I've just come out of the other side of a brief relationship with somebody and he was a complete and utter Kylie fanatic.

Well, he kept bringing Kylie music around and I kept copying it onto my hard drive because he wanted me to make him a compilation of all Kylie's B-Sides and rare tracks.

The first thing that surprised me is how prolific she's been. Nearly every single over the last ten years has had one or more non-album tracks.

The second thing that surprised me is how close to New Order some of the early Stock/Aitken/Waterman stuff sounds. There's an instrumental version of "Turn It Into Love" which sounds like it could be an unreleased New Order song.

The third thing that surprised me is how good some of it is.

Her voice has definitely improved with age. Her songwriting skills are quite left-field at time too. There's a song from the Impossible Princess album called "Too Far" which shocked me so much, I had to listen to it about three times in a row.

If you're not a Kylie fan and would never dream of listening to her, I'd recommend:

"Too Far" - Musically jarring and the production is odd. Its almost Bjork-ish, it really is that strange;
"Harmony" - Gorgeous sunny Rn'B;
"Almost A Lover" - Techno pop-funk. Very Prince-esque vocal harmonies;
"Ocean Blue" - Her voice is gorgeous. Just Kylie, an acoustic guitar and lots of effects and overdubs;
"Good Like That" - Perfect disco-pop.

I love Kylie!!!

Just bought the Body Language album to listen to on my flight to the U.S. and having listened to just a little of it already, I am REALLY impressed. It's truly 21st century funk! This is the direction Prince should go in....and there are SO many Prince-ish moments on this album! So many layers and intricacies within a fairly minimalist setting.

I love me some Kylie...and yes, she's really come into her own sound lately.

My first thought on hearing this latest album was: "This is what Madonna should have come out with her last album". But then again, Madonna ain't so young, pretty and happening now as Kylie is.

It is all very Prince-esque.

I could easily imagine Vanity 6 singing "Slow". It's very reminiscent of "Make-Up".

yeah kylie is cool. and she ALWAYS sings live. even at mtv awards which is usually mimed.

I hated 'slow' when I first heard it but it grows on me everyday. and the bass line kicks ass.

and i still cant get 'can't get u outta my head' out of my head. it was the song of 2001

plus she's got the look.

mrdespues said:

People be hating on the Body Language album, but it has a lot of solid cuts. "I Feel For You" reminds me of some industrial, RN1814 material. The Prince-y cut on the record, if any, is "Still Standing." I personally adore "Sweet Music," "Promises," "Cruise Control," ("...top down! get on the wheel, baby, things are better when u just feeeel..") "Chocolate," "Loving Days" and THE ULTIMATE "After Dark" (I love the nostaglic feel of the track and the vibe.) A lot of the album reminds me of some late night disco at 3 A.M. So hot.

JANFAN4L said:

I love "Cruise Control" too!

I think the whole vibe of the album is like early 80s disco mixed with Kraftwerk. It sounds like the dying days of Studio 54.

BinaryJustin said:

How could I forget "Obsession" (reminds me of latin freestyle! I can just be in a club and shake my hips to this track and be content) and then you got "Someday" ("...I want my records back!....").

Queen Of Pop

Chico1 said:

i thought u were a Madonna fan

LightOfArt said:

I am... MADONNA is the GODDESS

Chico1 said:

got da point

LightOfArt said:

GOOD! LET'S DANCE!

Chico1 said:

LightOfArt said:

whoa! Too cool! I love that!!

Grossly underrated album.




review
Baseball greats Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas were both born on May 27th, 1968. Dance-pop queen Kylie Minogue was born the next day -- but against all odds, she's aging even more gracefully than they are. Her fantastic new Body Language comes hot on the stilettos of her biggest and best hit ever, "Can't Get You Out of My Head," the 2001 smash where this tiny Australian bombshell finally conquered America. On her latest album, she turns up the heat, working her seductive voice in Prince-style electro-glitz disco gems such as "Slow" and "Secret (Take You Home)." At thirty-five, she's ten times hotter than she was ten years ago -- on Body Language, Kylie Minogue definitely sounds like she has a few more tricks stored on her hard drive than Britney or Christina.
ROB SHEFFIELD
(RS 942, February 19, 2004)


more reviews and song samples here:

Queen of Pop

One of the BEST slow jams of the 90's: "Put Yourself In My Place".

