Hold Me in Your Arms [Import]

Rick Astley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 8, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony/Bmg Int'l
• ASIN: B000024M5R
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,962 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of the 1988 sophomore album from the British Pop/Soul vocalist. Rick Astley followed his first album with two more Top 5 singles, 'She Wants To Dance With Me' and 'Take Me To Your Heart', both included on his second album. The title track was also a Top 10 single. This expanded edition features bonus non album tracks plus a multitude of remixes of the album's singles. The booklet features full annotation by Tom Parker as well as the singles sleeves. Edsel. 2010. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and enjoyable, but more of the same, April 18, 2000

By 

J. Derek Reardon (KC, MO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hold Me in Your Arms (Audio CD)

Looking at the cover to Hold Me in Your Arms, you can see how similar this 1988 follow up release is to Rick Astley's phenomenally successful debut Whenever You Need Somebody - a similar shot of Rick with his name in a box and a relatively long title. And upon listening, you easily find further similarities - this is another fun, addictive Stock Aitken Waterman production that picks up where the last album left off.

"She Wants to Dance with Me" starts the album off in familiar territory - a catchy, dancey pop tune that was a top 10 hit. "Take Me to Your Heart" is an equally happy and up-tempo song that continues the Rick euphoria. Still fun and pop-ish, "I Don't Want to Lose Her" is more shallow and not as anthemic as the first two songs. "Giving Up on Love" switches to more of a groove, but again there is a lack of depth that even Rick's great voice can't fill. "Ain't to Proud to Beg" is Rick's remake for this release. While I hate it when artists mess with classics, Rick does a good job by updating the song slightly and giving it that classic Rick feel and depth. The next song, "Till Then (Time Stands Still)," returns to the happy, up-beat pop formula that had worked so well for Rick. The sugar high continues with the happy yet trite "Dial My Number." The lyrics "Just pick up the phone and dial my number" always bothered me for some reason - Rick can do better. "I'll Never Let You Down" is a strong, flowing song, but it lacks a little depth on the orchestration that Rick's voice almost fills. With a funky r&b groove, "I Don't Want to be Your Lover" gets back to the formula and is a fun, danceable attitude song. The album concludes on a strong note with the title track "Hold Me in Your Arms," this release's version of "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man." It is a fantastic, beautiful song that really showcases Rick's talent; this should have been another huge hit.

An enjoyable release, I give Hold Me in Your Arms 4 stars. It is very easy to compare this release to Rick's first release since the sound is so similar (Stock Aitken Waterman strike again). I love the sound, but it didn't progress or take further advantage of Rick's talent. Furthermore, the content and style starts wearing a bit thin, resulting in more songs that miss the mark slightly. However, there are a lot of strong songs on this release. And despite my criticisms, it is still a fun, head-boppin' kind of album that has me singing along every time.

If you are new to Rick Astley, and you are interested because of his light rock radio standards, I would first recommend Rick's debut album Whenever You Need Somebody. If you love that release and it leaves you wanting more of the same, then definitely buy Hold Me in Your Arms - it is well worth the money.

[Please note that, without a track listing shown here, I am assuming this import version has the same 10 songs as the original 1988 US release.]

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An epic release of the second Astley/Stock Aitken Waterman collaboration, April 23, 2010

By 

Daniel W. Kelly (NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hold Me in Your Arms (Audio CD)

Thank you Edsel for bringing together what is, as far as I know, EVERY mix of all the SAW/Rick Astley productions on the reissues of his first two albums, including classic non-album tracks like "My Arms Keep Missing You." It's great to see that several labels are seriously digging into the SAW archives and releasing many of these 12 mixes on CD for the first time ever--but Edsel has gone above and beyond, leaving no stone unturned, where as many of the other recent SAW releases have not been as thorough. Track listing for this 2-CD set is:

CD1

1-01 She Wants To Dance With Me 3:14
1-02 Take Me To Your Heart 3:27
1-03 I Don't Want To Lose Her 3:31
1-04 Giving Up On Love 4:01
1-05 Ain't Too Proud To Beg / Put Yourself In My Place 4:19
1-06 Till Then (Time Stands Still) 3:14
1-07 Dial My Number 4:09
1-08 I'll Never Let You Down 3:55
1-09 I Don't Want To Be Your Lover 3:58
1-10 Hold Me In Your Arms 4:32
1-11 My Arms Keep Missing You 3:14
1-12 I'll Be Fine 3:44
1-13 She Wants To Dance With Me (Extended Mix) 7:14
1-14 Take Me To Your Heart (Autumn Leaves Mix) 6:38
1-15 My Arms Keep Missing You (The No L Mix) 6:46
1-16 Hold Me In Your Arms (Extended Mix) 7:37
1-17 Rick's Hit Mix (Megamix) 5:49

CD2

2-01 My Arms Keep Missing You (The "Where's Harry?" Remix) 3:15
2-02 Giving Up On Love (7" R&B Mix) 4:07
2-03 She Wants To Dance With Me (Bordering On A Collie Mix) 6:04
2-04 Take Me To Your Heart (The Dick Dastardly Mix) 6:59
2-05 Hold Me In Your Arms (Hold Me In Your Prayers Mix) 6:53
2-06 Giving Up On Love (12" R&B Extended Mix) 7:08
2-07 My Arms Keep Missing You (Bruno's Mix) 6:15
2-08 She Wants To Dance With Me (US Remix) 5:42
2-09 Giving Up On Love (12" Pop Extended Mix) 7:18
2-10 She Wants To Dance With Me (Dave Ford Remix) 5:00
2-11 My Arms Keep Missing You (Dub) 4:54
2-12 Giving Up On Love (12" Dub Mix) 5:00
2-13 She Wants To Dance With Me (Instrumental) 4:53
2-14 Take Me To Your Heart (Instrumental) 3:27

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great consistency for a second LP. Rating 100%, May 18, 2004

By 

radiogold "radiogold" (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hold Me in Your Arms (Audio CD)

Rick never lost any of his punch with his second album, "Hold me in your arms". The first single of this album "ain't to proud to beg" went top 3 in October 1988, on the AMS top 20, and also scored modestly on the ARIA charts. This album also contains "take me to your heart" and "She wants to dance with me", which both come across with heavily infectious dance grooves. Other monster album tracks include, "Dial my number" and "Giving up on love", both good upbeat multi harmony sounding songs. Other tracks worth mentioning are "hold me in your arms", "Till then (time stands still", and "I don't wanna loose you"

This disc comes across with a good consistency of dance hits and love ballads.