Customer Reviews

Fever

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To American audiences, Kylie Minogue is one of those attractive one-hit wonders; one who cranked out a less-than-stellar, and otherwise unnecessary remake of Little Eva's "Loco-Motion" as the 1980s drew to a close. Sadly, she never caught on in the U.S., despite the fact that her early singles were fun and frothy little tunes, if not earth-shattering.// After cranking out hits as part of a hit factory in the 1980s and suffering a commercial and critical dismissal in the 1990s, Kylie Minogue's dues were finally declared paid in 2000 when she launched an unlikely comeback to rival that of Tina Turner in 1984. She guested on albums by artists ranging from Robbie Williams to the Pet Shop Boys and ultimately released her campy disco album "Light Years," and it clicked--it was fun, it was just retro enough to be hip, and most of all, it was mighty good. Suddenly, it was okay to take her seriously.// To follow up, she's dropped a spectacular album on the market, and in doing so, reversed her musical direction and rendered herself a truly "serious" artist--essentially, more than a decade after we first heard from her, she has finally hit her career peak creatively and commercially.// How good is this album? It's sterling. There's not a weak track among the bunch. She doesn't resort to sliding a ballad in among the tracks, and that pays off--she sets a mood. Kylie came to dance, and dance she does.// The tracks pull from current music trends and classic disco (think disco supergroup Chic), but instead of sounding like a derivative of what's popular now, it's more like an integration of new sounds. There are hints of Daft Punk, Modjo, Fragma, and DJ Spiller in the music, but Kylie brings her pop sensibilites to the table with a verse-chorus-verse lyrical scheme and more vocal growth. In doing so, she manages to carve out a niche for herself, which is something she's rarely been able to claim in the past. She becomes more than just "Kylie Minogue, pop singer." At this point, she's created a pop/dance sound that will ultimately be replicated by many more.// Minogue has co-written several of the tracks, as has a long-absent Cathy Dennis--of "Touch Me (All Night Long)" fame--and this only underscores Kylie's growth as an artist. "Fever" is much more stripped down than her previous effort, "Light Years," and as such, comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. They both stand on their own as milestones in a long career and offer a promise of great things to come.// "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" is an obvious high point, but "Come Into My World" is a track in the same vein. If you like one, you'll like the other. She also treads into classic New Order territory with "Fever." "Fragile" is a sweeping mood piece with understated, breathy vocals that play off of her girl-next-door charm. One track toward the end of the album, "Dancefloor," leans toward the big disco beats of "Light Years," but doesn't sound out of place here.// For the part of the American public that has an ear for European dance music, this album does not disappoint. It's a shame, though, that this style has made so little headway in the mainstream. In a market crowded with a slew of soundalike rock bands, "Fever" would be a welcome breath of fresh air.

If there were ever a question such as "Why is Kylie the Queen of Pop and Dance Music," here is your answer. "Fever" sets the platinum standard for these genres with its flawless combination of Kylie's sultry, smooth and breathtaking vocal flair combined with masterful songwriting collaboration with Cathy Dennis, Rob Davis, Richard Stannard and Julian Gallagher (to name but a few). This set is a deejay's best friend. Kylie has the knack for turning up the heat with stunning results.

Prime examples of Kylie's genius and talent break forward on tracks such as "Fever," "In Your Eyes" and "Dancefloor" (sultry and purely alluring with dance syncopation that gets to your soul). "Love At First Sight" is yet another diamond in this set with its pure EuroDance flair and, as always, smooth polish of Kylie's spunk and verve. What's more, as a perfect pairing, "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and "Come Into My World" both define the club anthem attitude and sound.

As "Light Years" set the stage for Kylie's continued reign into the 21st century as the pop and dance music queen, "Fever" proves that Kylie retains that title.

"Highlights include "Fragile", "Give It To Me" and "Love Affair"

Kylie Minogue re-broke into pop stardom with "Fever," her eighth studio album. And it's somehow not surprising -- "Fever" is infectious, dancey and perpetually catchy. Despite the "lovey" tone of the songs, Kylie's album is dancepop in its purest form, and is probably the best example of the type.

