Keyboard instrument, keyboard players in the rock band Dire Straits from 1984 until the group's dissolution, and his subs ...

– keyboards (10), synthesizers (10) *

– guitars (1-7, 9, 11, 13), backing vocals (2) * Gary Twigg – bass (3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13) *

Matt Letley Matthew Letley (born 29 March 1961) is an English rock drummer, formerly with the English rock band, Status Quo. Career Letley attended Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, in Rochester, Kent. His first recordings, with his brother M ...

– drums (3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 13) *

– drums (6, 12), drum programming (6, 12), percussion (6, 12) * Pete Schweir – drum programming (11) * Simon Clarke – alto saxophone (2), baritone saxophone (2) * Tim Sanders – tenor saxophone (2) * Roddy Lorimer – trumpet (2) * The Kick Horns – horn arrangements (2) * Oscar Blandamer – horn arrangements (2) *

– guest vocals (3) * Don Haywoode – backing vocals (7) * Emma Haywoode – backing vocals (7) *

Lisa Fischer Lisa Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album ''So Intense'', which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single "How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back-up singer ...

– backing vocals (12) * Paulette McWilliams – backing vocals (12) * Myrna Smith-Schilling – backing vocals (12)

Production

* Ricky Wilde – producer (1-5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13), remixing (5) * Richard James Burgess – producer (6, 12) * Reinhold Heil – producer (7) * Richard Rudolph – producer (8) * Bruce Swedien – producer (8), recording (8), mixing (8) * Rod Temperton – producer (8) * Kim Wilde – producer (11) * Pete Schweir – engineer (1-5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13) * Frank Roszak – engineer (6, 12) * Phill Brown – remixing (6) * Simon Marsh – art direction, design, photography * Jeff Adamoff – art direction (CD) * Dick Bouchard – artwork and design (CD) * Jeff Lancaster – artwork and design (CD)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1986 albums Kim Wilde albums MCA Records albums albums produced by Rod Temperton