The Best Of Kim Carnes Deals on Kim Carnes

One star, One good song

Reviewed by DJ, 2009-08-03

One star for One good song, that's it folks. Betty Davis eyes is the first song,which is excellent. But from then on get out your pillow so you can fall asleep to the rest of the songs...hated it.ZZZzzzz

Carneval

Reviewed by Bill P, 2009-02-26

This greatest hits covers all of the fantastic pop top 40 hits from Kim. It is worth the price for any Kim Carnes fan

"Thanks, Randy. What about you, Paula?"

Reviewed by Steven Haarala, 2008-05-03

First of all, there seems to be a debate about whether this CD is the "Best Of..." or "Greatest Hits Of..." or what. I don't know; I just know that the 10 tracks include everything of Kim's that I am familiar with except her duet with Barbra Streisand, "Make No Mistake, He's Mine". (That's a shame, but...) Most of the tracks are successfully realized, with a couple that are just sort of strange.

The CD opens with the mother of all Kim Carnes hits, "Bette Davis Eyes". If possible, it sounds even better with today's technology than it did in 1981. However, in all honesty the real draw for me is "More Love". From the synth intro, through the Thelma Houston-style lead-in, the lyrics, the vocal and the hot sax - talk about your blue-eyed soul! This is it! "Draw of the Cards" is not one of the best - in fact, it's pretty odd - but the synths, bass and guitar give it a bluesy rock vibe. Also in the rock area we find "Cry Like a Baby", a cover of the BoxTops 60's hit that's pretty rousing, with a dash of gospel replacing the psychedelic feel. "Invisible Hands" is very danceable early 80's pop-rock. "Voyeur" is another moody, synth-based 80's pop-rock track with interesting sensual lyrics. "Crazy in the Night" - I can't begin to imagine what inspired this. To me, it is just strange.

Then there are the ballads. Of course, "Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer", the duet with Kenny Rogers, is very powerful, a soft-rock classic inclined toward country music. The other two, "Does It Make You Remember" and "It Hurt So Bad", are solid ballads which also lean toward country.

The variety of material on such a short (39 minute) CD can be disconcerting, but overall the tracks are well done, so it is definitely worth your while. I feel Kim is at her most authentic in the country ballads. If she were an American Idol contestant and I were a judge, I'd tell her to define herself in that direction. BUT - her biggest hits were a soul cover ("More Love") and a new wave contrivance ("Bette Davis Eyes"). So what do I know?