Kylie Minogue - X

Perhaps best known stateside for her 2001 smash singles, "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "Love At First Sight", Kylie Minogue is an international pop icon who, over the course of an extraordinary 20-year-career, has released ten studio albums, scored 45 hit singles, received countless gold and platinum discs, earned three Grammy® nominations, and sold out six world tours!
The wait is finally over! On April 1st, Kylie releases X in the US, her first new studio album in four years. 'X' features international smash hits, 2 Hearts, WOW, In My Arms and the US first single ALL I SEE!! The album, Kylie's 10th, features 14 new tracks including a BONUS track - ALL I SEE featuring MIMS, not currently available on any international verison to date!!! For months fans have been referring to the title of the new album as X, so when it came to naming the album it was the obvious choice! Product Description

Sensitized but Sensual

I would have to definitely say that Kylie Minogue fans would like this cd. I also agree with the other reviewer that this cd is pretty upbeat and will take you to a different dimension. Some of the strongest (and I admit my favorite tracks) on this cd are Two Hearts, Like a drug, Sensitized, and In my Arms. I just wish that this cd would have been more popular in the US. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars over 5 is because of my recommendation for Minogue fans versus non Minogue fans. This cd grew on me after the second listen and I admit that Minogue fans may enjoy it more. However if you are not a Kylie Minogue fan definitely try to check out her greatest hits cd first and then give this cd a listen. However overall I feel that this cd is good and its good to see her back in good form healthwise and producing a sensual and beautiful cd. June 22, 2008

An Open Letter to Capitol Records/Astralwerks

Dear Capitol Records/Astralwerks,

I have been reviewing records for a while now, and have a strong grasp on what the American public enjoys as far as Top 40 radio and pop music.

You have the hit of the summer on your hands with Kylie Minogue's "All I See," a breezy, sun-glossed classic pop record, which your label had the correct instinct to release as the lead stateside single to "X," her appropriately-titled 10th studio album.

Just what are you doing about it? The answer, thus far, is very little.

Musically speaking, there is no explanation for the low US sales of "X." Every track is delicious, unabashed pop with memorable choruses, sexy vocals and easy, relatable lyrics. This is what people look for in pop music, and in the English-language market Minogue is the only seasoned artist who consistently delivers true to form pop albums, "X" of which is her most solid to date. From the propulsive, gyrating "Stars" to the infectious, slinky "Like a Drug" to the effervescent, ultra-hooky "Wow," each of these tracks packs combustible heat and explosive energy. This is pop music at its absolute zenith, with talented tunesmiths and a world-class entertainer delivering them. Each song is easy to listen to and difficult to turn off.

"Heavy Promo, Light Sales For Minogue" was a headline I came across after the album's dismal debut at no. 159 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Appearances like the ones Minogue did on the "Today Show" and "Dancing with the Stars" are crucial, but only a small handful of such promotional endeavors were embarked upon. The former did not even include a performance.

Furthermore, the album's release overseas nearly half a year prior to its April 1 US release, as well as an inexplicable early release to stateside digital retail outlets, only aggravated the lukewarm greeting the album received upon its debut in record stores. Even a small child could make such a prediction. By the time it officially hit record stores, the album itself was already yesterday's news to Minogue's core fan base. Why set an album heavy with potential hits sung by an international superstar up to fail?

Straight-edged, dance floor ready pop has taken a backseat at US Top 40 radio to increasingly urban sounds. However, lead single "All I See" has that problem covered with its light, crunchy production, complete with the all-important handclap sound to win over radio listeners, not to mention easy young love and girls' night out themes. It's breezy, it's hooky, it's sexy, it's mellow, it's memorable, it's cool-as-a-cucumber - does it need to bite you in the rear before you realize that it is the consummate summer hit?

Better yet, an alternate version featuring an intelligent, well-delivered rap by Mims has been released as a US bonus track. Paired with the original, these tracks should by the time of this writing have become inescapable. What is the problem?

Minogue may no longer be freshly post-adolescent, and while every track on "X" is fantastic not every one would work on stateside radio, mostly because the majority of them lack contemporary (read: urban) flavor. However, Minogue is in the shape of her life both physically and as a performer. She has come back from cancer with the most solid album of her career and is continuing to fill stadiums overseas. All this, along with "All I See," a pop hit in the vein of Cher's "Believe" or Beyonce and Jay-Z's "Crazy In Love," should warrant sufficient promotion to make it the hit it deserves, spurning formidable album and single sales and perhaps even paving the way for a US leg of KYLIEX2008, Minogue's current tour.

It is because of this that a recent walk in Times Square left me completely annoyed. Hanging above Virgin Megastore, next to tremendous billboards advertising recent albums, was one of Minogue. However, it was not advertising "X," the most impressive LP of pop tunes I have heard in years, but instead a clothing designer whose name I have already forgotten.

It's like staring down a mountain of profits and saying "no thanks."

Sincerely yours,
Rudy Palma June 19, 2008

What Year Is This?

I love Kylie, but this is pretty awful. Sounds like it was made in the 80s but not in a good way. Very disappointing from a cool artist. June 4, 2008

Dont get X-cited!

This CD was okay. It had a couple really good songs. Most of the others were average. If your a Kylie fan you will like this. Me, I was looking for something a little different this time. June 2, 2008

Minogue Maniac

After the hits (Fever) and misses (Impossible Princess), after leaving the hit factory of PWL (Stock, Aitken, Waterman) and using multiple producers since, this is the new Kylie release. As with all artists who don't want to get pigeon holed you change styles. Change just for the sake of change isn't always a good thing. This new endeavor (Pop-Electro) is a mixed bag of good songs and not so good filler music. Why "2 Hearts" was the 1st release or even a release at all I don't get. The song at best is a bad Goldfraap imitation - plain and simple. Kylie is a great live performer that has above average vocals albeit no Mariah or Whitney but good none the less. While Madonna writes most, if not all her own songs with help, the lyrics of Madonna's new Hard Candy are juvenile as with the lyrics on Kylie's X. There is some good fluffy pop stuff on here like "WoW" but Kylie's little girl, breathy vocal style of late is wearing thin. This is no "Fever" which is modern disco much in the vein of Madonna's Confessions or the last release "Body Language" being an attempted wannabee RNB Destiny's Child release either. It (X) is something else. The song "All I See" does feel like it was a GOOD left over from the Body Language CD. It (X) seems to be closer to "Impossible Princess" in it's attempted edgy sound. I've always liked Kylie for her plain, fun, simple, poppy dance music. If you want the fun type of stuff she used to do look no further than her sister (Dannii Minogue). She sounds the same, you can hardly tell the difference between the two. She is doing what her sister (Kylie) does best but only bounces back to after flops. I thought after the sucess of the Fever CD and the lukewarm Body Language she would return to her pop disco style. That isn't the case here, if you're wanting that you're probably going to be disappointed. If you want something edgier this might be the right choice for your musical tastes. June 1, 2008

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