Kylie Minogue - 'All The Lovers'
It'd be really easy to get carried along on the wave of goodwill that surrounds and carries Kylie in everything she does, and to conclude that any song which features her soft, deep, velvety tones is an instant classic. Especially her first song for a while. She is, after all, KYLIE MINOGUE (in starry letters with a twinkle on top).
But that would be bad manners. If she deserves anything it's the knowledge that even though putting out rubbish records would not dent the public's affection in any way, we can still tell the difference between "OMG it's KYLIE! She's BACK!" and "aww, look, it's Kylie. She came back."
Luckily for everyone concerned, the correct response to this BELTER is the one with all the exclamation marks in.
(. Sex mountain!)
Just listen to that chorus! It's elegiac, sounding more like a sobbing prayer for the dead than the call to sex-heaven you might've expected from the title. Which makes the verses transform from a straightforward plea for dancefloor action into what sounds like a demand that everyone join Kylie for one last dance before things become spoiled forever.
It's that dancing/crying/loving feeling that Robyn nailed so brilliantly on 'Dancing On My Own', but applied to everyone in a universal gesture of affection and regret.
And if all that sounds like I've got a bit carried away, well it's only right and proper. Electropop carries mournful and starchy emotions like these better than almost any other form of popular music. It's about showing an inch of your feelings, while hinting at the miles and miles of true boiling turmoil under the surface. Far more powerful than having a big old shout, because people can hear that you're trying to keep yourself under control.
Not that Kylie sounds unduly strained. She's far too busy dispensing healing power rays from her golden throat. She's a shining light in a dark sky. She's the lead angel in a choir of eternal wonder. She's the golden, glorious conduit, nay lightning rod for all of these powerful emotions, raining down bliss from on hi...ah. Oh.
Sorry, don't know what came over me there. Is it hot in here? Just me? Oh.
Download: Out now
91Èȱ¬ Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
"This is how music should be done, ladies."
"To no one's surprise in particular, Kylie Minogue's kick-off single from her upcoming studio release, 'Aphrodite', is a work of art."
"Classic Kylie; slow-building, adding layers of subtle electronic instrumentation, all moving towards the ecstatic, breathtaking chorus.."
Comment number 1.
At 16th Jun 2010, jonesybcfc wrote:Sunshine pop, pleasing and melodic to the ear. I'd obviously have to disagree with the star rating, and so give 4. But who cares, everyone loves Kylie don't they...
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Comment number 2.
At 16th Jun 2010, Haducon2 wrote:This has kinda failed to make an impression with me. I don't actually know whether I like it or not.
In my opinion it doesn't really have any "ooomph" (the only expression I could think of) unlike many other summer singles that are being released ('dancing on my own', 'california gurls' 'your love is my drug')
Though it is kylie, so it'll do well in the charts.
3 stars
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Comment number 3.
At 16th Jun 2010, OddOne wrote:Kylie, Kylie, Kylie... where do I start?
As you can imagine, 'All The Lovers' features the usual Kylie ingredients: the oh so silky vocals, charming lyrics, great production and shoves a bit of Stuart Price in for good measure...
The result? An absolutely magical song proving that Kylie hasn't lost the knack for putting out of gentle but stomping, powerful yet euphoric, subtle yet camp song about the fact the she's been around the block a bit in her time. But even so, she still claims that "all the lovers, that have gone before, they don't compare to you", well isn't that a lovely thing to say?
I love the campness of the song; it's tendancy to come across as cheesy; and most importantly: it's fantastic production: this is Stuart Price at his best. After some of his more recent (and quite stunning) works with The Killers ('Human') , Scissor Sisters ('Invisible Light'), Mika ('Rain'), Muse ('Undisclosed Desires') and Little Boots ('Symmetry'), we see his work finally being appreciated once again.
'All The Lovers' is an icy bottle of bubbly champagne eager to burst out into the airwaves, accompanied with a video that could literally stop traffic. This is the song of the summer; the song of now; the return of the mighty force of Kylie Minogue, and it's worthy of being placed way 'up there' with 'California Gurls', 'Turn It Up', 'Your Love Is My Drug' and 'Alejandro' as the 2010 summer anthems.
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Comment number 4.
At 16th Jun 2010, OddOne wrote:EDIT: My second five star summer single of 2010, after 'Your Love Is My Drug'.
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Comment number 5.
At 20th Jun 2010, kutox wrote:I love Kylie, and I know she can be a bit hit-and-miss, but I can't fault this one, it's just perfect. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Glorious.
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Comment number 6.
At 14th Jul 2010, Mak Wai Keung wrote:Kyile every hit song in UK single chart past 22 years, forever is the queen of the pops!
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Comment number 7.
At 19th Jul 2010, syman wrote:Absolutely awful, monotonous drivel. It seems to be composed of basically two sentences that if they were interesting might save the song but they have absolutely no charm or interest whatsoever. Is it just me or does everyone else just lap up everything that Kylie does unquestionably? This song is proof that the british public can be served up pretty much anything and as long as it looks expensive and sparkly will buy it. The human equivalent of cattle slurry. Roll on the end of the world..
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Comment number 8.
At 19th Jul 2010, RandomEnigma wrote:^^^^Woah! Hello Mr. Doom and Gloom!
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Comment number 9.
At 19th Jul 2010, kutox wrote:Oh great, musical snobbery. Just what we need in this blog.
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Comment number 10.
At 20th Jul 2010, OddOne wrote:I LOLd ^
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