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Impossible Princess (briefly retitled Kylie Minogue in Europe) is the sixth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, released on 22 October 1997, by Deconstruction, BMG and Mushroom Records.
- Dance Experimental Pop
Jan 22, 2023 · Impossible Princess. Kylie Minogue. 1997. 7.6. By Owen Myers. Genre: Pop/R&B. Label: BMG / Deconstruction / Mushroom. Reviewed: January 22, 2023. Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth...
- Owen Myers
Oct 22, 1997 · Impossible Princess is Kylie’s sixth studio album released on 22 October 1997. The album was delayed and renamed to Kylie Minogue in various regions due to the Princess Diana tragedy...
- Overview
- Composition
- Release
- Promotion
- Track listing
- Additional releases
- Charts
is the sixth studio album by Kylie Minogue, released on 22 October 1997 by Deconstruction. Kylie had co-written all the songs on the album, with additional credits in production and composition; the album was also assisted by Dave Ball, Ingo Vauk, Brothers in Rhythm, Manic Street Preachers and Rob Dougan, among others. Musically, the album was inspired by the techno and brit-pop revolution during the late 1990s, and incorporates musical elements of trip-hop, dance music, rock, and electronica. Lyrically, it focuses on Kylie's relationships, self-discovery, and a variety of emotions.
Five singles were released off the album: "Some Kind of Bliss", "Did It Again", "Breathe", and "Cowboy Style", all of which experienced moderate success. The fifth single, "Too Far", was distributed in the US and UK to promote the album. After a promotional tour in 1997, Kylie went on her Intimate and Live tour in Australia and the UK the following year, which was a commercial and critical success. Since the album's release, it has been recognized by publications as one of Kylie's key "re-inventions". In retrospect, Kylie labelled the Impossible Princess period as the lowest point of her career.
Songs
The album's opening track, "Too Far", was written at a local cafe Kylie usually visited, after feeling "trapped" and angered at her home in Chelsea, London. Featuring a "chaotic" arrangement, it was remarked by Nick Levine as one of "Kylie's most toughest club cuts" in her career. The second track, "Cowboy Style", details her first meeting with then-boyfriend, Stephane Sednaoui, and achieves a metaphorical experimentalism throughout its lyrics. Cameron Adams, writing at the Herald Sun, described it as a country song, whilst Cinquemani said the song "features a tribal percussion break and a string quartet that sounds more Celtic than country." The album's lead single, "Some Kind of Bliss", was distinguishable due to its attribution of introducing "Indie Kylie", a pseudonym that dealt with Kylie's move to rock music; the other tracks being "Did It Again" and "I Don't Need Anyone". It was labelled by several critics, such as Gareth Gorman from X-Press magazine and The Age's John Mangan, as an indie rock song, and tells a story about being joyful. The following song, "Did It Again", is another rock composition that includes elements of Middle Eastern music. Its theme was based on a tabloid run in Britain that reported Kylie as anorexic; she wrote the track in response, and said it was about her "telling herself off". Written in Japan, the fifth track, "Breathe", was described by Levine as "subtle" electronica and expresses Kylie's ability to contemplate and feel "very still" while in an intense environment. "Say Hey", described by the singer as a "late-midnight" electronica track, was conceived when Kylie was having a bath; though the main idea was centered around communication between her and Sednaoui, it was "not necessarily to speak with him, but to feel that there's been some sort of contact." The seventh track, "Drunk", was described by Cinquemani as "one of many anthemic Techno tracks littered throughout the album." Kylie said that it was about "not feeling satisfied" during parts of the relationship with her boyfriend, and wrote it as a cross-over between feeling "angry" and "having so much feeling for someone,". "I Don't Need Anyone" is another rock-driven track that, according to Kylie, did not have a set "story" because parts of the lyrics had been combined from different sets of songs, very much like "Some Kind of Bliss". Labelled a "sinister" trip-hop groove by Adams, "Jump" advises the public to accept her during her career and personal choices. Written in Spain, the sound of "Limbo" was described as a hybrid of drum and bass, techno, and rock music, with lyrics discussing her inability to leave a certain country to meet someone, due to bureaucracy laws. "Through the Years" details her meeting an ex-boyfriend, and feeling insecure and doubtful; the composition was compared to Bjork's single "Venus as a Boy" by Cinquemani and R. Smith. The album's closing track is "Dreams", an orchestral pop ballad that discusses the persistence of pushing boundaries and experimentation through her career.
Deconstruction planned to have the album out in January 1997, but postponed its release to May. Even with copies of the album already printed in mid-1997, it was delayed again to September. On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car accident. Because of the impact of her death, Kylie and Deconstruction felt the album's title was inappropriate and delayed its release for three months. The album also missed the planned January 1998 release. Frustrated with the constant delays, Kylie came to an agreement with her label to re-title it Kylie Minogue in Europe and the United Kingdom. It is her third self-titled studio album, following her debut in 1988 and her 1994 album. Released on 28 March 1998, the album had the original cover design and Kylie's tribute to Sednaoui in the credits, despite having ended their relationship in late 1997.
