Kylie Minogue (album)

Kylie Minogue is the fifth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, first released on 19 September 1994, by Deconstruction, Mushroom, and Arista Records. It was her first studio album released after leaving PWL. Through her new deal, Minogue worked with new producers including Brothers in Rhythm, M People, Farley And Heller, Jimmy Harry and Ronin, among others.

This article is about Kylie Minogue's 1994 album. For the 1988 album, see Kylie (album). For the 1997 album, released in some markets with the title Kylie Minogue, see Impossible Princess. For all of her albums, see Kylie Minogue album discography.

Kylie Minogue
Studio album by Kylie Minogue
Released	19 September 1994
Recorded	1993–1994
Studio	Sarm West (London), Axis Studios, Power Station, Whorga Musica (New York City)
Genre	Dance-pop[1]
Length	57:12
Label	Deconstruction Mushroom
Producer	Steve Anderson Dave Seaman M People Pete Heller Terry Farley Jimmy Harry
Kylie Minogue chronology
Let's Get to It (1991) Kylie Minogue (1994) Impossible Princess (1997)
Alternate cover
Canadian edition
Singles from Kylie Minogue
"Confide in Me" Released: 29 August 1994 "Put Yourself in My Place" Released: 14 November 1994 "Where Is the Feeling?" Released: 10 July 1995

Musically, the album contains songs of many musical genres but stays generally in the pop music field. The album represented a new change in Minogue's music, working with more new jack swing, jazz, house, and techno elements. It became the third studio album by Minogue to contain songs written by her. The main themes of the album concern love, with many of the sub-themes heading towards confession, infidelity, sex and lust. Examples of the themes come from singles "Confide in Me" and "Put Yourself in My Place", both surrounding the theme of love and honesty.

Upon release, Kylie Minogue received favourable reviews from most music critics. Many critics praised the direction of the album, who thought the midtempo songs were pleasing and praised Minogue's vocals and production.[2] Kylie Minogue was a chart success, peaking at number three in Australia, and was certified Gold. It was equally successful in the United Kingdom, peaking at number four, and was certified Gold for shipments of 100,000 copies.

Three singles were released; "Confide in Me", the lead single from the album, became one of Minogue's most successful single releases, reaching number one for five weeks in Australia, number two in the United Kingdom and reaching number one in Israel, as well as charting well across Europe and the US dance charts. The second single, "Put Yourself in My Place", reached number eleven in both Australia and the UK. The song featured a popular music video directed by Kier McFarlane. "Where Is the Feeling?" became the third release and reached number 16 in the UK and number 31 in Australia. Minogue did not do an initial world tour or headlining tour to support the album and focused promotion on gigs and TV appearances.

Background

Following a successful tenure under the helm of Stock Aitken Waterman at PWL, which had seen Kylie evolve from soap star turned pop star, to an internationally recognised recording artist and style icon, 1992 saw the release of Greatest Hits and a dissolution of her ties to the label.[3] In the autobiographical Kylie: La La La, the book recounts Minogue's dissatisfaction with her output during the latter years of the partnership, as Stock Aitken Waterman reverted to "formulaic tunes of old" and by the time Let's Get to It (1991) came, "the magic [had] gone and the record sank quickly".[4]

"At the beginning, even if they'd ever said, 'Kylie, what do you think?', I wouldn't have had a clue. Only toward the end did I have a clue, and by then I wanted to break free of the chains binding me. I was tired of being the SAW popstrel."[5]

Minogue subsequently signed to indie label Deconstruction in early 1993, who promised creative freedom: "I liked [their] attitude, I quite liked their arrogance, and I liked the vision they had. [...] There wouldn't be much point in leaving PWL and going somewhere exactly the same, so it was a big change."[6][5] Deconstruction was known for being an innovative figure in the dance scene–concurrently, it was "unheard of" for a mainstream pop artist to forgo a major label: "I was aware that it was being perceived as a bit of a radical move, which I loved."[7][8][9]

