''Let's Get to It'' is the fourth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by Australian recording artist
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
. It was the final studio album with
Pete Waterman Limited (PWL), being released by the
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
in the United Kingdom on 14 October 1991.
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...
distributed the album in Australia on 25 November 1991. After
Matt Aitken
Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s and early 1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman ...
left the trio
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...
(SAW) in early 1991, the remaining producers wanted to make another album with Minogue, although it was not a contractual obligation for her.
Mike Stock and
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...
agreed to share their songwriting credits with Minogue for the first time on six tracks. They spent months recording at PWL Studios, more time than any of her previous studio albums.
Musically, ''Let's Get to It'' varies in sound, with it including
hip hop,
new jack swing
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...
,
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
genres.
Music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
provided mixed reviews, recognising Minogue's creative control and her provocative image despite them being ambivalent towards the production. The album is one of Minogue's least successful studio albums to date, missing the top 10 in both her native Australia and the UK. Nonetheless, it has since been certified gold in Australia by the
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
(ARIA).
Four
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
were released from ''Let's Get to It'', including UK top 10 entries "
If You Were with Me Now" and "
Give Me Just a Little More Time
"Give Me Just a Little More Time" is the debut single by Chairmen of the Board, released in 1970 through Capitol Records on Holland–Dozier–Holland's Invictus Records label.
"Give Me Just a Little More Time", backed with "Since the Days of ...
". The other singles, "
Word Is Out" and "
Finer Feelings
"Finer Feelings" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was the final release from ''Let's Get to It'' and was planned as the follow-up to " Word Is Out", but it was held back after the release of " If You Were with Me Now". "Finer Fe ...
", attained top 20 positions in the UK. Minogue further promoted the album with her
Let's Get to It Tour
The Let's Get to It Tour was the fourth concert tour by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. As stated by Minogue herself in 1991, the tour was technically a continuation of the previous Rhythm of Love Tour which had already visited Australia ...
, which traveled throughout Europe in October and November 1991. Minogue was disappointed with the final result and left PWL in 1992. The album was re-issued in the UK for the first time in 2015.
Background
In 1990, Minogue released her third studio album ''
Rhythm of Love'', reflecting a more sexually liberated image and
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
-influenced sound. She became more involved in the album's creation and arrangement than her previous projects alongside being credited as co-writer for the first time, while
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...
(SAW) were the primary producers. Promotion for ''Rhythm of Love'' included controversial
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s for "
Better the Devil You Know
"Better the Devil You Know" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue, taken from her third studio album '' Rhythm of Love'' (1990). The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. The song was released as the album's ...
" and "
What Do I Have to Do
"What Do I Have to Do" is a song performed by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue from her third studio album, '' Rhythm of Love'' (1990). The song was written and produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Originally, the song was planned ...
", which continued to foster Minogue's increasingly provocative image. Her romantic relationship with Australian rock band
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
's lead singer
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...
, one of her biggest influences during the production of ''Rhythm of Love'', also generated intense publicity. In early 1991, Hutchence ended their 16-month relationship over the telephone.
After finishing the
Rhythm of Love Tour
The Rhythm of Love Tour was the third concert tour by Kylie Minogue, in support of her third studio album '' Rhythm of Love'' (1990). Beginning on 10 February 1991, the tour visited Australia and East Asia.
The concerts showcased a more confi ...
, which spanned through Australia and Asia in February and March 1991, Minogue took a short break and spent time in Paris with her friends. Among them was British photographer
Katerina Jebb
Katerina Jebb (born 15 November 1962) is a British-born artist, photographer and film-maker.
She has previously lived and worked in Los Angeles, California. In 1989, Katerina Jebb moved to Paris.
Katerina Jebb's work is the subject of an exhib ...
, who later became a frequent collaborator of hers.
She dated model Zane O'Connell, who appears in the music videos for "What Do I Have to Do" and "
Shocked". During the production of ''Rhythm of Love'', SAW struggled to find an audience for their
pop output.
They were disappointed by the contemporary trends in music;
Mike Stock commented: "We always tried to create pop hooks... By the 1990s, it was made by people who were off the heads on
ecstasy. They'd be fascinated just with two notes going backwards and forwards."
