You might be thinking "why is the Dutchman reviewing a girl band CD?". You might be thinking I'm completely insane, and lost all my bearings. Well, you are correct: I did loose them many years ago, but this album is special to me. For one specific reason. But lets not forget we were all once fan of the biggest girl band in the world. So why not like another one. With all fine looking women?
Close II You was an all Dutch girl band. You might have heard of them or not. They had a few successes in the Netherlands during their heydays, and their biggest hit was 'Baby Don't Go'. As you would expect it to be, it was a romantic song. And to me it was also shrouded in mystery. I'll explain it later. But because of this song I became a fan. I think I saw them live at Mega Music Dance Experience back in the 90s, or some similar event. But I have seen them.
Their album contained all the girl band records you would expect. A lot of the records focused on love and passion. And truth be told: the songs were extremely catchy. Sadly underrated, and no radio station has played them ever since. Which is a pity. But it's a personal preference: everyone goes for the safe choice (Spice Girls). To me Close II You were my favourite.
Here's the tracklist. But it won't do anything for you if you have never heard of them.
01. Close II You - Nice & Nasty
02. Close II You - Baby Don't Go
03. Close II You - Set Me Free
04. Close II You - Somebody
05. Close II You - Face To Face
06. Close II You - I Want Your Love
07. Close II You - Grab It
08. Close II You - Tonight
09. Close II You - Hold Me Now
10. Close II You - Loverboy
11. Close II You - Friends
12. Close II You - Voyage Of Love
See? All safe records. All about love, and female empowerment. Something you would expect from a girl band in the 90s. And they had it all: the looks and great songs. I did listen to this album recently and I was singing them along. Does that make me a tad weird, being a 35 years old bloke from Limburg in London?
Anyway, the reason why 'Baby Don't Go' is special to me is because of middelbare school (you Google it for once). I used to go to the Bernardinus college in Heerlen, and every year they organised a party where the kids would come together and party. A school disco, if you would like to call it. I attended one (where they only served non-alcoholic drinks, seeing as we were under the legal age of 18), and was bopping my head to Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', and I felt someone tapping me on the shoulder. It was a girl, asking me if I wanted to dance with her. Amazed by someone asking ME, I said yes (this was the first slow dance ever). We walked onto the dancefloor and this song was played. I was holding her waste, and we turned constantly (and I was smiling for miles, and looking at my friends as I could not believe that this was happening!). I had never seen the girl before, and we did not share anything at all (we did not speak, just danced). The song finished, and I said to her that I was going to my mates quickly and I would return. Went to my friends, and they all smiled too. I turned around, and she was gone. I went to the group she was with, and they didn't even know who she was, or which class she attended. I went looking for her everywhere, and seeing as there was only one entrance/exit, I walked to the security guy, and asked him if he had seen a blonde girl with a blue dress coming out. He said no, seeing as no-one had left at all! So I checked the toilets, and she wasn't in there either. It was like she disappeared into thin air. Never seen her that night, or ever since. This to me was mysterious, and I cannot explain what happened. Who was this girl? It was all real, everyone else saw her.
Now you understand why this song holds the most memories. I still have this CD, and also the single. This is truly an emotional song, and goes deep for me. I can picture myself on the dancefloor again. Sadly can't picture her face, but she was wearing a blue dress, and was blonde. That's all I know.
A message to this girl: thank you. Don't know who you are (really don't want to), but you made my day. And even to this day I'm glad it happened. Sometimes mysterious things (things you can't explain) makes your life much more interesting. And she turned me from a boy into... well, still a boy. But one who danced with a girl before.
Getting back to reality: I really loved Close II You. Don't know what happened after this album. Really not focused on that. But with this album they did deliver a wicked album, defining the 90s properly. They had the girl band thing. They were the ultimate girl band to me. My guilty pleasure. And even though I like my music to be hard and rough (Hardcore, Terror, etc) I still fall back to this album whenever I feel the urge.
You can not point out any flaws with these songs. They are beautiful. Emotional. And extremely catchy. If I were you, I would listen to these records. Yes, they might sound cheesy compared to the present day girl bands, but you will hear why they are my favorite girl band. Nothing but admiration for these girls. They played a huge part during my teenage years. Many kids did drugs and alcohol, I listened to Close II You. Well, that's just me.
I can't give this album anything less than a five. Why? Well, read the story above. That's why.
Ps. I've attached the video of 'Baby Don't Go'. You can find the whole album online on Youtube anyway..... go and listen!
Band: Close II You
Genre/Style: Pop
Album Info: Close II You - Closer
CDs: 1 (one)
Length Album: 01:09:15
Tracks: 12 (Twelve)
Label: EPIC
Product Number: EPC 489463 2
More Information: Close II You - Facebook Fanpage