Ultimate Kylie

Ultimate Kylie
Compilation album by Kylie Minogue
Released	November 22, 2004 (2004-11-22) November 23, 2004 (2004-11-23) (Canada) December 1, 2004 (2004-12-01) (Japan) February 1, 2005 (2005-02-01) (U.S.) October 28, 2006 (2006-10-28) (reissue)
Recorded	1987 – 2004
Genre	Pop, Dance, Euro-pop, Freestyle 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, Paula Abdul, 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
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Blender link PopMatters (8/10) link Stylus (C) link
Kylie Minogue chronology
Kylie Minogue: Artist Collection (2004) Ultimate Kylie (2004) Showgirl EP (2005)
Alternate cover
Ultimate Kylie Special Edition cover

Ultimate Kylie is the third compilation album by Australian dance-oriented pop singer–songwriter Kylie Minogue. It was released in November 2004 by Parlophone Records.

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This collection superseded Kylie's 1992 Greatest Hits compilation.

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.

Release history

Although not her first compilation, or "greatest hits" album, it's her third major "greatest hits" album (the other two being Greatest Hits and Hits+), 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 worldwide 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 All That Before)", "Where Is the Feeling?", "GBI: German Bold Italic", "Some Kind of Bliss" and "Your Disco Needs You". Many of the singles that were released during her Stock Aitken Waterman and 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, however 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 did not make the final cut. Both were written by Kylie Minogue & "BiffCo". A track entitled "I Put a Spell on You" is also thought to exist. 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 the 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 as an 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".^[1]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a review for Allmusic, stated that "Ultimate Kylie lives up to its billing" as a greatest hits record.^[2]

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.^[3]

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".^[4] The Stylus review was very negative towards Minogue's PWL and Deconstruction recordings, but the review did praise her hits with Parlophone.

Singles

• "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 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.

Track listing

• Disc one

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

Japanese bonus tracks

1. "Turn It Into Love" from Kylie
2. "Can't Get Blue Monday Out of My Head" from Fever
3. "Slow" (Chemical Brothers Remix) from Body Language

• Disc Two

1. "I Believe in You" new song – 3:21
2. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" from Fever – 3:52
3. "Love at First Sight" from Fever – 3:59
4. "Slow" from Body Language – 3:13
5. "On a Night Like This" from Light Years – 3:33
6. "Spinning Around" from Light Years – 3:27
7. "Kids" with Robbie Williams from Light Years – 4:20
8. "Confide in Me" from Kylie Minogue – 4:26
9. "In Your Eyes" from Fever – 3:18
10. "Please Stay" from Light Years – 4:04
11. "Red Blooded Woman" from Body Language – 4:20
12. "Giving You Up" new song – 3:30
13. "Chocolate" from Body Language – 4:01
14. "Come Into My World" from Fever – 4:06
15. "Put Yourself in My Place" from Kylie Minogue – 4:11
16. "Did It Again" from Impossible Princess – 4:14
17. "Breathe" from Impossible Princess – 3:40
18. "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)

1. "I Should Be So Lucky"
2. "Got to Be Certain"
3. "Locomotion" (Australian version)
4. "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi"
5. "Especially for You" with Jason Donovan
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" with Nick Cave
19. "Did It Again"
20. "Breathe"
21. "Spinning Around"
22. "On a Night Like This"
23. "Kids" with Robbie Williams
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 2002)

Chart performance

	"I Believe in You" (2004) First single from album. "Giving You Up" (2004) Second single from album. "Made of Glass" (2005) Popularized B-Side of Giving You Up single.
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Ultimate Kylie managed to reach 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 just under 1 million copies and in Australia over 280,000 copies. The album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. The album has also been certified 3x Platinum in Ireland and Platinum (40,000) in Belgium^[1] as well as Gold in Spain (50,000) and in Germany (100,000).

The album was released in the US but failed to chart. It has sold over 30,000 copies there to date.

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

Chart positions

Album credits

• Mastered by Ashley Phase at Whitfield Street Mastering.
• Liner notes written by Neil Rees & Nigel Goodall with thanks and acknowledgement to Tom Parker.
• Kylie's visual direction and styling by William Baker.
• Photography by Simon Emmett.
• Sleeve direction and design and photo montages by Tony Hung for Adjective Noun.

References

1. ^  Hunter Felt Ultimate Kylie 1. PopMatters. 2004. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.
2. ^  Stephen Thomas Erlewine Ultimate Kylie 2. Allmusic. 2004. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.
3. ^  Jason Shawahn Ultimate Kylie 3. About.com. 2005. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.
4. ^  Mark Edwards Ultimate Kylie 4. Stylus Magazine. 2004. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.

Unreleased songs

• "Loving You" – written by Minogue and Brian Higgins, this outtake seen the light of day after the release of Ultimate Kylie along with "I Know"
• "I Know" – written by Kylie Minogue, Babydaddy and Jake Shears, this was leaked in November 2004.
• "Ooh the Blues" – written by Babydaddy and Jake Shears, remains unreleased. Only a 28-second clip of the song was leaked to the internet in late 2006. The Scissor Sisters ended up using this track without Minogue for their second album Ta-Dah under the title "Ooh".

Sources

• "Charts". Slo Kylie - Slovenian Kylie Page. link - last accessed December 23, 2005.
• "Ultimate Kylie". Rainbow Kylie. link - last accessed December 24, 2005.
• "Current Releases". MixKylie. link - last accessed December 24, 2005.