Impossible Princess

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Impossible Princess is the sixth album by Australian pop–dance singer Kylie Minogue. It was released by Deconstruction Records on March 23 1998 worldwide. The album was primarily produced by Dave Ball, Ingo Vauk and previous Minogue collaborators Brothers in Rhythm. It received a mixed reception from music critics, some of whom complimented its maturity and personal subject matter, while others felt as though it was uninspired and unbelievable. Despite critical commentary, it became Minogue's least successful album release, and reached number ten in the United Kingdom, selling 100,000 copies<ref>SloKylie.com - Slovenian Kylie Page Discography - Impossible Princess/Kylie Minogue 98. Retrieved April 21, 2006.</ref>. In Australia the album performed better, and reached number four on the albums chart. Elsewhere Impossible Princess failed to generate much interest, resulting in low international chart positions and sales.

The album featured a change in Minogue's sound, and featured live instruments for the first time in her music. Impossible Princess also presented a more confident and involved Minogue, as she for the first time contributed lyrics to every song that appeared on the album. In the United Kingdom it was renamed "Kylie Minogue" due to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Contents

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Making of the record

Impossible Princess, Minogue's second and final album with Deconstruction Records, took nearly two years to make, becoming the longest period of time Minogue had worked on a project since her time on the Australian television soap opera Neighbours.

In 1995, Australian artist Nick Cave contacted Minogue, interested in recording a duet with her. Cave had been interested in working with Minogue since hearing "Better the Devil You Know", saying it contained "one of pop music's most violent and distressing lyrics" and "when Kylie Minogue sings these words, there is an innocence to her that makes the horror of this chilling lyric all the more compelling".<ref>Baker and Minogue, Hodder and Stoughton, 2002. p 99 </ref> The result of their collaboration was the brooding ballad "Where the Wild Roses Grow", whose lyrics narrated a murder from the points of view of both the murderer (Cave), and his victim (Minogue). The songs chart and critical success demonstrated that Minogue could be accepted outside of her established genre as a dance artist. That year she recited the lyrics to "I Should Be So Lucky" as poetry in London's Royal Albert Hall "Poetry Jam", at the suggestion of Cave, and later credited him with giving her the confidence to express herself artistically, saying: "He taught me to never veer too far from who I am, but to go further, try different things, and never lose sight of myself at the core. For me, the hard part was unleashing the core of myself and being totally truthful in my music".<ref>Limbo Reproducing Billboard Magazine review of Impossible Princess, Larry Flick, March 1998. Retrieved April 15, 2006.</ref> The following year Minogue began a relationship with the French photographer Stephane Sednaoui, whose presence would have a large influence on her and her work.

In 1996 Minogue embarked on a series of trips across the United States and Southern China on a mission of self-discovery. The trips and her relationship with Sednaoui made Minogue feel freer and nurtured her own creativity and talent. Sednaoui also introduced her to several musicians and musical styles. During the trips and after she had returned home, Minogue was constantly writing down words, playing with setences, their form and meaning. Minogue had written lyrics before, but calls them "safe - just neatly rhymed words and that's that".<ref>Limbo Reproducing Vogue Magazine "Lucky In Luck", November 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2006.</ref> For Impossible Princess she took inspiration from Sednaoui and her own experiences as a celebrity. At first Minogue had a hard time embracing her past, looking back at it as a time of pain and confused embarrassment.<ref>Baker and Minogue, Hodder and Stoughton, 2002. p 112 </ref> Confronting her past and her embarrassment helped her confidence a lot, she said, "It was like I'd climbed Mount Everest, or jumped out of a plane. So many things that I had avoided for so long were right there. That was what Nick (Cave) was saying to me. 'It's be brilliant: it'll confront all of your past, all in one fell swoop'. And he was right.<ref>Limbo Reproducing The Australian "Kylie Defeats Her Demons", September 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2006.</ref>

