Impossible Princess

Impossible Princess
Studio album by Kylie Minogue
Released	22 October 1997 (1997-10-22)
Recorded	1995–1997
Studio	Dave & Ingo's Place DMC Mayfair (London) Real World (Box) Sarm West (London)
Genre	Dance dance-pop experimental art pop
Length	49:57
Label	Deconstruction BMG Mushroom
Producer	Kylie Minogue (uncredited) Dave Ball James Dean Bradfield Brothers in Rhythm Jay Burnett Rob Dougan Dave Eringa Ingo Vauk
Kylie Minogue chronology
Kylie Minogue (1994) Impossible Princess (1997) Impossible Remixes (1998)
Singles from Impossible Princess
"Some Kind of Bliss" Released: 8 September 1997 "Did It Again" Released: 24 November 1997 "Breathe" Released: 16 March 1998 "Cowboy Style" Released: 5 October 1998

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. The singer asserted partial creative control over the project—as a co-producer and composer of the material—assisted by Brothers in Rhythm, Manic Street Preachers, David Ball and Rob Dougan.

Influenced by the techno and Britpop revolution in the mid-to-late 1990s, sonically Impossible Princess is a departure from Minogue's previous work. Conceived as an experimental record, the material encompasses a variety of darker styles from the dance genre, including trip hop, electronica, and rock. Lyrically, the album's focus is on Minogue's self-discovery after a series of trips around the world, and delves into freedom of expression, relationships and emotions.

Upon its release, critical and public reception of Impossible Princess was divided over its new musical direction and Minogue's very intimate lyrics. In retrospect, described as an underrated release, the record has achieved widespread critical acclaim and Minogue's creative input and its mixture of genres have been widely praised. Commercially, the album reached the top 10 in Australia, Scotland and the United Kingdom, and was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for physical shipments of 70,000 units; however, the British media mocked its lack of success in Europe.

Four singles were released from the album: "Some Kind of Bliss", "Did It Again", "Breathe", and "Cowboy Style", each of which experienced moderate success. After a small promotional tour in 1997, Minogue embarked on the Intimate and Live tour in Australia and the UK the following year, which was a commercial and critical success. Since the album's release, various commentators have cited Impossible Princess as Minogue's best work, It has earned numerous nominations and recognition on best-ever lists. Despite this, Minogue has said she will never create another studio album of personal songs like Impossible Princess.

Background[]

Minogue left her label PWL in 1992 because of creative differences and signed a three-album deal with Deconstruction Records the following year.^[1] She worked with a diverse group of collaborators to experiment with different sounds, including the British duo Brothers in Rhythm.^[2] Their first offering was Minogue's self-titled album in late 1994,^[3] which peaked at number three in Australia and number four in the United Kingdom.^[4][5] Besides promotional commitments for the album, Minogue expanded her acting career by taking part in several projects. Among them were big-budget films Street Fighter (1994) and Bio-Dome (1996), which were received poorly by critics.^[6][7] Minogue worked with Australian musician Nick Cave and his band, the Bad Seeds on their 1995 single "Where the Wild Roses Grow",^[8] which peaked at number two in Australia and number eleven in the UK.^[9][4] The song earned three ARIA Awards for Best Pop Release, Single, and Song of the Year in 1996.^[10]

Minogue's friendship with Cave continued over the years;^[11] on Cave's advice, Minogue recited the lyrics to her 1987 song "I Should Be So Lucky" as poetry at A Hip Mass: The Superjam – First International Poetry Day at London's Royal Albert Hall in July 1996.^[12][13] In December, she made a surprise appearance at a Manic Street Preachers concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, singing "Little Baby Nothing" with them.^[14] The track was planned initially as a duet with Minogue but did not materialize during her years under contract with PWL.^[15] Both 1996 live performances were viewed as the starting point of her new alter ego—"IndieKylie".^[14][12] Minogue began a romantic relationship with French photographer Stéphane Sednaoui and embarked on a series of trips with him throughout North America, Asia, and Australasia to gain inspiration for her upcoming record.^[16] By the end of the trip, Minogue was enamoured by the experience and felt "truly anonymous and free to be [herself]".^[17]

Recording and development[]

