You know you’re getting on in your gay life when you start reminiscing. Back in 2000 Kylie hit number one with ‘Spinning Around’ and shared a stage with Billie Piper at the Big Gay Out at London’s Finsbury Park. I was 18 and slowly getting over the crash that was ‘Impossible Princess’ (it wasn’t that bad) and Kylie’s Deconstruction days.
In all honesty I was more into Billie than Kylie at the time, but as I matured into a ‘professional gay’ Kylie made headway with the ultra camp Light Years which was soon to be followed by Fever and Body Language. Eight years of my life seems to have flown by on KM Air!
X has been a long time coming. It’s four years since Kylie's last studio album and if you caught the recentt Kylie (and Dannii) TV Special then you’ll be itching to get your hands on this fantastic celebration of trip hop electronic sounds and uplifting ballads that yank on your heart strings making you realise this album sits very close to Kylie’s own heart, while also pleasing her massive fan base.
Working with the Freemasons, Cathy Dennis, Calvin Harris and Kish Mauve to provide thirteen tracks for the album, Kylie and Co. have produced six songs which are potential single releases. However, I have to admit that I haven’t warmed up to the rest of the album - yet. But the beats are in the right place and sure some of the songs are over voxed (remember Cher’s ‘Believe’?) but everybody seems to be doing it right now, including Britney and Celine.
Without going through each track individually as the die hard fans are sure to lynch me, my top tracks would have to be ‘Sensitized’ as it reminds me of ‘Cowboy Style’, ‘Cosmic’ because it makes me reflect and I’m just loving ‘WOW’. However, it's the song ‘The One’ that I want to hear on the radio over and over again.
Along with the new album, Kylie is also starring in a brand new documentary, White Diamond, which she made with long-time creative director William Baker. The film has been premiered at cinemas around the world and a DVD release is planned for December. It gives fans the unique chance to see Kylie’s triumphant return to the world stage with her 2006 Showgirl Homecoming Tour and promises to show Kylie "as never before" with intimate close-up backstage footage and interviews, including Kylie talking about her feelings, worries and aspirations.
X, by Kylie Minogue
Label: Parlaphone
Released: 26 November 2008
ASIN: B000WTQUKI
Buy X here and save yourself some money to put towards Ultimate Kylie. Alternatively, download her single, ‘2 Hearts’, over at GaydarRadioJukebox.com.