Impossible Princess 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.
Composition[]
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.
Release[]
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.
Promotion[]
- See also: Intimate and Live (tour)
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
Singles[]
Kylie wanted to introduce the album in a way that would intrigue and surprise the public. "Some Kind of Bliss" was chosen as the lead single in September 1997. David Mould directed the music video shot in the Desert of Tabernas in Spain; it features Dexter Fletcher as Kylie's lover. Released a week after Diana's death, "Some Kind of Bliss" was a commercial disappointment: it peaked at number 22 in the UK, Kylie's first single to not reach the top 20 in that region. It reached number 27 in Australia, and number 46 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, her last charting release there in the 1990s.
The second single was "Did It Again", released on 24 November 1997 with the B-side "Tears". Kylie promoted the single heavily on television in the UK, which led to it peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart in December where it remained for another six weeks. In Australia, it peaked at number 15 and lasted 17 weeks in the top 50, one of her longest spanning singles on the chart. Petro Romanhi directed the accompanying music video shot in London, in which Kylie portrays four different versions of herself: SexKylie, CuteKylie, IndieKylie, and DanceKylie. "Breathe", Kylie's final single under Deconstruction, was released on 9 March 1998 featuring mixes from Sash! and Todd Terry. Welsh film director Kieran Evans directed the accompanying music video in which Kylie floats in an airspace of spiral effects. The single reached number 23 in Australia and inside the top 20 in the UK.
Because of popular demand, "Too Far" was released on 12" vinyl in May 1998 as a promotional single. Two remixes were made for the single: a Brothers in Rhythm remix that contains new vocals and adlibs from Kylie, and an europop remix by Junior Vasquez. "Too Far" was planned to be the final single and was to be released commercially as a vinyl triple pack, but these plans were scrapped. Instead, "Cowboy Style" was released as the album's final single, with "Love Takes Over Me" on the B-side, on 5 October 1998 and distributed only in Australia. It was not released in the UK because of Kylie's departure from Deconstruction in November. Owing to a limited number of issued formats, the track only charted for a single week at number 39 on the Australian regional top 50.
Track listing[]
| Impossible Princess — Standard edition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Too Far" | Kylie Minogue | Minogue[c] · Brothers in Rhythm | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Cowboy Style" | Minogue · Steve Anderson · Dave Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Some Kind of Bliss" | Minogue · James Dean Bradfield · Sean Moore | Dave Eringa · Bradfield | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Did It Again" | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | 4:21 |
| 5. | "Breathe" | Minogue · Dave Ball · Ingo Vauk | Minogue[c] · Ball · Vauk | 4:37 |
| 6. | "Say Hey" | Minogue | Minogue[c] · Brothers in Rhythm | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Drunk" | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | 3:58 |
| 8. | "I Don't Need Anyone" | Minogue · Nick Jones | Eringa · Bradfield | 3:12 |
| 9. | "Jump" | Minogue · Rob Dougan | Dougan · Jay Burnett[a] | 4:02 |
| 10. | "Limbo" | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Ball · Vauk | 4:05 |
| 11. | "Through the Years" | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Ball · Vauk | 4:19 |
| 12. | "Dreams" | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | 3:44 |
Total length: |
49:57 | |||
| Impossible Princess — Original cassette tape | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Too Far" | Kylie Minogue | Minogue[c] · Brothers in Rhythm | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Cowboy Style" | Minogue · Steve Anderson · Dave Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Some Kind of Bliss" | Minogue · James Dean Bradfield · Sean Moore | Dave Eringa · Bradfield | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Did It Again" | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | 4:21 |
