I Wanna Have Some Fun

While I Wanna Have Some Fun continues to trade on Samantha Fox's frank sex appeal, it does expand her stylistic palette a bit. So while the Full Force-penned title track (and hit single) starts with some sexy-accented come-hitherness from Fox ("Don't you know it's hard to keep a good woman down?"), and continues through a freestyle-lite arrangement that offers plenty of cheekiness, Fun also includes a relatively straightforward version of the pop classic "I Only Want to Be With You." For all her vocal shortcomings, it's obvious (to the point of over-singing) that Fox is trying very hard on the cut. Her bid to be the next Dusty Springfield is eventually undercut by a spazzy synth arrangement, but Fox doesn't quit, segueing boldly into the lighthearted "You Started Something." What's interesting about these songs, in the context of I Wanna Have Some Fun, is that they're actual songs. On an album of extended teases like "Your House or My House" and "Hot for You" — which are both populated by hokey, heavy breathing and a heap of grinding double entendre — Fox's attempt at real depth is admirable, even if it doesn't quite work out. — Johnny Loftus