As work began on her new music, an early meeting with Deconstruction took place concerning which direction Minogue intended to pursue: "We had two choices–to record pop songs that would sell, or to experiment, let me loose in a field and see what happens."[6] Kylie was "a bit of a blank canvas in many ways as post-PWL, the world was her oyster," noted a producer on the album. The label was keen to take up different avenues with A&R Pete Hadfield's intent to push the boundaries, aware of the perception that Deconstruction would simply usher Kylie towards a more conventional approach to dance music.[8][4]

Recording and development

In an attempt to extend herself as an artist, Minogue took an active role in planning the album and sought out a diverse group of collaborators to work with. They would be inline with what Hadfield referred to as "the re-engineering of Kylie Minogue".[4] Quentin Harrison of PopMatters conveys that Kylie was to be "[rebranded] as a pop savant" with popular music at the time "rife with overlapping mainstream and underground talent."[7] In an interview with NME, Keith Cameron wrote that Kylie "talks in the amazed tones of a blind child who has just rediscovered the gift of sight," in regards to the making of her album.[10]

"It was just definitely time for more personal fulfilment. Having a chance to express myself and to have something I could call mine. I'm redoing a vocal next week–I never had opportunities like that before. I never heard the song before I recorded it! I'm actually going through what is normal for an artist. You write or if you're not writing the song, you contribute, involved at every step of the process."[10]

Early recording sessions for Kylie Minogue took place in 1993 with Saint Etienne and the Rapino Brothers, which were ultimately fruitless as the material trod familiar ground and led Minogue in the wrong direction. Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne later remarked that her camp "had no idea what they wanted, apart from being different from the SAW stuff," though he expressed his amazement at her "powerful" voice that was masked by SAW's double tracking.[10] With the Rapino Brothers, Kylie had written eight songs and all but one–"Automatic Love"–were scrapped. The song was then passed to Brothers in Rhythm to rework in their style, giving Kylie her only writing credit on the album.

"There was this great misconception, she was far from a puppet in any meeting I had with her. She's a very driven individual, very creative, very aware of imagery [...] But it struck me that for her to modernise and move on she had to take some risks musically and show her more creative side."[4]

Pete Hadfield, Deconstruction A&R

Brothers in Rhythm, a duo consisting of Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman, were previously involved with Minogue through a remix of "Finer Feelings" from Let's Get to It (1991). When word came that Kylie had parted ways with PWL, the duo phoned Deconstruction co-founder Keith Blackhurst–despite no prior experience writing for others.[8] Lunch was arranged and Minogue met the pair at DMC Studios in Slough, Seaman recounts: "We were just very much on the same page. I think at that point of her career her persona was bigger than the music and everybody was kind of willing her to make a more credible record. She had outgrown the pop music she had been making until then."[11] Brothers in Rhythm were enlisted as the album's chief producers; her stylist William Baker expressed that the duo were aware of a crossover dynamic between pop and dance music and found Kylie to be the "perfect vehicle" for their hybrids: "Her vocal range and willingness to experiment musically meant that Steve and Dave could push the envelope further."[4] Kylie would travel down from her residence of Chelsea over the course of the album's production; the first engagement resulted in "Confide in Me".[11]

Jimmy Harry contributed "Put Yourself in My Place", written especially for Kylie, and "If I Was Your Lover" to the album; these would be the only entries to be recorded outside the United Kingdom.[12] A song entitled "Intuition" was recorded by Minogue during these sessions and was shelved until 2019, when Harry gave the demo to American singer Liz for her album Planet Y2K.[13] Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, better known as Pet Shop Boys, were approached by Minogue's camp after the pair finished work on their 1993 album Very. Speaking to Attitude, Tennant states: "Well, we always had to work with Kylie, of course, because she’s such a trademark: Kylie!" They initially declined, being creatively spent, before writing a song that sounded like "Stock Aitken Waterman Kylie"–Tennant came to realise it was the exact opposite of her motivations behind the record. The demo to "Falling" was sent to Deconstruction nonetheless, where it was well-received by Minogue and given to Pete Heller and Terry Farley to rework: "It doesn't really have the same tune in it, for instance, and they haven't put the chorus in, but I suppose that's very modern."[14]

