Kylie's 11 album, out July

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I don't know, Kylie seemed strangely more Britney during the Body Language era than Kylie (and strangely, Toxic was written with Kylie in mind during this time period, but she passed on it). It almost felt like EMI was forcing stuff on her.

Even though Slow went to #1 in the UK, I believe it's one of the lowest selling #1 singles ever in the UK.

[Chris B]

So it didn't do what a lead single should do, but it wasn't a poor single choice?! Eric! I love Slow and think its a moment of brilliance, but it was a horrific single choice that sunk the entire era. It didn't represent the album and was too risky following up on such a huge album. It's the reason she's having to work so hard now to get back to where she was.

[EricMontreal22]

I just think Slow was one of Kylie's finest moments (yes even the video Sylph ) and I remember how excited it got fans. I don't think Red Blooded Woman woulda done that, though I guess it would have sold Body Language better. I think it was smart to take a risk when she was so on fire (and really that's also what she did with Can't Get You Outa My Head which was quite a change from the camp Kylie Light Years era--somethign done very much on purpose). I don't think RBW woulda been a better lead single choice--I don't think it woulda charted as high as Slow, in fact, even with everyone anxious to hear what Kylie had next.

(So I guess I'll save myself by saying that it was the right single choice for the moment, but not the right followup album )

And you forget that Ultimate Kylie did really help her after BL--I Believe In You was quite big, and then the Showgirl tour to go with the album put her back on form--then cancer hit, and the mess of the X campaign (even if I still say the album is actually really good and very "Kylie").

Y&R World Turner, you're right Slow went to number 1 in a slow week (no pun intended) though its numbers now would be higher than most current number 1s. She got amazing press for the song and video, some of the first to really treat her seriously at the time (it helped that Emiliana Torini, [sp?] co wrote and produced the track and was pretty hot at the moment). I don't think EMI was forcing stuff on her, but I do think there was somethin amiss in terms of the direction everyone was taking. I think part of it was they wanted to make a classier, more grown up album than Fever, but they had trouble finding where the Kylie feel fit there (plus the R&B USA element). At the time they also talked about how suddenly all these younger popstars had albums similar in sound to Fever (Rachel Stevens, Holly Valance, Dannii...) and so there was a conscious effort to move from that a bit (even though those albums flopped, except Dannii's which was a minor hit).

Cathy Dennis has talked about Kylie passing on Toxic, though she said it sounded very different when she was meant to co-produce it before Bloodshy and Avant did the Britney version--still I'm sure that's a regret. So I get what you're saying, though I have to say I hear next to no Britney in Body Language (maybe in RBW? But that still sounds more like Survivor to me )

[Sylph]

Good. Eric thought it was cr*p too. Slow, I mean.

[EricMontreal22]

No comment Sylph

[Sylph]

Well, this really isn't saying much in the song's favour.

[EricMontreal22]

I said it was one of her finest RBW was the one I find misguided (though I suppose a fun enough song). *confused*

[EricMontreal22]

This is exactly the kind of article I wanted, and Kylie fans seldom get (people prefer to ask about her love life or the fact, rather cruelly, that she can't have kids post her radiation). It actually talks to her and Stuart Price about how the album went from a planned more "live" instrument one, to the dance album it became (THANKFULLY), etc. It's from Music Week, which is a bit more of an industry trade. Sorry for the odd punctuation--it's not online and this is the way my friend typed it out and emailed it to me.

Her upcoming album, Aphrodite, has seen Kylie Minogue return to her uplifting dance-pop best with the help of such luminaries as Jake Shears, Tim Rice-Oxley and producer Stuart Price. Music Week caught up with the pop princess to discuss the project and her live plans

Interviewing Kylie Minogue stirs up a strange sensation. Sitting in a sun-drenched converted church in west London with the diminutive pop star, it feels like catching up with an old friend.

During a career that spans 22 years and 10 studio albums, Miss Minogue's media presence has rarely been far from ubiquitous – there can be few better-known faces in music and even fewer personalities so disarmingly unaffected and likeable.

Bristling with vitality and clearly enthused by the impending release of her 11th studio album, Aphrodite, via Parlophone on July 5, Kylie is bang in the middle of promotional duties. It's a task she embraces with surprising enthusiasm.

"Luckily I like people, I like having a chat and flitting around doing the butterfly thing," she says, before admitting she is still recovering from an evening that started with a flight from Germany and ended with her dancing in a nightclub into the early hours, accompanied by a host of retail, media and label reps. Naturally a track from Aphrodite made it on to the decks.

"We just thought it kicked off," she smiles.

Despite the well reported troubles that have dogged EMI and Kylie only having one album left in her contract, she says she has no plans to leave her long-time label. And, so far, Parlophone's campaign for Aphrodite is shaping up nicely ahead of the digital delivery of first single All The Lovers on June 13 and its physical arrival on June 28.

