Customer Reviews

Kylie Minogue - Greatest Hits (+Bonus Remix CD)

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As the liner notes state, Kylie Minogue was written off by many critics as a manufactured "flash-in-the-pan" pop star whose fame wouldn't last much longer than 15 minutes. To this day, I remember the 1989 Rolling Stone critics poll which named Kylie the worst female singer of 1988. Even her producers, Stock Aitken Waterman, took blows from naysayers who found their music too formulaic and canned. Yet, in spite of the above, Minogue remains one of the most resilient and successful female perfromers in the last 20 years. Who cares if she's not the world's best singer? If we judged performers based on singing alone, then Celine's last album is a masterpiece. But I digress. "Greatest Hits" is a retrospective that compiles all of Kylie's singles from 1988-92, along with a bonus disc of remixes. Considering the countless other hits compilations that are already out there, should fans still bother with this one? The answer is "yes." The digital remastering gives these songs a welcome sonic upgrade and they sound way superior to the original recordings. "I Should Be So Lucky," "Got to Be Certain," and "Better the Devil You Know" are all frothy but straight-up infectious bits of neo-disco that were huge hits in the UK back in the day. Her covers, on the other hand, are pretty much hit-and-miss. I liked her cover of "Give Me Just a Little More Time," but her versions of "Celebration" and "Tears on My Pillow" still make me cringe. In my mind, nobody can top the original "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang. Also, the disc of remixes are pretty good, with highlights including the extended version of "I Should Be So Lucky," a nifty remix of "Wouldn't Change a Thing" and a 2002 house remix of her No. 1 "Hand on Your Heart." "Greatest Hits" is a smart introduction to listeners who aren't familiar with Kylie's earlier work beyond "The Loco-Motion," and older fans should get it for the remastering and the second disc of remixes.

In 1980's Britain, the most successful pop record producers were the team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Many of their singers faded from popularity as quickly as they emerged, leaving a legacy of doubtful importance. A rose above the rest but the star that shone the brightest was Kylie. This is the definitive compilation of Kylie's music from that period, notably including her UK chart-topping duet with Jason Donovan, Especially for you, which originally appeared on one of his albums but did not appear on any of Kylie's original albums.

Nobody who was around in Britain in the late eighties will ever forget the chorus line of her first hit (one of several British number one records) - I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky - it's the kind of song you either love or hate. Many hate it, and I sometimes feel I ought to - but no, I love it. There was always something about Kylie, even then, that set her apart as something special.

Most of these songs were written and/or produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman. There are a few covers and it was two of these - Locomotion (the Little Eva sixties classic) and Tears on my pillow (the Little Anthony fifties classic) - that aroused my interest in Kylie's music. They are both brilliant - indeed, Locomotion provided Kylie with her only huge American hit during this period. As to Tears on my pillow, I've heard several versions. Kylie should be proud of her cover, which gave her another huge hit. Give me just a little more time and Celebration (Kool and the gang) provide further evidence of Kylie's ability to revive oldies and take them high up the charts.

Je ne sais pas porqoui (an English language song despite it's chorus line), Got to be certain, Hand on your heart, Better the devil you know and Wouldn't change a thing are among the other classic UK hits to be found here.

While many will continue to dismiss Kylie (especially these early hits), she is much better than many of the singers she is sometimes compared to, and has proved it by lasting longer than any of her critics thought possible.

Just a warning - if you got into Kylie's music because of her more recent material, you will find that her early music is very different. It is possible to enjoy both her recent music and her early music (as I do) but not everybody does.

