Printable version of thread

Happy 25th Anniversary to Kylie Minogue’s eponymous fifth studio album Kylie Minogue, originally released September 19, 1994.

The soft sales and mild reviews that met Kylie Minogue’s fourth album Let’s Get to It upon its landfall in late 1991 signposted that it was time for a change. The singer had done all she could at PWL Records and it was time to move on.

A customary singles package assembled and released in 1992 detailed Minogue’s first four years with the British songwriting/production troika Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. This story began in 1987 when the antipodean actress translated her television star power from the beloved daytime soap Neighbours into a lucrative recording career with a cover of Little Eva’s chestnut “The Loco-Motion.” Later, following the Stock-Aitken-Waterman synth-pop schematic on her first two offerings Kylie (1988) and Enjoy Yourself (1989) via Waterman’s own PWL imprint—in Australia she was signed to Mushroom Records—Minogue became a commercial sensation.

The relationship between Minogue and Stock-Aitken-Waterman was initially mentee-mentor based. It wasn’t long before Minogue realized that her classroom at PWL was a cage, but that didn’t stop her from trying to find her voice. To the slight consternation of her teachers, Minogue’s third album Rhythm of Love (1990) became her first foray into limited musical independence. Swapping out the pre-fabricated pop of Kylie and Enjoy Yourself for the vibrant energy of the London nightclub scene, Rhythm of Love was possessed of Minogue’s own spirit.

By the time construction was to start on her fourth LP, Aitken had defected from the trio’s ranks which left Minogue, Stock and Waterman left to put the project together. Out of those adverse drafting conditions Minogue still managed to shake out a fair curtain call for her PWL tenure with Let’s Get to It. The album’s last single “Finer Feelings” pointed to Minogue’s future as she intersected with two promising writer-producers, Dave Seaman and Steve Anderson, known collectively as Brothers in Rhythm. Seaman and Anderson oversaw the lush radio edit for “Finer Feelings” and when the reviews for it came back strong, Minogue was emboldened to forego renewing her contract with PWL. In Australia, her contract with Mushroom continued to stand.

Minogue wasn’t without a label in the United Kingdom and the rest of mainland Europe for long. In 1993, she inked a deal with deConstruction Records, a boutique arm of its larger parent company BMG Records. “Kylie is regarded as a trashy disco singer, we regard her as a potential radical dance diva,” deConstruction founder Pete Hadfield remarked upon signing her, as documented within the liner notes of Kylie Minogue’s 2003 remaster. “Any radical dance diva has a home at deConstruction.” Attempting to use dance-pop and R&B tones on Rhythm of Love and Let’s Get to It to divorce herself from the identikit sonics of her first two records had worked all too well. Minogue went from being written off as a manufactured puppet to being viewed as a rote dance act—neither of those perceptions were correct.

With all parties at deConstruction encouraging Minogue to explore the variegated musical options available to her, she did just that. And while dance music certainly wasn’t off the table, she knew it wouldn’t be the only avenue ventured on her fifth album, Kylie Minogue. As early as Rhythm of Love, Minogue had begun scripting her own material, but made the conscious decision to lower her pen on this eponymic effort to open herself up to fielding songs that she thought would suit her best. Only “Automatic Love” bore Minogue’s co-writing stamp on the finished product.

Excluding two renditions of Within a Dream’s “Where Is the Feeling?” and Tobi Legend’s “Time Will Pass You By,” the remaining eight of Kylie Minogue’s 10 sides were original compositions. Behind these selections was an eclectic assemblage of writers and producers, foremost among them Jimmy Harry, the Rapino Brothers, Heller & Farley and Brothers in Rhythm. Minogue, Seaman and Anderson teaming up again confirmed that their interaction on “Finer Feelings” had helped her to reimagine the possibilities as to how she could make music. Now, with the room to create freely, the three of them formed the collaborative core for Kylie Minogue.

Unlike the songs Minogue cut with Stock-Aitken-Waterman that relied primarily on keyboards, programming and guitars, she now had access to some of the best session players and technology in the business. She took full advantage of these tools and had her collaborators utilize them to cast rich, fully realized soundscapes courtesy of a healthy blend of live instrumentation and studio craft. Now, Minogue could go to all of those places she had wanted to go on Rhythm of Love and Let’s Get to It, and beyond.

“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.

