Touch Me Like That with Jason Nevins
This track does not stop! The bass pounds from the very onset, the lyric is fast and the sample of Sylvester James' disco smash 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)' is clubbed up for the noughties. The video is sassy, drawing inspiration from the Scissor Sisters; sticking Mickey Mouse ears on PVC-clad lady friends and setting the whole thing in outer space. Jason Nevins twiddles the dance floor and Dannii smears flourescent lipstick all over her face wearing a red wig that belonged to the one and only Joan Collins. Seriously. The song came from nowhere in a matter of weeks and, with little promotion during Christmas sales, didn't go very far but, make no mistake, this is a good song.
Feel Like I Do (JCA Remix)
The piano, over a sweeping electronic sound, leads up to Dannii singing the song title before the beat drops on this uncompromising dance track. The lyrics are fast and there's a lot going on in the background but everything stops for a brief pause for a short bridge, where Dannii sounds great. As the album title would suggest, this is a song for the clubs or for a summer's day, in the car with the top down and the pedal to the metal.
Perfection with Soulseekerz (12" Mix)
Perfection is not one of my favourite Dannii singles, although the combat-inspired dance routine for the performance for this was great. The song does have a blinding beat with rolling bass drums, which do get more of an outing in this extended mix. The pre-chorus is my favourite part of the song, I love the way it builds up to the actual chorus, which will find its way into your brain, like it or not.
You Won't Forget About Me with Flower Power
I love You Won't About Me. The vocal that Dannii recorded over Flower Power is a match made in heaven. I love the strings and the high vocal (not usually Dannii's forté), which Ms. Minogue confirms makes this one of the hardest songs for her to sing. The video too is great and has a fantastic concept. So far, all of the tracks have been summer party tracks and this can only be a good thing.
Love Fight
This track is like Marmite. You either love it or hate it. The majority of people seem to be in the 'love it' camp, though I fall into the latter category. There is just too much going on in this that, for me, the song fails to gel and sounds disjointed. Dannii does write a mean lyric, however and 'Heavy petting always makes me feel Like I'm Lois with the Man of Steel' is something that you don't hear everyday.
I'm Sorry
This song starts of with a whisper and the slow vocal builds with pace and power until the brilliant chorus. Dannii sounds on top form for this Roger Sanchez track about ending a relationship with somebody that doesn't want it to finish. It peaks and troughs and leaves you wanting for more. Where Dannii asks 'How could I cause you pain?' is pure brilliance and this is another track that could easily have provided Dannii with her first Number One had her record company had the foresight to give it, as well as several other tracks, a physical release.
Gone
Gone is another example of what Dannii can do. The dance beat is there but a raw lyric and vocal performance add another dimension to this song. Dannii is Gone on the love of somebody who leaves her 'Begging for bones like a dog'. The song talks about being on the wrong side of love and Dannii's voice sounds desperate in places. This song is one of the best things Dannii has recorded and there are rumours that this was going to be picked up by radio had this been given a chance. Get this!
So Under Pressure (Album Version)
The single release from 'The Hits and Beyond' and one of Dannii's best. The video is simple, with a monochrome colour scheme but looks slick as hell. The song is for venting all of your frustration to and the inspiration behind it was her sister Kylie's illness and how the press targeted Dannii for the latest news. The music, intentionally, is opressive but enjoyable at the same time and nothing like you have heard before. Fantastic.
Good Times (Forty Four's 7" Mix)
The weaker of the 'Beyond' tracks but a good song nonetheless. The Forty Four's Mix is an improvement on the original, making the song edgier with more emphasis on the bass. Brass accompanies the upbeat chorus where Dannii has a high vocal singing about how alive she feels with the person with whom she has shared so many good times.
Sunrise
This is a seriously good song! Sounding a little like 'Straight Ahead' by Tube & Berger Feat. Chrissie Hynde, this is a dance floor filler, with a sexy rythm. You can see the video now: Dannii, in Ibiza, on the club stage, belting this out. The bridge comes in, the roof goes back, the sun comes up and the crowd go wild! The song is about a night out where the girls and the boys are checking eachother. Dannii is going to take everyone right through to Sunrise and encouraging people to get it on and to keep it up... Electric guitars feature heavy on this, which combine excellently with the thumping beat.
He's The Greatest Dancer (LMC Radio Edit)
Released in Spain as a single which went Top 10 and stayed in the charts for well over a year, this was another song that was due to see an international release and then didn't. Dannii performed this live on Children In Need, a massive TV charity event in the UK and remixes of the song were cropping up in the Radio One shows of Pete Tong, the man responsible for hooking Dannii up with Riva for 'Who Do You Love Now? (Stringer)'. The song is pure disco and a cover of the Sister Sledge 1979 original (written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rogers).