As a result,
Matt Aitken
Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s and early 1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman ...
left SAW in 1991 because he felt he was
burnt out.
"People say all our records sound the same, but it came to a point where they started sounding all the same to me," he said.
Recording and production
![Petewaterman (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Petewaterman_%28cropped%29.JPG)
''Let's Get to It'' was not a contractual obligation for Minogue;
Pete Waterman Limited (PWL) had signed her initially for three studio albums. However,
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...
and PWL co-owner David Howells wanted to make another album with her because of the commercial benefits. Stock contacted Minogue while she was in Paris and they both agreed to do it.
Over the course of 1991, Minogue left the city and returned to PWL Studios in London with her remaining producers Stock and Waterman. The two agreed to share their songwriting credits with Minogue for the first time; she was listed as a co-writer on six tracks. Waterman would provide hints about the content and song titles, while Stock and Minogue put the songs together by humming different melodies and recording them within a day.
She spent months working on ''Let's Get to It'', more time than any of Minogue's earlier works.
During the production,
club music and the London
club scene
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
fascinated Minogue. Although her music had always been played in commercial clubs, the pop element of her earlier works made the exclusive clubs look down on her.
[; ] "If you go into
Bowlers or you go into
the Haçienda
The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, North West England, which became famous during the Manchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records.
The club opened in 1982, eventually ...
, you can't play '
I Should Be So Lucky
"I Should Be So Lucky" is a 1987 song performed by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album '' Kylie'' (1988). Released on 29 December 1987 by Mushroom Records and PWL Records, the song became a wo ...
' can you? They're going to lynch you!", Waterman said.
To give herself more credibility with clubs, Minogue created an
alias
Alias may refer to:
* Pseudonym
* Pen name
* Nickname
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film
* ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006
* ''Alias the ...
for herself as "Angel K" and released several
white label
A white label record is a vinyl record with white labels attached. There are several variations each with a different purpose. Variations include test pressings, white label promos, and plain white labels.
Test pressings
Test pressings, usua ...
promotional vinyls. The tracks released included "Do You Dare" and "Closer", which later appeared as
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
s on the
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
s "
Give Me Just a Little More Time
"Give Me Just a Little More Time" is the debut single by Chairmen of the Board, released in 1970 through Capitol Records on Holland–Dozier–Holland's Invictus Records label.
"Give Me Just a Little More Time", backed with "Since the Days of ...
" and "
Finer Feelings
"Finer Feelings" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was the final release from ''Let's Get to It'' and was planned as the follow-up to " Word Is Out", but it was held back after the release of " If You Were with Me Now". "Finer Fe ...
", respectively.
Waterman also wanted to produce more "cutting edge dance music" for Minogue to fit in his show ''
The Hitman and Her
''The Hitman and Her'' is a British television dance music programme hosted by Pete Waterman and Michaela Strachan. The programme was produced for Granada Television and ran from September 1988 until December 1992 on ITV's Night Network.
The ...
'', which he considered a trendy show back then.
Minogue suggested she hoped to find time for more recording in 1991, telling ''
Smash Hits
''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...
'' in August that she "may do some more writing in America which may lead to another recording there", but the recordings never materialised.
Waterman and PWL imported songs for ''Let's Get to It'' recorded by foreign acts like
2 Unlimited whose song, "
Get Ready for This
"Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orche ...
" (1991), is
sampled
Sample or samples may refer to:
Base meaning
* Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set
* Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal
* Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...
heavily on "
I Guess I Like It Like That
"I Guess I Like It Like That" is a 1991 promotional single written by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue and British producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman for Minogue's fourth album ''Let's Get to It''. The song samples 2 Unlimited's ...
".
Their intention was to buy these songs cheaply and make a profit from them. Stock felt uninspired by this and the mostly sample-based album, saying: "There's no point having an artist like
inogueor a writer like me there if the rule is
uyingcheap from abroad."
He composed "Finer Feelings" with Waterman, as Minogue wanted to put more sexual content on the album.
Minogue and American singer
Keith Washington
Keith Douglas Washington (born November 15, 1960) is an American R&B vocalist from Detroit who recorded the hit single " Kissing You" in 1991. The song was also used as background music for the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital''. ...
wrote and recorded the duet "
If You Were with Me Now" separately. It was her first duet on any of her albums; "
Especially for You
"Especially for You" is a song performed by Australian recording artists Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan from Donovan's debut album, '' Ten Good Reasons'' (1989). The song was released as his album's second single on 28 November 1988 and was ...
