Kylie Minogue

The progression of Kylie Minogue's career from innocent soap-star to pop-queen is perfectly illustrated by the covers for these, her first four albums. 1988 debut Kylie features the Charlene-look from Neighbours with a polite and toothy grin. The next two feature increasing amounts of flesh and by 1991, the suggestive title of Let's Get To It (her fourth album) is matched by a sultry cover, with Minogue all big lips and wearing a knowing look.

These first four albums were under the stewardship of Stock Aitken and Waterman, writers that turned the charts of the late Eighties into their Hit Factory. The statistics are impressive. For Kylie Minogue was rarely not in the charts. From January 1988 to January 1992 she had fifteen top 10 singles, including four number ones. All of those are contained on these first four albums, which have been re-issued for the first time since their original release. Each features informative notes about Kylie's career and we learn that her first trip to the UK to record for SAW was, to put it bluntly, a bit of a cock-up. No studio time had been booked and they had to keep her travelling around London sightseeing before finding some recording space. The rest, as they say, is history.

For a generation, I Should Be So Lucky, is a classic pop anthem. But time is not kind to SAW's production techniques. The Hi-NRG pop may well have dominated the charts, but very little of it has aged at all well. In Kylie's case, her musical progression would come later. For now, she was a singles artist, with album sales being a bonus. On her debut for example, there are no treasures to be found outside the songs that most of us already know.

Enjoy Yourself was released less than ten months later but her sound was already maturing alongside her image. Hand On Your Heart and Tears On My Pillow were both number ones, as well as the duet with Jason Donovan, Especially For You. It was a year later though that cynics started to believe that Minogue might become a serious pop artist. Rhythm of Love featured her first song writing credits, as well as collaborations with US producers Stephen Bray and Michael Jay.

By 1991, Minogue had left Neighbours, Aitken had left PWL and Kylie's musical career was about to flatline. She didn't have another number one until 2000's Spinning Around, which relaunched her pop career. Let's Get To It marked a turning point in her sound though, proving her to be more versatile than had previously been evidenced. Give Me Just A Little More Time is still a great pop song, while the superb Finer Feelings is a fans' favourite. The duet with Keith Washington If You Were With Me Now reveals a surprising soulful side, while the likes of Too Much Of A Good Thing gave club DJs material that could be adapted for Saturday night audiences.

While it marked a musical progression, the hits were soon to dry up before Spinning Around relaunched her career. All that comes after these albums, which mark a fascinating time for British music. Bonus tracks adorn all of the four albums re-released here, with plenty for fans to enjoy. There are underground club collaborations and sought-after B Sides, to go alongside a ton of singalong hits.