It's been some weeks since I have received and listened to Dannii Minogue's latest CD and I knew from the start I would post about it. There is no other reason than this one : The 1995 Sessions is pure pop at its best and I don't care it's a cash-in compilation for her fans of unreleased demos from 1994/1995 : it sounds so good and better than most of the music released nowadays !
Forget about the bad-looking silver cover or the atrocious name of the album, what's in store is a re-mastered collection of 12 demo recordings (+1 remix) Dannii intended for her third album back in 1995 after Get into you but that never got released because of a disagreement between her and MCA Records.
Strange enough is the list of collaborators on these songs as some of them had worked with sister Kylie around the same time (Rapino Brothers, Charlie Mole, One World) for her first DeConstruction album, but most of these were not included on the final CD...
I always find it a pain in the ass to think of all the recorded material those stars keep on studio tapes and unreleased while all fans would kill to get it to listen to. These could be used as B-Sides/bonus tracks or be compiled like Dannii does every two year on albums like Unleased or this one. Now I dream Kylie does the same too. But let's get back to The 1995 Sessions.
Free your love starts the tracklisting with ease as it is a winning anthem with strong chorus and melody and eurodance arrangements. It is the first of the two songs co-written and produced by the Rapino Brothers and its perfection leads the extended mix to be included to end the CD on track 13 too.
Next is another first of two collaborations but with the Ollie J/Rollover team this time. I mostly know their works for Bianca Kinane/Peter André and Skin deep sounds a lot more eurodance than their usual R&B influenced dance/pop. Oh how I like on this one the 90's sounding keyboards ! It reminds me of how much I miss this cheesy handbag (aka house/garage Loveland sound-a-like) nowadays. It makes me feel people of the 2000's will find it very dated too. But not me!
Love and affection follows and the sounds are even more struck in the 90's as it sounds like a Get into you reject, with a very poppy melody. This song is pure cheese, but very sweet, nearly PWL-ish. It has nice vocoderized singalongs too and more synthesized strings and piano that makes me think of M People classics too. This succession of good old days' anthems make me feel like I'm 15 years younger, dancing hands in the air at G-A-Y's Astoria Theatre again...
Let love into your life is another winner, produced by Tom Fredericks this time, and it shares the same dance energy and handbag arrangements of the previous tracks while uncredited backing vocalists add more house power to this song.
Next comes a song all Dannii fans know damn well for Everlasting night is one of her non-album singles, originally released in Australia in 1999 after a famous performance at the gay & lesbian aussy Pride march Mardi Gras 1999. The version included is the original version of it, produced by Mike Percy & Tim Lever, and I think their version, if less anthemic, sounds more orgasmic, with a chorus less repetitive too, than Ian Masterson & Trouser Enthusiasts' 1999 remix.
A soft intro seems to slow it down but it is only a teaser for the absolute brilliance of Crazy (for your love). This second (of three in a row) One World production is pop perfection to my ears and I can't get it out of my head. Of all the songs included on The 1995 Sessions, it's the one that I've picked up and included in my current iPod hits list. I think I like this one best because, in truth, it sounds like a post-PWL song sister Kylie could have recorded...
Take my time loving you keeps the hiNRG-etic beats and catchy poppy chorus and I'm glad Mike & Tim, for these sessions, have made it without the outrageous rock guitar that spoiled the original version of Get into you. They've only kept what made This is it fabulous.
Now it's time for the other Rapino Brothers track and it sounds like it could have been kept for the 1997 Girl album. Love in me is a little more laid-back, though still dance, than the previous tracks included. It has a nice sax or trumpet gimmick with a sleazy feelin' to the verses while the pre-chorus and chorus makes it more uplifting.
Exclusively keeps the BPM on the downside, or more on the R&B side of pop than on the eurodance one for sure. It sounds more like I remembered the Rollover productions sounded in fact. Not a track I'd love to listen to in repeat but it's nice enough and it only lasts 2'27 so it's only fair not to skip it ;).
The tempo keeps on slowing down with the two following Terry Ronald & Charlie Mole songs/productions. Love will find a way first, is reminiscent of the Soul II Soul beat and of Dannii's first album smooth tracks to me. It would have sounded out of place within the tracks that opened the CD but now, near the end, it's OK... Don't wanna leave you now then is a pure ballad, first of the album, only fingersnaps giving some rhythm to the song. Most of the time, that would mean boring to me, but thankfully for it, the chorus has a nice uplifting melody. That doesn't save this 4'47 song, though. This is not the Dannii I love.
Last before the remix is the original DNA produced version of Coconut, before it gor remixed as a bonus track on Girl. I've never been in love with this song, with its repetitive lyrics and melody and the production here really sounds like a rough demo of what it'd become two years further on. Dannii's vocals have never sounded so bad as in the highly pitched bits before the end : she sounds as if under helium !
In final, it is not a bad album, I adore the 7 first songs and would only pass on two near the end. But I do feel it could have been better... After all, it is a demos compilation so what's up with this poor tracklisting ? Where is the Love To Infinity produced Got this feeling ? They even could have included the Eurogroove collaborations of these times Rescue me and Boogie woogie for good measure. I feel Dannii has still got unreleased gemms on her side for next time... And I CAN'T WAIT !!!!
If, like me, you can't get enough of good ol' Dannii, another must-have is her latest re-issues, the deluxe editions of her first two albums.
If the Love and kisses doubleCD focuses on remixes and only adds the B-side Hallucination on the original tracklisting, the Get into you doubleCD enlists 4 bonuses to the original 13 tracks album, Feel's so good (a Steve 'Silk' Hurley production), Hold on, If you're in love and It's time to move on (This is it's Cassette B-Side), with a second CD full of remixes too. Only No secret (This is the way's B-Side) is missing...
