Ultimate Kylie

Infobox Album
Name = Ultimate Kylie
Type = Compilation
Artist = Kylie Minogue


Released = Start date|2004|11|22
Start date|2004|11|23 (Canada)
Start date|2004|12|1 (Japan)
Start date|2005|2|1 (U.S.)
Start date|2006|10|28 (reissue)
Recorded = 1987-2004
Genre = Pop, Dance, Euro-pop, Hi-NRG, Euro-dance, Contemporary Ballad, R&B
Length = 51:35 (CD 1)
69:26 (CD 2)
Label = Parlophone, Mushroom, Capitol
Producer = Stock, Aitken & Waterman, Brothers In Rhythm, Jake Shears, Babydaddy, Sunny Roads, Johnny Douglas, Ian Curnow, Phil Harding, Julian Gallagher, Richard Stannard, Cathy Dennis, Rob Davis, Brian Higgins, Karen Poole, Guy Chambers, Jimmy Harry, James Dean Bradfield, Dave Erigna, Dave Ball, Ingo Vauk, Lorenzo Al Dino Pizzileo, Sergio Flores, Graham Stack, Mark Taylor
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:sefm963o0ep8 link]
*About.com Rating|4|5 [http://dancemusic.about.com/od/reviews/fr/KylieUltimate.htm link]
*"Stylus Magazine" [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2567 link] (Neutral)
*PopMatters Rating-10|8 [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/m/minoguekylie-ultimate.shtml link]
Last album = "Body Language"
(2003)
This album = "Ultimate Kylie"
(2004)
Next album = "Showgirl EP"
(2005)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = Compilation album

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Lower caption = Showgirl Homecoming Special Edition cover

"Ultimate Kylie" is the title of Australian-born dance-oriented pop singer–songwriter Kylie Minogue's greatest hits album released in November 2004. Spanning two CDs, the album contains work from all nine of her studio albums plus two new tracks, "I Believe in You" (written with the Scissor Sisters) and "Giving You Up" (written with Xenomania). The album was re-released exclusively in Australia as a set consisting of two CDs and a DVD to coincide with her return to prominence and saw the album re-enter the charts at #16.

This collection superseded Kylie's 1992 "Greatest Hits" compilation.

Track listing

*Disc one
#"Better the Devil You Know" from "Rhythm of Love" – 3:53
#"The Loco-Motion" from "Kylie" – 3:14
#"I Should Be So Lucky" from "Kylie" – 3:24
#"Step Back in Time" from "Rhythm of Love" – 3:04
#"Shocked" from "Rhythm of Love" – 3:09
#"What Do I Have to Do?" from "Rhythm of Love" – 3:33
#"Wouldn't Change a Thing" from "Enjoy Yourself" – 3:14
#"Hand on Your Heart" from "Enjoy Yourself" – 3:51
#"Especially for You" with Jason Donovan from "Ten Good Reasons" by Jason Donovan – 3:56
#"Got to Be Certain" from "Kylie" – 3:19
#"Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" from "Kylie" – 4:01
#"Give Me Just a Little More Time" from "Let's Get to It" – 3:06
#"Never Too Late" from "Enjoy Yourself" – 3:21
#"Tears on My Pillow" from "Enjoy Yourself" – 2:29
#"Celebration", from "Greatest Hits" – 4:01

*Disc Two
#"I Believe in You" new song – 3:21
#"Can't Get You out of My Head" from "Fever" – 3:52
#"Love at First Sight" from "Fever" – 3:59
#"Slow" from "Body Language" – 3:13
#"On a Night Like This" from "Light Years" – 3:33
#"Spinning Around" from "Light Years" – 3:27
#"Kids" with Robbie Williams from "Light Years" – 4:20
#"Confide in Me" from "Kylie Minogue" – 4:26
#"It's In Your Eyes" from "Fever" – 3:18
#"Please Stay" from "Light Years" – 4:04
#"Red Blooded Woman" from "Body Language" – 4:20
#"Giving You Up" new song – 3:30
#"Chocolate" from "Body Language" – 4:01
#"Come Into My World" from "Fever" – 4:06
#"Put Yourself in My Place" from "Kylie Minogue" – 4:11
#"Did It Again" from "Impossible Princess" – 4:14
#"Breathe" from "Impossible Princess" – 3:40
#"Where the Wild Roses Grow" with Nick Cave from "Murder Ballads" by Nick Cave – 3:57

The German version of the album has "Your Disco Needs You" (also from "Light Years") in place of "Please Stay".

*Disc 3 (Special Edition - Videos)
#"I Should Be So Lucky"
#"Got to Be Certain"
#"Locomotion" (Australian version)
#"Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi"
#"Especially for You" with Jason Donovan
#"Hand on Your Heart"
#"Wouldn't Change a Thing"
#"Never Too Late"
#"Tears on My Pillow"
#"Better the Devil You Know"
#"Step Back in Time"
#"What Do I Have to Do?"
#"Shocked"
#"Give Me Just a Little More Time"
#"Celebration"
#"Confide in Me"
#"Put Yourself in My Place"
#"Where the Wild Roses Grow" with Nick Cave
#"Did It Again"
#"Breathe"
#"Spinning Around"
#"On a Night Like This"
#"Kids" with Robbie Williams
#"Please Stay"
#"Can't Get You out of My Head"
#"In Your Eyes"
#"Love at First Sight"
#"Come Into My World"
#"Slow"
#"Red Blooded Woman"
#"Chocolate"
#"I Believe in You"
#"Can't Get Blue Monday out of My Head" (Live at the BRITs 2002)

Release history

Although not her first compilation, or "greatest hits" album, "Ultimate Kylie" is notable as being the only album to include Minogue's Stock Aitken Waterman, Deconstruction and Parlophone Records recordings in one package. Advertisements for the album claimed it contained every single Minogue had released in the UK. These were misleading, as several of her charting singles were not included. The hit singles that are missing are: "It's No Secret", "Word Is Out", "If You Were with Me Now", "Finer Feelings", "What Kind Of Fool? (Heard It All Before)", "Where Is the Feeling?", "GBI", "Some Kind of Bliss" and "Your Disco Needs You". Many of the singles that were released during her DeConstruction period were not included on the second CD to save room for her bigger hit singles that were produced during her releases with Parlophone.

The album contained two new songs, "I Believe In You" and "Giving You Up", which were recorded especially for the "Ultimate Kylie" release. Other songs that were leftovers from the "Body Language" recording sessions were considered for inclusion on the album, only one of those songs, "B.P.M." was released as the B-side to "I Believe In You". "Give Me A Reason" and "I'm Fascinated" are the songs that were thought to be included in this album but they didn't make the final cut. Both were written by Kylie Minogue & "BiffCo". There's also a track named "I Put A Spell On You". According to the EMI Parlophone catalogue it is one of the classic jazz recordings from Kylie.

While working with Xenomania, Kylie recorded a song named "Loving You." Although it was never properly recorded, a demo of the song was leaked in 2004 just after the release of "Ultimate Kylie." "I Know" (originally titled "Everything I Know"), which was recorded with "Scissor Sisters," was also leaked.

The Japanese release contained three bonus tracks: "Turn It Into Love", "Can't Get Blue Monday Out of My Head" and "Slow" (Chemical Brothers Remix).

A DVD was simultaneously released under the same name, containing all the music videos of the CDs, with the exception of "Giving You Up" (which at the time had not been filmed). It also contains Minogue's performance at the 2002 BRIT Awards of "Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head": a mix of "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and New Order's "Blue Monday". Early versions of the UK DVD are known to suffer from the DVD rot phenomenon, after a short period of time, where the playing surface becomes incredibly cloudy or forms a 'cracked' pattern. EMI UK have not publicly addressed this issue.

The album was repackaged and reissued in October 2006 in Australia only as the Showgirl Tour Special Edition. The repackaged version contains 2 CDs and 1 DVD, originally available separately. Parlophone has not announced any plans of a UK reissue, however, the version was made available online through such retailers as HMV on import.

