Kylie Minogue - 'Kylie' (1988)

Versions:

LP

CD

Cassette

Tracklisting:

Side One:

1. I Should Be So Lucky

2. The Loco-Motion

3. Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi

4. It's No Secret

5. Got to Be Certain

Side Two:

1. Turn It Into Love

2. I Miss You

3. I'll Still Be Loving You

4. Look My Way

5. Love At First Sight  

Best Tracks:

Got To Certain

I Should Be So Lucky

Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi

Currently listening to: Cassette

Now, this was the first album I ever owned. I had a cassette copy that I (accidentally) stole my school library in, of all places, Ceduna. It's hard to believe I've been listening to Kylie even longer than I've been listening to Madonna. Our Kylie's treated me well over the years. Though, it has been a tumultuous relationship.

Despite an early childhood love (that ran from this album up until around the time of 'Confide In Me'), I fought the Kylie love for a long, long time. When 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' came out, I couldn't deny it, and Fever became the first Kylie album I bought since Let's Get To It. After that, I bought a few more, but it was still a rocky relationship. I've never seen Kylie live, as she's always timed her tours while I'm in a, what I call, Kylie slump. Since X, which I hated at first then fell in love with during my first overseas trip (those Europeans love a bit o' Kylie), I've stopped fighting it and embraced it, wholeheartedly. I can't help myself. I ended up buying all the remaining albums I was missing from her back catalogue, including this one - my original tape was long gone. I've come accept that I love Kylie. And, I fucking love daggy, old Kylie.

For added nostalgia, I've popped on my (more recently acquired) cassette of the album. I still listen to this album more than I care to admit. However, hearing it on a wobbly, bassy cassette brings back memories of many childhood car trips with this in my walkman.

Side One is pure gold. Well. In a cheesy, 80's pop kind of way, it's pure gold. It does, in fact, contain a good chuck of my favourite Kylie songs. 'I Should Be So Lucky' has, in recent years, become my favourite karaoke song. I also love that, at the insistence of Nick Cave, she started doing spoken words performances of it in the 90's. Which did make me look at all the songs on this album differently. Despite the cheese factor and the unmistakable Stock, Aitken and Waterman production, many of the songs are actually pretty well-written, decent songs. And, like all good Kylie songs that followed, have that underlying melancholy. In the hands of someone else songs like 'I Should Be So Lucky' or 'Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi' could have been downright wretched.

As a kid, 'It's No Secret' was always my favourite Kylie song. These days, that accolade goes to 'Got To Be Certain'. Most of Side One, however, are favourites. Not so much, 'Loco-motion'. It's bit of cheesy fun, but has mostly nostalgic value - I actually remember when this came out (I was 5. And, loved Neighbours), and I loved it. All of the songs on Side One were singles, which also means they were all accompanied by gloriously daggy videos. From Kylie dagging around Melbourne in 'Got To Be Certain' to the French-chic of 'Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi' (which features Kylie singing in front of a photo of Arthur Rimbaud), these videos feature Kylie at her daggy 80's best.  I highly recommend watching these videos, they're a lot of fun. I think she left a few off the Ultimate Kylie DVD, but if you find a copy of the Greatest Hits 87-99 DVD, they are all preserved there (along with all the others from her early career). It's a worthy investment. And, has become my favourite DVD to watch whilst drunk.

Side One of this album makes me fantastically happy. Like The Immaculate Collection, it's my gay prozac. I love every song on the first side of this record. Side Two, however, is another story. 'Turn It Into Love' was a single (I think only in Japan?), and I've grown to really enjoy that one.The remaining four songs are pretty forgettable. 'I Miss You' would have been an OK b-side (and funnily enough, 'Made In Heaven', which was the b-side to 'Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi', is better than any of these songs, yet isn't on the album). 'I'll Still Be Loving You', 'Look My Way' and 'Love At First Sight' (and no, not that 'Love At First Sight') are offensive in their unoffensiveness. They're just there. They are blatant album filler - I'm not sure if the makers of this record ever intended anyone to actually still be listening at this point. There's probably a reason that all the good songs are on the first side.

As I said, my original cassette of this album is long gone. Regrettably, I started giving my cassettes away when I was around 12, when I discovered 60's music. Suddenly, all my late 80's and early 90's pop tapes weren't cool. I'd love to have them all back, and see exactly what I had. But, there you go. The new cassette I got was part of a Kylie bundle I bought on eBay for $1, that had this cassette, a special edition of X and 45's of 'Never Too Late' and 'Hand On Your Heart' - for $1. It was worth it to get the cassette. It brings back a lot of memories.

As an album, Kylie relies heavily on it's singles. My favourite way to hears these songs, and the way I'd recommend anyone hear them, is on the Greatest Hits 87-99 album (which, I think is now, sadly, out of print). Kylie wasn't really an album artist until Impossible Princess, but she put out some great singles. Greatest Hits 87-99 fantastically distils this early part of her career, without the filler. Instead of enduring the dreary songs on the second side of Kylie, you can cut straight to 'Hand On Your Heart'. Plus, it includes 'Made In Heaven' and 'Especially For You', which Kylie doesn't. Perfect!