FEATURE:
A Buyer’s Guide
Part Twenty: Kylie Minogue
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THERE are a couple of reasons as to why…
I am putting out an extra A Buyer’s Guide this weekend. I have not covered Kylie Minogue in this feature before, even though I did something similar a little while back. I also included her in my Female Icons feature, and there has been a bit of activity in her camp lately. With the release of the excellent new single, Say Something, and her fifteenth studio album, Disco, out in November, it is almost like Minogue is combining her earliest sound with a mixture of what we heard on Light Years. That album, handily, turns twenty on 25th September, and I wanted to sort of make this a great opportunity to include that album here (spoiler alert!), as that was a remarkable sort of rebirth and reinvention after he much-underrated Impossible Princess in 1997. I wonder if Minogue has any plans to write an autobiography, as I am sure there would be demand! In any case, in this guide, I have referenced a Minogue-related book worth snapping up. Without further ado, here is A Buyer’s Guide to one of Pop music’s…
PHOTO CREDIT: Audoin Desforges
GREATEST artists.
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The Four Essential Albums
Rhythm of Love
Release Date: 12th November, 1990
Labels: Mushroom/PWL
Producers: Stock Aitken Waterman/Keith Cohen/Stephen Bray/Michael Jay
Standout Tracks: Better the Devil You Know/What Do I Have to Do/Shocked
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Kylie-Minogue-Rhythm-Of-Love/release/1491716
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7ys9DH0Xjll3wlNduBv2p5
Review:
“Yes, it's still simple Stock-Aitken-Waterman dance-pop, but Rhythm of Love is leaps and bounds more mature than Kylie's first two releases. The songwriting is stronger, the production dynamic, and Kylie seems more confident vocally. And while Kylie and Enjoy Yourself were collections of songs to back up singles, this is a more complete album, with many of the tracks -- "Things Can Only Get Better" a prime example -- single worthy. Definitely her best work from the Stock-Aitken-Waterman era” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Better the Devil You Know
Kylie Minogue
Release Date: 19th September, 1994
Labels: Deconstruction/Mushroom
Producers: Steve Anderson/Dave Seaman/M People/Pete Heller/Terry Farley/Jimmy Harry
Standout Tracks: Surrender/Put Yourself in My Place/Automatic Love
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Kylie-Minogue-Kylie-Minogue/master/31295
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/1vcbSW03Fyefb5RtND9xox
Review:
“Confide in Me,” the salvo of Kylie Minogue, is an orchestral, trip-hop tempest built around an interpolation of Edward Barton’s 1983 indie-pop piece “It’s a Fine Day,” later to be covered by Opus III in 1992. Minogue turns in a knockout performance that finds her using her middle and higher vocal register to indelibly sketch a seductive tale of adult romance and connection. Minogue doesn’t lose this momentum when she immediately pivots into the luxe pop-soul of “Surrender,” where she expounds upon her newfound growth as a singer.
From the hip-hop soul, acid jazz and worldbeat fusion heard on “If I Was Your Lover,” “Where Is the Feeling?” and “Time Will Pass You By” respectively, Minogue approximates a cordial balance between R&B grooves and pop melodies that is second to none. Then there are the straight-ahead floorfillers “Where Has the Love Gone?” and “Falling.” The two suite-like jams are fashioned from the refined brick and mortar aspects of house music and meant for long play consumption either in a discothèque or in the comfort of one’s home.
On the balladic end of Kylie Minogue reside “Put Yourself in My Place,” “Dangerous Game” and “Automatic Love.” These adult contemporary entries are nothing short of palatial and saw Minogue tighten her hold on her own brand of soulful pop. Taken as a complete body of work, Kylie Minogue was a stratospheric leap of progress.