It starts off on a rather middling note with the fast-paced "More More More," before launching into the sparkling "Love At First Sight," a more complex dance song that is surprisingly infectious. ("And everything went from wrong to right/the stars came up and filled up the sky/the music you were playin' nearly blew my mind/it was love at first sight!")

Things coast on from there, including the infuritatingly entertaining "Can't Get You Out of My Head," the funk-edged "Give It To Me," and the sultry "Love Affair." She also dabbles in softer electropop, in songs like the swoony "Fragile" and the swirling "In Your Eyes," both of which turn down the tempo and up the emotion.

It's always sort of nice when a guilty pleasure doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is. And "Fever" has no such pretensions. It's a fun, slightly suggestive album that you can dance to, with the forgettable lyrics of dancepop, and some truly enjoyable beats that have a tendency to stick to your mind like old bubble gum.

Even her most ardent fans can't claim that Kylie has a great voice -- she has a voice that is lightweight, wispy and pretty. It matches the music, and she knows how to use it, never overtaxing the ol' vocal chords. In other words, no Britney-style chord-straining yowls or screeches. Rather than exceptional vocal quality, Kylie gets props for knowing her limits, and working with them.

And the dancepop of "Fever" also gets props for unusual complexity. Rather than repetitive beats repeated on every song, several songs from "Fever" switch tempo, switch synths, and have their highs and lows. There are some distinct flavours to some of the songs, such as funk and a bit of disco, which add extra spice and memorability.

"Fever" is a guilty pleasure, but at least it's a fun, entertaining one. One of Kylie's best, and definitely worth "spinning around."

I own this special edition of Fever and I'll tell you that it is so much better than the regular version. The bonus CD is super-duper amazing! includes Can't get blue monday out of my head, which is the song that Kylie performs on her Fever2002 DVD, which is also excellent.

The remixes included in the bonus CD are so cool, they're very long, but they're great, it's like another song, not a remix; they're really cool and the CD comes into a box, and under the box, that you see in the description, there is the real CD box and you have the picture of the regular version. If you haven't bought it, buy it now!, and if you have the regular version...buy it too!

After the exultant disco of her last album 'Light Years', 'Fever' sees Kylie moving forward to the 80s. To be frank, this era suits her far better - 'Light Years' was a masterpiece of disco excess, but too often the broad gestures of the music left Kylie's limited voice seeming a little thin. here, the settings are much sparer, the arrangements leaner, the production so clinical you could hear a stilletto crack ringing across it. the influences here are minimalists such as Gary Numan, early Pet Shop Boys, early house (in its poppier variant), the Madonna of 'Borderline'; her nearest contemparies might be Spiller.

the exemplary song is the single, 'I Can't get you out of my head', with its very simple elements - the insistent bass; flickers of synth like a wind-brushed harp; gleaming faux-strings lines. there is no chorus to speak of, just an undulating loop of severe melody. these limitations, as on the rest of the album, free Kylie's voice, and the song, so simple yet so addictive, is far and away the standout single of 2001.

this is not to say disco is forgotten. the second half is a particularly fantastic treat, with the late-Pet Shop Boys stomp of 'Dancefloor', the guitar-sparked intensity of 'Love Affair', or the epic 'Burning up', in which acoustic calm is consumed by leaping flames of disco inferno. Even so, this is disco as practised by Chic, restrained and formally disciplined, rather than the extravagance of 'Light Years'.

Lyrically, 'Fever' is an album that speaks very frankly about sex. In this case, however, the doubles entendres move away from this subject, rather than towards it, and point to another three-minute miracle (!) - the pop song. When Kylie says 'I'm only here for a little while', she seems to be talking about pleasure and availability, but she is also celebrating the brevity and transience of her chosen medium, its power to transform and take over. Kylie doesn't make pop records. She IS pop.

