Oh Boy!: Kylie Minogue’s “Better the Devil You Know” Turns 30
April 30, 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of one of Kylie Minogue’s signature songs, “Better the Devil You Know.” The lead single from her third studio album, Rhythm of Love, it goes down as one of her biggest career-defining moments, marking her transition from bubble-gum pop (and soap opera) star to slightly more brazen pop siren. (Kylie was no longer with fellow soap star, Jason Donovan, and had started dating Michael Hutchence at this time, representing a shift in her personal life as well.)
With its stuttering synthesizer sounds, rattling tambourine and thumping beat, never before has a song about repeatedly forgiving an unfaithful partner sounded so good. “Devil” has become a staple in many of Kylie’s concerts throughout the decades, as seen in the brilliant compilation below, created by “Kylie Minogue Video.” As one comment states, rightly so: “This made me emotional.”
The compilation captures Kylie:
Devil horns and all from Intimate and Live (1998);
Donning top hat and tails from Live in Sydney (2001);
As the braided beauty from KylieFever2002: Live in Manchester;
Decked out in blue feathers from Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour (2005);
Presenting a pink plume in Showgirl Homecoming (2006);
Rocking the cutoff shorts in Aphrodite Les Folies (2011);
As a cowgirl in pink from Golden - Live in Concert (2019);
In the legends slot at the Glastonbury Festival 2019.
Some favorite moments: 0:21 captures the blast of brilliance at the start of Showgirl Homecoming; that million-dollar smile at 2:15 in the blue Showgirl outfit; 2:57 as she bows to the fans that made this song a Kylie classic.
Pop Playlist: Kylie Minogue: In Your Eyes (Live in New York)
As some of you may already know, Kylie Minogue brings a smile to my face, and if my ears could smile, they'd beam too. One of the best songs from the iconic Fever album is “In Your Eyes.” She’s performed this signature track on many tours, but the one recorded in 2009 at the Hammerstein Ballroom during her For You, For Me tour, and for the subsequent audio release, Kylie: Live in New York, is a fave. Let’s take a look (and listen) back to this live track:
Pop royalty in most other parts of the globe, the legendary Australian performer never before launched a tour specifically through North America. After her Kylie X 2008 tour, she felt it was (finally) time to alleviate the longing that filled millions of fans (including her devoted gay following) who, up until that point, were only able to see the dynamic dynamo on DVD.
In a thoughtful gesture, Kylie and her team, led by her creative director William Baker, launched For You, For Me with the “mashup” in mind—part X tour (complete with X-tour musicians, backing vocalists and most of the dancers), part Showgirl 2005 and 2006 tours. This provided the chance to see a version, albeit a smaller-scale version, of the large concert spectacle, for which she is known. I had the pleasure of seeing Kylie for the first time on this tour, during a stop at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA in Sept. 2009.*
This X-tour arrangement of “In Your Eyes” is heavy on bass-synth and bass guitar, and it sounds amazing. The New-York recording captures the crowd’s command of the lyrics (which was also displayed opening night in Oakland and probably every stop thereafter), proving her visit to the U.S. was not a waste, and that for the previous 8 years, copies of Fever were definitely being played in America. Kylie finishes big by confidently holding a high note at the end of the lyric, “I don’t feel like coming down.” As you can hear in the clip below, everyone in the audience seems to concur.
*Both photos courtesy of Rob Miller.