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The album featured collaborations with Brothers in Rhythm (who she had worked with on Kylie Minogue) and alternative music band Manic Street Preachers. Minogue first met with Manic Street Preachers' lead singer, James Dean Bradfield at his home. She had brought some lyrics she had written and he strummed his guitar a bit, playing Minogue a Tamla Motown-type track. Bradfield later sent her a demo of "I Don't Need Anyone", which she loved stating "it was so refreshing to hear something so different from what I had been working on. To have something so fresh come in that somebody else had been working on and taken control of, was a nice break for me."<ref name="rollingstone">Limbo Reproducing Rolling Stone "That's Impossible, Princess!!", January 1998. Retrieved April 15, 2006.</ref> Minogue gave Bradfield another two sets of lyrics. He took parts from each set and blended them together to create the albums lead single "Some Kind of Bliss".

Minogue experienced a greater freedom in crafting Impossible Princess the way she wanted it to sounds because Deconstruction's A&R department had not been present for much of the recording of the record due to its head, Pete Hadfield's poor health, leaving Minogue with creative control over the project. At first she believed that the album contained too many musical styles, but changed her mind stating "I thought, partly to justify it to myself, but mainly because its the truth, that if I had a whole album that sounded like "Some Kind of Bliss", or a whole album that sounded like "Too Far", it would be a lie, because I'm all over the place as a person".<ref name="rollingstone" />

Originally titled Impossible Princess, the album's title was changed in the United Kingdom after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, resulting in the release date being pushed back multiple times until its release six months later in March 1998. "I've lived with that title for two years," Minogue said. "And I had already done a lot of press talking about the name, but after the tragedy of Princess Di occurred we had to rethink. It didn't hit me immediately, because I found it so hard to comprehend. But then I thought I don't want to be constantly explaining or upsetting people. So we've taken the name off for now, but I'd like to keep the option for putting it back in the future. That's what the album is called; it just won't be on the cover."<ref>Limbo Reproducing Cleo "The Complete Kylie ", November 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2006.</ref> The title Impossible Princess came from the book of poetry Poems To Break The Hearts of Impossible Princesses by Billy Childish. The book was given to Minogue as a gift by Nick Cave and she has said that the poems summarised where she was at that time in her life.

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Cover artwork

Image:KylieImpossiblePrincess3Dcoverpicture.jpg After months of delays due to the Diana, Princess of Wales, Minogue's record label Deconstruction announced the album's release date pushing her creative department into a panic. Minogue and Sednaoui wanted to create a special three-dimensional album cover for a special edition of the album to represent the more three-dimensional person she had become. Tensions were high on the long shoot, as Minogue's relationship with Sednaoui was coming to an end.

The shoot ran for a week, with Minogue not leaving the studio until three or four in the morning. Shooting a cover in 3-D requires multiple static cameras and for Minogue to pose for long periods of time, which she quickly grew tired of. To achieve the background of swirling lights, Sednaoui dressed from head to toe in black, ran and jumped around Minogue with a kitchen light covered with plastic gels. Other photographs were taken at the shoot, but most remain unreleased. These pictures featured Minogue posing in front of castles and city backdrops, representing the many kingdoms of an impossible princess.

The 3-D cover was released in Japan in 1997 and accompanied by four limited edition postcards. The cover was not made available elsewhere in the world and has since become a collector’s item for many of Minogue's fans.

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Singles

"Some Kind of Bliss", the lead single from the album, became Minogue's least successful lead single release, where it reached number twenty-two on the UK Singles Chart and number twenty-seven in Australia. Written with James Dean Bradfield of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, the song gave Minogue an edgier sound, with guitars taking the place of the drum machine beats heavily featured in earlier efforts.

The second single "Did It Again" featured an aggressive vocal style, with alternative and Eastern musical influences, and became a top-twenty hit for Minogue in Australia and the UK. The song also featured a groundbreaking music video, directed by Pedro Romanhi. Minogue satirised her image in the video, in which four major incarnations of her career, "Indie Kylie", "Dance Kylie", "Sex Kylie" and "Cute Kylie" battled for supremacy.