Plans for Impossible Princess began in mid-1995 after meetings with Brothers in Rhythm had taken place and recording the album began.^[19] By June 1997, the album had been in production for twenty-one months, and Deconstruction were adding the final touches to it.^[20] The album took nearly two years to record—the longest period Minogue had worked on a project since her time acting on the Australian soap opera Neighbours (from 1986 to 1988).^[21] Many changes of direction, remixes and cowriters lengthened the process which at times upset and infuriated Minogue.^[22] Brothers in Rhythm member Steve Anderson explained this was "due to the pure perfectionism" of everyone involved;^[23] Minogue commented it was worth the wait.^[24]

Minogue's trips with Sednaoui, her Deconstruction label mates, and clients of Sednaoui's work including Björk, Garbage, and Tricky inspired the album.^[25] Sednaoui and Cave were key factors during the production. In the biography Kylie (2014), Sean Smith notes Sednaoui had a huge effect on Minogue's belief in herself and contributed to her vision of the future, while Cave helped her to embrace the past.^[26] Minogue wrote every track on the album—in contrast, she co-wrote only one song on her 1994 studio album.^[27] Minogue began writing lyrics after Sednaoui and Cave convinced her to take creative control over her next musical project.^[28] She did not have any specific method for writing: she wrote constantly in her notebook and composed many songs during the holidays.^[29] Lyrics and melodies came easily to her.^[30]

"Cowboy Style" and "Dreams" were among the earliest songs Minogue wrote for the album.^[31] "Too Far" was written on a grand piano. It was the easiest track for Minogue to write and also made "the most sense" to her.^[23][32] She imagined performing "Too Far" while working on the lyrics, which she did at a local cafe.^[33] Minogue called it "a nice form of release" that did not sound like anything she had written before.^[33] Several songs contain live instrumental tracks, such as a trumpet solo on "Through the Years",^[34] Minogue's first record to incorporate them.^[35] She found this unusual because she was familiar only with the use of synthesizers on her tracks.^[35] Minogue considered the album "a nice mixture between the synthetic and real instruments".^[35]

Sessions with Brothers in Rhythm[]

Production of Impossible Princess took place mainly at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire

Brothers in Rhythm put together a few songs initially planned for Impossible Princess but scrapped them because Minogue had started writing and they saw she had development as an artist.^[23] In order to work closely with Brothers in Rhythm, Minogue shared a house with them across the road from the Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, where each morning she would present a set of lyrics from the night before to Brothers in Rhythm producer Dave Seaman.^[36] Minogue then sang her ideas for the melody to the duo who tried to compose the backing tracks, find a suitable style, record rough demos, and add subtle lyric and melody ideas to each of them.^[23][32] Production took place mainly at Real World, where the rough demos were rearranged.^[23] Strings were added at Sarm West Studios in London, and the tracks were then sent back to Real World for the final mixes, handled by engineer Alan Bremner.^[23][37]

From those sessions, they completed their first track "You're the One", which remains unreleased.^[38] Brothers in Rhythm developed five more songs at Real World that ended up on the final tracklist: "Did It Again", "Limbo", "Dreams", "Say Hey", and "Cowboy Style".^[39] "Too Far" was written at Sarm West, where Anderson came up with the piano line on the final version.^[13] According to Anderson, the production grew as the song was created, and many ideas on the demos made it onto the finished tracks.^[23] "Limbo", "Too Far", "Did It Again" and "Cowboy Style", were released in their original demo form because Minogue felt the "raw[ness]" of the tracks worked better than being polished.^[40] Anderson considered "Too Far" and "Drunk" to be the examples of Minogue's "artistic progression, brought about by artistic freedom".^[23] He felt that Minogue's lyrics were "pure poetry and a long way from a standard pop song structure" and her songs show "a real artistic moment" and "true brilliance".^[13] Many songs were cut from the final tracklist, including "Take Me With You", "Love Takes Over Me", "Free", and "Stay This Way".^[23] Written quickly, and recorded in one take, Anderson felt "Stay This Way" was one of Minogue's best, but the record had no place for a torch song.^[23] Tracks like "Floating" and "Looking Down On Me" which had been recorded at these sessions were made available only as demos.^[23]

Pete Hadfield, the label's director, was ill, leaving Minogue to take partial creative control over the project.^[41] To help produce the album, she attended each session with Anderson and Seaman to learn about composing, arranging instruments, and "distorting" sections of the album's tracks.^[42] As a result, she is credited as a co-producer with Brothers in Rhythm on the songs "Too Far", "Breathe", and "Say Hey"; she played the synthesizer and provided backing vocals.^[43]

Other collaborations[]

James Dean Bradfield wrote and produced two tracks with Minogue.