While the red tops have preferred to concentrate on tales about Kylie's love life or her choice of skin cream, the team at Parlophone have been working hard on a promotional campaign focused very much on the music. The results would suggest their efforts are paying dividends.

Discussing the campaign just nine days after All The Lovers made its radio debut, Parlophone vice president of promotions Kevin McCabe enthuses: "We have had the perfect start, it couldn't be going better."

Indeed, All The Lovers has been making strong weekly climbs on the airplay chart, having been C-listed at Radio 1, made Radio 2 single of the week and A-listed at Capital FM. Meanwhile, more than four hours of radio interviews have generated widespread PR, Twitter and Kylie.com have been buzzing with activity, the single's risqué video has been making waves and there is a planned appearance on the Jonathan Ross show this month. All of this is helping the campaign to build momentum.

It's a campaign Parlophone vice president of marketing Mandy Plumb says could roll on for 18 months with the release of up to five singles, including Get Out Of My Way in September.

"We are spoilt for singles choices; it is just a question of making sure we get them in the right order," says Plumb.

Commencing with the line "Dance, dance, that's all I want to…" the first single and album opening track All The Lovers sets the tone for Aphrodite, which is packed tight with dance-fuelled pop gems. But at the outset, back in April 2009, when plans for Aphrodite were first being laid, Parlophone president Miles Leonard says that the emphasis was much less on uplifting electronic sounds and more focused on live instrumentation.

"It started with Kylie working with Nerina Pallot," says Leonard. "Nerina had a song called Better Than Today, which is an incredible song that marries electronic programmed sounds with live instrumentation – if you can imagine Fleetwood Mac and Scissor Sisters collaborating, it has that sort of feel.

Leonard adds Better Than Today was the starting point and bench mark. "We absolutely fell in love with that song and felt it would lead the direction the album would take – it would have more of a live, organic feel to it but not turn completely away from dance beats," he continues.

Kylie recalls that, after former Parlophone head of A&R Jamie Nelson had tracked Pallot down, she took some persuading to give up the track, despite being a huge Kylie fan. "She is a real pop fan and apparently knows every chord of every song I have done," says Kylie. "But the song was supposed to be on her album and [Jamie] did whatever he had to do – there was definitely some wrangling, she took some convincing that it would be worthwhile giving it up."

Kylie not only went on to record Better Than Today with Pallot and Andy Chatterley, but also the song Aphrodite, with Pallot suggesting it as the album title. "In her mind she wanted to say 'she's back and she's doing what we love her doing'," says Kylie.

Better Than Today was showcased on Kylie's 2009 US tour, but slowly and surely as the album came together, both the song and the album's feel evolved to become more electronic and club friendly.

"I was terribly confused at the beginning," Kylie admits. "I will listen to people and you don't know unless you try, but I did reach a point where I thought 'where are the dance songs?'."

With Aphrodite including production and writing contributions from a wealth of top talent, including Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley, Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, Calvin Harris, Fraser T Smith and Kylie herself, the job of providing continuity was handed to executive producer Stuart Price, whose long CV includes work with Madonna, Scissor Sisters and The Killers, the latter inspiring Leonard to drop him a line.

"It was more his work with The Killers than Madonna, but Stuart's work across both those artists was something of huge interest for us," says Leonard. "One of the benchmark tracks we had in our minds initially when we approached this album was Human, by The Killers – the sound of the record, stylistically, it is a song that Kylie could sing and make her own. It's a great pop record; it has elements of programmed electronic sounds as well as live sounds and real depth lyrically as well," explains Leonard.

When asked to reflect on working with Price, Kylie's face lights up and she admits to calling him a wizard. "The whole point was to have him put the songs together and create that harmony and cohesive nature to the album and I am beyond thrilled that he did it. I know he had his heart in the record and you can't pay someone for that. It couldn't have been better."

Price first encountered Kylie when he made one of his first seven-inch vinyl single purchases, a copy of her 1988 number one hit I Should Be So Lucky. He recalls being struck by the sound of PWL's production and Kylie's "naive and distinctive" vocals, which he says has stuck with him ever since.

In September 2009, Kylie and Price met for the first time at Downtown Studios in New York, the singer with a handful of tracks including Better Than Today, Aphrodite and Everything Is Beautiful, the producer with an open mind.

"At the beginning of a record you are standing at the edge of the abyss and you have nothing, you can't say 'here's the idea for the album now let's go and make it'. You have to start stabbing in the dark and see which things feel right," says Price.