"Breathe" became the third release and went top-twenty in the UK. Worldwide the single was also successful, reaching the top-forty in Australia, Russia and South Africa. Due to the success of Minogue's Australian concert tour Intimate and Live, "Cowboy Style" was released as the fourth and final single form the album. In Australia the song became a top-forty hit, reaching number thirty-nine on the singles chart.

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Critical response

Upon release, the album received different responses from international music critics. Billboard Magazine described the album as "stunning" and concluded that "it's a golden commercial opportunity for a major [record company] with vision and energy [to release it in the United States]. A sharp ear will detect a kinship between Impossible Princess and Madonna's hugely successful album, Ray of Light".<ref name="rollingstone" /> John Mangan, in a review for The Age said that the album "sounds right and constitutes another step in the right direction", praising the moody trip-hop style of "Jump" and the funky hoe-down sound of "Cowboy Style".<ref>Limbo Quoting from The Age review of Impossible Princess, 1998. Retrieved April 15, 2006.</ref> Who Magazine in Australia compared Minogue's vocal style to a young Sinead O'Connor, crediting her for her range in vocal styles displayed on the album. The magazine did point out that the album does have its low points, but more than makes up for it with songs such as "Too Far" and "I Don't Need Anyone", and rated the album eight out of ten stars.<ref>Limbo Quoting from Who Magazine review of Impossible Princess, January 1998. Retrieved April 15, 2006.</ref>

In Britain, Music Week gave a negative assessment, "Kylie's vocals take on a stroppy edge ... but not strong enough to do much". <ref>Limbo Quoting from Music Week review of Impossible Princess, August 1997. Retrieved January 27, 2006.</ref> Ben Willmott in a review for NME was less than impressed with the album and Minogue's musical direction, calling her "a total fraud" and "unconvincing". Willmott was very critical over Minogue's collaborations with James Dean Bradfield, calling "Some Kind of Bliss" "supremely irritating". In his review he gave the album a low four out of ten stars.<ref>Limbo Quoting from NME review of Impossible Princess, September 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2006.</ref>

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Chart performance

In March 1998, Impossible Princess debuted at number ten on the United Kingdom albums chart, the lowest debut Minogue ever had on the albums chart in the UK. After three additional weeks outside the top ten, the album dropped off of the charts completely, becoming Minogue's lowest charting album of her career. Since its release it has achieved silver certification in the UK, with sales of 100,000 copies.

In Australia the album debuted at number four on the ARIA albums chart, becoming one of the years most successful records. Although Impossible Princess was her lowest-selling album of her career in Britain, it became Minogue's highest-selling album in Australia since her debut album, with sales boosted by a highly successful live concert tour. Since its release it has achieved 2x platinum certification in the Australia, with sales of 140,000 copies.

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Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Israeli Albums Chart 1
Australian ARIA Albums Chart 4
UK Albums Chart 10
German Albums Chart 78
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Chart trajectories

UK albums chart trajectory
Week 01 02 03 04
Chart position
10
22 41 70
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Track listing

  1. "Too Far" – 4:43 (K. Minogue)
  2. "Cowboy Style" – 4:44 (K. Minogue/S. Anderson/D. Seamam)
  3. "Some Kind of Bliss" – 4:22 (K. Minogue/J. Bradfield/S. Moore)
  4. "Did It Again" – 4:13 (K. Minogue/S. Anderson/D. Seamam)
  5. "Breathe" – 4:38 (K. Minogue/D. Ball/I. Vauk)
  6. "Say Hey" – 3:37 (K. Minogue)
  7. "Drunk" – 3:59 (K. Minogue/S. Anderson/D. Seamam)
  8. "I Don't Need Anyone" – 3:13 (K. Minogue/J. Bradfield/N. Jones)
  9. "Jump" – 4:03 (K. Minogue/R. Dougan)
  10. "Limbo" – 4:06 (K. Minogue/D. Ball/I. Vauk)
  11. "Through The Years" – 4:20 (K. Minogue/D. Ball/I. Vauk)
  12. "Dreams" – 3:44 (K. Minogue/S. Anderson/D. Seamam)
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Bonus tracks

All bonus tracks appear on the Japanese editon of Impossible Princess.