" was recorded previously for
Jason Donovan's ''
Ten Good Reasons
''Ten Good Reasons'' is the debut studio album by Australian pop star and actor Jason Donovan. It was released on 1 May 1989 by PWL (UK) and Mushroom Records (Australia). It became the biggest selling album in the UK that year, and yielded t ...
'' (1989).
[; ] One of the last tracks to be recorded for ''Let's Get to It'' was the cover of
Chairmen of the Board
Chairmen of the Board is an American-Canadian, Detroit, Michigan-based soul music group, who saw their greatest commercial success in the 1970s.
Recording career
General Johnson (1941–2010) had a hit as the lead singer of The Showmen in th ...
's "Give Me Just a Little More Time" (1970).
Music and lyrics
Music critics identified ''Let's Get to It'' as a genre-spanning record, departing from the predominantly
teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...
sound of Minogue's early works. Minogue stated her songs on the album ranging from "big band
swing stuff to a more
soulful kind of thing", and more sophisticated dance music. Chris True of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
found the songs have "heavy breathing effects" and are as danceable as ''Rhythm of Love''.
Sal Cinquemani of ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' and Lee Barron noted the sounds of
R&B,
hip hop,
new jack swing
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...
, and
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
are featured prominently on ''Let's Get to It''. Nathan Wood of
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
's MaxTV called the album "a musical exploration". He felt Minogue's fondness for dance music began to emerge on the album, with forays into house and
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
.
''Let's Get to It'' opens with "Word Is Out", a new jack swing track with elements of
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
. Minogue duplicated
General Johnson's trademark vocal style on her cover of "Give Me Just a Little More Time".
Joe Sweeney from ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' noted she puts more of her own personality into it than previous cover songs like "
The Loco-Motion
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
The song is notable for appearing in the ...
" or "
Tears on My Pillow
"Tears on My Pillow" is a doo-wop song written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The composition was first recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials on End Records and was that group's debut recording under that name. Their origi ...
".
The house track "Too Much of a Good Thing" is followed by "Finer Feelings", a song that includes a reference to
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
's "
Sexual Healing
"Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, '' Midnight Love'' (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, followi ...
" (1982) in the
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
with the lyrics: "What is love without the finer feelings / It's just sex without the sexual healing."
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
s Nick Levine felt that the lyrics show a "sexier and more sophisticated" side of Minogue.
"If You Were with Me Now", Minogue's duet with Washington, is a non-sexual and string-drenched
sentimental ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. ...
.
Minogue urges her lover to "get this thing on the move" in the title track, written by Stock and Waterman.
"Right Here, Right Now", a house floor-filler track, follows it.
Sweeney found the song has a similar
groove
Groove or Grooves may refer to:
Music
* Groove (music)
* Groove (drumming)
* The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s
* The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station
* Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station
...
vibe to the work of
CeCe Peniston
Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song " Finally" re ...
, while the title is the same as that of
the 1990 song by British rock band
Jesus Jones
Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform, as of 2021. Their track " Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently global ...
.
It is entirely unrelated to the song
of the same name that Minogue recorded with Italian producer
Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
in 2015. Minogue sings about living life to the fullest in "Live and Learn", followed by the
acoustic ballad "No World Without You". The six-minute
techno-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
"I Guess I Like It Like That", which serves as the album's closer, includes a
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
part that lays the foundation of the song. The song contains a sample from 2 Unlimited's "Get Ready for This", and an uncredited
interpolation of "I Like It Like That" (1988) by
Salt-N-Pepa.
[; ] Belgian producers Phil Wilde and Jean-Paul de Coster, who wrote and produced "Get Ready for This", were only credited as co-authors of "I Guess I Like It Like That" on the 2012 re-release of ''Let's Get to It'' in Japan.
Artwork and release
![FILAF 2013 - Juergen Teller (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/FILAF_2013_-_Juergen_Teller_%28cropped%29.jpg)
German fashion photographer
Jürgen Teller
Juergen Teller (born 28 January 1964) is a German fine-art and fashion photographer. He was awarded the Citibank Prize for Photography in 2003 and received the Special Presentation International Center of Photography Infinity Award in 2018.