This is a collection of the songs that made Kylie Minogue famous . This is the cd that she is not happy with --especially the cover-- so you get most of her huge hits from 1987/88 to 1992/93. The first disc are the original single mixes of songs like "I Should Be So Lucky","Got To Be Certain" ,"The Loco-Motion","Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi","Step Back In Time ", "Shocked", "Made In Heaven", "Give Me Just A Little More Time" and the lovely "Tears On My Pillow". Also included are 2 duets: one with Jason Donovan "Especially For You" and one with US soul singer Keith Washington , whose own huge R&B song "Kissing You " went top 40 in America. But the best part of this cd is the inclusion of a second disc with remixes. Most of these remixes are very rare and haven't either been released or put out on import only. Remixes:
1)Hand On Your Heart (W.I.P. 2002 Mix) 6:05 -- new house mix
2)I Sould Be So Lucky (Original Extended Mix) 6:05
3)The Loco-Motion (Oz Tour Mix) 5:42--- Incredible house mix
4)Made In Heaven (Heaven Scent Mix) 4:45--Dub mix
5)Wouldn't Change A Thing(The Espagna Mix) 5:49--I have this mix on a promo cd from the US .
6)Step Back In Time(Phil Harding/Ian Curnow Mix) 6:45-- unreleased disco type remix that is excellent.
7)Shocked (Harding/Curnow Mix) 7:32 ---Kick [tail] rock guitar/house mixture
8)Word Is Out (Summer Breeze Mix)7:47--Mega rare mix,a little bit ambient and laid back in vibe.
9)Celebration(Techno Rave Remix) 6:43--Japanese only remix that is like the title states very techno rave in feel.
10)Better The Devil You Know(1995 Movers & Shakers Altenative 12" Mix) 6:29 --Unreleased mix ,in the euro/house style
11)What Do I Have To Do (1996 Movers & Shakers 12" Mix) 8:48 --1996 house remix of her 91 hit.
The booklet features all of her single covers and excellent information about charts success and early pictures. An excellent start for those who never heard of Kylie until "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" or for the freaks who must own every remix known to man.

It's strange to think that Kylie Minogue after starting out as the "I Should Be So Lucky" teen queen, has grown into the "Feel The Fever" popp icon. It all began in 1987 when a then unknown Kylie meent up a Mike Stock and Pete Waterman to record in an afternoon one of the most memorable Dance-pop songs in music history "I Should Be So Lucky". After the success of "Lucky", Kylie went to work on her debut record simply called KYLIE. the result would be a huge album and a critical loathing of the star. In 1989, Kylie would bring her sophomore effort ENJOY YOURSELF. With the lead single the magical "Hand On Your Heart", ENJOY YOURSELF would duplicate the mega-success of 1988's KYLIE. In 1990, Kylie took a turn into more Dance and less Fluff. With 1990's RHYTHM OF LOVE, Kylie grew started to grow into the woman today. "Better The Devil You Know" and "What Do I Have To Do" both represent this shift. RHYTHM OF LOVE didn't sell as well and KYLIE or ENJOY YOURSELF, but it showed growth. Kylie's final PWL album 1991's LET'S GET TO IT, wouls show Kylie changign again "Word Is Out" experiments with souls and funk, and "If You Were With Me Now" with Keith Washington shows Kylie can tackle not only Dance but ballads as well. Kylie left shortly after this album for the trendy Dance label, DeConstruction. This Collection is a reminder of What made Kylie a star.

This is a excellent collection of hits to have if your a fan of Kylie,it sounds great,all the songs are really cool.

The kylie we grew up with, stood by and danced the night away too....

However where are the latest, does anybody know if Kylie wanted this released, or is it just a chance for an old record label to cash in on her recent success???

This is the Kylie that we bopped to, laughed to, developed our gay sensibility to and endeared her to her fans. This CD is the playlist of any pop Australian Radio Station in the 80s and early 90s (as well as the UK). Some of the tracks are twee (Tears on My Pillow), some are 100% pure pop magic (Hand on My Heart) whilst some are embedded in the gay psyche forever as Mardi Gras and dance floor classics (Better the Devil You Know).

All in all a great retrospective for those who have followed her career for ages and a great recap for those new fans who found Light Years and Fever. Shame about PWLs [...] marketing tactics and the [...] cover. This CD is available in a 1992 original version without the remixes in Australia. Unless you want the remixes buy that version. For those new Kylie fans who want the interceding years filled between her PWL hits and her Light Year CD look for Hits+. It contains the sublime Some Kind of Bliss and some amazing rare hits.