- published: 06 Mar 2009
- views: 24484596
Kylie is the debut album by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue, released by PWL on 4 July 1988. The album was produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, who also wrote nine of the ten tracks on the album.
Most of the album's composition is dance-pop music, with strong teen pop and bubblegum pop influences. The album contains a few ballads, namely "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi", "It's No Secret" and "I Miss You". The main bulk of the album repeated the teen pop and dance-pop style as seen in "I Should Be So Lucky" and "The Loco-Motion."
The album got mixed reception from music critics. Many critics applauded the album itself, as Allmusic had said that "while the production values are dated at best, there are some rather endearing qualities to it". Some critics did not like another bubblegum pop musician, and critics compared it to American singer and songwriter Madonna's self titled album (1983). Although it received mixed reaction, Kylie did receive success worldwide. Kylie peaked at number one in three countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Japan, and it produced three number one singles in Australia. In North America the album peaked low on the Billboard charts, yet still managed to sell over 500,000 copies and was certified gold. In Australia, the album was re-issued as The Kylie Collection and featured bonus remixes. Kylie was certified seven times platinum in the UK and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE ( /ˈkaɪliː mɨˈnoʊɡ/; born 28 May 1968) — often known simply as Kylie — is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, showgirl, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987. Her first single, "Locomotion", spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart and became the highest selling single of the decade. This led to a contract with songwriters and producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Her debut album, Kylie (1988), and the single "I Should Be So Lucky", each reached number one in the United Kingdom, and over the next two years, her first 13 singles reached the British top ten. Her debut film, The Delinquents (1989) was a box-office hit in Australia and the UK, and received generally positive reviews.
Initially presented as a "girl next door", Minogue attempted to convey a more mature style in her music and public image. Her singles were well received, but after four albums her record sales were declining, and she left Stock, Aitken & Waterman in 1992 to establish herself as an independent performer. Her next single, "Confide in Me", reached number one in Australia and was a hit in several European countries in 1994, and a duet with Nick Cave, "Where the Wild Roses Grow", brought Minogue a greater degree of artistic credibility. Drawing inspiration from a range of musical styles and artists, Minogue took creative control over the songwriting for her next album, Impossible Princess (1997). It failed to attract strong reviews or sales in the UK, but was successful in Australia.
An album may be understood as a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution, however the concept is found in printed music dating into the early nineteenth century in works by composers such as Schumann and Mendelssohn. The word derives from the Latin word for list.
Today, with the vinyl record no longer being used as the primary form of distribution, the term "album" can still be applied to any sound recording collection, such as those on compact disc, MiniDisc, Compact audio cassette, and digital or MP3 albums.Cover art is also considered an integral part of the album. Many albums also come with liner notes and inserts giving background information or analysis of the recording, reprinted lyrics, images of the performers, or additional artwork and text. These are now often found in the form of CD booklets.
Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album. If a pop or rock album contained tracks released separately as commercial singles, these were often traditionally placed in particular positions on the album. A common configuration was to have the album led off by the second and third singles, followed by a ballad. The first single would lead off side 2. In the past many singles (such as the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street") did not appear on albums, but others (such as the Beatles' "Come Together" and Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone") were part of an album released concurrently. Today, many commercial albums of music tracks feature one or more singles, which are released separately to radio, TV or the Internet as a way of promoting the album. Albums have also been issued that are compilations of older tracks not originally released together, such as singles not originally found on albums, b-sides of singles, or unfinished "demo" recordings.