Released: 1991
Purchase: Originally checked it out from my school library in eighth grade (so, 2007?). I bought a copy used at FYE a year or two later, and got the remastered version on interlibrary loan earlier this year.
Playthrough: Good for Me is such a standout - one of Amy's best ever tracks. I'm glad she rediscovered it a few years ago and started playing it live again, but her newer performances make it a little too tame - it's just pop perfection on record.
Baby Baby is, obviously, bubblegum pop paradise. It's so effortlessly joyful, much like Kylie's best moments.
I could say the same about Every Heartbeat. Sixpence None the Richer's slower version is gorgeous, but Amy's is just wall-to-wall euphoria.
That's What Love Is For is really pretty, and has some of her more powerful lyrics. I do vastly prefer the single mix, though.
I used to love Ask Me, but it hits too close to home for me to enjoy it since two of my best friends are sexual assault survivors. But it's very well-written and even better produced.
Galileo is one of my all-time favorite Amy songs. SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SINGLE. The lyrics are so romantic, and the melody is lush.
I didn't use to like You're Not Alone for some reason, but I do now. It's got a very driving beat - sort of sounds like if Unguarded-era Amy got her hands on Donna Summer's Another Time and Place album.
Hats is ... nice. The lyrics tend to fall a little flat when you consider that it's pretty much Amy's version of She Works Hard for the Money, and the melody needs work. The worst thing is the production, though - I hate the background singers going "HATS!" But it's not awful by any means.
I Will Remember You is okay, but a little nothingy. The opening riff is way better than the rest of the song put together. Sarah MacLachlan's I Will Remember You is better (and I don't much like Sarah MacLachan).
How Can We See That Far feels like it's trying to be the sequel to Stay for Awhile (one of her best singles), but again, it's just lacking in substance.
Hope Set High is the worst song on the album. Boring, boring, boring. And not great vocals, either.
Verdict: This is still probably Amy's best album, even though it kind of falls apart after You're Not Alone. It's very pleasantly '90s - I wish Paula or PWL-/Deconstruction-era Kylie had made an album this consistent. Actually, if you bring up the quality by lopping off Hats and Hope Set High, it could almost play as the '90s equivalent of True Blue. It has that same pure pop sound. 8/10.
Standout: Every Heartbeat
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