BMG Rights Entertainment UK Ltd
Release Date: May 12th / October 6th 2023
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Rick Astley– Hold Me in Your Arms (Deluxe Edition – 2023 Remaster) / Are We There Yet? (Amazon mp3/iTunes) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing (Hold Me in Your Arms (Deluxe Edition – 2023 Remaster):
- She Wants to Dance with Me (2023 Remaster)
- Take Me to Your Heart (2023 Remaster)
- I Don’t Want to Lose Her (2023 Remaster)
- Giving Up on Love (2023 Remaster)
- Ain’t Too Proud to Beg (2023 Remaster)
- Till Then (Time Stands Still) [2023 Remaster]
- Dial My Number (2023 Remaster)
- I’ll Never Let You Down (2023 Remaster)
- I Don’t Want to Be Your Lover (2023 Remaster)
- Hold Me in Your Arms (2023 Remaster)
- I’ll Be Fine
- She Wants to Dance with Me (Reimagined)
- Hold Me in Your Arms (Reimagined)
- Giving Up on Love (7″ R&B Version)
- Hold Me in Your Arms (Extended)
- Take Me to Your Heart (Autumn Leaves Mix)
- Giving Up on Love (12″ Pop Extended)
- She Wants to Dance with Me (Bordering on a Collie Mix)
- Take Me to Your Heart (The Dick Dastardly Mix)
- Giving Up on Love (12″ R&B Extended Mix)
- She Wants to Dance with Me (Us Remix)
- Hold Me in Your Arms (7′ Version)
- Giving Up on Love (12″ Dub Mix)
- She Wants to Dance with Me (Extended Mix)
- Hold Me in Your Arms (Hold Me in Your Prayers Mix)
- She Wants to Dance with Me (Dave Ford Remix)
- Take Me to Your Heart (Instrumental)
- She Wants to Dance with Me (Extended Instrumental)
Track Listing (Are We There Yet?):
- Dippin My Feet
- Letting Go
- Golden Hour
- Never Gonna Stop
- Close (Your Shoes)
- High Enough
- Forever and More
- Driving Me Crazy
- Maria Love
- Take Me Back to Your Place
- Waterfall
- Blue Sky
Even though British singer/songwriter Rick Astley has been in the spotlight for more than 30 years, I don’t think anyone knows his music. It’s understandable, as many artists come and go, and many artists seem to leave a lasting impression on listeners and critics rather than others. What Rick is famous for though, is his catchy but incredibly inane and ridiculous first single “Never Gonna Give You Up”, being famous from 2007 onwards, as the song was the basis for the ‘Rickrolling’ meme. Regardless of whether Rick was any good at singing or songwriting or entertaining the crowds throughout the years, rightly or wrongly this song and how it blew up was and is all he’s remember for and is going to be remembered for. now I don’t profess to know everything about Rick and his music. in fact, I don’t think I know anything about his music. But in the year of 2023, Rick released 2 albums. Hold Me in Your Arms (Deluxe Edition – 2023 Remaster) released in May and Are We There Yet? Released in October. And so, now I’ve decided to check out these two projects purely because I wanted to see what the hype behind Rick’s comeback was all about. And the result… is a collection of songs stuck in the 80’s (not in a good way), a pointless remix and remastered album where the original was just fine, and a nondescript brand new studio album that doesn’t bring in new fans at all, but rather serves to remind us just how dated some of this music is.
Music or lyrics? What should the artist focus most on? I’m a lyrics person, and I place greater emphasis and importance on good lyrics, but at the same time, the music has to be engaging, fresh, relatable, and energising- otherwise no one will listen to your brilliant and inspiring lyrics. The same goes for Rick Astley, and though I could’ve sat with these two albums a whole lot more and ruminated on the lyrics; the fact remains that Hold Me In Your Arms doesn’t age well and is an album I don’t consider to be iconic. Are We There Yet? tries to be hip and cool; but aside from the slower paced ballad “High Enough” the gospel tinged “Never Gonna Stop”, and the revealing and vulnerable album closer “Blue Sky”, the rest of the songs seem to fall flat. And as so, I was on the whole underwhelmed by these two offerings, but I wasn’t sad or mad or anything. I was indifferent on the whole (because I didn’t grow up with Rick, and thus now I’m largely indifferent to his music!); but if any of you resonate with these projects- then that’s totally fine with you.
Similarly with Michael Bolton and his ‘comeback’ album last year; I don’t know what is next for Rick Astley. This may be his last album. There may be another more. But until he drastically learns to evolve as a dance/pop artist like how he did in the 80’s, or even change his genre; I don’t think Rick will be popular, and his influence on music might wane, aside from “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Rick wasn’t really my favourite artist anyway, but listening to this album and reviewing it was more out of curiosity than anything else. And as such, my curiosity has been quenched. Are We There Yet? and the remastered project Hold Me In Your Arms is a non-event, but let’s pray that this genre of music overall stays in fashion, and let’s hope that another artist revolutionises the ‘dance-pop’ genre for the better.
3 songs to listen to: Take Me to Your Heart (2023 Remaster), Giving Up on Love (2023 Remaster), Hold Me in Your Arms (2023 Remaster)
3 songs to listen to: Never Gonna Stop, High Enough, Blue Sky
Score: 2/5
RIYL: Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Lady A, Lainey Wilson, Maddie & Tae