At one point, Deconstruction felt Minogue's sessions with Brothers in Rhythm had not produced enough tracks suitable to release as singles. They encouraged her to work with other artists.^[41] Like she had done on her 1994 album, Minogue wanted to experiment with a group of different producers in order to "free herself".^[44] She was open to the idea of collaborating to create "something that ... [she] otherwise wouldn't have".^[45] She wrote "Through The Years", "Breathe", and "Limbo" during her sessions with the electronic producers Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk at their home studios; Minogue wrote the lyrics to "Through the Years" within 10 minutes of hearing Ball and Vauk's track.^[32] Minogue had heard of Rob Dougan's work and thought that it would be interesting to work with him; they wrote and produced "Jump".^[46] She worked on two songs with English band Olive, but they were scrapped.^[46] Cave wrote a track for the album based on Minogue's lyrics, entitled "Soon", but she was disappointed with her recording and dropped it.^[47] She recalled, "It's a beautiful ballad but I just didn't do it justice, I'm afraid".^[47]

Minogue said that James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers "had a very clear idea" of how he wanted her to sound during their first session at his home.^[48] Minogue found it "difficult" to re-write Bradfield's demo of "I Don't Need Anyone", so he had taken pieces of the original demo lyrics and mixed them with other lyrics she had written, with help from Nicky Wire, to create the finished version of "I Don't Need Anyone".^[49] She found this method of writing "intriguing" and wanted to do it again. She worked with Bradfield and Sean Moore on "Some Kind of Bliss".^[50] Commenting on this method of songwriting, Minogue said, "He took one half of one set [of lyrics] and took another half from another set of lyrics and merged them together, which I found interesting because it was something I wouldn't have done because, in my mind they're two separate things." She later said she felt the lyrics worked together.^[50] Bradfield and frequent collaborator Dave Eringa produced both tracks.^[43]

Music and lyrics[]

Musically, Impossible Princess experiments and blends different musical styles, as Minogue wanted the album to reflect her many sides.^[51] It is a departure from her previous sound, encompassing various elements from the dance genre.^[52] Who magazine highlighted its musical diversity, ranging from trip hop, torch songs to scratchy guitar pop, and disco tracks.^[53] Sputnikmusic writers pointed out trance, rock, and alternative influences, and described the album as "something you would expect Björk to make".^[54][55] Marcel Anders of Orkus labelled it a straightforward dance record, though he noted some tracks were heavily "guitar-driven".^[56] Nick Levine at Digital Spy noted the album is "all over the dance-pop shop" and "stuffed with slap-you-round-the-chops pop stompers".^[57] Michael Dwyer of The West Australian commented that while Minogue is "still a dancing queen at heart", it is the club-oriented production that made the album standout.^[58] Chris True of AllMusic believed that Minogue's transition to more mature dance-oriented music, outside her typical sound, expanded on "the dance-pop that was her bread and butter".^[59][60] He described the album as a collection of "[abundant] guitars and experimental vocal tracks".^[59] True and Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine identified the record as part of the electronica and Britpop revolution that spanned the mid-to-late 1990s.^[59][61]

The record's vocals feature segments of spoken word and rapping, alongside whispering and singing.^[43][54] John Mangan of Australia's The Age newspaper felt the songs sounded "as though they were written around her sweet voice".^[62] Who noted Minogue was developing her own voice on the album, saying she is "whispering breathlessly one moment, shrieking like a young Sinead O'Connor the next".^[53] Another writer from the same publication felt that Minogue "never sounded better or more human", praising her unique phrasing.^[63] In the biography Kylie: Naked (2012), Nigel Goodall and Jenny Stanley-Clarke likened Minogue's vocals to those of Tori Amos, Björk, Sinead O’Connor, Kate Bush and Madonna.^[20] Cinquemani and Dwyer also compared Minogue's vocal delivery to Madonna. Dwyer described Minogue's whisper as a "sexy [and] reliable secret weapon".^[61][58] Larry Flick of Billboard commented that Minogue had dropped the "pitch-perfect diva" vocals and "let the odd noises flow freely" on the album.^[64]

