Bucks Fizz - Are You Ready (1982 Remaster) (2004)

The curse of the 'difficult second album' didn't actually materialise for Bucks Fizz. Rather than simply take up where their debut left off, they took several steps up the evolutionary ladder and produced some of the finest work of their career. The two UK #1 singles, "The Land Of Make-Believe" and its superior follow-up, "My Camera Never Lies," emphatically identified the group as a pop force to be reckoned with. And, crucially, the rest of the album met equally high standards. This was a stylistic giant step forward and the set was rich in potential hits. "Now Those Days Are Gone," with its intricate harmonies and graceful arrangement showed that there was a more adult edge to their sound and it became one of the group's best loved singles. The shimmering disco track, "Easy Love," the excellent ballad "Love Dies Hard" and the smart bounce of "20th Century Hero" could easily have made waves in the singles chart too. Only the title-track and "Another Night" harked back to the fluffiness of their first album. Bucks Fizz had moved on in a very determined fashion. None of the eight bonus tracks lovingly tagged on to this release really challenge the quality of the original album - although "Taking Me Higher," a B-side written by the band, could well have justified its place as an 11th track on the original release.