Kylie New Album Preview

[EricMontreal22]

My adored Kylie has a new album set for April. Screw the PR about trying to break the US--I wish they'd give up and accept that she'll never be massive there--at least this time they aren't forcing some blah R&B trackson her in hopes the US will like them. Anyway, I do think it's smart to just use one or two producers for the full album (like nearly all albums in the 60s-80s did), Stuart Price can be brilliant, or dated but I'm optimistic. The last few Kylie albums have suffered a bit from having too many diff producers thrown into the pot. And workin with rising star Nerina is at least an... intriguing choice.

From Billboard:

Kylie Minogue, Title TBD (Parlophone/EMI)

Release Date: April 2010

She may be a superstar everywhere but the United States, but American audiences were the first to get a sneak preview of Kylie Minogue's 10th studio set on her recent U.S. tour. The happy-go-lucky disco-pop of "Better Than Today" is a good benchmark for the new album, according to insiders, which sees the Australian star going back to basics after 2007's eclectic "X." That album-which sold 462,000 copies in the United Kingdom, according to the Official Charts Co.-featured multiple songwriting collaborations, but the new record is largely co-written with British singer/songwriter Nerina Pallot and produced by Stuart Price, most famous for his work with Madonna. "Kylie makes pop records," Parlophone's Leonard says. "What we're trying to achieve is an album that has a sound and feel all the way through. We've got the people and songs in place to do that." "X" only sold 38,000 copies stateside, according to Nielsen SoundScan, but Leonard expects the United States to be a priority this time around, after rave reviews for her debut American tour. "She's had sporadic success there before," he says, "but there's a lot of anticipation in the U.S. for Kylie to deliver this record."

[Chris B]

I hate that people keep making like X was such a flop in the US. The whole project was so rushed I don't know what they were expecting. In the US I think 2 Hearts or Wow would've made a better lead single and the project needed promo and momentum. Not her coming over the week the album and single are released and then leaving.

I can't wait to hear this album and hope it works out.

[EricMontreal22]

Despite the probs, I liked X (it wasn't rushed though--she had over 40 demos to choose from!!). THE big mistake was releasing it so much later in the US--she has a small US fanbase anyway and they all had already bought the CD on import by the time it was released domestically.

[Chris B]

Her last two albums also suffered from risky lead singles. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Slow and 2 Hearts, but it's not going to launch a huge album. She needed to go with something like Wow and for BL Red Blooded Woman (especially in the US). Both songs did okay and with the big first single push I think they could've been huge hits. Especially Wow. I just hope she picks a strong first single this time!

I also agree that X was a good album. I love it and all it's b sides. I can't believe Cherry Bomb didn't make the album.

[Sylph]

I was just reading the Wikipedia article on her and LOL! there's a reference to a WSJ article which describes her as an "international star who seems perpetually unable to conquer the U.S. market". And if she hasn't done it by now, I think there are no chances really. Not with Euro-pop/disco stuff.

I had no idea she recorded her first album in 1988. That's new to me. Love At First Sight and In Your Eyes plus Red Blooded Woman are my 3 favourite songs. The others I'm not too big on. And I fail to remember what singles did she have from X, except for The One, another fave with that pulsing beat.

Slow and similar songs annoy me.

[EricMontreal22]

I love The One--the singles from X were In My Arms (which I love as well), the cute but meh Wow, 2 Hearts (lead single and the fact it was pretty unexpected for Kylie may have thrown people off), and then in various places the Bloodshy/Avant produced Speakerphone and in the US the Janet-like All I See (which along with Red Blooded Woman previously were examples of her label pushing her to do more American sounding records and having them flop in the US. They don't seem to realize that her on emassive US hit, Outa My Head, wasn't remotely American sounding so while it'sprob hopeless to get any major hits now in the US, going American in terms of sound is counter productive).

My fave of her producers she's worked with the past decade are Biffco who cowrote/produced IMHO her best singles--Light Years, Please Stay, In Your Eyes, Love Affair, Love at First Sight, The One and In My Arms among others--though the Scissor Sisters produced Moroder hommage of I Believe In You is pretty awesome. I hope Stuart Price doesn't deviate from that sound too much (considering what he's produced, I have a feeling he won't though I hope this sounds more like his work with Frankmusik this past year than say Madonna's Confessions album which would be a totally obvious way to go).

Her 1988 album is where her only earlier US hit, Locomotion is from--I'm surprised you didn't know that. She was one of the puppets of UK dance/pop masterminds Stock/Aitken/Waterman (who ruled the European/UK charts in the late 80s but only had a few breakthroughs in the US as I'm sure you know--Rick Astley, etc, I went through a phase of really liking their cheese but it does all kinda sound the same from their Donna Summer album to Bananarama and Dead or Alive) and their biggest selling female (amazing considering they just wanted her to do a cover of Locomotion for a charity event with her other soap stars). SHe famously broke free of them, writing much of her own stuff in the mid and late 90s with the odd, but fan fave Kylie Minogue album and the even odder Impossible Princess (which had moments of Tori/Bjork type stuff) before going (thankfully) full back to dance/pop with Light Years in 2000.

But yeah she's tied with Madonna for havign a number one hit in three decades now (overseas anyway ). And I'm sure you know how massive her tours are (which are really well directed by her stylist Will Baker who has since be hired away to do other artists tours from Jamiroquai to Take That and Il, yuck, Divo)--the article above acts like her N American mini tour this year proves she can be a massive radio star in the US but that's silly--she toured to theatres (not the stadiums she does veerywhere else in the world) and they sold well cuz she has such a die hard cult audience--nothing else. She also puts on an awesome show and has surprisingly strong vocals (I thought her last tour live was much more fun and impressive than Madonna's hodge podge Sticky and Sweet mess).

Anyway she has herself said in interviews she's no longer interested in cracking the US charts, she likes that she cna vacation there and not be stalked everywhere, that she does have a loyal fanbase there, etc, it seems to be her label Parlophone (who fucked up the X release in many ways) who keep insisting she try. What a waste (although maybe part of it is that more European sounding music is FINALLY starting to make waves--thanks to Gaga etc)

[EricMontreal22]

Despite Wow being done by my fave current producer Greg Kurstin, I was never a big fan, but yeah the single choices were a mistake--2 Hearts was apparently Kylie's choice, not the label and whiule it did well in the UK charts it threw people's expectations for the album (which was much more dance pop) off. Slow was fabulous even if Syklph hates it--getting Emiliana Torrina to work with Kylie was ingenious (but Kylie has such a good reputation she's always gotten people working with her--even ones like Scissors and Calvin Harris who have turned Madonna down) and was a number 1 don't forget, but it sounded NOTHING like the kinda lacklustre Body Language album.

Yeah Cheryr Bomb is fabulous--she ALWAYS has good bsides though, which makes being a collector fun.