I Can't Sleep At Night
It is unbelieveable that this album contains so many almost-rans. This song was also due for release and had a video made and was then shelved, released only digitally, with no promotion. Consequently, the song failed to achieve exactly what it could have. 'Club Disco' is the perfect way to describe the sound. The song talks about Dannii not being able to sleep on her own as she is 'Not good at being lonely'. Like many of the tracks, the song is relentless when it starts and this is another absolute tune!
I Will Come To You
I Will Come To You is a complete change in sound, with a trancy soundtrack to a fast lyric. Dannii is loving at a distance (by choice) and is telling her lover that since he is her 'home and home is where the heart is', she will come to him in his dreams. All he has to do is close his eyes and hold on to said dream. It's not an immediate hit but has some good moments and is utterly enjoyable.
I've Been Waiting For You
Nineties dance is the style of this, think the pianos of Alison Limerick's anthem 'Where Love Lives' and you are not far off. The chorus can get a little repetitive but the verses and, in particular the bridge, more than break this up. Once again, it is not a stand out track but certainly has its charms. Well worth a listen.
Round The World
A more urban sound is given to Round The World that has earned the song quite a few fans. 'I need you now at the tip of my finger, your body's gone but your kisses linger' is the lyric that continues to describe the love that Dannii and her suitor make is like travelling Round The World without moving. It sits nicely on the album and is better than I Will Come To You and I've Been Waiting For you but, given the phenomenal start to the album, it lacks a little something to make the track stand out.
Do You Believe Me Now?
Only available on the digital release of the album and not the Australian double CD format (at the request of Roger Sanchez, whose vocal features). It is criminal that this outstanding song has not been released and stormed to the top of the charts around the globe. There is a vulnerability in Dannii's voice on this track, similar to that of 'Gone', that sends shivers down your spine. Violins provide the introduction to the vocal, accompanied by lone keyboard notes. The touching lyric gathers a little pace and the beat drops in time for the chorus that will go round and round your head. The song commands to be listened to and you will be caught up in the sentiment of it. For a dance track, this is no mean feat. Everything strips back for the bridge, only to come back stronger than before. Ten out of ten!
Xanadu
A cover of the Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton-John classic, who Dannii walked to Beijing with for her cancer charity of which Dannii is now a patron. This is a chilled out version of the song that Dannii performed a dance version of on Australian TV and live at the last G-A-Y at Heaven. Another song that was to be released, only for the plans not to come to fruition. This song is a departure from the rest of the album but an interesting choice for a cover. The song is slow, Dannii sounds great and you can't help but like this.
You Won't Forget About Me (Afterlife Lounge Mix Edit)
The first of two remixes from Afterlife, who Dannii recorded 'Take Me Inside' with. With a similar sound to 'Xanadu' and the version of 'More, More, More' that Dannii recorded for Hed Kandi two years ago, this strips back and winds down the Top Ten smash that features earlier on in the album. The slower choruses add to the track, rather than take away and the instrumentation winds the album down nicely.
I Can't Sleep At Night (Afterlife Lounge Mix)
Picking up from 'You Won't Forget About Me', this remix follows in a similar vain and rounds things off perfectly. 'I Can't Sleep At Night' works just as well, if not better than its predecessor, though takes a little longer to be as enjoyable. The sound is acoustic and shows that Dannii can more than hold a tune and deserves to still be in the business after three decades.
I am not sure what has gone wrong for Dannii at All Around the World. The record company that house such atrocities as Scooter and Cascada believe, in their wisdom, that Dannii is best recording a vocal over a banging, established dance tune. Whilst 'Who Do You Love Now' and 'You Won't Forget About Me' are examples that Dannii can work this format, 'Perfection' is a step too far and the style is fast losing its appeal. The highlights on this album are the tracks that Dannii wrote herself, the ones that were to be released but then weren't for one reason or another. There are consequently two sides to this album, the sheer brilliance and originality of most of it, coupled with the frustration that this could have been so much bigger. As Dannii herself says, she doesn't dwell on the past and, recent Twitter pictures showing her in the studio mean that this will not be the last that we hear out of the younger Minogue. She shows no signs of stopping, even though she is expecting her first child with Kris Smith in July; currently judging the fourth series of Australia's Got Talent, starring in the latest Marks & Spencer advertisements, launching her latest clothing line, 'Project D' and making it very clear that she wants to be back on the judging panel for this year's X Factor to continue to fly the Team Minogue flag. Some argue that she needs to let the judging go this year, head back to the X Factor as a performer and show Cheryl Tweedy (then Cole) a trick or two. I for one really hope this happens.
Dannii Minogue's Official Website: www.danniimusic.com
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