Lyrically, most of the album deals with the theme of romantic relationships, self-discovery and freedom of expression.^[65] Dave Seaman noted that Minogue's input was more significant on this album and that most of the album's subjects were "her own ideas" and that she wanted to grow as a person from this experience.^[36] Most of the album is autobiographical, based upon Minogue's life during the two years preceding the album.^[66] Sean Smith believed the songs reveal Minogue's life more than any interview, and they were "complex, serious, introspective and challenging" in contrast with her "crooning love songs" on the previous albums.^[67] Flick felt that Minogue "[liberated] darker thoughts from her subconscious", highlighting the "intelligent, often self-examining words" of "Limbo" and "Say Hey".^[64]

Song analysis[]

Several darker tunes open the album. The first is the chaotic drum and bass composition "Too Far", in which Minogue discuss her paranoia, pain and anger.^[68] She sings in a quick, rambling way about suffering from claustrophobia, feeling she "couldn't find a way out".^[68] Cinquemani described it as a mixture of "crisp breakbeats with a Moby-style piano progression and lush strings".^[61] Negative stories that the British press had published about Minogue inspired "Did It Again", a rock song heavily influenced by Middle Eastern beats.^[69] The track sees Minogue struggling to find the right identity. She uses an aggressive vocal style and whines about how she is messed up despite having it all.^[70][54] The track blends drums and electric guitar, which Smith found similar to the sound of The Beatles' Revolver (1966).^[71] The guitar-driven tune "I Don't Need Anyone" does not have a linear storyline. Minogue told Deconstruction that it was taken from four songs, each interpreting a different mood and story.^[72] Cinquemani notes the energetic Britpop track sees Minogue wildly declare her independence while admitting her inborn vulnerability.^[61][25] The dark trip hop number "Jump" advises the public to accept her and her personal choices throughout the course of her career.^[73]

	"Did It Again" (0:25) "Did It Again" has an aggressive vocal style, with alternative and Middle Eastern musical influences. Its subject is the media scrutiny Minogue had experienced.[69]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Other material consists of softer tunes, including the joyful Britpop number "Some Kind of Bliss", which talks about Minogue's experiences while away from people and being happy.^[74] Several critics compared the song to Motown music and Manic Street Preachers.^[57][75] Written in Japan, the fifth track, "Breathe", is a subtle electronica song that expresses Minogue's ability to contemplate and feel peaceful while in an intense environment.^[76][57] Another electronic-infused tune is "Say Hey", which Minogue proclaims is a "late-night, early-morning" type of song.^[61][77] The lyrics, although inspired by her relationship with Sednaoui, highlight the need for communication, though not delving into conversation.^[77] "Dreams", the album's closing song, is an orchestral pop ballad discussing the persistence of pushing boundaries and experimentation throughout her career.^[78] Ian Phillips of Sputnikmusic wrote that the cinematic track uses "eerie-sounding strings, booming bass, and crashing drums" to tell a thought-provoking fairytale.^[55]

The record's remaining tracks discuss her relationship with Sednaoui. The first track on the album to introduce their relationship is "Cowboy Style", a country number that was influenced by Celtic and tribal percussion.^[79][61] It details Minogue meeting Sednaoui for the first time.^[80] The theme of frustration lingers in the album's seventh track, the techno-induced "Drunk", which has Minogue feeling unsatisfied with the relationship, despite having so much feeling for someone.^[81][61] Minogue wrote "Limbo", a hybrid between rock, techno and drum and bass beats, in Spain. She discusses her inability to leave a certain country to meet someone, because of problems with its bureaucracy.^[61][82] Apart from Sednaoui, Minogue mentions meeting an ex-boyfriend on "Through the Years", feeling insecure and doubtful about the entire situation; Cinquemani compared the composition to Björk's single "Venus as a Boy".^[61][83]

Artwork and title[]

The title of the record, as well as the song "Dreams", is a reference to Billy Childish's novel Poems to Break the Harts of Impossible Princesses (1994)