Shall I finally say all three releases come with beautiful 24 pages deluxe booklets with lyrics and photos and THAT really makes a difference in these days of digital music ...You ought to buy these in CDs !
Forget about the bad-looking silver cover or the atrocious name of the album, what's in store is a re-mastered collection of 12 demo recordings (+1 remix) Dannii intended for her third album back in 1995 after Get into you but that never got released because of a disagreement between her and MCA Records.
Strange enough is the list of collaborators on these songs as some of them had worked with sister Kylie around the same time (Rapino Brothers, Charlie Mole, One World) for her first DeConstruction album, but most of these were not included on the final CD...
I always find it a pain in the ass to think of all the recorded material those stars keep on studio tapes and unreleased while all fans would kill to get it to listen to. These could be used as B-Sides/bonus tracks or be compiled like Dannii does every two year on albums like Unleased or this one. Now I dream Kylie does the same too. But let's get back to The 1995 Sessions.
Free your love starts the tracklisting with ease as it is a winning anthem with strong chorus and melody and eurodance arrangements. It is the first of the two songs co-written and produced by the Rapino Brothers and its perfection leads the extended mix to be included to end the CD on track 13 too.
Next is another first of two collaborations but with the Ollie J/Rollover team this time. I mostly know their works for Bianca Kinane/Peter André and Skin deep sounds a lot more eurodance than their usual R&B influenced dance/pop. Oh how I like on this one the 90's sounding keyboards ! It reminds me of how much I miss this cheesy handbag (aka house/garage Loveland sound-a-like) nowadays. It makes me feel people of the 2000's will find it very dated too. But not me!
Love and affection follows and the sounds are even more struck in the 90's as it sounds like a Get into you reject, with a very poppy melody. This song is pure cheese, but very sweet, nearly PWL-ish. It has nice vocoderized singalongs too and more synthesized strings and piano that makes me think of M People classics too. This succession of good old days' anthems make me feel like I'm 15 years younger, dancing hands in the air at G-A-Y's Astoria Theatre again...
Let love into your life is another winner, produced by Tom Fredericks this time, and it shares the same dance energy and handbag arrangements of the previous tracks while uncredited backing vocalists add more house power to this song.
Next comes a song all Dannii fans know damn well for Everlasting night is one of her non-album singles, originally released in Australia in 1999 after a famous performance at the gay & lesbian aussy Pride march Mardi Gras 1999. The version included is the original version of it, produced by Mike Percy & Tim Lever, and I think their version, if less anthemic, sounds more orgasmic, with a chorus less repetitive too, than Ian Masterson & Trouser Enthusiasts' 1999 remix.
A soft intro seems to slow it down but it is only a teaser for the absolute brilliance of Crazy (for your love). This second (of three in a row) One World production is pop perfection to my ears and I can't get it out of my head. Of all the songs included on The 1995 Sessions, it's the one that I've picked up and included in my current iPod hits list. I think I like this one best because, in truth, it sounds like a post-PWL song sister Kylie could have recorded...
Take my time loving you keeps the hiNRG-etic beats and catchy poppy chorus and I'm glad Mike & Tim, for these sessions, have made it without the outrageous rock guitar that spoiled the original version of Get into you. They've only kept what made This is it fabulous.
Now it's time for the other Rapino Brothers track and it sounds like it could have been kept for the 1997 Girl album. Love in me is a little more laid-back, though still dance, than the previous tracks included. It has a nice sax or trumpet gimmick with a sleazy feelin' to the verses while the pre-chorus and chorus makes it more uplifting.
Exclusively keeps the BPM on the downside, or more on the R&B side of pop than on the eurodance one for sure. It sounds more like I remembered the Rollover productions sounded in fact. Not a track I'd love to listen to in repeat but it's nice enough and it only lasts 2'27 so it's only fair not to skip it ;).
The tempo keeps on slowing down with the two following Terry Ronald & Charlie Mole songs/productions. Love will find a way first, is reminiscent of the Soul II Soul beat and of Dannii's first album smooth tracks to me. It would have sounded out of place within the tracks that opened the CD but now, near the end, it's OK... Don't wanna leave you now then is a pure ballad, first of the album, only fingersnaps giving some rhythm to the song. Most of the time, that would mean boring to me, but thankfully for it, the chorus has a nice uplifting melody. That doesn't save this 4'47 song, though. This is not the Dannii I love.
Last before the remix is the original DNA produced version of Coconut, before it gor remixed as a bonus track on Girl. I've never been in love with this song, with its repetitive lyrics and melody and the production here really sounds like a rough demo of what it'd become two years further on. Dannii's vocals have never sounded so bad as in the highly pitched bits before the end : she sounds as if under helium !
In final, it is not a bad album, I adore the 7 first songs and would only pass on two near the end. But I do feel it could have been better... After all, it is a demos compilation so what's up with this poor tracklisting ? Where is the Love To Infinity produced Got this feeling ? They even could have included the Eurogroove collaborations of these times Rescue me and Boogie woogie for good measure. I feel Dannii has still got unreleased gemms on her side for next time... And I CAN'T WAIT !!!!
If, like me, you can't get enough of good ol' Dannii, another must-have is her latest re-issues, the deluxe editions of her first two albums.
If the Love and kisses doubleCD focuses on remixes and only adds the B-side Hallucination on the original tracklisting, the Get into you doubleCD enlists 4 bonuses to the original 13 tracks album, Feel's so good (a Steve 'Silk' Hurley production), Hold on, If you're in love and It's time to move on (This is it's Cassette B-Side), with a second CD full of remixes too. Only No secret (This is the way's B-Side) is missing...
Shall I finally say all three releases come with beautiful 24 pages deluxe booklets with lyrics and photos and THAT really makes a difference in these days of digital music ...You ought to buy these in CDs !
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire