Girl is the third studio album by Australian singer Dannii Minogue. It was released by Eternal Records on 8 September 1997 in the United Kingdom. Four singles were released to promote the album including the UK Dance Chart number ones "All I Wanna Do", "Everything I Wanted", "Disremembrance" and the Australian-only single, "Coconut". In November 2007, the album was reissued featuring slightly different artwork and a bonus disc of remixes by Rhino Entertainment. In 2022, to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary, Minogue announced an LP release on coloured, recycled vinyl through Warner Music Australia.
Background In 1995, Minogue had initially begun work on the follow-up album to Get into You. However, during recording sessions, Mushroom Records terminated their contract with Minogue. Following a divorce from Julian McMahon and a cover-shoot for Australian Playboy magazine, Minogue was approached by Warner Bros. Records to record a new album.
Recording Sessions began in early 1997 with Ian Masterson and Brian Higgins.
Title and artwork The album's name is a direct reference to the refrain "I may not be the innocent girl" in the album's lead single, "All I Wanna Do". The album artwork was shot by Steve Shaw and designed by Gerard Saint. In 2007, the re-issue featured slightly different artwork with Minogue's head tilted to face the camera and additional booklet design featuring lyrics and images from the album's respective music video shoots, also shot by Steve Shaw.
Composition Girl was distinctively more dance-orientated than Minogue's previous work and stands as a dance, trance, techno and electronica album. The album opens with the lead single "All I Wanna Do", which contained a more emphasised hi-NRG sound in contrast to the pop style. This would be felt on the rest of the album. The other tracks on Girl ranged from mature pop songs ("Heaven Can Wait", "Am I Dreaming?", "Everything I Wanted", "It's Amazing") to more techno-oriented tracks ("Disremembrance", "Movin' Up" and bonus tracks "Someone New", "Keep Up with the Good Times"). The album also included notable styles of dance music ("So in Love with Yourself", "If It Moves – Dub It", "Coconut") as well as ambient-infused sounds ("Everybody Changes Underwater").
Promotion To promote the album, Minogue appeared on a variety of television shows for interviews and performances, in the United Kingdom and Australia, including Top of the Pops and TFI Friday. In 1998, Minogue also embarked on the Unleashed '98 tour consisting of 23 dates around the United Kingdom. Minogue was also part of the line-up for the Mushroom 25 Live concert held in Melbourne in 1998.
Singles "All I Wanna Do" was released as the lead single from the album on 11 August 1997. It peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 1 on the UK Dance Club Chart, in Australia, it peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold. It also become a surprise chart-topper in Cyprus.
"Everything I Wanted" was released as the second single on 20 October 1997. It peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and become her second single number 1 on the UK Dance Club Chart, while in Australia it peaked at number 44 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
"Disremembrance" was released on 16 March 1998 as the third single, was remixed by Flexifinger for release. It peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart and become her third single number 1 on the UK Dance Club Chart. In Australia, it peaked at number 53 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
"Coconut" was released on 16 November 1998 as the fourth single in Australia only. It peaked at number 62 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The single featured the B-side "Someone New".
Other songs Several remixes were commissioned of "Heaven Can Wait", some of which were on included on promotional releases of "Everything I Wanted" and released on the "Coconut" single. Previously unreleased mixes of "Movin' Up'" were released on the deluxe edition of the album in 2007 as well as a radio edit version of "Someone New".
Tour
In support of Girl, Minogue embarked on the Unleashed '98 tour, consisting of 23 dates across the United Kingdom.The Unleashed 1998 UK Tour
Setlist "This Is It" (Hi-NRG version) "Love and Kisses" "Show You the Way to Go" "So In Love with Yourself" "Coconut" (tribal version) "It's Amazing" "Everything I Wanted" "Heaven Can Wait" (acoustic version) "Baby Love" Disco Medley - "Heart of Glass" / "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" / "The Rhythm Of The Night" "Don't Wanna Leave You Now" (unreleased 1995 track) "Jump to the Beat" "Disremembrance" "All I Wanna Do"
Tour dates Date City Country Venue September 11, 1998 MargateEngland Winter Gardens September 13, 1998 Hastings White Rock Theatre September 14, 1998 Yeovil Octagon Theatre September 15, 1998 Truro Hall for Cornwall September 16, 1998 Reading The Hexagon September 17, 1998 Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall September 19, 1998 Rhyl Wales Pavilion Theatre September 20, 1998 HuddersfieldEngland Town Hall September 21, 1998 Derby Assembly Rooms September 25, 1998 Canterbury Marlowe Theatre September 26, 1998 London Lewisham Theatre September 27, 1998 York Barbican Centre September 28, 1998 Bradford St. Georges Hall September 29, 1998 Hemel Hempstead Dacorum Pavilion October 1, 1998 Lowestoft Marina Theatre October 2, 1998 Skegness Embassy Centre October 3, 1998 King's Lynn Corn Exchange October 4, 1998 Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre October 6, 1998 Belfast Northern Ireland Waterfront Hall October 7, 1998 Ayr Scotland Gaiety Theatre October 8, 1998 WarringtonEngland Parr Hall October 9, 1998 Bridlington Spa Theatre October 10, 1998 Basingstoke The Anvil
Critical reception
Despite commercial disappointment, Girl received a generally positive reception from music critics. John Lucas from AllMusic complimented the album, writing: "The music is no longer so concerned with aping American trends; it was clearly influenced by the British dance club sounds of the mid-'90s. In short, Dannii was finally carving an identity for herself." The AllMusic site gave the album four out of five stars. Writing for Billboard magazine, Larry Flick complimented her vocal development as indicative of "an album that's free of cloying pretensions and unapologetic in its pure-pop approach to dance music".
Commercial performance Girl charted at number 57 in the United Kingdom on the UK Albums Chart and number 69 in Australia on the ARIA Albums Chart. It sold 15,000 copies in the United Kingdom.
Track listing
Personnel
Dannii Minogue – lead vocals, backing vocals Terry Ronald – backing vocals, vocal arrangement Jackie Rawe – backing vocals Kylie Minogue – backing vocals Paul Lewis – backing vocals Diane Charlemagne – backing vocals Suzanne Rhatigan – backing vocals Owen Parker – guitar Julian Dunkley – guitar Drew Milligan – programming Sally Herbert – strings Margaret Roseberry – strings Jules Singleton – violin Anna Hemery – violin Anne Wood – violin Anne Stephenson – violin Jackie Norrie – violin Gini Ball – violin
Jocelyn Pook – viola Claire Orsler – viola Ellen Blair – viola Dinah Beamish – cello Nick Cooper – cello Billy McGee – double bass Gary Williams – fretless bass Mark McGuire – engineer Stuart McLennan – assistant producer, backing vocals Tim Powell – assistant producer Graham Stack – producer Brian Higgins – producer Matt Gray – producer David Green – producer Ian Masterson – producer Mark Taylor – producer
Charts + 1997 chart performance for Girl Chart (1997) PeakpositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)69 + 2022–2023 chart performance for Girl Chart (2022–2023) PeakpositionAustralian Vinyl Albums (ARIA)6
Release history + Release history and formats for Girl Country Date Format(s) Label United Kingdom 8 September 1997 Eternal AustraliaWarner Germany Japan CD WEA United Kingdom 5 November 2007 2CDGirl (Deluxe Edition). HMV.com. Retrieved 8 November 2009. Rhino
References