Maj ...
produced the artwork for ''Let's Get to It''. On the black-and-white cover, Minogue sports a 1960s-style
bouffant
A bouffant () is a type of puffy, rounded hairstyle characterized by hair raised high on the head and usually covering the ears or hanging down on the sides.
Etymology
The English word ''bouffant'' comes from the French ''bouffante'', from ...
and looks away from the camera, with three men partially shown in the background. She wears a sleeveless
minidress
A miniskirt (sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, separated as mini skirt, or sometimes shortened to simply mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a ...
that was designed by Nobuhiko Kitamura for Japanese fashion brand
Hysteric Glamour
''Hysteric Glamour'' is a Japanese designer label created by artist Nobuhiko Kitamura in 1984.
Operations
The theme of the label is 1960s mass media, with t-shirts depicting musicians like Marc Bolan and the Sex Pistols, and art work by Andy ...
.
The minidress is a stretch
lycra piece with multi-coloured vanity print and has shoestring
shoulder strap
A shoulder strap is a strap over a shoulder. They are often affixed to women's dresses to support its weight or as part of its style. The term is also applied to carrying bags.
Dress shoulder strap
Image:Camisole.png, Camisole
Image:Preprom.jpg, ...
s of the same fabric.
Minogue found the cover interesting, saying it "will worry fans the most
ith the
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
weird expression on my face".
Oliver Hurley of ''
Classic Pop
Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...
'' felt that Minogue looked moody and the artwork was "a striking contrast to the grinning popstrel" of her previous image.
Writing for ''
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
'', Mike Wass complimented the cover as "hip and edgy", and commented that "
inoguewas entering her cool phase." True commented that the sinister cover, and the title, helped Minogue transform fully "from her innocent dance-pop image to what the press dubbed 'SexKylie", and described her as a "self-made
sex kitten A sex kitten is a woman who exhibits a sexually provocative lifestyle or an abundant sexual aggression. The term originated around 1956 in articles in the British and American press and was originally used to describe French actress Brigitte Bardot ...
".
In 2004, Minogue donated the dress worn for the cover shot to the Cultural Gifts Program of the
Arts Centre Melbourne
Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...
.
Minogue named the album ''Let's Get to It''; she first revealed the title on 31 August 1991 while she was performing "Word is Out" on the children's television series ''
Motormouth
''Motormouth'' is a Saturday morning children's television series that was produced by TVS and broadcast across the ITV network for four series, running between 3 September 1988 and 4 April 1992. Each series generally ran from the autumn of ...
''. It was her final studio album under PWL released in the UK on 14 October 1991.
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...
released the album in Australia on 25 November 1991.
In Japan, it was first released on 21 November 1991 by PWL under the title of ''あなたもM?'' (''Are you M too?''), with instrumental bonus tracks.
WEA
The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of the ...
re-released it twice ''Let's Get to It'' in 1993 and 1995, respectively, and PWL reissued it in 2012 with bonus tracks and mixes. In October 2014, it was announced ''Let's Get to It'', along with Minogue's studio albums ''
Kylie'' (1988), ''
Enjoy Yourself'' (1989), and ''Rhythm of Love'', was to be re-released by
Cherry Red Records
Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...
and PWL. The original release date of 27 October 2014 was later postponed to 9 February 2015.
[; ] The albums were digitally remastered from the original studio tapes and were made available on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
,
CD, and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
. This was the first time these albums had been re-released in the UK.
Minogue's
VHS release ''Let's Get To...The Videos'' included music videos from ''Rhythm of Love'' and ''Let's Get to It'', as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.
It was released in 1991 by Mushroom Records in Australia, and by PWL in the UK and Japan. ''Kylie's Remixes: Vol. 2'', an eleven-track compilation of remixed songs from ''Rhythm of Love'' and ''Let's Get to It'', was released across Japan in July 1992.
It peaked at number 90 on the
Oricon Albums Chart and had sold 7,330 copies by 2006. The compilation album was later released in Australia in 1993.