| 5. | "Breathe" | Minogue · Dave Ball · Ingo Vauk | Minogue[c] · Ball · Vauk | 4:37 |
| 6. | "Drunk" | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | 3:58 |
| 7. | "Say Hey" | Minogue | Minogue[c] · Brothers in Rhythm | 3:36 |
| 8. | "I Don't Need Anyone" | Minogue · Nick Jones | Eringa · Bradfield | 3:12 |
| 9. | "Jump" | Minogue · Rob Dougan | Dougan · Jay Burnett[a] | 4:02 |
| 10. | "Limbo" | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Ball · Vauk | 4:05 |
| 11. | "Through the Years" | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Ball · Vauk | 4:19 |
| 12. | "Dreams" | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | 3:44 |
Total length: |
49:57 | |||
| Impossible Princess — Japanese edition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 13. | "Tears" | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Ball · Vauk | 4:26 |
Total length: |
54:13 | |||
| Impossible Princess — Special edition bonus disc | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Love Takes Over Me" | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm | |
| 2. | "Too Far" (Inner Door Mix) | Minogue | Minogue · Brothers in Rhythm · Philip Steir | 6:19 |
| 3. | "Did It Again" (Did It Four Times Mix) | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm · Steir | 5:49 |
| 4. | "Breathe" (Tee's Dancehall Mix) | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Minogue · Ball · Vauk · Todd Terry | 6:21 |
| 5. | "Tears" | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Ball · Vauk | 4:27 |
| 6. | "Too Far" (Junior's Riff Dub) | Minogue | Minogue · Brothers in Rhythm · Junior Vasquez | 5:49 |
| 7. | "Breathe" (Tee's Dub of Life) | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Minogue · Ball · Vauk · Terry | 7:55 |
| 8. | "Some Kind of Bliss" (Quivver Mix) | Minogue · Bradfield · Moore | Eringa · Bradfield · John Graham | 8:39 |
| 9. | "Did It Again" (Razor-n-Go Dub) | Minogue · Anderson · Seaman | Brothers in Rhythm · Razor-n-Go | 9:53 |
| 10. | "Breathe" (Tee's Glimmer Mix) | Minogue · Ball · Vauk | Minogue · Ball · Vauk · Terry | 4:46 |
| 11. | "Too Far" (North Pole Mix) | Minogue | Minogue · Brothers in Rhythm · Steir | 5:54 |
| 12. | "This Girl" | Minogue · Uschi Classen | Classen | 3:09 |
Notes
· ^a signifies a co-producer
· ^b signifies an additional producer
· ^c signifies a producer, but unaccredited towards the album.
Additional releases[]
· 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 (1998) – a remix album that includes singles from the album; it was released in Australia.
· 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.
· Confide in Me: The Irresistible Kylie (2007) – a compilation album that includes several album tracks from Impossible Princess; it was released in the UK.
Personnel[]
|
· Kylie Minogue – lead vocals, backing vocals, synthesizer, production, composition |
· Peter Lale – viola |
Charts[]
|
| Albums discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | Kylie · Enjoy Yourself · Rhythm of Love · Let's Get to It · Kylie Minogue · Impossible Princess · Light Years · Fever · Body Language · X · Aphrodite · Kiss Me Once · Kylie Christmas · Golden · Disco · Tension · Tension II |
| Re-issues | The Kylie Collection · Snow Queen Edition · Guest List Edition · Fully Wrapped |
| EPs | Live and Other Sides · Other Sides · Money Can't Buy · Darling · Pink Sparkle · A Kylie Christmas · A Christmas Gift · Performance · North American Tour · Sleepwalker · Kylie + Garibay · At Home with Kylie Minogue |
| Compilations | Greatest Hits · Hits+ · Confide in Me · Greatest Hits: 87-97 · Greatest Hits: 87-99 · Artist Collection · Ultimate Kylie · Confide in Me: The Irresistible Kylie · Hits · The Best of Kylie Minogue · The Abbey Road Sessions · Confide in Me · Step Back in Time: The Definitive Collection |
| Box sets | The Albums 2000–2010 · K25 Time Capsule |
| Live albums | Intimate and Live · KylieFever2002: Live in Manchester · Showgirl · Showgirl Homecoming Live · Live in New York · Aphrodite Les Folies: Live in London · Kiss Me Once: Live at the SSE Hydro · Golden: Live in Concert · Infinite Disco · Tension Tour//Live 2025 |