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Ultimate Kylie is the title of Australian-born singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue's Greatest Hits album released in November, 2004. 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).

Track listing

  • Disc one
  1. "Better the Devil You Know" from Rhythm of Love
  2. "The Locomotion" from Kylie
  3. "I Should Be So Lucky" from Kylie
  4. "Step Back in Time" from Rhythm of Love
  5. "Shocked" from Rhythm of Love
  6. "What Do I Have to Do" from Rhythm of Love
  7. "Wouldn't Change a Thing" from Enjoy Yourself
  8. "Hand On Your Heart" from Enjoy Yourself
  9. "Especially For You" with Jason Donovan from Enjoy Yourself
  10. "Got to Be Certain" from Kylie
  11. "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" from Kylie
  12. "Give Me Just A Little More Time" from Let's Get To It
  13. "Never Too Late" from Enjoy Yourself
  14. "Tears On My Pillow" from Enjoy Yourself
  15. "Celebration", from Greatest Hits

  • Disc Two
  1. "I Believe in You" new song
  2. "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" from Fever
  3. "Love At First Sight" from Fever
  4. "Slow" from Body Language
  5. "On a Night Like This" from Light Years
  6. "Spinning Around" from Light Years
  7. "Kids" with Robbie Williams from Light Years
  8. "Confide In Me" from Kylie Minogue
  9. "In Your Eyes" from Fever
  10. "Please Stay" from Light Years
  11. "Red Blooded Woman" from Body Language
  12. "Giving You Up" new song
  13. "Chocolate" from Body Language
  14. "Come Into My World" from Fever
  15. "Put Yourself in My Place" from Kylie Minogue
  16. "Did It Again" from Impossible Princess
  17. "Breathe" from Impossible Princess
  18. "Where the Wild Roses Grow" with Nick Cave from Murder Ballads by Nick Cave

The German version of the album has "Your Disco Needs You" (also from Light Years) in place of "Please Stay".

Release history

Although not her first compilation, or "Greatest Hits" album, "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 hit singles that are missing are: "Word Is Out", "If You Were With Me Now", "Finer Feelings", "What Kind Of Fool? (Heard It All Before)", "Where Is The Feeling?" and "Some Kind of Bliss". Many of the singles that were released during her DeConstruction period were not included on the second CD was 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, 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 didn't make the final cut. Both were written by Kylie Minogue & "BiffCo". There's also a track named "I Put A Spell On You". 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 althought it was never properly recorded a demo was leaked in 2004, just after the release of "Ultimate Kylie" along with "I Know which was recorded with "Scissor Scisters"

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.

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".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a review for All Music Guide, stated that "Ultimate Kylie lives up to its billing" as a greatest hits record.

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.

Some critics were less then 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". The Stylus review was very negative towards Minogue's PWL and DeConstruction recordings, but the review did praise her hits with Parlophone.

Chart performance

"Ultimate Kylie" managed to reached 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 an estimated 850,000 copies and in Australia around 140,000 copies, the album has sold an estimated 3 million copies Worldwide.

The album was released in the US but it only reached #115 on the album chart, but has sold over 30,000 to date.

Chart positions

Chart (2004/2005) Peak
position
Argentina album charts 10
Australia albums charts 5
Belgium album chart 12
Croatia albums chart 3
Denmark album chart 17
France albums chart 24
Germany albums chart 10 (2 wks)
Greece albums chart 9
Ireland albums chart 8 (2 wks)
Italy albums chart 42
Mexican album chart 9
Netherlands album chart 37
New Zealand albums chart 33
Norway albums chart 18
Spain albums chart 27
Swizterland albums chart 19
UK albums chart 4 (3 wks)
US albums chart 115

Chart Trajectories

Irish Artist Albums Chart trajectory — "Ultimate Kylie" — Top 75
Week 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15-19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28-50 51 52
Chart position 8 9 8 13 14 16 25 22 25 31 41 45 40 46 Uncharted 69 24 45 55 55 56 45 47 Uncharted 68 67

Ultimate Kylie - UK Top 75 Albums
Week 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Position
4
5
4
4
7
7
8
11
13
22
29
40
48
52
65
74
71
60
68
65(re)
57
58
38
37
48
58
73

  • After nineteen consecutive weeks on the top seventy-five, Ultimate Kylie dropped out of the chart. The album then re-entered two weeks later at number sixty-five, and spent a further eight weeks on the chart. The album spent twenty-seven weeks on the chart in total.

Certifications

Country Certification
Australia 2x Platinum (140,000+)
Spain Gold (40.000+)
Austria Gold (15.000+)
Germany Gold sales (100,000+)
Europe 1x Platinum sales (1.000.000+)
Mexico Gold (50,000+)
New Zealand Gold (7,500+)
Ireland 3x Platinum
UK 3x Platinum sales (850,000+)

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.

Singles

  • "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 of 2004. "Giving You Up" and "Made of Glass" were both made written and produced with Xenomania. Although only a b-side, "Made Of Glass" was just as popular as "Giving You Up", instantly becoming a fan favourite and receiving attention from Australian radio and compiltations. Strangely, 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.

Notes

  1. Hunter Felt Ultimate Kylie 1. PopMatters. 2004. Retrieved Jan. 07, 2006.
  2. Stephen Thomas Erlewine Ultimate Kylie 2. All Music Guide. 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.

References

2004 albums | Kylie Minogue albums | Parlophone albums

Ultimate Kylie

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Ultimate Kylie".

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