“Confide in Me” led the charge for Kylie Minogue in August 1994 and was an instant smash that dressed the stage for its parent album to enjoy similar success upon its arrival. Kylie Minogue accorded the singer gold and platinum certifications in her two largest markets—the United Kingdom and Australia—and spun off two more singles in “Put Yourself in My Place” and “Where Is the Feeling?” That third and final single went on to a distinct life of its own separate from its originating acid jazz iteration when it was reworked into a misunderstood alternative pop masterpiece for its single treatment” – Albumism
Choice Cut: Confide in Me
Impossible Princess
Release Date: 22nd October, 1997
Labels: Deconstruction/BMG/Mushroom
Producer: Kylie Minogue (uncredited)/Dave Ball/James Dean Bradfield/Brothers in Rhythm/Jay Burnett/Rob Dougan/Dave Eringa/Ingo Vauk
Standout Tracks: Some Kind of Bliss/Breathe/Dreams
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Kylie-Minogue-Impossible-Princess/master/74018
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4mlKMSVduuGMKcmqOL8dGW
Review:
“Inspired by both the Brit-pop and electronica movements of the mid-‘90s, Minogue enlisted Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers and techno gurus Brothers in Rhythm to helm the project, but the singer had a hand in writing every song, giving the album a starkly personal and unified cord. From the get-go it’s clear this isn’t the same girl who sang “The Loco-Motion.” The opening track, “Too Far,” mixes crisp breakbeats with a Moby-style piano progression and lush strings, while the very next track, “Cowboy Style,” features a tribal percussion break and a string quartet that sounds more celtic than country. Like Madonna, Minogue acknowledges the limitations of her vocal range by never venturing outside of her comfort zone. But Impossible Princess finds Minogue stretching herself way beyond anything she had done before—or anything she’s done since. The album isn’t a spiritual revelation in the vein of Ray Of Light—this is the voice of hurt and searching. “I ache for great experience…I’m not happy/Waste till I’m wasted,” she sings on “Drunk,” one of many anthemic trance tracks littered throughout the album.
Impossible Princess runs the gamut of styles, but manages to remain cohesive and fresh, even six years later. The sleek trip-hop of “Jump” and the deliriously spacey “Say Hey” fit like puzzle pieces next to the Chemical Brothers-style techno/rock hybrid “Limbo” and the frenetic “I Don’t Need Anyone.” Minogue fiercely declares her independence, but admits to her innate vulnerability: “I don’t need anyone/Except for someone I’ve not found.” Co-produced by former Soft Cell synth-master Dave Ball, “Through the Years” evokes Björk’s “Venus As a Boy,” but creates its own smoky atmosphere with muted horns, experimental vocal tracks and elegiac lyrics: “Too many a twisted word was said/My body was porous/I savored every drop of you” – SLANT
Choice Cut: Cowboy Style
Light Years
Release Date: 25th September, 2000
Label: Parlophone
Producers: Steve Anderson/Guy Chambers/Johnny Douglas/Julian Gallagher/Mark Picchiotti/Steve Power/Mike Spencer/Graham Stack/Richard ‘Biff’ Stannard/Mark Taylor
Standout Tracks: On a Night Like This/Your Disco Needs You/Kids
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Kylie-Light-Years/master/31314
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7vPWwkCumK2sGsdADtBlwB
Review:
“On a Night Like This and So Now Goodbye keep up the tempo and disco antics - you can feel the heat from the swirling multi-coloured lights as you listen to them - adding empowering notions of grabbing the best looking man in the club, then ditching him when you feel like it. But Minogue knows better than to think she can do it all alone. It was the less than subtle tweakings of Stock-Aitken- Waterman that gave her success and now she has turned to some more male musical heavyweights to get her back on track. Spice Girls collaborator Richard Stannard adds some polish to the flamenco flavoured Please Stay, while the songs co-written by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers give Minogue the best lines.
There's the fantastic Kids, a duet with Williams also featured on his new album, and Loveboat, a homage to the 1970s TV show of the same name. The latter is a female response to Williams's Millennium - it sounds very similar but has a less cynical approach to love. The familiar references to martinis, bikinis and 007 are all there - Williams really should try joining a new video club - but so too are the verbal come-ons that'll either make you squirm or laugh out loud. "Rub on some lotion," Minogue pleads breathily, "the places I can't reach." More amusing still is Your Disco Needs You, a call to arms that the Village People would be proud of. Minogue has her tongue firmly in her cheek for this camp slice of epic disco that will doubtless become the obligatory soundtrack to every Christmas office party.
