Impossible Princess: A Retro Review of Kylie’s Indie Venture

Time to Talk Explores Kylie Minogue's Impossible Princess.

Keep us on the air please. Even $1 helps. https://paypal.me/pools/c/8uXWKqnLTI

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.