Let's Get to It

Let's Get to It is the fourth studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released on 14 October 1991 by Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) in the UK, and on 25 November 1991 by Mushroom Records in Australia.[4] Critically, the album drew a mixed reception. Most critics noticed a change in Minogue's image, but criticised the album's songwriting. Let's Get to It remains Minogue's least successful studio album to date, missing the top ten in both her native Australia and United Kingdom. Nonetheless, it was certified gold in Australia.[5] A promotional tour entitled Let's Get to It Tour managed to have success around Europe.

"Right Here, Right Now (Kylie Minogue song)" redirects here. For the 2015 song featuring Minogue, see Right Here, Right Now (Giorgio Moroder song).

Let's Get to It
Studio album by
Kylie Minogue
Released14 October 1991 (1991-10-14)
Recorded1990–91
Genre
Length39:04
Label
Producer
Kylie Minogue chronology
Rhythm of Love
(1990)		 Let's Get to It
(1991)		 Greatest Hits
(1992)
Singles from Let's Get to It
  1. "Word Is Out"
    Released: 28 August 1991
  2. "If You Were with Me Now"
    Released: 21 October 1991
  3. "Give Me Just a Little More Time"
    Released: 13 January 1992
  4. "Finer Feelings"
    Released: 13 April 1992

Background and development
Club music was the main inspiration for Minogue during the time working on the album.

In 1991, Matt Aitken left Stock Aitken Waterman, the long-time record producing trio for Minogue, because he felt he was "burnt out." "People say all our records sound the same, but it came to a point where they started sounding all the same to me," he said.[6]

Over the course of the year, Minogue returned to the studio with her remaining producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, co-writing six tracks with them. She told Smash Hits a lot of her new songs are "pretty different." "Everything from big band swing stuff to a more soulful kind of thing," the magazine recalls her words.[7] Minogue also suggested that she hoped to find time to do more recording that year. "I may do some more writing in America which may lead to another recording there," she told.[8]

During this time, Minogue was fascinated by club music. Although her music was always played in commercial clubs, but the pop element of her earlier works made the "cooler clubs" tend to "frown upon." Minogue then created an alias for herself as "Angel K," set about releasing white label promotional vinyl's of tracks included "Do You Dare" and "Closer", both of the songs later appeared as B-sides on "Give Me Just a Little More Time" and "Finer Feelings", respectively.[9]

The album was not a contractual obligation for Minogue as this had been fulfilled with the 3 studio albums (plus the future Greatest Hits) so a new deal was re-negotiated. Following her release from PWL, she stated that she felt stifled by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, saying, "I was very much a puppet in the beginning. I was blinkered by my record company. I was unable to look left or right."[10] When asked about whether he knew it would be her final studio album with PWL, Waterman said "Yes. I mean in hindsight, we should have actually sold that album before we made it. If I was as brilliant as I’d like to think I could have been I would have had the common sense to say that Kylie had become such a big star she was overshadowing us and killing our creativity and that if we had stepped out at that point, we’d have had to gone back to what we were good at and that was finding new artists and constantly finding new things to do and being completely creative instead of worrying about who was going to pay the rent and all the salaries at the end of the month."[11]

Songs
Janet Jackson appeared on the album as one of the interpolations for "Too Much of a Good Thing."

Digital Spy's Nick Levine called the album her most "diverse set of songs yet."[12] In Social Theory in Popular Culture, Lee Barron noted her significant musical differences from her "initial formula" of the early works in the album and the previous, Rhythm of Love, with the latter has "a sound even flirting with R&B influences."[3]

The first track of the album, "Word Is Out", is a new jack swing[12] and R&B[13] track, with "swingbeat big band sound."[14] "Too Much of a Good Thing" is a house track which contains interpolations from Janet Jackson's "Control" and "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.[12] "If You Were with Me Now" was compared by to "Disney duet balladry." The techno-pop[12] "I Guess I Like It Like That" includes a stadium keyboard part that lays the foundation of the song—which Chris True from AllMusic called it one of album's "noticeable missteps", an interpolation of "I Like It Like That" by Salt-N-Pepa and a sample from "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited.[15]