Composition

AllMusic described the album as "still dance-pop, there's atmosphere and style in the songs that wasn't there on Let's Get to It. Definitely the start of the second phase of her career."[1] According to Nick Levine from Digital Spy, "The Singing Budgie stretching her wings and finding she could soar. Kylie Minogue is a sophisticated, stylish dance record that tips its cap – oh-so-elegantly, of course - to everything from midtempo R&B to classic balladry to ambient chill-out to Middle Eastern pop to... erm... M People-produced piano house."[2]

Taking on a more house music vibe, "Where Has the Love Gone?" features an effected keyboard over a nineties club beat. Lyrically, the song tells of Minogue seeking an answer for why her relationship failed. The next song, "Falling", features a dance-pop production with a synthesized and bass-heavy backing while Minogue's vocals are breathy with large amounts of echo. The song tells of how you can overcome your past and fall in love again. The closing track on the album is "Time Will Pass You By". This track revisits the acid jazz style with a prominent brass section over a rhythmic disco drumbeat. Lyrically, the song is about not taking life for granted and enjoying it to its fullest. For the album's Canadian release, Minogue recorded a franglais version of "Confide in Me", known as "Fie-toi à moi". It was released exclusively on the Canadian edition of the album.[15]

Singles

"Confide in Me", the lead single from the album, became one of Minogue's most successful single releases, reaching number one for five weeks in Australia, number two in the United Kingdom and reaching number one in Israel. The song was accompanied by an infomercial-like video. The slow tempo dance track, written and produced by Brothers in Rhythm, features Minogue's vocals over layers of strings and drumbeats. The second single "Put Yourself in My Place" reached number eleven in both Australia and the UK. The song featured a popular music video directed by Kier McFarlane. Minogue recreated the opening sequence of the classic Jane Fonda film, Barbarella (1968) in the video, performing a slow strip tease inside a spacecraft.

The follow-up single to "Put Yourself in My Place" was initially planned to be "If I Was Your Lover". Originally mixed by Jimmy Harry, the track was remixed to give it a more urban appeal. The single was supposed to be released in the US first and then in the UK if the US release was successful. After the record contract for the US fell through, the UK single release was scrapped. Instead, "Where Is the Feeling?" became the third release and reached number 16 in the UK and number 31 in Australia. "Time Will Pass You By" was planned to be the final single from the album and remixes were commissioned; the Paul Masterson Mix being one of them.[16][17] Instead, the collaboration with Nick Cave, "Where the Wild Roses Grow", was released in late 1995.[18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Digital Spy	[2]

Kylie Minogue had received generally positive reviews from music critics, many praising the slow dance music. Chris True from AllMusic gave it a positive review. He said "Kylie Minogue's fifth album no longer featured the Stock-Aitken-Waterman production gloss and found the diminutive singer working with hip dance producers like David Seaman. From the first notes of the opener "Confide in Me", you know this is not the teen pop queen of old. Kylie Minogue (also note the use of her last name on the cover) wanted to sound grown up, and she pulls it off with ease. While it is still dance-pop, there's atmosphere and style in the songs that wasn't there on Let's Get to It. Definitely the start of the second phase of her career." He had highlighted "Confide in Me", "If I Was Your Lover" and "Automatic Love" as the album picks.[1] Nick Levine from Digital Spy awarded the album four stars out of five. He wrote in his retrospective review: "Cohesive, classy and – much like KM herself – remarkably unmarked by the passing years, this album seduced us like the high-end escort who knocked on our bedroom door bearing champagne, strawberries and an impressive selection of novelty condoms. On a more serious note, we can't end this Revisited without mentioning the quality of Kylie's vocals here – her early critics will have spat out their cappuccinos when they heard the way she grandstands on 'Automatic Love'."[2]

Commercial performance

Kylie Minogue debuted at number three in her native Australia and in the United Kingdom at number four; resulting in the album being certified Gold. The album debuted at number thirty-nine on the Swedish Albums Chart.[19]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Kylie Minogue.

