Kylie Minogue

I think Golden was lyrically pretty solid. That's why Disco threw me a somewhat, as those lyrics could have been written by anyone. When you see the artist is the sole songwriter there's an expectation you're getting more than just a song - that it'll hold greater meaning or depth or reveal something about that person. You could argue disco music is fun and doesn't need any real meaning or depth but actually a lot of disco from the 70's did have underlining meaning or hold more weight in the lyrics than often people realised.
I should clarify - by 'sophisticated' I didn't mean meaningful, deep or revealing. Certainly I didn't mean that 'serious' lyrics are the only kind that can be sophisticated. I meant song writing that is secure and not trying too hard, writers that know how to cleverly yet simply twist a phrase, lyrics that feel totally at home and at pace with the music.

Dance music and frivolous lyrics about love, dancing and nightlife to me can still be all of those things, and I often think of them as stylish, clever, sophisticated even if they don't really dig too deep beneath the surface.

It's a totally subjective thing of course. To me In Your Eyes is absolutely sophisticated. It has the lyrical call back to a very recent hit that doesn't feel shoehorned, and the line "I want to make it with you" - no one actually says that but it's the sort of thing that would probably come out off the cuff while buzzed on a dancefloor. It's simple but it's coy, it's playful - it captures attention.

Most importantly, Kylie sounds at ease delivering the lines in a way I don't think she does on something like "She know how to party but nothing like me and you" - but again it's all subjective.

Perhaps I've used the wrong word with 'sophisticated'. It's not about being highbrow or pretentious. The bridge on Looking for an Angel is one of my favourites and it begins "When good things are good" ... Yet it's so earnest that it works.
 
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he / him
Personally, I really enjoy "Give It To Me." The lowlights on Fever for me are "More More More," "Dancefloor" and "Your Love," but I'd only call "Dancefloor" bad.
 
More More More is my favourite album track on Fever...oopsh. It's so floaty and lush.

G A S P — Fever is such a solid album through and through, being in America it was kind of my first introduction to Kylie (I remember my parents playing the locomotion to me as a kid, but I was too young to fully enjoy it).

when I finally turned 18 I went to Barnes and Noble and bought the two Kylie CDs they had available. (Fever, Ultimate)
 
he / him
Unfortunately not, there are plenty of people who think Light Years is her best work. It isn't bad by any means, but Fever is just much tighter and cooler.
I am thankful that Light Years re-established her in her key markets, but outside of three out of the four singles, I don't find myself revisiting the album.
 
Light Years works better for me. Yes, Fever is perhaps stylistically 'cooler' in sound, production and visuals but Light Years has a lot more warmth about it. It's very kitch, it's very pop, it's very fun. It plays to her strengths and I prefer her vocals on it too. As mentioned already, Fever felt like the time we started to get really nasally vocals from Kylie, especially on the Come Into My World single mix (to my ears the album version was always superior).

That said, I think both albums are far from perfect and carry a few duds.
 

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