Waterman stated: "I went to bed, and, and I literally was in bed thinking of all these records that I had in my life [...] I was going through the library mentally thinking, what song would she never have done that we could do that was just a great song. And one of my favorite songs was Chairman of the Board's 'Give Me Just a Little More Time.'" He was working in the middle of the night when he ran downstairs to his record label to find the track. The song was played to Minogue the next morning.[16][17]

Artwork and release

The artwork was photographed by German fashion photographer Jürgen Teller. In the cover, Minogue wears a dress which was designed by Nobuhiko Kitamura for Japanese fashion brand Hysteric Glamour, it was described as a mini dress with "stretch lycra, multi-coloured green, yellow pink vanity print, sleeveless, shoe string shoulder straps in same fabric." The dress was later donated to the Cultural Gifts Program of the Arts Centre Melbourne by Minogue herself in 2004.[18] "The album cover will worry fans the most," said Minogue. "I like it, but it's black and white and there are three men with me. You don't realise they're men until you look at it carefully - you think they're just shapes around the edge. You wonder what I'm thinking because I've got this weird expression on my face which people haven't seen before. [...] It's going to be interesting to see what people make of the album cover."[19] Chris True from AllMusic said the cover is "kind of creepy."[15] A video was released following the album titled Let's Get To...The Videos. It included four music videos from Minogue's previous album Rhythm of Love, two music videos from Let's Get to It, and exclusive behind the scenes footage. It was released in VHS and LD format. The behind the scenes footage was included in Kylie's DVD Greatest Hits 87–97.[20]

Promotion

Tour
Main article: Let's Get to It Tour

Live performances

Singles

"Word Is Out" was serviced as the lead single for the album on 28 August 1991. It was her first lead single not to reach the top ten on the UK Singles Chart.[21]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Classic Pop(unfavourable)[22]
Digital Spy[12]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[23]
PopMatters[2]
Select[1]
Slant(unfavourable)[24]
Smash Hits[25]

Chris True from AllMusic gave the album two and a half stars, called the album is "certainly as danceable" as her previous work Rhythm of Love but "not her most solid release, but fans of her early work will enjoy it."[15] Joe Sweeney from PopMatters said the album's musical styles make it "sound more dated by half than Rhythm of Love."[2] Digital Spy claimed their readers not to let the Stock Aitken Waterman fool them.[12] Nick Griffiths from Select called it "easily her best album", with the "teeny-beat" production has been "superseded by a glossier, more soulful production, rising to the impressive but blatant clubdom 'I Guess I Like It Like That.'" However, he still looked at the album as a "false tease", claimed her music "is still for virgins."[1] Nathan Wood from Foxtel's MaxTV called the album "a musical exploration."[26]

Minogue had also received a nomination for Best Female Artist category at the sixth ARIA Music Awards in 1992 for her work on the album.[27]

Commercial performance

Let's Get to It is Minogue's least successful album to date. The album peaked at #15 in 1991 in the United Kingdom upon its release, the album then re-entered the British charts after the success of "Give Me Just a Little More Time", which was released in January 1992, seeing the album renter the UK chart at number 68 in January 1992, then dropping off. Three weeks later, the album re-entered the UK albums chart at number 50.[28]

Track listing

All songs written by Kylie Minogue, Mike Stock and Pete Waterman and produced by Stock and Waterman, except where noted.