Promotion
![The (CIE) Point Depot, Dublin (1983)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/The_%28CIE%29_Point_Depot%2C_Dublin_%281983%29.jpg)
To promote ''Let's Get to It'', Minogue visited Europe with the
Let's Get to It Tour
The Let's Get to It Tour was the fourth concert tour by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. As stated by Minogue herself in 1991, the tour was technically a continuation of the previous Rhythm of Love Tour which had already visited Australia ...
in October and November 1991.
The tour was an updated version of her Rhythm of Love Tour, featuring a new stage wardrobe curated by fashion designer
John Galliano
John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creat ...
.
The costumes included a plastic raincoat, a black fishnet costume with
garter
A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking ...
, a black
evening dress, pointy bras, and tight black shorts. The choreography was more suggestive: Minogue danced, rubbed her cleavage in her chief choreographer Venol King, and pinned him to the floor.
The tracklist contains a performance of "Shocked", featuring rapper
Jazzi P
Pauline Bennett, who also goes by the stage name of Jazzi P, is a British DJ, dance teacher and rapper from Wolverhampton. She had a No. 6 hit as a featured artist on Kylie Minogue's 1991 song "Shocked (song), Shocked", and also participated in ' ...
.
Like the Rhythm of Love Tour, Minogue received criticism of provocative nature for the Let's Get to It Tour, which was decried as "pornographic", and received comparisons to
Madonna's
Who's That Girl World Tour
The Who's That Girl World Tour (billed as Who's That Girl World Tour 1987) was the second concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her 1986 third studio album '' True Blue'', as well as the 1987 soundtrack ''Who ...
(1987). The British press was fascinated with Minogue's provocative image and dubbed her "SexKylie".
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
released the video album ''Live!'' internationally in 1992, which included footage shot during the last show of the Let's Get to It Tour at the
Point Theatre
The Point Theatre (sometimes referred to as the Point Depot or simply as the Point) was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, visited by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Q ...
, Dublin on 8 November 1991. Mushroom Records distributed the video album in Australia under the title ''Live in Dublin''. In 2011,
Immortal Records
Immortal Records was an American independent record label/imprint label based in Los Angeles, California. The company helped launch the careers of such influential acts as Korn, Thirty Seconds To Mars, and Incubus over the years. The label had ...
released other footage from the same night, also titled ''Live in Dublin'', in Europe.
Singles
"Word Is Out" was released as ''Let's Get to It''s
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
in August 1991, with "Say the Word - I'll Be There" as the B-side track, which she had recorded in May of that year. The single was available as a limited edition
12" Summer Breeze mix, which "radically remixed" and reduced "the
synthesised band sound" from the original version.
[; ] Mushroom Records released the remix in Australia, featuring Minogue's autograph on the B-side of the disc.
Filmed at
Camden Lock, James Lebon directed the music video for "Word is Out". It features English TV presenter
Davina McCall
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show ''Big Brother (UK), Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's '' ...
, and Minogue is seen seductively dancing in
stocking
Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpare ...
s and
suspenders on the streets. Her accompanying TV promotion followed the same sexual theme.
"Word Is Out" peaked at number 16 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, becoming Minogue's first single to not reach the top 10 and this broke her run of 13 consecutive top 10 singles. However, it reached number 10 in Australia, and number eight in Ireland.
[; ]
The album's second single "If You Were with Me Now", a duet by Minogue and Washington, was released in October 1991.
A music video, directed by Greg Masuak, accompanied it. Minogue and Washington met briefly on the set for the first time before the video was shot. Masuak opted not to feature any shots of Minogue and Washington together.
"If You Were with Me Now" reached number four in the UK, becoming Minogue's first co-written top five hit and Washington's last top 40 appearance there. It also peaked at number seven in Ireland, and number 23 in Australia.
"Give Me Just a Little More Time" was released as the third single in January 1992, being accompanied by a music video directed by Masuak. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, standing as the highest-charting single from ''Let's Get to It''.
The song also reached the top 20 in Ireland and Belgium. The 12" single was released with the B-side "Do You Dare". "Finer Feelings" was originally planned as the second single, but "If You Were with Me Now" replaced it.
Brothers in Rhythm ultimately released the song in April 1992 as a 12" remix. They later became collaborators of Minogue's throughout the 1990s. The remix is nearly seven-minutes long, and later became the 7" radio version as well.
"Closer" was also released as the B-side single.
