Kylie Minogue: Enjoy Yourself : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

From the looks of it, 'Enjoy Yourself' should be state of the art in the disco-dolly department. It's got three appealing photos of Minogue, the star of Australia's No. 1 soap opera, Neighbors, and a feel-good sound bite for a title. Lest anyone worry that our girl is completely untalented, she's in the capable hitmaking hands of British pop Midases Stock/Aitken/Waterman. There would seem to be no way this record could sound inept. But it does.

Pop misses are multiplying like tribbles – and for the most part, the gals all sound pretty good. We have the technology to write their songs, provide a top-notch band and produce the bejesus out of their vocals. If Pebbles (or Regina Belle or Stacey Q) can't hit that high note, one of those knobs can. S/A/W, unfortunately, leave Minogue at the mercy of her own abysmal voice, with only a hopelessly retro 4/4 to keep time. She doesn't hear the differences between love lost ("Tell Tale Signs") and love found ("Wouldn't Change a Thing") or bother with shading or invention. And the album's one proven hit, "Tears on My Pillow," should make even the least history-conscious fan scream, "Travesty!"

Like the Barbie slogan says, "We girls can do anything." Paula Abdul (or Taylor Dayne or Karyn White) makes dance music just as empty-headed as Minogue's, but at least it's empty-headed dance music with conviction. Abdul may be a vessel for little-girl dreams; nevertheless, those dreams – you can be tough and have a blast, and no street-corner cowboys allowed – might one day come in handy. Enjoy Yourself makes a cheaper offer: You can put out a record.