Let's Get to It – Standard version
No.TitleLength
1."Word Is Out" (writers: Stock, Waterman)3:35
2."Give Me Just a Little More Time" (writers: Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne)3:08
3."Too Much of a Good Thing"4:24
4."Finer Feelings" (writers: Stock, Waterman)3:54
5."If You Were with Me Now" (duet with Keith Washington) (writers: Minogue, Stock, Waterman, Washington)3:11
6."Let's Get to It" (writers: Stock, Waterman)4:49
7."Right Here, Right Now"3:52
8."Live and Learn"3:15
9."No World Without You"2:46
10."I Guess I Like It Like That"6:00
Total length:39:04
Let's Get To...The Videos – VHS version
No.TitleLength
1."Better the Devil You Know" (music video) 
2."Step Back in Time" (music video) 
3."What Do I Have to Do" (music video) 
4."Shocked" (music video) 
5."Word Is Out" (music video) 
6."If You Were with Me Now" (music video) 
7."Behind the scenes" 
Let's Get to It – 1991 Japanese bonus 3" CD
No.TitleLength
1."Word Is Out" (Instrumental)3:31
2."What Do I Have to Do" (Instrumental)3:48
3."Step Back in Time" (Instrumental)3:30
Let's Get to It – 2012 Japanese reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Do You Dare?" (NRG Edit)3:21
12."Closer" (Pleasure Mix)6:48
13."Say the Word - I'll Be There"4:12
14."Word Is Out" (Summer Breeze 12" Mix)7:44
15."If You Were With Me Now" (Extended)5:09
16."Give Me Just a Little More Time" (Extended)4:34
17."Finer Feelings" (Brothers in Rhythm 12")6:48
Let's Get to It – 2015 reissue deluxe version (Disc 1)
No.TitleLength
11."Say the Word - I'll Be There"4:13
12."Do You Dare?" (NRG Edit)3:21
13."Closer" (Edit)3:57
14."Keep On Pumpin' It" (Angelic Remix Edit)4:02
15."Word Is Out" (Extended Version)5:52
16."If You Were With Me Now" (Extended Version)5:10
17."Give Me Just a Little More Time" (Extended Version)4:35
18."Finer Feelings" (Brothers in Rhythm 12" Mix)6:49
Let's Get to It – 2015 reissue deluxe version (Disc 2)
No.TitleLength
1."Keep On Pumpin' It" (Angelic Remix)7:26
2."Do You Dare?" (NRG Mix)7:05
3."Closer" (The Pleasure Mix)6:48
4."Word Is Out" (Summer Breeze Mix)7:45
5."Too Much of a Good Thing" (Original 12" Mix)5:50
6."Let's Get to It" (Tony King 12" Mix)6:00
7."Right Here, Right Now" (Tony King 12" Mix)7:57
8."Live and Learn" (Original 12" Mix)5:58
9."Keep On Pumpin' It" (Astral Flight Mix)6:55
10."Do You Dare?" (New Rave Mix)6:40
11."No World Without You" (Original Mix)2:54
12."If You Were With Me Now" (Orchestral Mix)3:12
13."Finer Feelings" (Brothers in Rhythm Dub)4:09
Let's Get to It – 2015 reissue deluxe version (Disc 3)
No.TitleLength
1."Word Is Out" (Music Video) 
2."If You Were With Me Now" (Music Video) 
3."Give Me Just a Little More Time" (Music Video) 
4."Finer Feelings" (Music Video) 
5."What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" (Music Video) 
6."Celebration" (Music Video) 
7."Word Is Out" (Australian version, part of the bonus footage section) 
8."Thank Yous" (Part of the bonus footage section) 
9."Word Is Out" (Live on Wogan) 
10."Word Is Out" (Live on Top Of The Pops) 
11."Give Me Just a Little More Time" (Live on Going Live!) 
12."Finer Feelings" (Live on Top Of The Pops) 
13."What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" (Live on Top Of The Pops) 
14."Celebration" (Live on Top Of The Pops) 
15."Celebration" (Live at the Smash Hits Poll Winner's Party) 
Notes
  • The Summer Breeze 7" Edit of "Word Is Out" was used for the Australian release.
  • "Too Much of a Good Thing" contains an interpolation of "Control" (1986) by Janet Jackson and "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" (1991) by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.
  • "Right Here, Right Now" samples "Are You Gonna Be There" (1991) by Shay Jones.
  • "I Guess I Like It Like That" contains an interpolation of "I Like It Like That" (1988) by Salt-N-Pepa.
  • The song "I Guess I like Like That" samples 2 Unlimited's "Get Ready For This" written by Phil Wilde, Jean-Paul de Coster and Ray Slijngaard. In the 2015 re-release, Wilde and de Coster were credited as co-authors of the song (Stock, Waterman, Minogue, de Coster, Wilde).
  • "Right Here, Right Now" is entirely unrelated to the better-known song of the same name Minogue released in 2015.

