Kylie Minogue - Ultimate Kylie (DVD)

...most famous bum in music, Kylie Minogue is undoubtedly at the top of her profession.

One of her most recent products to hit the ever-eager consumer market was the Ultimate Kylie DVD (and the CD of the same name). While I am not a HUGE fan – I’ve never seen her live and I don’t own all her albums – I do like her and enjoy her music. I thought this DVD would be a good buy for me, because it contains songs from all her different phases ...
...DVD shelves!

Kylie is perfectly pouting on the front and inside, there’s a glossy booklet with more sexy pics! The DVD contains 32 of her music videos and some extras too – the video of I Believe In You, the BRIT Awards performance mixing Can’t Get You Out Of My Head with New Order’s Blue Monday (a great combination!) and an option to have on-screen lyrics – ideal for all you wanabee singers!

The videos are in chronological ... more

Kylie. We all know her. She’s one of the few people who are known worldwide by their first name. She’s been around since the eighties and has famously undergone several changes in style and music over the years, somehow always managing to stay on top. Fashion icon, pop songstress and owner of the most famous bum in music, Kylie Minogue is undoubtedly at the top of her profession.

One of her most recent products to hit the ever-eager consumer market was the Ultimate Kylie DVD (and the CD of the same name). While I am not a HUGE fan – I’ve never seen her live and I don’t own all her albums – I do like her and enjoy her music. I thought this DVD would be a good buy for me, because it contains songs from all her different phases and many of my favourites.

I chose the DVD over the CD because she is great to watch. She has a pretty face, a great figure and her videos are usually a lot of fun. I also knew my husband and teenage son would rather watch Kylie, than listen to her! One of the best things about a music DVD is that you can both watch it and listen to it. Watching a CD can be somewhat boring!

When the DVD arrived, the first thing I noticed was the case. It is in a similar case to those that house CDs, but at 5.5” x 7.5” (14cms x 19cms), it is rather bigger! However, it is smaller than standard DVD cases and a different thickness. So I did have a bit of an anal-retentive moment wondering if I should keep it amongst my CD collection or on the DVD shelves!

Kylie is perfectly pouting on the front and inside, there’s a glossy booklet with more sexy pics! The DVD contains 32 of her music videos and some extras too – the video of I Believe In You, the BRIT Awards performance mixing Can’t Get You Out Of My Head with New Order’s Blue Monday (a great combination!) and an option to have on-screen lyrics – ideal for all you wanabee singers!

The videos are in chronological order from I Should Be So Lucky (1987) to Chocolate (2004) so it is easy to chart (pun intended!) her journey from Stock, Aitken & Waterman soap star to the pop goddess she is today. On the way, we get to see her more experimental phases and her welcome return to disco.

As you would expect, you can select to play all the videos or choose certain ones. The menu is well presented and easy to use, the picture is great and overall, it is a well made and high quality product.

The early tracks on the DVD are throwaway bubblegum pop, but fun and great to sing and dance to. Personally, I think I Should Be So Lucky has been played to death on the music channels, so it has lost some appeal, but other songs from this period sound fresher. Watching the videos, it’s annoying how Kylie still looked fab even with big ‘80s hair!

The Loco-Motion brings back embarrassing memories that my devilish streak thinks should be shared with you. I taped Kylie on Top of the Pops, so I could learn the dance routine! Now, if that wasn’t bad enough, I was 19 at the time!!

Moving swiftly on…

1989 saw Kylie on the big screen in the fairly forgettable film The Delinquents. (Yes, I saw it at the cinema!) This produced two of the videos on the DVD – Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi and Tears On My Pillow (from Grease).

The cheesiest track on here must surely be Especially For You, capitalising big-time on the romance between Kylie and Jason Donovan, years before he lost his hair and discovered white powder. Again, it has been overplayed and is just right for the ‘next’ button on your remote!

Kylie’s early videos are very predictable and safe – bright primary coloured backdrops, a plethora of hairstyles, smiles to the camera, a flash of leg and countless costume changes. The required image here seems to be approachable friendly young girl, rather than the vampish sex kitten that was to emerge later.

Watching the whole DVD through again for this review, by the time you get to Better The Devil You Know (“Why is Kylie doing a Steps song, Mum?” Sigh.), you do become slightly fed up of vapid pop and long for a change. We’re up to 1990 now and there is a slight progression. Step Back In Time seems slightly more mature in some ways. Although still pop, it has a disco feel to it, the video’s vibrant and interesting and she’s bought some straighteners. Good girl.