On 22 October 1997, Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) released the album in the Japanese market, which included the bonus track "Tears", alongside the lenticular cover sleeve. The following month, Impossible Princess was produced in both CD and cassette formats in Russia and Poland. The standard edition of Impossible Princess was finally made available in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan in early January 1998, and was issued in Europe and the United Kingdom in March that year. The following month, BMG distributed it as a cassette tape in Malaysia, whilst the standard edition with new artwork was released in Taiwan. Deconstruction cancelled plans to release Impossible Princess in North America following the sudden closure of her US distributor Imago Records in late 1994. In May 2003, the album was remastered by Festival Mushroom in Australia and New Zealand, and BMG for European and UK regions, as a double CD album; the release contained a bonus disc featured remixes and three unreleased recordings: "Love Takes Over Me", "Tears", and "This Girl". The album re-instated the Impossible Princess title in Europe and the United Kingdom upon its re-release.
Because of constant delays in 1997, Mushroom Records premiered six of the album tracks—"Some Kind of Bliss", "Too Far", "Say Hey", "Limbo", "I Don't Need Anyone", and "Did It Again"—on a special sample compact disc, and all six recordings were distributed as radio singles to both Australia and New Zealand. Deconstruction conducted a similar promotional campaign in Europe and distributed six different songs on a sample cassette tape. Live and Other Sides was released accompanied by Australian releases of the album at HMV in 1998, with two unreleased Impossible Princess tracks, one unreleased Kylie Minogue track, and three live tracks. The EP was removed from sale and replaced with Other Sides for unknown reasons. Other Sides featured the two B-sides, "Love Takes Over Me" and "Tears" and an unreleased Impossible Princess track, "Take Me With You". Kylie's fourth remix album, Mixes, includes singles from the album; it was released in the UK in August 1998. In Australia, the remix album was replaced by Impossible Remixes, featuring the previously unreleased TNT Club Mix of "Breathe". Several album tracks and three unreleased tracks from Impossible Princess appear on Hits+ released in Europe in 2000.
In 2022, to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the album, Impossible Princess was re-issued on vinyl for the first time, with three colour variants as well as a picture disc.
The press campaign for the Impossible Princess began in mid-1995, including interviews with magazines and a performance at the Radio 1 Roadshow in Newquay. The promotional campaign was aimed at album buyers, rather than the singles market. The label stressed Kylie's wide-reaching appeal by setting up press cover interviews for her in various markets. During the release week in March 1998, Deconstruction and Kylie held a release party at Tower Records in London. She conducted a small-concert tour travelling to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong through October 1997; it was her first time in both New Zealand and Hong Kong. Kylie expanded the tour by adding venues in Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. She appeared on several television shows to promote the album's singles. She promoted the album at the 1998 Mardi Gras ceremony in Sydney, Australia.
In May 1998, Kylie confirmed the Intimate and Live concert tour, which began on 2 June at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, that same year. Initially, Kylie wanted to finish the tour in Melbourne on 4 July, but because of high demand in England, she hosted three additional concert performances there. The tour attracted positive reviews from spectators and publications, praising the idea of a smaller venue show. She received compliments for her vocal performance and her stage presence. Each concert had drawn in approximately 2,000 audience members in Australia, and the media there deemed it a commercial success. To complete the tour's promotion, an accompanying live album and DVD, shot at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, were released
Original cassette tape
Japanese edition bonus track
Special edition bonus disc
Notes
· a signifies a co-producer
· b signifies an additional producer
· Other Sides (1998) – an extended play featuring three unreleased Impossible Princess tracks; it accompanied Australian releases of the album at HMV.
· Live and Other Sides (1998) – an extended play featuring three unreleased Impossible Princess tracks, and three live tracks; it accompanied Australian releases of the album at HMV, but was removed and replaced with Other Sides for unknown reasons.
· Mixes (1998) – a remix album that includes singles from the album; it was released in the UK.
· 'Impossible Remixes · Hits+ (2000) – a compilation album that includes several album tracks and three unreleased tracks from Impossible Princess; it was released in Europe.
· Confide in Me (2000) – a compilation album that includes several album tracks from Impossible Princess; it was released in Europe.
· Artist Collection (2004) – a compilation album that includes several album tracks from Impossible Princess; it was released in Europe and Asia.
Weekly Charts Year-end charts
"Too Far" "Cowboy Style" "Some Kind of Bliss" "Did It Again" "Breathe" "Say Hey" "Drunk" "I Don't Need Anyone" "Jump" "Limbo" "Through the Years" "Dreams" "Tears" "Love Takes Over Me" "This Girl"
- 3 min
People also ask
Did Kylie Minogue write Impossible Princess?
Why did Kylie Minogue change her name to Impossible Princess?
What is Minogue's message in 'the dreams of an Impossible Princess'?
When did BMG release Impossible Princess?
Feb 23, 2014 · Impossible Princess. Must Hear Album. Critic Score. 67. Based on 7 reviews. 1997 Ratings: #81 / 115. User Score. 84. Based on 600 ratings. 1997 Rank: #32. Liked by 130 people. Details. Submit Correction. November 1, 1997 / Release Date. LP / Format. BMG, Deconstruction, Mushroom / Label. Electronic, Art Pop. Trip Hop. , Alternative Dance. ,
Nov 19, 2003 · Review: Kylie Minogue, Impossible Princess. Impossible Princess runs the gamut of styles, but manages to remain cohesive and fresh, even years later. by Sal Cinquemani. November 19, 2003. Kylie Minogue’s Impossible Princess bears a striking resemblance to Ray of Light, that other worldwide pop queen’s landmark album.