Sednaoui shot the images and designed the cover sleeve.^[84] Inspired by French and Japanese pop culture, Sednaoui took inspiration from Nobuyoshi Araki's erotic work and tried to convey a similar aesthetic to the photos.^[8] Initially, the cover art was based on a string of experimental images of Minogue in geisha costume; the concept was later revisited for the music video of "GBI (German Bold Italic)" (1997), Minogue's collaboration with Towa Tei.^[85] The final cover depicts Minogue sitting and surrounded by swirling multi-coloured lights, dressed in a blue sleeveless Véronique Leroy minidress.^[86] Because Deconstruction wanted to distribute a limited-edition version of the album with a hologram sleeve, Sednaoui had to photograph separate artwork for those editions.^[87] The three dimensional lenticular sleeve required multiple static cameras to shoot Minogue in the dark. To create the long-exposure effect of the lights circulating around the singer, Sednaoui fully dressed in a black bodysuit so he could not be seen in the final shot. The shoot took a week to complete, and Minogue had to pose for hours.^[88] She remarked "the shoot was so very difficult but we knew that once we got it right it would be amazing".^[89] In 2004, Minogue donated the dress worn for the cover shot to the Cultural Gifts Program of the Arts Centre Melbourne.^[90]

The record's title is a reference to the 1994 novel, Poems to Break the Harts of Impossible Princesses, written by Billy Childish.^[91] A copy of the book had been dedicated to Minogue but was accidentally passed on to Nick Cave, who eventually gave it to Minogue not long after, when she started working on the album.^[91] She recalled only looking at the title of the book and saying, "It had me written all over it."^[92] Additionally, she believed the book's poems summarised where she was at that point in her life under the spotlight.^[91] Minogue considered the title to be ironic, imaginary and that it conjured up "a lot of truths" from her life, saying, "Sometimes my life feels so good that it's almost too much–it's like a joke–and sometimes it should be so good... but it doesn't feel that way."^[92] The title is referenced in the chorus of album track "Dreams": "These are the dreams of an impossible princess".^[93]

Release[]

Deconstruction planned to have the album out in January 1997, but postponed its release to May.^[8] Even with copies of the album already printed in mid-1997,^[95] it was delayed again to September.^[96] On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car accident.^[97] Because of the impact of her death, Minogue and Deconstruction felt the album's title was "insensitive" and "inappropriate" and delayed its release for three months.^[97] The album missed the planned January 1998 release.^[98] Frustrated with the constant delays,^[99] Minogue came to an agreement with her label to re-title it Kylie Minogue in Europe and the United Kingdom.^[8] It is her third self-titled studio album, following her debut in 1988 and her 1994 album.^[100] Released on 28 March 1998,^[101] the album had the original cover design; the 1997 copyright year; and Minogue's tribute to Sednaoui in the credits, despite having ended their relationship in late 1997.^[102]

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, and four additional post cards that included images from the album's photoshoot.^[103] The following month, Impossible Princess was produced in both CD and cassette formats in Russia and Poland.^[104] 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.^[105] The following month, BMG distributed it as a cassette tape in Malaysia, whilst the standard edition with new artwork was released in Taiwan.^[106] Deconstruction cancelled plans to release Impossible Princess in North America following the sudden closure of her US distributor Imago Records in late 1994.^[107]

In May 2003, Impossible Princess was remastered by Festival Mushroom in Australia and New Zealand, and BMG for European and UK regions, as a double CD album; the first disc featured the standard track list, whilst a bonus disc featured remixes and three unreleased recordings: "Love Takes Over Me", "Tears", and "This Girl".^[108][109] The album re-instated the Impossible Princess title in Europe and the United Kingdom upon its re-release.^[110]

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.^[111] Deconstruction conducted a similar promotional campaign in Europe and distributed six different songs on a sample cassette tape.^[112] 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.^[113] 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".^[114] Minogue's fourth remix album, Mixes, includes singles from the album; it was released in the UK in August 1998.^[115] In Australia, the remix album was replaced by Impossible Remixes, featuring the previously unreleased "Breathe (TNT Club Mix)".^[116][117] Several album tracks and three unreleased tracks from Impossible Princess appear on Hits+ (2000) released in Europe.^[118]

Promotion[]

