Select (album)

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Select

Studio album by Kim Wilde

Released

1982

Professional reviews

All Music Guide link

Kim Wilde chronology

Kim Wilde
(1981)

Select
(1982)

Catch As Catch Can
(1983)

Select is the second studio album by Kim Wilde, released in 1982.

The first single from this album, "Cambodia", was released in December 1981 and signalled a different sound from the Wilde camp. The Enid was out, synths and electronic music was in. Again, the songs were written by Marty and Ricky Wilde, production by Ricky Wilde. This was a cause for concern for the "serious" music press at the time: was Kim just a puppet being manipulated by her family? In reality, Kim simply profited from the craftsmanship of her father and brother. The lyrics of the songs were as imaginative as they were on the first album: the second single "View From a Bridge" and the album track "Wendy Sadd" seemed to be about suicide, "Chaos At The Airport" described a nightmare about flying and "Ego" was quite the opposite of a lovesong. Musically, the 1980s had really begun: lots of synthesizers and drum computers seemed to dominate the soundscape. One old-fashioned rock song appeared near the end of the album: "Can You Come Over" was recorded at the Wilde's home. The striking cover image was a photograph from Gered Mankowitz.

This eagerly-awaited sequel to the debut album stormed the charts in a host of European countries and hit #8 in Australia — although it did not quite surpass the worldwide success of its predecessor.