"We had talked a lot about the album before we met for the first time in the studio. There is a great blind date quality to that, a lot of anxiety and nerves, but luckily our first song was Looking For An Angel and not only did we feel comfortable and have fun doing it but this idea of angels started floating around, it suggested euphoria and an uplifting feel and that's the direction we took," continues Price.

"It is way more exciting when an album is allowed to start evolving rather than sticking to a plan. One of the great skills with a record is the ability to abort all plans at any point and follow a new lead, and that is what happened."

Having penned Looking For An Angel and the album track Closer in New York, Price and Kylie moved to his own studio in Acton, west London, where different levels of work were needed on the other tracks to create a feeling of continuity.

"[Everything Is] Beautiful felt so right with everything else that was going on with the record that I didn't touch a thing – it is 100% Fraser T Smith and Tim Rice-Oxley's work," says Price.

"But Even Better Than Today, which started off more acoustic and organic, became filtered more into this dancefloor world and songs like Aphrodite and Can't Beat The Feeling were good ideas but didn't initially fit in with the record, they didn't sound like the real Kylie, so we re-vocaled them."

Working out of the west London studio Price and Kylie formed something of a bond as they went on to record new vocal tracks for 80% of the album, with the producer encouraging the singer to turn her back on vocal booths and perform using whatever equipment was at hand.

"Once I got there with Stuart it was the most inspired and relaxed I have felt in a studio," says Kylie. "I had moments where I was aware that 'this is so cool, all the experiences I have ever had all led to this moment and it has paid off – I know what to do vocally, I know how to get that effect'. It was just easy, it was so easy, and I think that comes through on the album. It wasn't forced, it wasn't like trying to put a square peg in a round hole."

Kylie even enthuses about Price's $80 mic, which she claims enabled her to be more "connected" to what was happening.

Price laughs at the mention of one of pop music's most successful artists using his old Shure SM58.

"The big thing about using the Shure was that instead of Kylie being in a vocal booth she could grab the nearest microphone and start singing. For me a performance will always trump any technical considerations. We would be standing next to each other, doing a disco-shuffle and smiling. I can hear that smile on the record and that's so important, that's what I respond to."

With Kylie admitting she is considering the possibility of playing one or more UK festivals this summer, she will be hoping it is also something her wider audience will respond to and both Kylie and Price admit to thinking about how the material would work in a live environment when they were recording it.

"I did think about it a lot when I was making the record because there are times when you have no control, your hands just go up. Perhaps it is the emotion in the dance music that makes it feel it can reach out more, that it can reach beyond the arena shows I normally do," says Kylie.

"Whenever we started making music that made us want to put our hands in the air we moved toward it," agrees Price. "We were considering the live show and what she could do onstage to the music and that influenced the songwriting because instead of working in the vacuum of a studio you are thinking 'if you had a field of 80,000 people, what would be the best way to make everyone go nuts at this point?'"

One market that has proved relatively slow in going nuts for Kylie is the US, but having thoroughly enjoyed an excursion there last year, she is intent on making a return journey and is already planning a worldwide tour next year. "I'd better limber up," she laughs. "I bring it upon myself because I want to go everywhere I have been and also go to new places. It will be so exciting to have new material to play and the last shows I did in North America were really rewarding and inspiring.

"I'm certainly going to return to the places I went on that US micro tour, it was very small, we were just testing the waters, it was really a tour born out of love," adds Kylie. "Terry [blamey, her manager] was probably having sleepless nights because we might as well have been burning money. But I wanted to do it properly and invest in it – the fans had been waiting 20 years, I couldn't go over and do my first US shows and not go with all bells and whistles."

Whether it be promotional activity, making records or taking a loss in order to reward die-hard fans, it seems Kylie does very little without those bells and whistles – an admirable quality that not only makes her one of the most enduring figures in popular music but also one of the most endearing.

[EricMontreal22]

I wonder if anyone but me made it through that article (or cares ).

Kylie made her first live performance today, on the number one show in Germany! German's Next Top Model's finale!

A few thoughts:

#1 I had no idea Heidi Klum hosted a German version of "Next Top Model" That totally threw me and confused me, for some reason.

#2 The performance is epic, in a subtle way. Just like the track. (I expect many to disagree with me).

#3 That is the most revealing costume we've seen Kylie wear in YEARS! And she looks great! And while singing to a backing track, she sounds great too.

#4 While I am 100% behind her in this performance, she is definitely relying on many of her past victories. The IBIY "cake" from X2008 tour makes a reappearance, but this time there are dancers on it doing the "Slow" video choreography. All overcast in a white, minimalist style not seen since 'Fever' era. Ending with a climactic chain-reaction-dancer style choreography, 100% reminiscent of the choreography from the "In Your Eyes" video (when she punches the screen with the 'Kylie' logo brass knuckles). But who cares - THIS is what I wanted Kylie to do - everything that she has done so well before! Of course, I don't want to see her spending the rest of her career repeating the genius of her past successes, but given that the woman has recently beaten breast cancer it is **SO** amazing to see her back on top of her game! 'X' was too soon - THIS is the comeback we've all been waiting for.