As the campaign for Kylie Minogue cooled post-“Where Is the Feeling?,” the music press was of a divided opinion on Minogue’s self-titled set. While many cheered her on for a triumphant reinvention, many more stopped short of acknowledging Kylie Minogue as anything more than a classy, but ultimately shrewd credibility grab. The latter view has unfairly—and erroneously—shaped a considerable portion of the historical discourse around Kylie Minogue decades since its unveiling.

Maybe it was its epigrammatic denotation that implied that Kylie Minogue should have been some sort of autobiographical affair that confused and incensed the pundits. Ironically, she would go down that path with its equally ambitious follow-up Impossible Princess (1998); it only served to further fuel a split critical consensus about the singer. But that wasn’t the reason Minogue opted to use her name as the designation for her fifth LP.

Instead, it’s more likely to consider that Minogue did so to make an urbane declaration of independence from her previous incarnation as a Stock-Aitken-Waterman kewpie. The truth is that without Kylie Minogue, none of what came later for her would’ve been possible. Her eponymous album was the bridge that let Minogue walk into her future with the skills, confidence and control necessary to set her own artistic agenda as she saw fit.

For me, the return of Kylie Minogue was one of the most important pop events of 1994. Following a five year stint with writer-producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman - a collaboration which spawned four chart toppers, six number two smashes, a further six top ten hits and another four top twenty placements - Ms Minogue was entering uncharted waters and releasing an album that was her declaration of independence. Free to work with other writers and producers, it seemed that the pop star relished her freedom to create an album that was able to explore different genres and sounds. At the time it was rumoured that she was working with everyone from the likes of Prince to Primal Scream (and, of course, the press being the press, romantically linked to every single one of them). What this taught an avid Kylie fan like myself was that in the 20 months between music releases, Kylie still had the power to command stories and speculation in the media. Whether it was unfounded rumours that the studio sessions were a disaster or that big names were being used just to replace S/A/W, Kylie got column inches everytime she was spied at the studios - and there was a burgeoning sense of anticipation about what these studio visits would produce. Time and hindsight has taught us that the studio sessions were a time of experimentation for Kylie, her collaborators and the record label - to blossom into the next stage of her career required bold risks and something different, yet still keeping the essence of her appeal which had won over millions of fans. It was a tricky tightrope to walk and an audacious path to follow, yet it was one that she pulled off splendidly. Her transformation into post-PWL Kylie meant her career was sustainable beyond the hit factory - and that is why this album felt so vital.

Many people quite rightly see the four singles from Kylie's third album, Rhythm of Love, as a turning point for the pop princess. Better The Devil You Know, Step Back In Time, What Do I Have To Do and Shocked are known as the golden quartet - pop songs so fine that each should have been number one for a month. What these represented, however, were the halcyon days of the partnership between S/A/W and Kylie; a moment when all involved leaned into the strengths and musical desires of the other, yielding the optimum results. It is the less successful Let's Get To It album that followed which gave me better hints as to what Kylie's next musical steps might be. She exerted more creative control by co-writing some of the songs and steering towards a different sound. Word Is Out is far more seductive and sensuous than people gave it credit for, whilst getting Brothers In Rhythm to mix the single version of Finer Feelings was a stroke of genius - and yielded a partnership that would continue into Kylie Minogue (the album) and beyond. There is no denying that the partnership of Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman shaped Kylie's fifth studio album, making it a beautifully expressive and eclectic body of work. They worked on four tracks (either writing and/or producing) leaving plenty of scope for other artists to sally forth with equally evocative and shimmering interpretations of the nu-Kylie sound. By the time the first single and album release dates were announced, there was a tangible sense of excitement about the album with whispers that this might be her finest and most critically acclaimed moment to date. The wait for the reveal was almost unbearable...

BBC Radio One grabbed the first play of lead single Confide In Me and I sat listening, utterly transfixed. The dramatic opulence of the opening strings combined with the gentle persuasion of that hypnotic percussion pulled me into the beating heart of the song. It was as sumptuous and scintillating as any James Bond theme, infused with trip-hop and Eastern music influences, flirting with the listener in a way that was entirely tantalising. Kylie sounded in total control, purring the intimate lyrics in a way that was both teasing and vulnerable. The searing and soaring titular refrain was delectable, as was the deadpan of the "stick or twist/the choice is yours bridge". It was innovative and inspiring - as was the choice not to edit the song for single release; letting it run for a whopping six minutes. This was Kylie breaking all the rules and I was loving it. I bought the Cd single the day it was released (revelling in additional, non-album track b-sides that remain fan faves all these years later) and was not surprised when the song debuted at number two the following Sunday (held off by Wet Wet Wet's Love Is All Around, so I basically count Confide In Me as a number one UK smash because that track had been there forever and a day). It certainly felt like a chart topper to me - I couldn't stop playing the song, beguiled by the way each subsequent play revealed a new layer of beauty about the composition and production which, I'm pretty sure, was the whole point of this elegant and enduring return single.

