Kiki Dee: I've Got The Music In Me - 1974


After an excellent album in 1973's Loving And Free, which was largely populated with Elton John-Bernie Taupin songs, thus follow up, from 1974, and credited to The Kiki Dee Band was a bit of a disappointment. 

Despite a superb rocking lead-off single in the title track, the rest of the album is pretty unmemorable, unthreatening soft rock fare. Nothing on the album matches up to its title track in either quality or sound. It rocks, big time, but the rest of the album doesn't at all. People buying the album on the back of the single would have been sorely disappointed, I'm sure. They would have been waiting for the next rocker and they wouldn't have got it. 

I've Got The Music In Me is an absolute barnstormer of an opener, from its bass and percussion slow burning beginning through its piano, rock guitar and brass-driven big chorus to its false ending. It rocks all the way and Kiki's vocal is positively stratospheric. 

Someone To Me is an easy-going piece of mid-seventies soft rock balladry, while Step By Step is a bit of an Elton John-ish rocker that sort of gets there but in other ways doesn't. It just fails to really stand out, for me, despite some fuzzy guitar breaks. The production is somewhat tinny too. 

Water is an ethereal but ultimately quite dull slow number while Out Of My Head has a bluesy slow build up and a bit of a winsome atmosphere to it. Kiki's vocal and the strings remind me of Gladys Knight's So Sad The Song. It is probably the best track since the opener. 

Do It Right is a Linda Ronstadt-esque country rock slowie and is another of the album's better ones. Little Frozen One is a nice enough and beguiling ballad. Heart And Soul gives us more strong ballad fare. Kiki's vocal is excellent on this one, however, I have to say. 

The keyboard-powered You Need Help is a more upbeat number but it doesn't stick around in the memory much despite going on way too long. Simple Melody is a fetching mid-pace number to end on but, as I have repeated probably too much in this review, somehow the album doesn't quite hit the spot. 

Secondary, 2 of 2

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