  1. "Tears" – 4:27 (K. Minogue/D. Ball/I. Vauk)
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Re-release bonus tracks

All bonus tracks appear on the re-release editon of Impossible Princess.

  1. "Love Takes Over Me" – 4:19 (K. Minogue/S. Anderson/D. Seamam)
  2. "Too Far" (Inner Door mix) – 6:19
  3. "Did It Again" (Did It Four Times mix) – 5:49
  4. "Breathe" (Tee's Dancehall mix) – 6:21
  5. "Tears" – 4:27
  6. "Too Far" (Junior's Riff dub) – 5:49
  7. "Breathe" (Tee's Dub of Life) – 7:55
  8. "Some Kind of Bliss" (Quivver mix) – 8:39
  9. "Did It Again" (Razor-n-Go dub) – 9:53
  10. "Breathe" (Tee's Glimmer mix) – 4:46
  11. "Too Far" (North Pole mix) – 5:44
  12. "This Girl" – 3:09 (K. Minogue/U. Classen)
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Release details

All editions released by Deconstruction/BMG/Mushroom Records unless otherwise stated.
  • Regular album (Europe) -- 74321 51727 2 (March 1998)
  • Cassette album (Europe) -- 74321 51727 4 (March 1998)
  • Australian album -- MUSH33069.2 (January 1998)
  • Australian cassette album -- MUSH33069.4 (January 1998)
  • Japanese album -- BVCP-6068 (October 1997)
  • UK Re-release album -- BMG 82876511152 (May 2003)
  • Australian Re-release album -- FMR 337322 (September 2003)
  • German Re-release album -- Arista 82876511152 (September 2003)1
  • Polish Re-release album -- BMG 82876511152 (October 2003)
  • Japanese Re-release album -- BMG BVCM37437 (November 2003)

1. released by Artista Records

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Credits and personnel

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  • Lead and backing vocals — Kylie Minogue
  • Keyboards — Steve Anderson, Nick Nasmyth
  • Synthesizer — Kylie Minogue
  • Grand piano — Steve Anderson
  • Guitar — Steve Anderson, Geoff Bird, Greg Bone
  • Bass — James Dean Bradfield, Livingstone Brown, Steve Walters
  • Trombone — Neil Sidwell
  • Saxophone — Simon Clarke, Tim Sanders
  • Trumpet — Guy Barker, Roddie Lorimer
  • Violin — Gavyn Wright
  • Viola — Peter Lale
  • Strings — Gini Ball, Sally Herbert, Claire Orsler, Jocelyn Pook, Anne Stephenson
  • Cella — Martin Loveday

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  • Fiddle — Johnnie Hardy, Bogislaw Kostecki
  • Flute — Simon Clarke
  • Drums — Sean Moore, Steve Sidelnyk
  • Percussion — Andy Duncan, Steve Sidelnyk
  • Programming — Steve Anderson, Alan Bremmer
  • Engineers — Alan Bremmer, Sunny Lizic, Richard Lowe, Paul Wright
  • Mix engineer — Richard Lowe
  • Mixed by Alan Bremmer
  • String arrangements by Brothers in Rhythm, Dave Eringa, Sally Herbert, Will Malone, Nick Nasmyth
  • Orchestra lead by Gavyn Wright
  • Photography by Stephane Sednaoui
  • Art direction by Farrow Design

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See also

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Notes

<references/>

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References

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External links

Kylie Minogue

Kylie | Enjoy Yourself | Rhythm of Love
Let's Get To It | Kylie Minogue | Impossible Princess
Light Years | Fever | Body Language

Complete Discography | Awards | Unreleased songs | Tours | Films
de: Impossible Princess
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