Minogue's press campaign for the album began in mid-1995, including interviews with magazines and a performance at the Radio 1 Roadshow in Newquay on 21 August 1997.^[97] The promotional campaign was aimed at album buyers, rather than the singles market.^[119] The label stressed Minogue's wide-reaching appeal by setting up press cover interviews for her in various markets: broadsheets, dance specialists, tabloids, gay magazines, and style monthlies.^[119] During the release week in March 1998, Deconstruction and Minogue held a release party at Tower Records in London.^[120] 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.^[121] Minogue expanded the tour by adding venues in Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands.^[8] She appeared on several television shows to promote the album's singles.^[99] Although she did not perform any non-singles, she promoted the album's release at the 1998 Mardi Gras ceremony in Sydney, Australia.^[122]

In May 1998, Minogue confirmed the Intimate and Live concert tour, which began on 2 June at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, that same year.^[123] Initially, she wanted to finish the tour in Melbourne on 4 July, but because of high demand in England, Minogue hosted three additional concert performances there.^[123] 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.^[99] Each concert had drawn in approximately 2,000 audience members in Australia, and the media there deemed it a commercial success.^[124] To complete the tour's promotion, an accompanying live album and DVD, shot at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, were released on 30 November (album) and 23 July 2003 (DVD).^[125]

Singles[]

Minogue performing Impossible Princess' third single, "Breathe", on 25 June 2018, as part of her Kylie Presents Golden promotional tour

Minogue wanted to introduce the album in a way that would intrigue and surprise the public.^[126] When "Some Kind of Bliss" was chosen as the lead single in September 1997, Minogue found it an "interesting" choice and "a good way to start" promoting the album.^[127][126] David Mould directed the music video shot in the Desert of Tabernas in Spain.^[97] It features Dexter Fletcher as Minogue's lover.^[97] Released a week after Diana's death, "Some Kind of Bliss" was a commercial disappointment:^[128] it peaked at number 22 in the UK, Minogue's first single to not reach the top 20 there.^[4][96] It reached number 27 in Australia, and number 46 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, her last charting release there in the 1990s.^[5][129]

The album's second single was "Did It Again", which was released on 24 November 1997 with the B-side "Tears".^[130] Minogue 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.^[4][131] In Australia, it peaked at number 15 and lasted 17 weeks in the top 50, her highest charting, and one of her longest spanning singles on the chart.^[5] Petro Romanhi directed the accompanying music video shot in London, in which Minogue portrays four different versions of herself: SexKylie, CuteKylie, IndieKylie, and DanceKylie.^[130][71]

The third single from the album was "Breathe", released on 9 March 1998 featuring mixes from Sash! and Todd Terry.^[132][133] It was Minogue's final single for Deconstruction, and her last UK release from Impossible Princess.^[132] Welsh film director Kieran Evans directed the accompanying music video in which Minogue floats in an airspace of spiral effects.^[134] Minogue performed the single on Top of the Pops and The Ben Elton Show.^[98] Unlike the album's previous single, it had only moderate success on the charts, reaching number 23 in Australia and inside the top 20 in the UK.^[4][5]

Because of popular demand, "Too Far" was released on 12" vinyl in May 1998 as the only promotional single for Impossible Princess.^[135][136] Two remixes were made for the single: a Brothers in Rhythm remix that contains new vocals and adlibs from Minogue, and an europop remix by Junior Vasquez.^[136][137] "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.^[136][137] 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.^[138][139] It was not released in the UK because of Minogue's departure from Deconstruction in November.^[140] 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.^[5]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[59]
Digital Spy	[57]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[141]
Herald Sun	[79]
NME	4/10[142]
Q	[143]
Slant Magazine	[61]
Who	8/10[63]

Upon its release, critical reception of Impossible Princess was sharply divided.^[144] Magazines like Music Week and Q lambasted the record's repetitious nature, though Music Week acknowledged the improvement in Minogue's vocal range and abilities.^[145] Ben Willmott of NME rated it four points out of 10, criticising the production of collaborator James Dean Bradfield, and labelling Minogue a "total fraud" for introducing new musical genres that were disparate from her previous work.^[142] In contrast, John Mangan commended the diverse set of styles and Minogue's songwriting skills, saying, "Impossible Princess sounds right and constitutes another step in the right direction."^[62]