BTW - I have been listening to "All the Lovers" a lot lately - probably my most played track of the day, for the last two days. It's not an in-your-face favorite, but it's so glorious that every time it comes on I'm completely immersed in it.

(According to my German Kylie friend, the lip synch was slightly off for the entire show, not just this bit...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78R-wnqgAH4

[DRW50]

Thanks for all your detailed updates. The video is great -- that's the type of thing Youtube helps bring to us. To recreate all the writhing extras of the video on a stage is very gutsy, and it pretty much works.

"Everything is Beautiful" -- that's not the Ray Stevens song is it?

[EricMontreal22]

Ha you're welcome--I'm glad you read them (and I enjoy reading your comments). Kylie (and Donna) are the only singers I get this excited about, pre release, so it's fun for me.

Yeah, I honestly can't remember what my pop music fandom was pre youtube. I can't imagine back in the days when you had to import a single from the UK to even hear it, you might not know one was out, etc.

I wasn't sure about her trying to recreate the video on stage, but it largely works (no running horse though...)

Everything is Beautiful has different writers so I doubt it, but it could sample it... Hrmm

[Soapsuds]

If i ever get invited to a b-day party of yours I know what to get you....A Kylie M. album/cd.

[DRW50]

BTW Eric, did you see my question a page or two ago about that Rick Astley video.

[EricMontreal22]

...I have them all...

Carl I think Rick was constantly mocked for being overly mature/serious, so you could be right.

[EricMontreal22]

Even I have to admit this reads like an obsessive fan's review--but great to see the US praise!

Had I not actually seen Kylie Minogue in concert with my own two eyes, I could very well believe she's an aura of magic that simply floats from one speaker to the next. With each stop on her radio revolution, she touches the lives, hips and souls of those blessed enough to move to her music.

Her eleventh studio album "Aphrodite" is her latest dance comet and releases bits of retro synths, twinkly keyboard pounds and specks of hand-claps into the ether. It's the perfectly crafted summer CD, so let's dive into each track a little closer, shall we?

First up is "All The Lovers" which is very deserving of its spot as the lead single. Filled with melty whispers that are familiar to any card carrying member of Kylie's crew, its chorus demands crowd participation -- in fact, the only negative is that this 3-minute track lacks a bit more time to enjoy it fully.

"Get Outta My Way" is next up, and it will not be ignored. This disco-floor explosion of pure bubble-gum greatness will play on every boat, in every lake and on every pier until the snow starts to fall. Then, if the hand claps resonate long enough, it could return next year to do the exact same thing.

Speaking of hands, the bang-track "Put Your Hands Up" -- with its cog-and-wheel electro beats and Mad Max undertones -- begs for them to go ... um ... up. While its rocky sister-track "Closer" will slowly convince your arms to fall back down to your side, grab someone, and pull them in like a blanket of contentment. Both songs are legendary Kylie and both invoke polar opposite feelings that compliment each other in that weird salty and sweet way.

The only ballad -- using this term loosely -- on the album is the Keane (Tim Rice Oxley) co-penned song "Everything Is Beautiful," which sounds like it was plucked off a Tim Burton movie. The title track "Aphrodite" lives in a silver screen state as well, mixing old school Rhythm Nation vibes with a "Lose my Breathe" Destiny's Child resonance, resulting in an old school 50's film theme-song. It's amazing people. Amazing.

In the middle are songs that paint the world in glitter and hope. The simple "Illusion" is just as magical as it sounds while the ABBA meets Shania Twain ditty "Better Than Today" begs you to snag your boots and head to the club. After your done scootin', grab your sweat bands, and join Kylie as she does her best Olivia Newton-John in "Too Much," one of my faves of the LP. It's a piano-knockin' track you'll find yourself repeating for hours ... and then wonder where the time went.

The guitars and shooting stars living inside the adventure track "Cupid Boy" are paired like fine wine right next to the Euro-layered vocals of "Looking For An Angel." This duo introduce a new side of Kylie, a softer, more vulnerable version of the Diva that was nowhere to be found on her last album "X," but is so nice to have back.

Finally "Can’t Beat The Feeling" brings us back around the planets and stars that lead us through the world of Kylie. The roller-coaster chugs and Vo-Dox vocals pair with long disco-synths, giving us a welcome back to where we started, but not wanting to release our seat-belts. Because you know you're ready for another ride.

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/popwrap/kylie_aphrodite_album_is_perfect_rIhKNPrOhX7Z8wD6hYNTkM