Snapshots

Kim Wilde hasn't been resting on her laurels lately. Less than twelve months after she released her eleventh studio album Come Out And Play, she's poised to release her twelfth, entitled Snapshots.

Alarm bells might start ringing when I tell you that Snapshots is a covers album. It seems that everybody is recording them these days and it's true that they're either amazing or diabolical. The new covers album by Beverley Knight is actually pretty amazing, as it happens. Remember the one by Sharleen Spiteri, on the other hand? No, neither do I.

The tracklisting of Snapshots is suppposed to be exactly that... bite sized snapshots from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s *and* 00s... songs which make up the soundtrack to Kim's life. You'll either *really* like the sound of it, or you'll be thinking right now that this is a recipe for career suicide.

The thing is, these days Kim is pretty much suiting herself when it comes to her career. Her last two albums were only released in Europe and whilst they were moderately successful, I doubt that gold bullion was being delivered to the family home in Hertfordshire afterwards. No, Kim is recording again because she's enjoying her singing career more than she probably ever did before. In the 80s and 90s, there was the pressure to sell bucketloads and to look like a stick insect. Sometimes she did and sometimes she didn't, but we now know that her career never filled her with prolonged unbridled glee. In a rather nice twist, however, nowadays the pressure isn't there any more. There is no such thing as career suicide for Kim in the 10s. If she never records another album ever again, I doubt she'll be all that bothered. If she does, it'll be because she *wants* to.

And if anyone should be afforded the luxury of recording a bunch of songs that she simply fancies singing, it's her. Out of the 40 or so singles she's released over the years, would you guess how many were cover versions? Eleven... twelve? Actually, it's four. And she kicked them right out of the park. The other thing you should know is she has quite an ecclectic taste in music herself. Which probably explains this positively barmy tracklisting...

1. It's Alright (originally performed by East 17)
2. Inbetween Days (originally performed by The Cure)
3. About You Now (originally performed by Sugababes)
4. Sleeping Satellite (originally performed by Tasmin Archer)
5. To France (originally performed by Mike Oldfield)
6. A Little Respect (originally performed by Erasure)
7. Remember Me (originally performed by Diana Ross)
8. Anyone Who Had A Heart (originally performed by Cilla Black)
9. Wonderful Life (originally performed by Black)
10. They Don't Know (originally performed by Kirsty McColl)
11. Beautiful Ones (originally performed by Suede)
12. Just What I Needed (originally performed by The Cars)
13. Ever Fallen In Love (originally performed by the Buzzcocks)
14. Kooks (originally performed by David Bowie)

Holy. heck.

Now let's be honest, has there ever been a covers album quite like this? I think not. If truth be told, you probably still either *really* like the sound of this, or you still think this is a recipe for career suicide. But I don't care, and, most importantly, neither does Kim.

Snapshots is released 26th August.