Standard edition[20]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Confide in Me"	Steve Anderson Dave Seaman Owain Barton	Brothers in Rhythm	5:51
2.	"Surrender"	Gerry DeVeaux Charlie Mole	DeVeaux John Waddle Tim Bran	4:25
3.	"If I Was Your Lover"	Jimmy Harry	Harry	4:45
4.	"Where Is the Feeling?"	Wilf Smarties Jayn Hanna	Brothers in Rhythm	6:59
5.	"Put Yourself in My Place"	Harry	Harry	4:54
6.	"Dangerous Game"	Anderson Seaman	Brothers in Rhythm	5:30
7.	"Automatic Love"	Kylie Minogue Inga Humpe The Rapino Brothers	Brothers in Rhythm	4:45
8.	"Where Has the Love Gone?"	Alex Palmer Julie Stapleton	Pete Heller Terry Farley	7:46
9.	"Falling"	Neil Tennant Chris Lowe	Heller Farley	6:43
10.	"Time Will Pass You By"	Dino Fekaris Nick Zesses John Rhys	M People	5:26
Total length:				57:12

Japanese edition[21]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
11.	"Love Is Waiting"	Mike Percy Tim Lever Tracy Ackerman	Brothers in Rhythm	4:52
12.	"Nothing Can Stop Us"	Bob Stanley Pete Wiggs	Saint Etienne	4:06

Canadian edition[22]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
11.	"Confide in Me" (French version)	Anderson Seaman Barton	Brothers in Rhythm	5:51

Special edition bonus disc[23]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Dangerous Overture"	Anderson Seaman	Brothers in Rhythm	1:20
2.	"Confide in Me" (Justin Warfield mix)	Anderson Seaman Barton	Brothers in Rhythm	5:27
3.	"Put Yourself in My Place" (Dan's Old School mix)	Harry	Harry	4:31
4.	"Where Is the Feeling?" (Acoustic version)	Smarties Hanna	Brothers in Rhythm	4:51
5.	"Nothing Can Stop Us"	Stanley Wiggs	Saint Etienne	4:06
6.	"Love Is Waiting"	Percy Lever Ackerman	Brothers in Rhythm	4:46
7.	"Time Will Pass You By" (Paul Masterson mix)	Fekaris Zesses Rhys	M People	7:34
8.	"Where Is the Feeling?" (West End TKO mix)	Smarties Hanna	Brothers in Rhythm	8:11
9.	"Falling" (Alternative mix)	Tennant Lowe	Heller Farley	8:40
10.	"Confide in Me" (Big Brothers mix)	Anderson Seaman Barton	Brothers in Rhythm	10:27
11.	"Surrender" (Talking Soul mix)	DeVeaux Mole	DeVeaux Waddle Bran	4:26
12.	"Put Yourself in My Place" (Acoustic version)	Harry	Harry	4:46
13.	"If You Don't Love Me" (Acoustic version)	Paddy McAloon	Brothers in Rhythm	2:10
14.	"Confide in Me" (French version)	Anderson Seaman Barton	Brothers in Rhythm	5:51

Personnel

Kylie Minogue – lead vocals Greg Bone – guitar Steve Anderson – piano, production Brothers in Rhythm – production, arrangement Dancin' Danny D – production, remixing Gerry DeVeaux – production, arrangement Jimmy Harry – production, arrangement Pete Heller – production, engineering M People – production, arrangement Paul Masterson – production, remixing Ronin – producer, remixing Saint Etienne – production Dave Seaman – production John Waddell – production, arrangement Justin Warfield – production, remixing