The single peaked in the top 20 of the UK and Ireland. An accompanying black-and-white music video, directed by Dave Hogan, was shot entirely in Paris.
Critical reception
''Let's Get to It'' was met with mixed reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. True and Sweeney praised Minogue for co-writing most of the album and taking more control of her career. However, they felt the album sounds unnatural and more dated than ''Rhythm of Love''. Griffiths hailed it as her best album because of the improved production, but still viewed it as a "false tease" and admitted that Minogue's music "is still for virgins, even if they now read ''
The Face
The face is a part of the body, the front of the head.
Face may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face''
* ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film
* ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...
''".
A writer from Australian programme ''
Rage'' opined that the album had been successful in showcasing a more seductive side of hers.
Mark Andrews of ''Smash Hits'' and Oliver Hurley were less impressed with the album's ill-advised R&B influence, saying that Aitken's absence was notable and the material is forgettable. Levine commented that the album "lacks a moment of pure pop brilliance" to match Minogue's earlier works.
Retrospect reviews by Cinquemani, True, and Hurley viewed the album as a clear statement for Minogue's departure from PWL, whose musical relationship had become too restrictive. In 2018, Cinquemani wrote that none of the musical genres featured on the album were particularly flourishing, and compared SAW-produced tracks unfavorably to the American sounds of
Clivillés and Cole
Robert Clivillés (born July 30, 1964) and David Cole (1962–1995), known collectively as Clivillés and Cole, were American record producers, songwriters, and remixers active from the late 1980s who achieved success in the 1990s.
Career Begin ...
,
Jam and Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...
, and
Full Force
Full Force is an American music group of hip hop and R&B singers and producers from Brooklyn, New York.
Members
*B-Fine (Brian George) - drums and drum programming, backing vocals
*Shy Shy (Hugh Junior Clark) - bass guitar, backing vocal ...
. He ranked it as Minogue's third-worst studio album.
A writer from ''Classic Pop'' magazine ranked it as the eighth-best Stock Aitken Waterman album, deeming it as a bold statement.
Wood highlighted I Guess I Like it Like That" as a signal of her transformation into an artist with diverse genres, and paved the way for her next dance-oriented releases.
In the biography ''Kylie: Naked'' (2012), Nigel Goodall and Jenny Stanley-Clarke called it her first album to have "a personal feel, with influences from her own tastes in music".
The album was Minogue's only studio album, apart from
her 1994 self-titled album, to receive a two-star rating from British writer
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged".
Along wit ...
in the ''
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Kno ...
'' (2011), who classified it as "disappointing", "week or dull and not recommended".
Despite the mixed critical reception, Minogue received a nomination for
Best Female Artist at the
ARIA Music Awards of 1992 as a result of her work on ''Let's Get to It''.
It was her third nomination in the category, following nominations for ''Kylie''
in 1989 and ''Enjoy Yourself''
in 1990. Minogue lost the award to Australian singer-songwriter
Deborah Conway
Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top 5 hit "Man Overboard".
Conw ...
for her album ''
String of Pearls'' (1992).
Commercial performance and aftermath
''Let's Get to It'' is among Minogue's least successful albums to date.
It debuted and peaked at number 15 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
after initially being released, becoming her first studio album to not reach the top 10. In January 1992, the album re-entered at number 68 for one week. When "Give Me Just a Little More Time" reached its peak at number two on the UK Singles Chart, ''Let's Get to It'' returned to the UK Albums Chart at number 50. The album lasted for a total of 12 weeks on the chart, the shortest run by a Minogue studio album at the time.
In her native Australia, it peaked at number 13 and spent only five weeks on the chart.
Nevertheless, ''Let's Get to It'' was certified gold by
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
(ARIA) for selling 35,000 copies in the country in March 1992. ''Let's Get to It'' peaked at number 37 on the
Oricon Albums Chart, becoming Minogue's third consecutive top 40 entry in Japan.
It remained on the chart for three weeks, and has sold 25,350 copies as of 2006. On the
European Top 100 Albums
The European Top 100 Albums chart was the European adaptation of the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. It ran from March 1984 until December 2010. Also commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums, the chart showcased the sales of an act in 19 E ...
, a chart compiled by ''
Music & Media
''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...
