Kylie Minogue – “Let’s Get To It”
Writing and recording for Kylie’s fourth studio album was underway before promotion for the fourth single from “Rhythm Of Love” and the accompanying tour had begun. Perhaps this was accelerated by the departure of Matt Aitken from the hit making trio in the Spring of 1991. Whilst 1990 had delivered hits from Kylie, Lonnie Gordon and Yell, there had been a marked decline in the number of PWL songs getting into the top 10 or even the top 20 for that matter.
Without wasting time, the reduced production team of Mike Stock and Pete Waterman began crafting the next Kylie long player with the hope that a new hip and trendy sound, matching those that were topping the chart in 1991, would at least keep the Kylie flame burning bright.
The album that would become “Let’s Get To It” was hurriedly recorded in three sessions during June and July of 1991, with Kylie co-writing half of the songs included. So it’s about time this often overlooked and forgotten album got an airing, let’s have a listen and ‘get to it’!
1. Word Is Out
The lead single from “Let’s Get To It” was released in August 1991 and following the four pop/dance smash hits from her previous album, its style and production is very different. It’s still a pop number but much more funky and soulful. Even the chorus is awash with a fanfare of trumpets and great backing vocals courtesy of singer Lance Ellington. Sadly, for whatever reason, the song was not a hit in the UK when released, breaking Kylie’s run of 13 consecutive top ten hits. Perhaps the passing of time will or has changed opinion…?
2. Give Me Just A Little More Time
Kylie’s cover of the Chairman Of The Board’s 1970 hit is a joyous affair and her fantastic tongue-rolling vocals are a highlight. This song was a favourite of Pete Waterman and it just feels that the whole recording and production of this track was a treasured moment for all involved. None of the original 70’s magic has been lost in this stylish 90’s update that crosses over so well from a male vocal to a female vocal. Chairman’s original reached number 3 on the UK singles chart, but Kylie did one better, taking her version to number 2 in January 1992.
3. Too Much Of A Good Thing
Back to funky pop and dance with this number that takes samples from Janet Jackson’s “Control” and “Let the Beat Hit ‘Em” by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. It’s a hip and happenin’ tune with soft, understated vocals from Kylie mixed in with the backing singers that almost doesn’t sound like a Kylie sung song at all. “We’re gonna do it, let’s get to it” is the instruction given at the beginning just to remind you that that is the title of the album. This could so very easily have been released as a single and is definitely an album highlight not to be missed.
4. Finer Feelings
Things take a slower pace now and “Finer Feelings” still keeps the groove going, whilst not quite being a ballad. This is the raciest song yet from Kylie as she informs us that the finer feelings are “just sex, without the sexual healing”! This song was given a major overhaul and reproduction by Brothers In Rhythm when released as a single in April 1992, which elevated it to a much higher plane. It turned a run-of-the-mill mid-tempo song into a sexy, classy dance tune that became a much bigger hit in the UK than “Word Is Out”.
5. If You Were With Me Now
Three years after her first duet with Jason Donovan, comes this gorgeous ballad with American soul singer Keith Washington. Co-written by Kylie and Keith and with superbly emotional vocals from both sides, this song was the second release from the album in late October 1991, but one wonders if it shouldn’t have been released closer to Christmas. Perhaps the failure of “Word Is Out” dictated that? Incidentally, Kylie and Keith never actually met to record the song or the video. A duet 3,500 miles apart!
6. Let’s Get To It
The title track comes next, another down tempo tune with a very soulful feel but with a constant groove beat to it. Kylie quite clearly wants to win her man with lyrics like “let’s get this thing on the move, my heart is longing to prove”. Let’s hope she did!
7. Right Here, Right Now
The pace picks up at last with a great pop/dance track co-written by Kylie, with a thumping beat from the very outset. “Right Here, Right Now” benefits from great backing vocals, just as with “Too Much Of A Good Thing”, and a feel that’s very similar to the kind of songs her sister was releasing at the same time! This song could so easily have been recorded for Dannii’s “Love And Kisses” album, but we’re grateful that it’s here. Another possible candidate for a single too!
8. Live And Learn
This is a great pop tune and another co-written by Kylie, its uplifting and so simple in it design and execution. “Don’t be afraid to do what you must do, it’s all up to you, to live and learn” is the advice Kylie gives this time, and it’s taken with many thanks! Like “Things Can Only Get Better” from her previous album, was another influential song for any teenagers growing up in the early 1990’s and perhaps a little nervous about stepping forward into the great unknown.
9. No World Without You
The rich diversity of this album continues with this amazing heartfelt guitar ballad dominated by Kylie’s superbly tender voice that opens up in the chorus to show its true strength. And wow what an almighty performance! Goosebumps will set in from the moment Kylie opens the song with “the sweet perfume, of flowers in bloom, remind me of you”. Perhaps an homage to the loss of Mr Hutchence as she emotionally belts out “there’s no world without you, this can’t be the end”?
10. I Guess I Like It Like That
Put your evening clothes on, it’s off to the nightclub for this epic six minute dance floor filler that ranks with the best dance tunes that were coming out at the time. Indeed, this was released under the title of “Keep On Pumpin’ It Up” in late 1991 as The Visionmasters featuring Kylie, sampling Freestyle Orchestra’s “Keep On Pumping It Up” and making number 49 on the UK singles chart. That track was heavily edited, but to enjoy the majesty of this original, you have to listen to the full album version.
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“Let’s Get To It” was released on 14th October 1991, less than a year after “Rhythm Of Love” and would ultimately be her fourth and final studio album with PWL. Music tastes had shifted away from the bubblegum pop of the 1980’s that had seen Stock Aitken Waterman dominate the charts. Kylie was now their last remaining big act and 1992 would see her complete her full five-year contract with the label, and the release of a greatest hits album that summer.
Despite some favourable reviews, “Let’s Get To It” failed to make the top 10 in her two most buoyant territories, the UK and Australia, and worldwide sales were much less than its three predecessors. It was time to go. But where…?
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