An editor at Who magazine commended Minogue's vocals, calling "Impossible Princess "the best, most complete work of her career".^[63] Cameron Adams, writing for the Herald Sun, listed the record as his "CD of the Week". He favored the singles as the album's best tracks, but also said, "Impossible Princess is her best yet, the classy, personal pop album she has always threatened."^[79] Michael Dwyer highlighted the "club-dance" tracks as the better cuts, adding that, "Impossible Princess' range of styles approaches and collaborators makes it as hard as ever to say just who is making progress here, but progress it most assuredly is."^[58] Larry Flick described the album as "stunning", concluding Minogue "has finally found her voice—both literally and spiritually".^[64] In the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2011), British writer Colin Larkin gave it three out of five stars, classifying it as "recommended" and "highly listenable".^[141]

Retrospective reviews of Impossible Princess have been much more positive, with True labelling it a "pretty damn good record", and openly denouncing the critical reception after the album's release, deeming it a "shame". He believed the album "sounds stronger and has a more natural feel" than her previous efforts, and that, "Impossible Princess actually flows together as an album."^[59] Sal Cinquemani awarded it four stars, and was impressed with the album's "starkly personal and unified cord", saying it "is the work of an artist willing to take risks, not a pop queen concerned with preserving her reign".^[61] Levine commended the mixture of genres and Minogue's input. Although he noticed the material's lack of commercial appeal, he concluded, "Brave, revealing and rarely less than surprising, it's a key piece in the trickier-than-you-think jigsaw puzzle that is Kylie Minogue's recording career."^[57] While reviewing her tenth album X (2007), Evan Sawdey of PopMatters commented, "For those who still have a copy of her Manic Street Preachers-assisted Impossible Princess, then you have one of the most crazed, damn-near perfect dance-pop albums ever created."^[146]

Commercial performance[]

Steve Anderson felt that public perception of the album was affected by the misleading sound of the lead single.

Impossible Princess debuted and peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, making it the third highest debuting album of that week and Minogue's sixth top-10 entry.^[147][4] It fell to number 22 the following week, and again to number 41, its final charting position was at number 70.^[4] The album sold 20,000 copies in the first two weeks of release, just ten percent of the expected sales figures.^[148] The album entered its fifth and final week, during the start of May 1998, at number 91.^[4] In a similar run, the album charted at number 10 on the Scottish Albums Chart.^[149] Impossible Princess had sold 64,483 copies in the UK as of October 2020.^[150]

The album experienced success on the Australian Albums Chart, where it debuted and peaked at number four on 25 January 1998.^[151] It stalled at number eight during its second and third week, but fell outside the top ten in its fourth.^[151] By 26 April, the album had spent 14 weeks on the chart and was placed at number 48, before leaving the chart.^[151] When Minogue promoted the album with live shows, alongside the announcement of a national tour, Impossible Princess re-entered the charts on 10 May at number 40.^[151] Whilst embarking her Intimate and Live tour in June, it entered the top ten for three non-consecutive weeks between the months of June and July.^[151] In total, the album appeared in the top 50 for 35 weeks, making it Minogue's longest charting album at the time. Her next studio album, Light Years (2000), spent 41 weeks on the top 50 chart.^[151][152] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified the Platinum by for physical shipments of 70,000 units.^[153][154]

Public reaction[]

During its commercial release, Impossible Princess was criticised by the British public, who did not appreciate her move into indie music and electronica.^[8][60] The audience failed to identify with her new intimate image, dubbed as "IndieKylie", and was unimpressed with her new musical direction, viewing it as a trend-chasing attempt.^[155] The backlash resulted in Impossible Princess making little impact on British record charts, which led British publications to label Impossible Princess Minogue's worst-selling studio album at the time in those regions.^[156] A year after its release, UK Virgin Radio mocked the album's sales, stating: "We've done something to improve Kylie's records: we've banned them."^[157]

Several factors were named as reasons for the poor public perception: the lack of promotional activity, the three-year gap since her last album, the constant delays and title changes, and the change of musical direction.^[158] Minogue cited the incohesive material, as well as the long gap between albums, as the main reasons for the album's commercial failure,^[85] while Baker felt it was the lack of proper promotion and management on Deconstruction's end.^[99] Steve Anderson felt the release of "Some Kind of Bliss" as the lead single overshadowed Minogue's involvement on the track, and the album as a whole.^[23] Minogue said that after the single release, she had to "keep telling people that this isn't an indie-guitar album. I'm not about to pick up a guitar and rock."^[119] James Dean Bradfield admitted he felt "guilty" that the single release had "landed [Minogue] with a whole new set of problems".^[96]