The next video is refreshingly different. What Do I Have To Do is the first song on the DVD that I didn’t know and visually, it’s great. It’s shot mainly in black and white and is rather arty. She’s in bed in silk PJs, swimming and at a bohemian kind of party. I’m not sure about the pink eyeshadow, but her eyes do look fantastic and she’s definitely sexy rather than sweet.

The next two videos are from 1991 – Shocked and Give me Just A Little More Time. While the sound of these two is still pop-based, they do show some vocal maturity and a deeper tone to her voice. Again, the videos are clever, energetic and sexy, with plenty of flesh on show.

Most of Kylie’s videos seem to be studio-based, so Celebration stands out with its location shooting. Unfortunately, the visual images can’t disguise the fact this is a song that has been done to death and one I am completely bored of!

Confide In Me is probably her weirdest video. Who would have thought the Kylie of 1988 would make a video six years later, which includes images of drugs and pools of blood? But when you get over the shock, the song and video are indicative of another new image for the Kylester and yet another new direction. The lyrics are darker and more thoughtful than her previous ones and the track is a good one, with a fascinating and fast-moving video full of cultural images and symbols.

This relatively short ‘alternative’ phase lasted a couple of years and is summed up on the Ultimate Kylie DVD by five tracks – the best of which is the amazing collaboration between her and legendary strange guy, Nick Cave. Where The Wild Roses Grow is a stunningly beautiful song and video. Ophelia-esque images of Kylie in a river perfectly complement the poetic, but tragic lyrics and the effect is a memorable one.

Spinning Around was released in 2000 and signalled her return to more consumer-friendly pop/disco and the top of the charts. Kylie was back – and doing what she does best! The songs were lighter, brighter and more positive. Add a pair of tiny gold hot pants to the mix and Kylie found a winning combination.

Fantastic feel-good songs followed each other and Kylie’s status grew to iconic. Although personally, I can’t stand Kids – her duet with the lovely Robbie Williams – this time is my favourite for her hits. On A Night Like This and Please Stay are brilliant, catchy tunes and just when I thought she had hit her peak, she releases Can’t Get You Out Of My Head! With one of the most memorable videos (and outfits!) ever and an intensely catchy baseline that weaves its way into your brain, the song was a huge hit, staying at Number One for umpteen weeks – and rightly so.

More singles followed in a similar vein and we became used to the older, sexier Disco Queen. But, Madonna-like, Ms. Minogue once again emerged from a previously-hidden cocoon and appeared in her latest guise with Slow in 2003. A stunning scenic backdrop introduces a cleavage-heavy Kylie prone on a beach towel. As the tune pauses and changes pace teasingly, the pattern is mirrored visually as Kylie rolls round, arching her back and stroking her body, producing a rather erotic effect.

Red Blooded Woman is my favourite of her more recent releases, as it is a bit quicker and catchier, but still different from her old pop songs. This sounds like something that could be sung by The Sugababes.

The DVD finishes with Chocolate from 2004. Although this is not one of my favourites, it seems to follow a natural progression began with Slow and both the song and video show maturity and depth that we would never have expected from the Kylie of 1988.

Ultimate Kylie is just that really. It is not only a great collection of songs and videos from fourteen years, it tells a fascinating story of Kylie herself – her look and image, her style, her priorities, her cares and her vocal range. As she has grown up in the spotlight of fame, she has been brave enough to change a safe, successful formula and switch to something new and unexpected.

VIDEOS ON ULTIMATE KYLIE

1. I Should Be So Lucky .
2. Got To Be Certain
3. The Loco-motion (7" Mix)
4. Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi
5. Especially For You
6. Hand On Your Heart
7. Wouldn't Change A Thing
8. Never Too Late
9. Tears On My Pillow
10. Better The Devil You Know
11. Step Back In Time
12. What Do I Have To Do
13. Shocked
14. Give Me Just A Little More Time
15. Celebration
16. Confide In Me
17. Put Yourself In My Place
18. Where The Wild Roses Grow
19. Did It Again
20. Breathe
21. Spinning Around
22. On A Night Like This
23. Kids
24. Please Stay
25. Can't Get You Out Of My Head
26. In Your Eyes
27. Love At First Sight
28. Come Into My World
29. Slow
30. Red Blooded Woman
31. Chocolate
32. I Believe In You
33. Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head (Live At The Brits)

PRICE = £7.49 from CD Wow! Or look out for bargains on Ebay!

 

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