English Music Reviews - October 19, 2006

Kelis Was Here
Kelis
She's best known for her Milkshake - no pun intended - and on Kelis Was Here, what we get is a lot more of what is expected from Kelis: suggestive (dare we say dirty?) lyrics, and booty shaking music. She's never been the most talented of the lot, but she makes up in her videos, what she lacks in the vocal department.

What we love most about the album is the variety of styles featured here. Kelis tries her hand at everything from pop to punk, dance, rap and R&B.

Listen out for BEP's Will.I.am on What's That Right There and Till The Wheels Fall Off, a very '80s sounding track, which should do rather well on the charts. The other highlights include the uptempo Blindfold Me, the Cool & Dre produced ballad Goodbyes and the mid-tempo Lil' Star.

The Essential
Gloria Estefan
All the reasons Gloria Estefan was the hottest Latino in the biz are on this 2-disc compilation. While the first CD features all her uptempo hits such as Dr Beat, Rhythm's Gonna Get You, Oye mi Canto, Turn The Beat Around and Get On Your Feet, CD 2 features her evergreen ballads Can't Stay Away From You, Don't Wanna Lose You, Anything For You, Cuts Both Ways, Words Get In The Way and Here We Are.

Ministry of Sound: The Desert Annual 2006
Various Artistes
The latest Desert Annual is a party just waiting to happen. Besides popular club favourites such as The Shapeshifters Sensitivity, Paul Oakenfold and Brittany Murphy's Faster Kill Pussycat, Supafly Inc's Moving Too Fast and Ferry Corsten's Watch Out, the compilation features a bonus CD with 8 dance tunes including Mousse T vs Dandy Warhol's Horny As A Dandy, Goldfrapp's Fly me Away and Rockefeller's Back To You.

Never Say Never
Kim Wilde
Remember Kim Wilde? Back in the ‘80s she was everywhere. Now she's back with a new album featuring interpretations of some of her hits including You Came, Kids In America, You Keep Me Hangin' On and Four Letter Word. However, as this isn't a Best Of collection, Wilde has also included a bunch of new tracks such as upcoming second single Perfect Girl, Together We Belong, I Fly and Forgive Me. We've been waiting a long time for his pop-rock comeback.