Disco de Kylie Minogue: “Ultimate Kylie”

DVD Description

1. I Should Be So Lucky 2. Got To Be Certain 3. The Loco-motion (7" Mix) 4. Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi 5. Especially For You 6. Hand On Your Heart 7. Wouldn't Change A Thing 8. Never Too Late 9. Tears On My Pillow 10. Better The Devil You Know 11. Step Back In Time 12. What Do I Have To Do 13. Shocked 14. Give Me Just A Little More Time 15. Celebration 16. Confide In Me 17. Put Yourself In My Place 18. Where The Wild Roses Grow 19. Did It Again 20. Breathe 21. Spinning Around 22. On A Night Like This 23. Kids 24. Please Stay 25. Can't Get You Out Of My Head 26. In Your Eyes 27. Love At First Sight 28. Come Into My World 29. Slow 30. Red Blooded Woman 31. Chocolate 32. I Believe In You 33. Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head (Live At The Brits)

Even though many in this country only know her as that cute diva who came out of nowhere with a pair of hit singles in 2002, Kylie Minogue has in fact been on an exceptionally long path ablaze with creative twists and turns. The newly released "Ultimate Kylie" serves as an ideal retrospective that summarizes nearly two decades of the Aussie singer's melt-in-your-mouth pop confections. Twenty-seven of the set's thirty-three tracks reached the Top 10 in the UK.

The first disc, which contains recordings from the late 80's and early 90's, kicks off with the frantic "Better the Devil You Know" from her 1990 album "Rhythm of Love." A fast-paced track with strong vocals and an undeniable hook, it epitomizes the pop sensibility and the lovable plonkety-plonk production of the era that satiates the first half of the collection.

One of the most intriguing things about these songs is that, although her remake of Little Eva's 1962 hit "The Loco-Motion" was her only runaway hit in the US in 1988 before she disappeared from stateside radar for a decade and a half, it is the least enduring track on the first disc. This thus proves the worth of songwriting team Stock, Aitken and Waterman. who penned the great majority of her early string of hits while reportedly controlling her image and sound with a resented iron first.

As a result, selections such as the urgent "I Should Be So Lucky, "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" and "Got Be Certain" are pure listening pleasure. Her cover of Chairman of the Board's "Give Me Just a Little More Time" from her 1991 album "Let's Get to It" is also surprisingly soulful, although her rendition of Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" which rounds out the disc sounds like it belongs on a tape to play in the car for your child under 4.

The onset of the second disc flips us into present-day Kylie with her new single "I Believe In You," an entrancing slice of pulsating pop perfection she wrote with the Scissors Sisters that manages to pay homage to musical years gone by while still sounding fresh and original. Another new recording, "Giving You Up," is included, along with selections dating back a decade.

The sexy "Confide In Me" from 1994's self-titled CD finds Kylie cooing her lines to great success, while the introspectiveness of "Did It Again" and "Breathe" from her critically-acclaimed 1997 album "Impossible Princess" add ballast to the disc and prove that the pop starlet can indeed write substantial lyrics when she looks deep within.

Selections from her 2000 album "Light Years" also add sizzle to the fire. "Spinning Around," lucrative songwriter Kari Dioguardi's first hit, established Kylie as a dancefloor maven to outstanding success, as did the anthemic "On a Night Like This." These tracks clearly set the stage for tracks like "Love at First Sight" and "Come Into My World" from 2002's "Fever." The latter track is included here in its far superior radio version that won her a Grammy last year for Best Dance Recording.

"Kids," a left-field rock record with Robbie Williams and the bittersweet "Please Stay," propelled by Spanish guitars and bubbly production, suggest that "Light Years" was a project that the US should not have missed out on. Furthermore, the ever catchy "Slow" and the radio version of "Chocolate" from 2004's extremely underrated "Body Language" album throw further entertainment into the mix.

The disc closes with "Where the Wild Roses Grow," her morbid mid-nineties collaboration with Aussie rocker Nick Cave that concludes with his murdering her that still continues to raise eyebrows.