After staging a massive critical and commercial reemergence of iconic proportions in the UK with last years' disco masterpiece LIGHT YEARS, Kylie's back with the follow-up entitled FEVER. Whereas LY drew from kitschy disco inspiration, FEVER projects a far more adult and sophisticated production style--inspiration seems to be drawn everywhere from Kraftwerk to Daft Punk. As such, it's a slightly more streamlined affair, and consequently not quite as fun as the previous outing. First single 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' is inexplicably turning out to be her biggest worldwide hit ever, despite the fact that, though it's utterly catchy, frankly doesn't completely stand up to previous bests like 'Better The Devil You Know','Confide In Me', or 'Spinning Around'. There are actually a few songs better than that here, especially the sterling 'Love At First Sight', which will go down as one of her best records ever, as well as the title track(which actually sounds like '80s Madonna),

'Burning Up', and 'Fragile'. There's really only one skippable track here, that being the generic cast-off 'Give It To Me'. If there's any problem here, it's that the album,though fairly seamless, has a sameness to it throughout--there's no ballads here, which isn't really bad, but after a few listens the dance tracks start bleeding into one another due to their almost identical sound. Still, this remains one of Minogue's best efforts, but does fall just short of LIGHT YEARS' creative glory.

This latest album from Kylie Minogue is full of dancealicous tunes that are very different to "Light Years." They are very Modjo/Daft Punk/Spiller, with a few 80s influences too. Kylie's divine voice is ever present, though often tainted by a vocoder. Nevertheless, the melodies are excellent, although there is a little filler. (More More More, Dancefloor)

The worldwide (except for the US) smash smash smash hit "Can't Get You Outta My Head" (No. 1 in 25 countries across Europe and Asia) is here, plus the soon to be hit singles "Love at first sight" "Fever" and the amazing "In Your Eyes." You will love this album is you have loved Kylie's previous work or modern dance catchy pop dance stuff that is a bit different.

This album was totally out of leftfield. Just one year after the olympics; 'light years' tour & album; 'spinning around' etc, who would've thought in a million years that Kylie Minogue would release not only her best album, but one of the best albums in recent years, not just from the pop world.
Even with 'light years' there was a tendancy to like Miss Minogue for her past kitch value. But without Kylie going back and accepting her past (via the 'on a night like this tour') we might never have caught the 'fever'; that is this absolutely amazing pop album.
This album has kicked off its dominance with 'can't get you out of my head', but lucky as it were, that really is the tip of the iceberg.
The album opens with 'More More More', not a stand-out, but a warm-up leading into the amazing 'love at first sight', which may top 'cguoomh' as the biggest single from the album: it will at least burn thorugh the club scenes, as will 'in your eyes' & 'love affair'.
This album is just perfect. Everything comes together so well. Every hook pulls you in, whether you wanna dance at 3am ('come into my world') or just chill out ('burning up'), its just great. I haven't been a real Kylie fan since 1989, except for 1998's 'Intimate & Live' . 'Fever' erases that fact by track 2.
This album really shows how much she and her audience have progressed.

stand-out tracks: 'fever'; 'love at first sight'; 'in your eyes';and 'tightrope' (australian only track)

Fever is easily Kylie's greatest album so far and one of the best dance/pop/disco records of all time. A wonderful set of music that showcases all of Kylie's talent since Impossible Princess.

Ok I will justify why Kylie is compared to Madonna here in Britain.... basically everyone who has grown up in the 80's plus in the UK, has grown up with Kylie! She has gone from an actress in the australian soap Neighbours to a fantastic singer who has over the years transformed her image through a number of amazing styles! Like Madonna she is constantly changing - in a sense modernising - and trying to satisfy a range of tastes in the popular music world! Although Madonna and Kylie have different sorts of music, it would be stupid to believe that they are entirely different from one another as it is clear that they are both amazing idols of pop music (Pop obviously meaning 'Popular' music, and not just tacky stuff like many perceive it mean!).
In Britain Kylie is even more of child to us that Madonna (even though they are not even from here!), as we have watched her grow, and we have seen her turn into a mega star!
So please don't dissmiss the idea of her being like Madonna, cause in my eyes they have succeeded on similar grounds!
Cheers!
(a wee scottish lassy)