“I’m trying to be myself more and more. The more confidence in yourself… the more you realize that this is you, and life isn’t long. So get on with it!” Kylie Minogue
As a long time Kylie Minogue fan, when she announced last year that she would be recording her fourteenth album in Nashville. and the album would be inspired by country music: well it really didn’t phase me or had me worried.
There are a few fans online who have voiced their displeasure about it and to me it seems they want Kylie only to (continually and repeatedly) produce the same style of music album after album. Yawn.
Country-pop music isn’t a new thing, and has been around since Madonna first did it back in 2000 with her album Music, and since then artists such as Lady Gaga, Miley Cryus and Justin Timberlake have all dabbled with country-pop music on their albums. It’s another form of self-expression and artistic growth but also, a sense of escapesim and fun.
When the first single, Dancing was released I absolutely loved it. Amongst all the latest music on the Top 50 charts and/or music being played on the radio.
Thank God this song sounded different and stood apart from all the other generic computer made soulless songs thats out now. The song does as it says: has you dancing and its catchy as hell.
Kylie herself describes it better than anyone else could: “Dolly Parton meets Madonna’s Confessions On A Dancefloor.”
“We’re golden
Burn like the stars, stay golden
Straight from your heart
With a voice sayin’ “I’ll never give in”
Get knocked down, back up again
We’re golden, golden
That’s who we are”
Album highlights (apart from the first two released singles, Dancing and Stop Me From Falling) are:
Raining Glitter (pure dance Kylie anthem, freaking camp as hell but oh so fabulous! Love!), Yours Sincerely (has a late 80’s, early 90’s reminiscent feel to it, big anthemic ballad style and is sure to be a show stopper when performed live on stage; and is also a love letter to her fans), A Lifetime To Repair (has the most revealing lyrics on her personal life, and gives you a rare insight into what Kylie is feeling and thinking), Love (reminiscent vibes from her Aphrodite album – pure classic pop with a waft of melancholy), Radio On (you can feel and hear the heartache in her voice as she sings), Shelby 68 (is very Taylor Swift meets Fleetwood Mac) and Golden (another fabulous camp song, that needs to be sung out loud, music blaring in your car and pumping your hands-in-the-air!).
What a surprise this album is. Golden stands alongside her classic records; in a world of disposable uninspiring music.
It’s not full on country as people first expected but it is certainly a true classic Kylie album. There are moments when the country production is ramped up just a little but it’s more of a country sprinkled flavour mixed in with classic pop dance glitter.
This album brings a warmth, joy, authenticity and insight that we haven’t seen from Kylie for a while, and her vocals sound effortless and relaxed, also conveying so much more emotion than ever before.
Overall the writing, vocals and production is possibly the most genuinely Kylie album ever. This album is pure, Golden (pun intended).
