Rhythm of Love (Kylie Minogue album)

Rhythm of Love
Studio album by Kylie Minogue
Released	12 November 1990
Recorded	1990; London and Los Angeles
Genre	Dance-pop[1]
Length	44:28
Label	PWL Mushroom
Producer	Stock Aitken Waterman Keith Cohen Stephen Bray Michael Jay Rick James
Kylie Minogue chronology
Enjoy Yourself (1989)Enjoy Yourself1989 Rhythm of Love (1990) Let's Get to It (1991)Let's Get to It1991
Singles from Rhythm of Love
"Better the Devil You Know" Released: 30 April 1990 "Step Back in Time" Released: 22 October 1990 "What Do I Have to Do" Released: 21 January 1991 "Shocked" Released: 20 May 1991

Rhythm of Love is the third studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released on 12 November 1990 by PWL. It was recorded in the spring and summer of 1990 in London and Los Angeles. In contrast to her previous studio albums, Stock Aitken Waterman were the primary producers of the album, but featured new producers and collaborations including Keith Cohen, Stephen Bray and Michael Jay. At the age of twenty-two at the time, Minogue started to become independently more involved in the process of creating and arranging the project compared to her two previous efforts, resulting in the album directing her to a new path in her music career, with a more sexual image and a more dance-influenced sound. Rhythm of Love deals with many subjects including her real-time adulthood, cheating, having fun, bad boys, crushes and relationships, and more.

Upon its release, Rhythm of Love received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Many complimented it as her best work with Stock Aitken Waterman, along with critics praising Minogue herself for stepping out of her comfort zone.

The album spawned four singles, sometimes referred to as the Golden Quartet.^[2] "Better the Devil You Know" became one of Minogue's biggest successes, charting inside the top twenty in Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Israel, Sweden and France. The music video generated a more sexual image to her career. Minogue promoted the album with her Rhythm of Love Tour in Australia and Asia. The album is considered by many to be a definitive turning point in Minogue's career, noted for successfully beginning a departure from the bubblegum pop sound of her first two albums and showing her as a more mature, credible musical adult artist.

Background

Minogue's third album, was produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman team, along with Keith Cohen, Stephen Bray and Michael Jay ("The World Still Turns"). It included for the first time, songs co-written by Minogue. The album was a departure from the bubblegum pop music of its predecessors and attempted to present a more stylish and contemporary dance sound. Several of its tracks became popular hits in the clubs of the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The album reached number nine on the UK album charts and was certified gold.

With a new musical direction, Minogue had the opportunity to break out of the mould her record company had created for her. Heavily influenced by her then boyfriend Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS, Minogue explored and presented herself in a more sexual and raunchier manner. The media dubbed this 'SexKylie', as fishnet tights and dark eye makeup quickly replaced the big hair, bright colors and Christmas ornament-like earrings. Nick Levine from Digital Spy stated musically that it's "still perky early Kylie pop, but there's a definite progression here: a slightly dancier sound, more sax, guitars and rapping, and – gasp! – tracks produced by people other than Stock Aitken Waterman."^[3]

"What Do I Have to Do" was originally planned to be the follow-up to "Better the Devil You Know" in late 1990, but was held back after the release of "Step Back in Time" until January 1991, when a newer remix of the song was used for the single version. "I Am the One for You", written by Minogue, Phil Harding, Ian Curnow, was an unused track from these recording sessions which was eventually made available to fans on the Australian-only 1998 compilation Greatest Remix Hits 4.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Digital Spy	[4]

After the album's release, Rhythm of Love received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Chris True of AllMusic describes the album as Minogue's "best work from the Stock-Aitken-Waterman era", and writes that "the songwriting is stronger, the production dynamic, and Kylie seems more confident vocally".^[5] Nick Levine from Digital Spy gave it a positive review, awarding the studio album four stars out of five. He stated "Rhythm Of Love is well worth another listen" and concluded saying "It's got the odd dud – stand up, 'One Boy Girl' – and the pop rush fades towards the end, but this is definitely KM's best effort yet, thanks largely to the continued brilliance of those singles. If you can't find something to bop to here, you need to get yourself on the NHS waiting list for a new pair of Dancing Feet."^[3]

Commercial performance

Rhythm of Love debuted at number seventeen on the Australian Albums Chart. It climbed to number thirteen but fell afterwards. However, when Minogue was promoting her Rhythm of Love Tour, the album climbed the chart once again and eventually peaked at number ten. In New Zealand, the album spent a sole week on the charts at number thirty six, not becoming successful in that country. It performed similarly in Sweden, only peaking at number forty four on the charts there. In Spain the album peaked number twenty six and stayed in the charts for ten weeks, later being certified Gold there.^[6]

Singles

The album's lead single "Better the Devil You Know" was released on 30 April 1990. The song received positive reviews from most music critics, with critics noting it as a highlight to the album.^[1] Many critics noted the new style of Minogue's direction, not being the same as her previous music. Commercially, the song was successful on the charts peaking inside the top twenty in countries including Australia, Belgium, France, Israel, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, being both certified in Australia and the UK. The music video was directed by Paul Goldman and was filmed in Melbourne. The video featured Minogue in very mild sexually suggestive scenes with a black man, who played the role of her lover. It caused some controversy as it presented Minogue in a much more mature image than videos from earlier years. The album's second single "Step Back in Time" was released on 22 October 1990. Originally, the song "What Do I Have to Do?" was going to be released as the second single but the decision was changed to "Step Back in Time". This song marks the first time Minogue took her music into the genre of disco. The song peaked inside the top ten in Australia, UK, Ireland and South Africa.

The album's third single "What Do I Have to Do" was released on 21 January 1991. The song received very positive reviews from music critics, praising the song as being a '90s masterpiece.^[7] "What Do I Have to Do" had less success than her previous singles. It peaked at 11 in her native Australia, becoming her first single to miss the top ten. It managed to peak at 6 in the UK, however. The album's last single, "Shocked" was released on 20 May 1991. The song was critically acclaimed from music critics, noting it as one of Minogue's best works and a highlight.^[8]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Rhythm of Love.

	"Better the Devil You Know" (1990) A more hard edged dance song, and the first to present Minogue as a mature and sexually aware adult. "What Do I Have to Do" (1990) The album's third single release.
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Note

• Unreleased track, "I Am the One for You" was recorded for the album but was left off and eventually released on the Australian-only 1998 compilation Greatest Remix Hits 4.
• "Always Find the Time" contains an interpolation of "Candy Man" by Mary Jane Girls, written and composed by Rick James.

Special editions

• Australian tour edition

To promote the successful tour of Australia and Japan, a special tour edition was released in Australia on double LP, CD and cassette, containing three bonus tracks in a gold outersleeve. This edition was later released in the UK on CD and cassette, and is commonly referred to as 'the Gold edition'.

• Australian special edition

Another edition in special packaging was released in Australia only to promote the "Shocked" single. The same CD/cassette as the tour edition was included along with a second CD/cassette of the "Shocked" Australian single.

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

• www.kylie.com