'', it peaked at number 59 on the week of 9 November 1991.
The lack of public interest in ''Let's Get to It'' was discussed, which pointed towards the "SexKylie" image and the change in musical direction.
"The public saw
inoguedressed as a prostitute, and they wouldn't accept it," said Waterman.
Minogue was disappointed with the album, feeling that SAW had reverted to formulaic tunes and by the time ''Let's Get to It'' came, "the magic
adgone and the record sank quickly".
Besides from work commitments, she spent much of 1992 being away from the public.
By the end of 1992, PWL did not renew the contract with Minogue, who felt the singer "was
otmoving in a direction that was going to be successful", according to PWL co-owner David Howells. Following her release after four years, Minogue stated that she felt stifled by SAW, saying in an interview with ''
Q'' in 1994: "I was very much a puppet in the beginning. I was blinkered by my record company. I was unable to look left or right".
[; ] Minogue's final release under PWL was ''
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' (1992).
In a 2015 interview, Waterman said that he already knew ''Let's Get to It'' was Minogue's final studio album with SAW during the making of it, saying Minogue "was overshadowing us and killing our creativity... we should have actually sold that album before we made it."
Track listing
All songs produced by
Mike Stock and
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...
.
;Notes
* The Summer Breeze 7" edit of "Word Is Out" was used for the Australian release.
* "I Guess I like Like That" samples
2 Unlimited's "
Get Ready For This
"Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orche ...
" (1991) and contains an uncredited interpolation of
Salt-N-Pepa's "I Like It Like That" (1988).
Belgian producers Phil Wilde and Jean-Paul de Coster, who wrote and produced "Get Ready for This", were only credited as co-authors in the 2012 re-release in Japan.
Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes.
*
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
– lead vocals
*
Julian Gingell
Julian Gingell (born 29 December 1969), known as Jules, is a British songwriter and record producer, best known for his partnership with fellow writer and producer Barry Stone under the name Jewels and Stone.
Gingell moved to London to work with ...
– keyboards
*
Mike Stock – keyboards, arrangement, backing vocals, production
*
Gary Barnacle
Gary Barnacle (born 1959 in Dover, England) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts a ...
– saxophone
*Paul Riser – arrangement
*
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...
– arrangement, engineering assistance, production
*
Keith Washington
Keith Douglas Washington (born November 15, 1960) is an American R&B vocalist from Detroit who recorded the hit single " Kissing You" in 1991. The song was also used as background music for the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital''. ...
– vocals on track 5
*
Lance Ellington
Lance Ellington (born 22 June 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and actor.
Ellington, the only son of the band leader Ray Ellington, specialises in swing and big ballads. He has worked with many artists including Sting, George Michael, Glo ...
– backing vocals
*Tee Green – backing vocals
*
Phil Harding – backing vocals
*
Carol Kenyon
Carol Kenyon (sometimes spelt Karol; born 1959) is a British singer. She is best known for her vocals on the Heaven 17 hit song "Temptation", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1983. When the song was re-released as a remix by ...
– backing vocals
*Mae McKenna – backing vocals
*Leroy Osbourne – backing vocals
*
Miriam Stockley
Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive '' vocalise'' style gained international acclaim whe ...
– backing vocals
*
Mick Wilson – backing vocals
*Dave Ford – mixing
*Peter Day – engineering
*Gordon Dennis – engineering
*Matt Le Flem – engineering assistance
*Jason Barron – engineering assistance
*Dean Murphy – engineering assistance
*Dillon Gallagher – engineering assistance
*Chris McDonnell – engineering assistance
*Les Sharma – engineering assistance
*
Juergen Teller
Juergen Teller (born 28 January 1964) is a German fine-art and fashion photographer. He was awarded the Citibank Prize for Photography in 2003 and received the Special Presentation International Center of Photography Infinity Award in 2018.
Maj ...
– photography
Charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
References
Citations
Websites
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* '' The High Point number in the NAT column displays the release's peak on the national chart.''
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Media notes
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Print sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
''Let's Get to It''at Kylie.com (archived from 2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Let's Get To It
1991 albums
Kylie Minogue albums
Albums produced by Stock Aitken Waterman
Mushroom Records albums
New jack swing albums
Contemporary R&B albums by Australian artists