Although the capricious nature of the US music industry has caused Kylie Minogue to have a puddle of success in comparison to the rainstorm she continues to receive overseas, the reason for it has nothing to do with the quality of her music. "Ultimate Kylie" proves that repeatedly with its smorgasbord of solid tunes. If you have ever been even slightly interested in any of her music before but have never shelled out any of your hard-earned dollars, this is the definitive place to begin.

Kylie Minogue has had a good carriere and after making music more than 16 years is good to make a video collection. This has almost all the music videos Kylie made during the period "Kylie", "Enjoy Yourself", "Rhythm of Love", "Let's Get to It", "Kylie Minogue", "Impossible Princess", "Light Years", "Fever", "Body Language", and also some songs that hasn't been released on normal studio albums "Celebration", "Where the Wild Roses Grow", "Especially for You", and the new video "I Believe in You". Kylie made in the beginning of the carriere quite happy and funny videos...who wouldn't remember great video "I Should Be So Lucky" in which Kylie is dreaming about the guy she has fell in love and she is walking and dancing around the house or "Never Too Late" in which is dancing men and she is dancing on stage with different dresses. After that she started to make more dance videos with lots of rhythm...they very mostly very positive and mostly about love...which is always a difficult topic but I think Kylie undestood the main things. Unfortunately there aren't the videos "Finer Feelings", "If You Were With Me Now", and "Word Is Out" from "Let's Get to It". After fourth album she started to sing more adult stuff and most fans didn't like it so much...it wasn't so happy, actually it was quite serious stuff. I have to admit that the songs and videos "Confide in Me" and "Did It Again" are quite scary for me. After making a great classic duet with Nick Cave "Where the Wild Roses Grow" she started to make more kind of dance stuff..."Spinning Around" was Kylie's "comeback"...she started it again. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" from "Fever" and "Kids" (with Robbie Williams) from "Light Years" made her more famous than ever. 9th album "Body Language" was a little bit different from the two earlier ones...it had a little bit R & B in the songs...the videos are great in every song...they are mostly quite sexual videos...."Spinning Around" for example...Kylie is in little golden panties spinning around. Every one knows "Can't Get..."...that "La La La" -song...Kylie introduces her places very well...almost too well. "Body Language" videos aren't that brave...expect in "Slow" she has a swimming suit.

1)I Should Be So Lucky

2)Got to Be Certain

3)The Loco-Motion

4)Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi

5)Especially for You

6)Hand on Your Heart

7)Wouldn't Change a Thing

8)Never Too Late

9)Tears on My Pillow

10)Better the Devil You Know

11)Step Back in Time

12)What Do I Have to Do

13)Shocked

14)Give Me Just a Little More Time

15)Celebration

16)Confide in Me

17)Put Yourself in My Place

18)Where the Wild Roses Grow

19)Did It Again

20)Breathe

21)Spinning Around

22)On a Night Like This

23)Kids

24)Please Stay

25)Can't Get You Out of My Head

26)In Your Eyes

27)Love at First Sight

28)Come Into My World

29)Slow

30)Red Blooded Woman

31)Chocolate

BONUS FEATURES:

32)I Believe in You

on-screen lyrics

Can't Get You Out of My Head (live at the BRIT Awards)

Living in the US, I've only seen a handful of Kylie's videos. (In fact, 25 of the 31 clips here are new to me.) Therefore, this is a welcome addition to the DVD collection. Here we see Kylie go from '80s pop princess to '90s serious chanteuse (a thankfully brief turn) to nouveau-disco diva of the aughts. This disc is fun from beginning to end, the sound is fine, and most of the video transfers are quite good (although some of the earlier stuff seems a bit washed out). All-in-all an excellent purchase, and the videos coupled with the "Can't Get Blue Monday Out of My Head" performance leave me wanting her live DVDs now.

This DVD is an outstanding video collection of Kylie's greatest hits. From her younger days to the present, she performs so effortlessly throughout all of these videos with the energy, passion, and sensuality that she is well-known for. It would be difficult to name a particular favorite, however, several that come to mind are "Never Too Late", "Better the Devil You Know", "Step Back in Time", "Slow", and "Red Blooded Woman". If you love Kylie, you'll absolutely love this DVD.