Ultimately, Minogue shines brightest in the blinding lights of a club and Light Years is an album that should be played as you force your boob-tube into place and drain the remnants of that can of hairspray before you go out. This time round Kylie's got it right” – The Guardian
Choice Cut: Spinning Around
The Underrated Gem
Aphrodite
Release Date: 30th June, 2010
Label: Parlophone
Producers: Andy Chatterley/Cutfather/Daniel Davidsen/Jim Eliot/Børge Fjordheim/Pascal Gabriel/Calvin Harris/Sebastian Ingrosso/Magnus/Nerina Pallot/Stuart Price/Lucas Secon/Damon Sharpe/Fraser T. Smith/Starsmith/Peter Wallevik/Xenomania
Standout Tracks: Get Outta My Way/Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)/Aphrodite
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Kylie-Aphrodite/master/258579
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/3V5sFyVl69QrnHkZ8tcWnI
Review:
“The squiggly synths of the massively catchy “All the Lovers,” the sighing background vocals and spiraling harpsichord-esque synths on the ominous "Closer," and the heavenly extended breakdown on “Looking for an Angel” are the kind of hooks that reward repeated listens. While Kylie is fortunate that so many excellent writers and producers are willing to work with her, they are lucky to be working with Kylie too; she can put over a shimmering and funky track like “Can’t Beat the Feeling” with ease, stomp through a dancefloor-filling jam like “Put Your Hands Up” with power, or cruise through a breezy summertime jam like “Better Than Today” with all kinds of laid-back charm. Sure, she’ll never be mistaken for an octave-stretching diva or a vocal powerhouse, but her slightly nasal, girl-next-door vocals serve her needs perfectly. She soars through the songs with just the right blend of emotion and restraint, adding some sass when needed (as on the thumping title track or “Get Outta My Way”) or some quiet melancholy when the mood arises (“Illusion”). This ability to tailor her performance to the song is a rare quality in the pop world of the early 2010s. It may lead people to underestimate Kylie's artistry but really, Aphrodite is the work of someone who knows exactly what her skills are and who to hire to help showcase them to perfection. She and her team have crafted an album that’s both full of songs that could/should hit the upper reaches of the charts, and also a collection of songs that hang together as an album. One of her best, in fact” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: All the Lovers
The Latest Album
Golden
Release Date: 6th April, 2018
Labels: BMG/Mushroom
Producers: Ash Howes/Richard ‘Biff’ Stannard/Sky Adams/Lindsay Rimes/Jesse Frasure/Jon Green/Alex Smith/Mark Taylor/Eg White/Samuel Dixon/Charlie Russel/Seton Daunt
Standout Tracks: Golden/Sincerely Yours/Radio On
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Kylie-Golden/master/1342200
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/1RcGz0VThX1yhSFkwyff0O
Review:
“There’s still dancefloor moments — like Live a Little — but think line-dancing — and L.O.V.E comes via A-list hitmakers, who follow the album’s brief in style — hands-in-the-air classic pop with a waft of melancholy.
Raining Glitter, which relieved some fans worried after Golden tasters Dancing and Stop Me From Falling when released last week, is probably the closest to classic Kylie — and not just that title — with Eg White serving up a honky tonk pop banger.
The other revelation on this album; these songs suit Minogue’s voice. She sounds effortless and relaxed. She also sounds like she’s having genuine fun trying something new on for size. And in pop music, that’s Golden” – Herald Sun
Choice Cut: Dancing
The Kylie Minogue Book
Kylie/Fashion
Authors: Kylie Minogue/William Baker
Publication Date: 19th November, 2012
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd
Synopsis:
“This book charts my relationship with some of the most talented people in fashion throughout my career. It makes me very proud to see gathered together all the great designers and houses I've worked with over the years. Looking through my personal archives has been a real trip down memory lane and it is the fashion that brings back moments and memories of the last twenty-five years. I can't wait to share this book with the world.' - Kylie Minogue. Published as part of the K25 celebrations this year, Kylie / Fashion is the official book celebrating twenty-five years since Kylie burst onto the music scene with The Locomotion and I Should Be So Lucky. From the very beginning, the fashion she has worn has been key to Kylie's persona and performances: her status as style icon is unassailable. This dazzling book celebrates her numerous and ground-breaking collaborations with the world's great fashion designers. Produced by Kylie in close collaboration with Thames & Hudson, and drawing on her personal archives, it showcases Kylie at all her key fashion moments, whether as geisha/manga super-heroine in her 'Impossible Princess' era, ingenue in gold hot pants for 'Light Years', or Grecian winged messenger for 'Aphrodite'. Curated by William Baker, Kylie's acclaimed creative director, and introduced by Jean Paul Gaultier, the book features specially written texts by the most important designers and stylists Kylie has worked with throughout her career. Also featuring additional commentary and the afterword written by Kylie herself. Packed with iconic images as well as the very best rare and unseen archival photography, video outtakes, fashion sketches, designs and ephemera, it will be a collectors' item for fans and fashionistas the world over” – Waterstones
Order: https://www.waterstones.com/book/kylie-fashion/kylie-minogue/william-baker/9780500516652