Wil Malone – string arrangements Richard Niles – string arrangements, brass arrangement, orchestral arrangements Andy Bradfield – engineering Tim Bran – engineering, associate production Ian Catt – engineering Doug DeAngelis – engineering, mixing Terry Farley – engineering Paul West – engineering, mixing Gary Wilkinson – engineering Paul Wright III – engineering, mixing Dave Pemberton – engineering, mixing Niall Flynn – engineering assistance, assistance Paul Anthony Taylor – programming Tom Parker – liner notes, project consultant Katie Grand – styling Rankin – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1994) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 3 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[25] 54 South African Albums (RISA)[26] 19 Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 15 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 39 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 33 UK Albums (OCC)[30] 4 Chart (1998) Peak position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 78 Chart (2018) Peak position Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 30 UK Albums (OCC)[33] 67 UK Albums Sales (OCC)[34] 25 UK Independent Albums (OCC)[35] 9 UK Physical Sales (OCC)[36] 21 UK Vinyl Albums (OCC)[37] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position Australian Albums Chart[38] 84

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[39]	Gold	35,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[40]	Gold	100,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. True, Chris. "Kylie Minogue - Kylie Minogue". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
2. "Kylie: Revisited #5: 'Kylie Minogue'". Digital Spy. 29 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
3. Bernstein, Jonathan (January 1995). And God Created Kylie. Spin. p. 38. OCLC 943793653.
4. Minogue, Kylie; Baker, William (2002). Kylie: La La La. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0340734396. OCLC 50494879.
5. Sullivan, Caroline (6 September 1994). "Kylie Minogue: Fever Kitsch". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via Rock's Backpages.
6. Stanley-Clarke, Jenny; Goodall, Nigel (2002). Kylie Naked: A Biography. London: Ebury Press. ISBN 9781849892995. OCLC 747426497.
7. Harrison, Quentin (10 February 2014). "Fortune Favors the Brave: Madonna and Kylie Minogue Pick Up Donna Summer's Torch and Run With It". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
8. Harrison, Quentin (6 March 2015). "Interview: Reviving the Feeling, Brothers in Rhythm on Kylie Minogue's "Where Is the Feeling?" Turning 20". Blogcritics. Archived from the original on 7 March 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
9. Hann, Michael (26 April 2018). "Kylie on How Ageing, Breast Cancer and Nick Cave All Influenced Her Greatest Hits". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
10. Cameron, Keith (3 September 1994). "Kylie Minogue: A Wallaby Together". New Musical Express. Retrieved 14 October 2018 – via Rock's Backpages.
11. Smith, Sean (2006). Kylie. Pocket. ISBN 978-1-84739-030-1.
12. "Kylie". 3 January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
13. Nied, Mike (11 November 2019). "Premiere: LIZ Announces Debut Album 'Planet Y2K,' Drops New Single "Intuition"". Idolator. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
14. Burston, Paul (13 March 2016). "Neil Tennant's 1994 Coming Out Interview". Attitude. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
15. "Kylie Minogue". Discogs.com. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
16. "track information | discography". mixKylie.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
17. P. Heyer. "Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess". Kya.pytalhost.net. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
18. "Album Information". MixKylie.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
19. Steffen Hung. "Kylie Minogue - Kylie Minogue". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
20. "Kylie Minogue - Kylie Minogue (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
21. "Kylie Minogue - Kylie Minogue (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 19 September 1994. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
22. "Kylie Minogue - Kylie Minogue (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
23. "Kylie Minogue - Kylie Minogue (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 26 May 2003. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
24. "Australiancharts.com – Kylie Minogue – Kylie Minogue". Hung Medien.
25. "カイリー・ミノーグ" [DaKylie Minogue] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
26. "South African Divas Albums". Geo Cities. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
28. "Swedishcharts.com – Kylie Minogue – Kylie Minogue". Hung Medien.
29. "Swisscharts.com – Kylie Minogue – Kylie Minogue". Hung Medien.
30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
31. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kylie Minogue – Kylie Minogue" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 - 28 September 2018 - 04 October 2018".
33. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
34. "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100 - 28 September 2018 - 04 October 2018".
35. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50 - 28 September 2018 - 04 October 2018".
36. "Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100 - 28 September 2018 - 04 October 2018".
37. "Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 - 28 September 2018 - 04 October 2018".
38. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums 1994". Australian Record Industry Association Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
39. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
40. "British album certifications – Kylie Minogue – Kylie Minogue". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Kylie Minogue in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• Kylie.com — official website.