Release formats
  • CD — containing the 10-track album.
  • CD Japanese edition — 10-track album featuring an exclusive booklet containing pictures from the Rhythm of Love promotional shoots with all-new artwork and a bonus 3" CD.
  • Special edition released in 2015, includes eight bonus tracks with 24-page booklet that contains "full lyrics, new sleeve notes and classic images."

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Let's Get to It.

Charts
Charts (1991) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 13
Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[30] 59
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[31] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[32] 15

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[33] Gold 35,000^
Japan — 25,350[34]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

Footnotes
  1. Griffiths, Nick (December 1991). "Reviews: New Albums —- Let's Get to It - Kylie Minogue". Select. Emap Metro. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  2. "Kylie Minogue: Kylie / Enjoy Yourself / Rhythm of Love / Let's Get to It". 9 April 2015.
  3. Barron 2012, p. 65
  4. "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 25/11/91 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 96)". ARIA, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 190.
  6. Petridis, Alexis (3 December 2005). "Return of the hitmen". Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  7. "Kylie Interview: "Sexbomb!!? Never call me that!"". Smash Hits. Emap Metro. 1991. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  8. "Kylie says: 'I love them!!'". Smash Hits. Emap Metro. 25 August 1991. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  9. Staff writer(s) (3 August 2002). "Kylie Minogue Special". Rage. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  10. Shuker, p. 164
  11. "Interview: Pete Waterman – with Kylie's first four albums getting the deluxe reissue treatment we talk to the producer behind them". Louder than War. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  12. Nick Levine (22 May 2010). "Music The Sound - Kylie: Revisited #4: 'Let's Get To It". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  13. Robert Copsey (8 February 2013). "Kylie Minogue signs to Roc Nation: What does it mean?". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  14. Eggar, Robin (25 August 1991). "Kylie: The word is out". Sunday Mirror Magazine. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  15. Chris True. "Let's Get to It - Kylie Minogue". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  16. Fat Gay Vegan (9 February 2015). "Interview: Pete Waterman". Louder Than War. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  17. Simon Duke (5 November 2014). "Kylie Minogue: A look back to some of Kylie's early-90s hits ahead of her Metro Radio Arena show". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  18. "Search Results". collections.artscentremelbourne.com.au.
  19. "I look weird on my new album". Big!. 1991. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  20. "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 16/12/1991 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 99)". ARIA, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  21. Sean Smith (13 March 2014). Kylie. Simon and Schuster. pp. 89–. ISBN 978-1-4711-3583-5.
  22. Flynn 2019, p. 47: "Classic Album: Rhythm of Love" by Wade, Ian
  23. Larkin 2011, pp. 3435–3437, "Kylie Minogue"
  24. Cinquemani, Sal (5 April 2018). "Disco Down Under: Every Kylie Minogue Album Ranked". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  25. Andrews, Mark (16 October 1991). "Kylie Minogue: Let's Get to It (PWL)". Smash Hits. 20 (336). London: EMAP. p. 43. ISSN 0260-3004.
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. "Winners by Year - 1992". ARIA Awards. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  28. "Official Charts > Kylie Minogue". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  29. "Australiancharts.com – Kylie Minogue – Let's Get to It". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  30. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 45. 9 November 1991. p. 33. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 12 February 2019 – via American Radio History.
  31. 「あなたもＭ？」 カイリー・ミノーグ [Are you M too? – Kylie Minogue] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  32. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  33. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums Chart – Week Ending 29 Mar 1992 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 113)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  34. Okamoto 2006

Sources

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