| Product: |
The Hit Factory: Pete Waterman's Greatest Hits |
| Date: |
15/09/03 (520 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Mel & Kim, Bananarama, A chance to relive the days when all that mattered was whether they got back home in 'Dungeons & Dragons'
Disadvantages: Steps, Cliff Richard (!), what happened to Mr Stock and Mr Aitken?
Pete Waterman has enjoyed something of an unexpected renaissance in recent years thanks to Pop Idol, where he gets to do a bit of staged bitching with Nikki ‘Dido in 15 years’ Chapman, Neil ‘A paedophile has more in common genetically with crabs than you or I’ Fox (who recently gave his age in an interview as 42!!!) and Simon ‘Sinitta’s-ex before she dated Brad Pitt’ Cowell.
Of course, he made his name in the 1980’s with his counterparts Stock and Aitken as part of the most successful production team of all time with scores of number ones against their name. Curiously, the bulk of this CD contains collaborations completed as a trio, despite Mr Stock and Mr Aitken’s absence from the title credits.
Despite selling millions of records, everyone hated them, so much so that they beat Maggie Thatcher at her most unpopular to win the NME’s Villain Of The Year award in the late 1980’s. Such resentment was undoubtedly fuelled by the fact that they were so popular, spawning chart-toppers with alarming regularity and seemingly never having a single out of the Top 40 for about 5-6 years at their peak.
There are too many tracks to go through each one, so here are the highlights, lowlights and er, downright awful...
The Good:
1. Mel & Kim – Respectable & Showing Out (Pop perfection from the duo, whose careers were cut short after Mel’s death aged 21).
2. Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (He might look like the bastard offspring of Cher and Leslie Ash these days, but the Pete Burns vocalled song still gets people on the dancefloor all these years later).
3. Donna Summer – This Time I Know It’s For Real (Off my first album, so a sentimental favourite and something of a change of direction from the heavy-breathing 70’s diva).
4. Hazell Dean – Wherever I Go (Stock, Aitken and Waterman’s first top 10-er and disco
synths to die for).
5. Bananarama – Venus & Love In The Third Degree (A rapid departure from the career-starting things they did with Fun Boy Three, but great records even now).
(Worthy mentions to some early Kylie, Sonia and the rave anthem ‘It’s A Fine Day’ from Opus III as well)
The Bad:
1. Steps & Other non-entities – Thank ABBA For The Music (Medley cover monstrosity somehow wangled its way onto here ahead of Lonnie Gordon’s ‘Happening All Over Again. So wrong…)
2. Tina Cousins – Pray (Tokenistic Waterman-only weak-trance offering that sold about 4 copies)
3. Jason Donovan – Everyday I Love You More (The weakest of many entries for Mr Donovan on this album, it’s not surprising he went off the rails having to record dross like this)
4. Sam Fox – Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now (Not a patch on the cheese anthem ‘Touch Me’, it’s dated the worst off a badly-aging bunch).
5. Musical Youth – Pass The Dutchie (Kids + record deal = very wrong).
The Ugly:
1. Undercover – Never Let Her Slip Away (As if murdering Baker Street wasn’t bad enough, this godawfully limp cover is one of the worst things committed to vinyl)
2. Kylie & Keith – If You Were With Me Now (Worst Kylie song ever. Yup, that includes ‘Je Ne Sais Pas Porquoi…).
3. Cliff Richard – I Just Don’t Have The Heart (Stop-gap in between Mistletoe and Wine and that nasty Millenium cash-in, this is pure stale mozzarella).
4. Stephen Gateley – Chiquitita (At least it wasn’t ‘Dancing Queen’ I suppose...)
5. Westlife – Seasons In The Sun (‘we had joy, we had fun, we had chicken in a bun...’)
The split of half-decent (in a gay, camp nostalgic kind of way rather than a Coldplay on the coffee-table kind of way) and rubbish tracks on here is about 5
0/50, although the shamelessness of Waterman trying to peddle his wares whilst neglecting to mention his co-producers on well over half of the tracks is a reason for avoiding this collection. Many of the more recent tracks are also complete dogs dinners with bands like Steps having been played to death already.
Still, if you remember Quattro fizzy drinks and Rolf’s Cartoon Club, it might be worth a trip down memory lane for the older stuff, especially as the CD has a bargainous 40 tracks in total. Just remember to hide it under something else if you have visitors...
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