Clout - Six of the Best

All Music Guide

This compilation of hits from Johannesburgbased girl group Clout shows off the chewy bubblegum pop that charted high in South Africa and Europe. They were less successful in the United States, which explains the different track listing for the American version of Six of the Best. Clout specialized in subABBA melodies and vocal arrangements, and while the four young ladies of the group could play their own instruments, most of their bestremembered numbers employed male session players for the musical beds. "Substitute" was their biggest winner, a cover of a 1975 Righteous Brothers recording that hit number one nearly everywhere except the States, so its included for American listeners. Also added was the current new single, a rollicking version of Hall and Oates' "Portable Radio" that dwarfs the rest of Clout's catalog with its blithe bounce and bubble headed enthusiasm. What doesn't change from continent to continent is the album cover, which neatly sums up Clout's appeal in tasteful s...epia tones. The quartet poses in parochial school costumes and each is given a fetishistic task; one sucks a lollipop, a gumchewer blows a large pink bubble, another enjoys a banana and the fourth bends over to accept a spanking from two leering, bearded authority figures. They were never embraced by American fans, but Clout's music is enjoyably fluffy, empty ear candy, and worth finding for diehard '80s pop devotees. - Fred Beldin, All Music Guide Read more Less