When Elton John played the final stop of his final U.S. tour at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium on November 20, 2022, Kiki Dee was right there by his side to sing their 1976 smash "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."  While that duet remains a major part of the Kiki Dee story, there's plenty more to the Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter's discography.  Thankfully, Edsel has chronicled that discography in depth on 2020's The Fontana and Motown Years (spanning 1963-1970) and 2019's The Rocket Years (spanning 1973-1979).  Now, the third box in the label's hardcover book-style series has arrived, and the 4-CD The Ariola and EMI Years sheds light on perhaps the most unknown period of Kiki's career (primarily covering 1981-1987).  The box comprises three albums, including 1982's previously unreleased Two Sides of Every Story, and a host of bonus tracks (17 altogether).

The set opens with Dee's 1982 Ariola debut, Perfect Timing.  As if to underscore that there was no tension following her departure from Rocket, that label's founder Elton John guested on a slowed-down, heartfelt duet of Stevie Wonder and Ivy Jo Hunter's "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever," with both artists sharing their love of classic soul and (Kiki's onetime label home of) Motown.    Elsewhere on the LP, Kiki was in a decidedly contemporary vein for uptempo material (Doreen Chanter's but cautionary "Star," Chris Bradford's "Wild Eyes," Kiki and Eric Kaz's "There's a Need" and ballads alike (the Gary Osborne co-write "Twenty-Four Hours," longtime collaborator Bias Boshell's stately, thunderous "You Are My Hope in This World").

Pip Williams' clean, crisp production of Perfect Timing put Kiki's distinctive voice - throaty and expressive - out front while acknowledging the seismic shifts happening in pop music of the early 1980s on such tracks as "Midnight Flyer" and "Another Break," with their electronic pulses.  Perfect Timing yielded a top 15 hit in the U.K. with "Star" and a smaller one with the title track (No. 66); reflecting a relatively fallow period in Elton's own chart history, "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" failed to make the chart.

Bonuses include the extended version of "Perfect Timing," the unique single mix of the Elton duet, a pair of non-LP B-sides-both of which, especially Dee and Kaz's rock-dancer "Give It Up," are as strong as the material on the album-and American singer-songwriter Roger Voudouris' "The Last Love Song" which features Kiki's impeccable duet vocal.

Perfect Timing reached a respectable peak of No. 47 on the U.K. Albums Chart, and much of the same team including producer Williams, keyboardist Boshell, bassist Gary Twigg, and drummer Bob Jenkins all returned for a follow-up.  Two Sides to Every Story featured even more swaggering and dramatic material, all sung with confidence by Kiki.

A driving cover of Firefall's "Stayin' with It" opened the album on a high note, with Williams soloing on guitar.  Chris Bradford and Kit Hain had each written songs on Perfect Timing; here, they teamed up for the sleek rocker "Diamond Lady."  Kiki contributed both the catchy, electronically burbling "Heart to Beat" and the urgent, muscular "Nowhere to Hide."  The album's vocal arranger, Ray McRiner, wrote "Saviour," another big, layered production.  Scottish songwriter Michael Marra's character study "Peter" was considerably more intimate, playing to Kiki's strengths as a storyteller.  Chris Hunter, on sax, "plays" the title character inspired by Marra's Skeets Boliver bandmate Peter McGlone.  Another Scottish tunesmith, Graham Lyle (of the Gallagher and Lyle team), penned "Yellow Kimono (Waiting on Tokyo Time)" and would record it himself in 1983.  Still later, Judy Collins recorded the story song about a woman's imagination running wild when she can't reach her husband, on business in Tokyo.  Bob Noble and Paul Muggleton's "I Could Feel You" is a sweet pop ballad adorned with a prominent Boshell piano solo.

Phil Fearon, Tee Roy Morris, and Ferdi Morris' melodically twisty title track to Two Sides of Every Story elicited one of Kiki's most soul-drenched vocals on the LP.  The strongest cut, though, may well be Billy Nicholls' "Under One Banner."  Both Dee's vocals and Williams' expansive production lend the song an anthemic quality.

Why was the album shelved?  It's possible that Ariola couldn't identify one breakout single; indeed, the album revels in its refusal to put itself into one particular stylistic box.  Dee suspects this is the case, telling liner notes writer Alan Robinson, "I've kind of always reserved the right to play as broad a range of music as possible, and I accept that, from a marketing point of view, it might make my music a difficult sell.  But I can live with it."

After a West End stint in the musical Pump Boys and Dinettes, Kiki returned to the studio for 1987's Angel Eyes on the U.K. Columbia label.  In the style of the day, the album engaged multiple producers including Chris Kimsey, Patrick Seymour, and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart.  Preceding the album's release was the Stewart-penned and co-produced single "Another Day Comes (Another Day Goes)."  Stewart had intended to produce the entire album; while further sessions never materialized, his association with Kiki resulted in this one beguiling track which melds electronic pop-rock with gospel (courtesy The Ralph Weeks Gospel Choir) and even jazz (the great Hugh Masekela solos).  Patrick Seymour, who picked up the reins, co-produced and played on the track which wouldn't have been out of place on a Eurythmics record.  For most of Angel Eyes, Kiki served up adult rock with a metallic '80s sheen, embracing the decade with the best possible results.

Chris Kimsey assembled an A-list team for his three productions, including keyboardist Jon Carin (Roger Waters, Psychedelic Furs), drummer Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson), saxophonist Mel Collins, and arranger Hal Lindes (Dire Straits). Philip Caffrey and George Lamb's "Stay Close to You," one of Kimsey's three tracks, showcased Kiki in sultry balladeer mode with a suitably smooth and gleaming production.  Kimsey also helmed the midtempo "Angel Eyes," written by Dee and Seymour, and brassy pop opener "I Fall in Love Too Easily."  In an unexpected highlight, an uncredited Daryl Hall brings his trademark soul to "I'll Build a Tower Over You."  Kiki teamed with Patrick Seymour to co-author a number of tracks including the pulsating "Pay," the edgy pair of "We Cry On" and "Knowing You Like I Do," the languid "Good Times," and assured "Keep It to Yourself."

Despite good relationships with the creative personnel, Angel Eyes wasn't a positive experience for the singer, though she bounced back with her acclaimed performance in the West End revival of Willy Russell's Blood Brothers.  Though Angel Eyes concludes the albums in Edsel's box, the fourth CD offers a generous dozen bonus tracks.  These encompass the bouncy Elton John/Gary Osborne-produced "The Loser Gets to Win" (with an appealingly raw lead from Kiki) and its B-side on a 1983 EMI single, "(I Want Our Love to Shine)," 12-inch mixes of "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "Another Day Comes (Another Day Goes)" (the latter in Ian Levine's nearly 12-minute-long "Nightmare Mix"), four B-sides including the Dave Stewart co-write "Don't Cry," and Kiki's 1993 reunion with Elton on Cole Porter's touching "True Love."  The bonus disc is rounded out with an enjoyable trio of demos restored and remixed by Kiki's longtime associate Ted Carfrae.  Recorded in 1984, these aren't at all skeletal, and instead tap into the same contemporary production techniques as Kiki's albums of the period.

In addition to Alan Robinson's liner notes, the 28-page book designed by Tony Hodsoll has credits for each album plus copious photos, memorabilia images, and master tape scans.  Phil Kinrade has remastered the audio, and every copy comes with an autographed photo of Kiki (replicating the cover shot).  The Ariola and EMI Years preserves and brings together some of Kiki Dee's most criminally unknown but worthwhile recordings.  It's available now on Edsel at the links below.

The Ariola and EMI Years is available now at Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.  / Amazon Canada!