Rhythm of Gloves

Overall Album Score: 6.7 out of 10

Have you seen the music video to "Better the Devil You Know?" Ouch!!!! That's all the words I need to say! Anyway, we're here to talk about this Kylie Minogue album and not about how much of a sex goddess the woman is.

And ... OK, this is another spotty album. It contains precisely two good songs on it. The first is the drag show classic "Better the Devil You Know," which has such a great spirit to it. That song is a top-notched dance song with a great little melody and, more or less, constructive arrangements. (Dance pop songs aren't always arranged very well, but I suppose this is about as close as it gets.) But the best song on the album is called "Shocked." It's a dance song that reminds me more of a poor man's version of the prestigious synth-pop band Depeche Mode than a pop song. Trust me, that's an extremely high compliment from me and a testament to the talent of the SAW team.

But a testament against the SAW team is stronger. Unfortunately, they were only good for those two songs. They do muster up another OK song called "Step Back in Time" that tries to feed on our nostalgia for the disco days. (I'm not nostalgic, though! I was born in 1982 after disco went out of style. I am also cool because of this.) The remaining songs range from mediocre to crappy.

This album not only marks the arrival of "Sex Kylie," but also the beginning of Kylie's songwriting career. ... Well, all I'm going to say is don't expect much out of songwriting Kylie. Her co-written song "Rhythm of Love" was OK, but the other four songs she had a hand in are just as bad as the poor SAW songs.

So, I hate to report that this really isn't a good album although I do speak highly of two of these songs. And, I'm sure, you can find these songs on a greatest hits compilation. That would be the wisest finanical decision.

Overall Album Score: 6.7 out of 10 (A few hits save it, but .................. oh, the bad stuff is bad.)

Average Song Score: 7.2 (A few excellent tunes but some REALLY bad stuff too.)

Album Tilt: 6.5 (The spottiness of this one takes away the experience.)

Artist Rating: 6.5 ("Shocked" is interesing for SAW. I'll certainly give them that.)

Track Reviews

Better the Devil You Know 9/10

This captures the whole spirit that diva dance music is supposed to. Say what you like about producer and songwriters Stock Aikman and Waterman (SAW), but when they put their minds to it, they can come up with a pretty good dance tune. The song is well produced without being overproduced, the beat is good and the melody is infectious. This song was such a hit worldwide except in the United States. Kylie's performance manages to be even more spirited than what may have even been warranted. Nick Cave took notice of this song, thought the lyrics were sad, and admired the way Kylie sung this. That's how Cave came to ask Kylie to duet with him on "Where the Wild Roses Grow."

Step Back in Time 8/10

When I first heard this, I thought they were saying something really dirty, but it turned out to be the words: "I want to funk." ... I thought, talk about a change of image! Well, SAW saw it appropriate to write a bit of '70s disco nostaliga with "Step Back in Time." Obviously Kylie never spent much time on the disco floor unless she snuck out of the house when she was 10. But who even cares about lyrics? This is another enjoyable dance song. It's a catchy disco song done with more techno stylings. It's not bad.

What I Do I Have to Do 6/10

This isn't so much different from anything from Kylie's previous albums. Although I paid SAW compliments in the previous two tracks, they are, at their hearts, corporate songwriters. They figure they only need one or two good songs in an album and the rest they don't have to care so much about! ... Not that this song is necessarily in bad taste. I'm almost of the persuasion that this songwriting trio genuinely thought this was a great song. The problem with it is that, while technically done well, the melody isn't catchy at all. What's a dance song without the infectiousness? STERILE!!!!!

Secrets 7.5/10

This is a pretty good song although it hardly rises above other songs that were on the radio in 1990. The groove makes the song appropriately danceable but the melody isn't anything special. It's generally a well-structured song though the lyrics are cheap. The song repeats well too much. I was originally going to score it a B+ but it gets well old after listening to the entire four minutes of this. Brevity is wit, my friends!

Always Find the Time 5.5/10

This is another sterile dance-pop song that doesn't really offer much. There's some enjoyment to be found in that dance groove, but there's nothing in terms of an infectious melody. These SAW guys are lazy! Only one great hit???? Doesn't your No. 1 dance diva deserve better?

The World Still Turns 7/10

SAW finally gives it a rest with this first song co-written by Minogue. It's not any better or worse than the SAW songs. The melody is strictly passable. It features a cheesy sax solo, which didn't exactly hurt the song. The vocal overdubs at the end seem wrong to me. This is a so-so song.

Shocked 9.5/10

This is another SAW song and one of the album's more significant hits. It spends the first minute and a half being kind of a tense techno song (that doesn't make a bad listen at all).When Kylie starts to sing, the song only gets better. The instrumental interlude features a 'shockingly' good electric guitar solo with a timpani adding some extra rhythm. All in all, this is a highly enjoyable dance-pop song, and it's also pretty tasteful! Wow!

One Boy Girl 5/10

Well, it's good that Kylie is a "One Boy Girl" but the song is sure awful! It starts off sounding like a Madonna clone (and not a very catchy song at that). Then, it breaks off into a rap song. That wasn't necessarily a bad idea nor was it poorly executed, but it just wasn't enjoyable to me. It's weird; this song is banal through and through, but there was that one slice of creativity. Oh well. (This is Kylie's second co-written song ... she's not much of a songwriter, evidentally.)

Things Can Only Go Better 7/10

The instrumental backing to "Things Can Only Get Better" sounds very much like "Jeopardy" by Greg Kihn. (If you listen closely enough to "Shocked," you hear the same type of backing except it's mixed much more softly.) This song is an OK dance song. The melody isn't that great but it's not bad. The techno beat gets old, but that only because this is an early '90s dance song. They all get old. Cheerio.

Count the Days 6.5/10

For Kylie's third co-written song, "Count the Days" sounds pretty much like it was supposed to be released around 1986. That's not necessarily a crime, because that means this song favors synth pop grooves to techno beats. I don't think it's a horrible song. The production is OK and Minogue gives a spirited enough performance in this happy song. It's just sterile. The hooks are non-existant!

Rhythm of Love 8/10

Oh, the last song of the album is here. Saint's be praised! "Rhythm of Love" is yet another Kylie co-penned song. ... Hey! It's not that bad, really. I like the beginning of it, which incorporates a steel drum synth in surprisingly good taste. (Trust me: Most of the time when pop musicians use steel drums, it sucks. If I were Nick Cave, this would have been another reason to want to work with her ... Plus, she's hot.) The melody is pretty catchy this time making the song, generally, a joy to listen to. Another nod to SAW, this doesn't surpass two or three of their best songs on the album, but this isn't bad either.

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