Greatest Hits

by

Samantha Fox

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Well-known for her nude spreads on he front pages of several U.K. newspapers and for her sex-laden past, Samantha Fox was the U.K.'s answer to Madonna to a certain extent. Although she didn't score too many hits either in the U.K. or stateside, Samantha still is considered one of the 1980's club divas.

With the production/songwriting help of the popular American R&B group of Full Force, Samantha scored her two biggest hits ever. Full Force, fresh from their work with Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, and before they starred in the "House Party" films of the early 1990's wrote and produced the two most widely popular songs on this album: "I Wanna Have Some Fun," and "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too." Both songs, which feature fast and catchy beats, and Samantha rapping at times were number one hits in the U.K. and the U.S. and sealed Samantha's fame among the dance divas of that decade.

Other great songs on this album include the club tune "Love House" and one of her few, non-dance pop songs, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now." Both songs round the top four songs on this album, and the other songs are good, but less memorable than these.

While I am only very familiar with four of the songs of this album, I still rate it a 5 because it is one of the only few Samantha albums you can find on the market today. I was only disappointed that the album's version of "Naughty Girls" is a shortened version of the original album version. Besides this flaw, "Samantha Fox: Greatest Hits" is a must-have for anyone who thrived and grew up on eighties music.

Any real fans of Samantha Fox will already own these songs. But for casual fans or those just looking to add some 80s hits to their music collection, prepare for disappointment. The songs are catchy, but the first time I played this disc I was caught off-guard: the most popular U.S. single, "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)" is a poorly edited version, not one that any radio stations played. I can't figure out why they'd decide to make the edits. On top of that, I can't figure out who decided that the edits actually sound good... when I heard them, I was convinced that my CD was scratched. They were THAT noticeable.

The short story: If you want "Naughty Girls", find it on another compilation.