Critical response

"Ultimate Kylie" received a generally positive response from music critics. PopMatters called the album "one of the best collections of dance music available" and gave the album an 8 out of 10 rating, which means that the album was of excellent status and "among the best work of the given artist, or among the best in the given genre".ref|Popmatters

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a review for Allmusic, stated that "Ultimate Kylie lives up to its billing" as a greatest hits record.ref|AllMusicGuide

Jason Shawahn, from About.com, praised the album for its inclusion of two new songs, which he feels were "among the finest tracks that Kylie has recorded in years" and show her at her best.ref|AboutReview

Some critics were less than impressed with the collection. In a review for Stylus Magazine, Mark Edwards called the first disc "horribly naff" and full of "squeaky songs". The review also went on to say that "half of this album is terrible" and that the only reason people will purchase it was because "everyone loves Kylie".ref|StylusMagazine The Stylus review was very negative towards Minogue's PWL and DeConstruction recordings, but the review did praise her hits with Parlophone.

Chart performance

"Ultimate Kylie" managed to reached the Top 10 in multiple countries including Australia, Germany and the UK. In the UK the album stayed within the Top 10 for seven weeks peaking at number four, giving Minogue her tenth Top 10 album. In the UK the album has sold an estimated 950,000 copies and in Australia over 280,000 copies, the album has sold an estimated 3 million copies Worldwide.

The album was released in the US but it only reached #115 on the album chart, but has sold over 30,000 to date.

In November, 2006 the re-release made the album re-enter at #16 on the Australian ARIA album chart, the following week it went to #8, two weeks later the album reached #7. The album reached #42 in the 2004 ARIA End of Year Charts, #38 in 2005, and #40 in 2006.

Chart positions

*"I Believe in You" was released in the UK on December 6, 2004, and was heard on radio stations from October 19 2004. Jake Shears and Babydaddy from the Scissor Sisters are credited as co-writers and producers. The single release featured a b-side titled "B.P.M." that was recorded during the "Body Language" sessions. "I Believe in You" reached the number two position in the UK behind "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid. In December 2005, the song gained Minogue her fourth Grammy nomination for the Best Dance Recording category.

*"Giving You Up" was also released as a single on March 28, 2005 in the UK. It peaked at six, giving Minogue another top ten hit. It featured "Made of Glass" as a b-side, a song that was infamously leaked to the internet in December of 2004. "Giving You Up" and "Made of Glass" were both made written and produced with Xenomania.

*"Made Of Glass", although only a b-side, it was just as popular as "Giving You Up", instantly becoming a fan favourite and receiving attention from Australian radio and compiltations. Due to this attention, a few weeks into the songs release, the title of "Made Of Glass" appeared next to "Giving You Up" as a double a-side on the official ARIA music charts. It is yet to appear on a Kylie album.

References

# Hunter Felt [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/m/minoguekylie-ultimate.shtml Ultimate Kylie 1] . "PopMatters". 2004. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.
# Stephen Thomas Erlewine [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:sefm963o0ep8 Ultimate Kylie 2] . "Allmusic". 2004. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.
# Jason Shawahn [http://dancemusic.about.com/od/reviews/fr/KylieUltimate.htm Ultimate Kylie 3] . "About.com". 2005. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.
# Mark Edwards [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2567 Ultimate Kylie 4] . "Stylus Magazine". 2004. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.

Unreleased Songs

* Loving You Written by Minogue and Brian Higgins, this faced the light days after the release of "Ultimate Kylie" along with I Know
* I Know Written by Kylie Minogue, BabyDaddy & Jake Shears, this was leaked in November 2004.
* Ooh The Blues Written by BabyDaddy & Jake Shears, remains unreleased. Only a 28 second--clip has been leaked to net in late 2006. The Scissor Sisters ended up using this track without Minogue for their second album Ta-Dah under the title 'Ooh'.

ources

*"Charts". "Slo Kylie - Slovenian Kylie Page". [http://www.slokylie.com/charts.html link] - last accessed December 23, 2005.
*"Ultimate Kylie". "Rainbow Kylie". [http://www.freewebs.com/rainbowkylie/ultimatekylie.htm link] - last accessed December 24, 2005.
*"Current Releases". "MixKylie". [http://www.mixkylie.co.uk/releases.php link] - last accessed December 24, 2005.