Kylie Minogue has just come off her most successful album in over a decade. A top-10 smash, with two Grammy nominations in hand, the big question is “Where does she go next?” The question is being answered definitively with “Body Language,” arriving next Tuesday on Capitol Records.
Unlike her previous two albums, which were straight-ahead pure pop albums, this is a more diverse effort, equally well-crafted, but feels deeper. Some tracks actually require a second or third listen before you catch on. While she isn’t reinventing the wheel, she’s taking the quality of music up a notch and varying things more, making this one of her strongest albums to date.
First single “Slow” is a prime example. The incessant groove keeps building, while a tension-filled chord resonantes throughout the entire song. The groove is persistent, and the beat is as catchy as anything she’s done in the past few years. Yet while the single fits well with her previous catalog, there’s something hinted at that’s much more evident in the rest of the album.
Just listen to the next track, “Still Standing,” to get a better idea. The beat is more sparse than “Slow,” and more staccato (although not nearly Destiny’s Child staccato), yet this latest mantra of still being around today, after all this time (a theme visited in her comeback hit, “Spinning Around,” from Light Years) is extremely catchy, with lush backing vocals adding a punch into the song that latches onto you very quickly.
Kylie pushes the envelope musically for herself, attempting to rap in “Secret (Take You Home).” Her efforts are a bit more successful than Madonna’s attempt, but obviously she’s no Ludacris.
Once again, she avoids outright ballads, which keep the album moving, and that ultimately helps the album’s flow. There are slower tracks, and “Slow” really doesn’t count. “Promises,” one slower song, is another track with uses her vocals well.
Kylie’s voice isn’t nearly as powerful as, say, Aretha Franklin’s or Mariah Carey’s, but this album probably makes a better use of the type of voice she has than any she’s released yet.
There is a mis-step or two here. “Red Blooded Woman” sounds like a poor attempt to do something akin to Destiny’s Child. It’s slated to be the second single; it’s no surprise, since with all the sparse beats and so forth comparisons are likely to be made. But considering how original the album is overall, it’s a shame to use such a blatantly commercial track to try to nail sales here in America.
It would also seem that Kylie is following in the footsteps of the person most known for dance-pop in the US, Madonna, who has been able to successfully reinvent herself a number of times.
But while Madonna succeeds with the music for the most part, she’s kept her profile up by shock value – MTV VMA kisses, anyone? Meanwhile, Kylie has pretty much kept with what got her there – sexy, but not blatantly shocking.
There’s no boobage like Janet at the Super Bowl – and that’s allowing the music to take center stage.
The album, when put center stage, simply works. It pushes Kylie up a few more notches credibility-wise. There’s more substance here, while the style remains intact.
Much is to be said about the producers of her album; obviously she’s chosen her collaborators well, although she also has had an even bigger hand in songwriting – the most since her “indie” period (for lack of a better term).
She obviously has figured out how to stick to her roots, while avoiding “I Should Be So Lucky” cheese and opting for something a little more substantial.
Born May 28, 1968 in Melbourne, Austrailia, Kylie’s career started with acting jobs beginning at age 11.
She became extremely famous a few years later while acting on “Neighbours,” a hugely successful soap opera that aired both in Austrailia and England.
As a fluke, she recorded “The Loco-Motion” after a charity event where someone noticed her and suggested she gave it a shot.
That track launched a long career in Britain, and also netted her a major hit in the US. As her career continued to soar overseas, she took control over her image, ultimately resulting in her separating from her original producers in the mid-90s. Along the way she netted over a half-dozen #1 hits in both the UK and Austrailia.
After a brief flirtation with rock music in the late 90s, she returned to pop music just as the teen movement was hitting its stride, releasing the album “Light Years” in 2000.
The follow-up, “Fever,” was previewed by the hit “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” a song so popular that it brought Kylie back to the US unexpectedly, and almost unwillingly – she had given up on us.
But now, she’s back, and ready to become as big here as she’s been for years overseas.
For fans of her last album, this is an obvious must-have – indeed, pre-sales at Amazon have already proven this is a heavily anticipated album. But for those who are a little shy about dance-pop, or are looking for a prime example to test the waters, you can’t do much better than this CD – this is about as good as it gets – sit back, listen and enjoy.
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