With an arty cover shot (very Bridget Bardot in the 90s), the album came a few weeks later and unveiled the new sophisticated Kylie Minogue to the world. Like Confide In Me, it was an instant success here in the UK and demonstrated to the naysayers that a career post PWL was absolutely possible. The choice of Put Yourself In My Place as second single was a wise one - the Jimmy Harry composition really highlighted how Kylie's voice had matured, emphasising her ability to give each lyric power without belting it out to the rafters. To me, it was her most masterful pop ballad to date (up there with Madonna's Take A Bow for winner of the finest slow song of the year) and, in an album of potential singles, stood out from the moment I first played the album. The lovely languorous pace of the music really let the lyrics breathe, let the heartache of Kylie Minogue spread forth like a blossoming flower in one of the most melodic, graceful ways imaginable. It became grandiose by being understated (and has certainly stood the test of time, sounding just as divine all these years later). I wasn't too concerned when it debuted at 17 in the UK, having faith that it would climb the following week - it did, just missing out on the top ten by a few hundred copies (darn you Bon Jovi's Always); she peaked at 11 both here and in Australia, but lingered on the charts all through the competitive Christmas period. And, to note, both Confide and this song demonstrated the artistic growth of her visuals through stunning videos as amazing as anything Madonna, Michael or Janet were producing.

The launch of the album and two fine singles had put a momentum behind the project that most artists crave for. So it was rather unusual that either the record label or Kylie herself put a halt to further single releases in early 1995 - there was a whopping eight months between single two and three (a lifetime in the pop world). I vaguely recall that it was to do with Kylie filming the BioDome movie and thus her attentions temporarily lay elsewhere. When eventual third single, Where Is The Feeling, was released in July 1995 it might have felt like an afterthought to many people, leading to a (still-respectable) chart placing of number 16. Still, the song only spent 3 weeks in the top 75, not 14 and 9 like Confide and Put Yourself (respectively) previously. I don't recall there being a huge amount of advertising for the song and its perceived under-performance is a real shame as it was actually the ideal third single. It was another facet of Kylie - we'd had eastern, trip-hop mysticism and searing balladry; this (with a Brothers In Rhythm remix which completely transformed the song for the single version) put Ms Minogue front and centre on the club dance floor, full of throbbing beats and enthralling instrumental flourishes. The CD release came with a plethora of remixes, notably a much longer Brothers In Rhythm Soundtrack Mix which featured new lyrics and a stunning mix by David Morales (a version of which had, bizarrely, featured on the second CD single release of Put Yourself In My Place).

Choosing a fourth single (for, at this stage, Kylie had not released more than four singles per album in the UK) was like shooting fish in a barrel. The vast swathes of strings and persuasive rhythms of the Brothers in Rhythm penned Dangerous Game was the spiritual successor musically to both Confide In Me and Put Yourself In My Place. There was something cinematic about the scope of the song - a gentle beginning builds in both passion and intensity to ensure a gripping finale as addictive as any drama you might have been watching on television at the time. I liked that it didn't sound anything like the music of the charts and, therefore, stood out with its fearless musical composition - something that Kylie had longed to do as part of the aim of this album and a task in which she gloriously succeeded. Alternatively, a more commercial proposition might have been the M People produced Time Will Pass You By, something that given an aura of familiarity to the charts. The band gave the pop princess a horn infused dance beat that elicited a more soulful vocal and radiated an aura of devil-may-care, seize-the-moment gleeful joy that got your fingers snapping and toes a-tapping. But alas, neither was meant to be - but that's not to say the label Deconstruction had failed Kylie and her fans; they'd provided a collectable selection of CD singles (2 options for each release except Where Is The Feeling) in cardboard sleeves with an array of remixes. Years later, a 2 disc edition would collect together these remixes, alternate takes and session songs as a testament to what a wonderfully exploratory and creatively satisfying entry in the Kylie Minogue discography. Well worth diving into again and again.