Probably since first setting eyes on her (on a TV screen) in 1988, I've always liked Kylie Minogue. Not only because she's such a pleasure to see every single time (of course I have to admit that I do find her very attractive), but she's got such an irresistible charm that makes people warm to her, even when they don't particularly like her singing or acting. I also really like her voice, it's nice to listen to even when she just speaks, and over the years she's turned herself into a truly great performer and a really good singer. I only wish she had better songs.
Looking back from now it seems quite weird that she started out as an actress, and her career in music began somewhat accidentally. Her part on her early records were similar to acting: she was given lines, and had to turn up at a studio to perform them. Obviously after a while she wanted to take more control and have more creative input, and that led to her mid-90's "indie" era, which is much more my cup of tea than teen-pop of 88-89 or the slightly more grown up dance-pop of 90-91. Her first single released in 1994, "Confide In Me" is not only significant for being probably her greatest song to this very day (just listen to it from the original through many different live reinventions to the Abbey Road Sessions version, it works in all shape and form), but it was the first time she re-emerged with a huge hit after many thought she was gone and forgotten, proving that she has the determination and skills to maintain a long career. Her hauntingly beautiful duet with Nick Cave was another milestone on the road to becoming a credible artist, and led to her next album, my absolute favourite from her. "Impossible Princess" is an interesting mixture of triumph and failure: while it was her peak as a creative artist - she wrote all the lyrics with one exception, even composed the music for 2 tracks, and it seemed probably the only time she didn't try to fulfil anyone else's expectations -, it became her lowest selling album. Almost everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Just weeks before the planned release, a tragedy to a real princess meant they had to (or chose to) remove the title from the sleeve, and her previous album also only had "Kylie Minogue" written on it. The first single, "Some Kind Of Bliss" with its guitar-driven sound probably gave the wrong impression of what was to come - the majority of the album was still electronic. Funnily enough, the 2 tracks written and recorded with Manic Street Preachers ("Some Kind Of Bliss" and "I Don't Need Anyone") may have been expected to be the darkest and most experimental moments, they turned out to be the most upbeat songs. The rest of the lyrics revealed that not all of Kylie's thoughts are of eternal sunshine and happiness, and they were matched with quite interesting sounds. Unfortunately, the line "this time I went too far" from the opening song proved to be true: her usual audience wasn't that much interested in her darker side, and people who were into this sort of music didn't pay too much attention to a Kylie album. On the plus side, during the "Intimate and Live" tour that followed (originally planned with Australian dates only, where the album did well, with a few UK shows added later) she really came into her own as a performer, paving the way for the next decade, when she became one of the most successful live acts on the planet. The negative outcome (at least for me, many might disagree) was that she pretty much buried her deeper thoughts and need for self-expression in favour of light entertainment.
The new millenium found her at the top once again, and while I find most of her songs to be too lightweight or just simply not interesting enough for me, there are brief glimpses of her greatness that even I can't help but fall for. Take a song like "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" for example, which could have been very annoying with a less charming performer, but it was perfect for her, and became even better when it was mixed with New Order's "Blue Monday" on the 2002 Brit Awards ceremony. Take another song like "White Diamond", which sounded like an average Scissor Sisters track in its original form on the 2006 "Showgirl Homecoming" tour, but turned into an incredibly touching piece as a piano ballad. Her latest thoroughly enjoyable effort for me was The Abbey Road Sessions album in 2012, it turned some songs (like "On A Night Like This" or "In My Arms") that I never even liked into favourites.
Her recent activity failed to impress me, the collaborators she chose, the way she presented herself, and joining a so-called talent show as a judge all suggested to me that she was trying a bit too hard to keep up with the up and coming stars, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, her voice is still wonderful, she still looks great, and there's no reason to think she won't do something great next.
Happy birthday, Miss Minogue!
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