Legacy[]

Minogue performing "I Don't Need Anyone" and unreleased track "You're the One" on her 2012 Anti Tour, 15 years after the album's release

Impossible Princess gained four nominations at the 1998 ARIA Music Awards show, which was held in October. The album was nominated for Best Pop Release, Best Female Musician, and Album of the Year—her first nomination in this category. She lost Album of the Year to Unit (1997) by Regurgitator, while losing Pop Release and Female Musician to Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia.^[159] The following year, Minogue was nominated for Best Female Artist for "Cowboy Style", which lost to Imbruglia's "Wishing I Was There" (1998).^[160] The music video for "Did It Again" won the 1998 International Viewer's Choice Award – MTV Australia.^[161][162]

Because of pressure from the British press and public, Minogue contemplated retiring from the music industry for good.^[163] She decided instead to part with Deconstruction and BMG in November 1998.^[140][164] In 1999, Minogue signed to Parlophone and released her studio album Light Years in 2000 to a positive reception.^[165] The Guardian's Tim Jonze believes that Light Years saved her career,^[166] while Louise Bruton of The Irish Times, said that Impossible Princess is "potentially the low that she needed to reach the great heights of 2000's Light Years".^[167] Minogue called Impossible Princess the most disappointing moment in her career.^[168] Minogue has commented that if she wrote another album of personal songs, she would consider it Impossible Princess part two, but vowed she would never do it again, feeling it would be "equally critiqued".^[169]

Impossible Princess is widely considered Minogue's magnum opus, and music critics often recognized it as her most personal and experimental work to date.^[170] Cinquemani applauded Minogue's writing contribution to every track, which helps "lending a starkly personal and unified cord that she wouldn't achieve again until 2018's Golden".^[171] He picked it as Minogue's best album and added it to the staff choices of their Vital Pop: 50 Essential Pop Albums lists.^[172] Larrisa Dubecki, writing for The Age, felt the album was one of the key re-inventions of her career.^[173] Writers of Sputnikmusic praised Minogue's creativity and vocal performance, which made her "a influential figure not only in pop music but whatever style she chooses". They also described the album as Minogue's "most artistic, diverse and adventurous album" and a "forgotten classic".^[54][55]

Several critics noticed the sonic and lyrical similarities between the album and Ray of Light (1998) by Madonna.^[174] Sputnikmusic viewed the album as "the blueprint to Madonna's beloved album" and "Cowboy Style" as "the mother" to "Don't Tell Me" (2000).^[54] Cinquemani wrote that both albums bear "a striking resemblance" to each other, as deeply personal and risky efforts by established pop artists. He observed that while Ray of Light saved Madonna "from imminent irrelevance", Impossible Princess brought a harsh reaction from the contemporary critics and public.^[61] Michael Paoletta of Billboard mentioned Impossible Princess is the most misunderstood album in her career.^[175] It has been included on several lists of the most underrated albums, by publications such as Flavorwire, Slant Magazine and Faster Louder.^[176][177] On the 20th anniversary of the album, Ben Neutze of Daily Review wrote that, "The Impossible Princess Kylie may never be what Minogue is remembered for, but it stands as the most intriguing chapter of her career, and the only significant glimpse at who this pop icon might be when stripped of the showgirl feathers, gold hot-pants, and other glorious facades."^[178] Caz Tran of ABC Online called it "the creative detour [Minogue] needed to take" in regard of her evolution and self-discovery.^[179]

Track listing[]

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies a producer, but unaccredited towards the album.
• ^{^b} signifies a co-producer.
• ^{^c} signifies a remix producer.

Personnel[]

Adapted from the album's liner notes.^[43]

Charts[]

Certification[]

Release history[]

See also[]

• List of top 25 albums for 1998 in Australia
• List of UK top-ten albums in 1998
• List of works with different titles in the United Kingdom and United States
• List of musical works released in a stem format

References[]

Footnotes[]

Media notes[]

Print sources[]

External links[]

• Impossible Princess at Kylie.com (archived from 2006)
• Impossible Princess at Discogs (list of releases)