OK, I'm not going to lie - I think the whole Kylie Minogue (1994) album is lush and gorgeous. I also think she has a very beautiful voice (some other users went nuts a few months when I mentioned Kylie in an "underrated singers" thread). Her shows are almost completely live, and they sound great (cop the KylieFever2002 DVD/CD if you can still find it). I don't think I've ever seen her sing over a studio backing track, either - she usually has a troupe of live backup singers. I'm not a huge fan of her SAW material - Donna Summer was really the only singer who could do anything with their rather limited instrumentals and corny lyrics - but there are also some wonderful Kylie pop songs that came out of that era:

"Better The Devil You Know"
"Shocked"
"What Do I Have To Do"
"Step Back In Time"
"Word Is Out"

She got better as she went along - Michael Hutchence encouraged her to spread her wings - and the Kylie Minogue album is the place to start. Here's a summary of her output since 1994:

Kylie Minogue (1994): Contains "Confide In Me", a beautiful Middle Eastern-flavoured ballad (and one that sounds suspiciously like Madonna's Frozen - mere coincidence?), the aforementioned "Put Yourself In My Place" as well as "Where Is The Feeling?" and "Where Has The Love Gone?", percolating dance tracks with sumptuous production values. Rereleased in 2003 remastered with a bonus disc of remixes (including the much-sough-after French version of "Confide In Me" and her lounge-styled remake of Saint Etienne's "Nothing Can Stop Us") and B-sides.

Impossible Princess (1997): "Too Far" sounds like a Bjork riff, "Some Kind Of Bliss" is a great pop/rock bouncer (think Sheryl Crow at her most playful), "Did It Again" is a slinky rocker that pokes fun at Kylie's own image, "Breathe" is a shimmering slice of electronica with an addictive chorus, and so on. Maybe her best record. Certainly her most interesting, even if it was a commercial disaster. Rereleaed in 2003 remastered with a bonus disc of remixes and B-sides.

Light Years (2000): Kylie returns to commercially acceptable dance music. As a dance record, it's very nice, with great (if somewhat forgettable) tracks like "Spinning Around" - her comeback hit - and "Your Disco Needs You" able to keep you moving. Contains the classic Kylie anthem "On A Night Like This" and the pretty uptempo ballad "Please Stay" (which sounds something like an accelerated version of Madonna's "La Isla Bonita"). "Kids", her duet with Robbie Williams, never interested me, however, and the record veers heavily into camp more than once, uncomfortably so at some points. Not a good first purchase.

Fever (2001): The best neodisco record of the past 5 years, and one of the best pop records I've heard in a long time. Ironically, the joyous Daft-Punk-meets-Madonna "Love At First Sight" is becoming the enduring cut from this record - "Can't Get You Out Of My Head", despite all its success, is starting to sound very dated. Of course, you also get "Come Into My World", "In Your Eyes" and the primal beats of the other 8 or so dance cuts on the record. Not one ballad breaks the mood, and we can be thankful. Get the 2-disc Japanese Hyper Edition if you can - all the international B-sides plus 10 remixes in one place.
GREAT B-SIDES: "Baby", "Boy", "Good Like That", "Tightrope" and "Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head" (genius at work)

Body Language (2003): Really, really interesting (albeit not totally successful) record. Things to love:
-"Slow", which defines minimalism
-the 1999-era Prince influence to be found on "Still Standing", "Secret (Take You Home)" (which borrows a small hook from Lisa Lisa's "I Wonder If I Take You Home"), "Obsession" and "Sweet Music"
-"Chocolate" and "Loving Days" - lush, sexy ballads with helium vocals
-the way "Promises" basks in its retro glow
Not so hot:
-"Red Blooded Woman", which is essentially Destiny's Child's "Survivor". Already dated.
-"I Feel For You", "Someday" and "After Dark" - experiments that don't quite work.
[This message was edited Sat Jul 31 23:11:18 2004 by VoicesCarry]

I don't understand why people hate on Body Language. I've been a Kylie fan since I was 6 years old, and it's just overtaken Impossible Princess as my favourite of all her albums.

I resisted and resisted her. My brother was driving Kylie into my skull non-stop for about 2 years. And then Body Language came out and I've had to re-evaluate. I still sometimes don't know what to make of her, but I do love many of her songs. She's easily at the top of her game right now. Never sounded or looked better.

BinaryJustin said:

While compiling my party cd's for an upcoming gardenfest here in Amsterdam I have tried to find and download them all, but most seem a bit elusive.

The only one I have been able to download is Too Far.

Ocean Blue and Good Like That are non-existent on Kazaa AND Shareaza.... but am still trying.

gooeythehamster said:

Ocean Blue is lovely. Keep lookin'. You'll find it.

GangstaFam said:

Just found Almost A Lover!

And found and deleted Turn it Into love.
Too Stock Aitken & Waterman, gave me a headache listening to it.

But love Too Far!

gooeythehamster said:

Everything post SA&W is distinctly better. Except "Better The Devil You Know" that is.

GangstaFam said:

what did you think of :





and

gooeythehamster said:

Harmony was only available as a B-Side on the second CD of a two-CD single set for the Australian release of "In Your Eyes". I am telling you - Kylie has got more shit out there than Prince.

Anyway Goozer, why aren't you using Soulseek? Kazaa has way too many intervention files and Shareaza is crap for anything current.

Org-Note me and I will give you "directions" to Ocean Blue, Good Like That and Harmony.