Too Far (Kylie Minogue song)

"Too Far"
Song by Kylie Minogue from the album Impossible Princess
Recorded DMC Studios, Real World Studios and Sarm West Studios, London, England. 1997
Genre Drum and bass
Length 4:44
Label Deconstruction Records
Writer Kylie Minogue
Producer Minogue, Brothers in Rhythm

"Too Far" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue taken from her sixth studio album Impossible Princess (1997). It was written by Minogue herself while production was handled by British duo Brothers in Rhythm and Minogue, and composing was by Steve Anderson. The song was recorded at DMC, Real World and Sarm West Studios in London, England where Minogue had constantly collaborated with producers and songwriters in that location.

"Too Far" is an drum and bass-influenced track. The lyrical content discusses Minogues frustration and anger. Minogue recalled writing the song at a local cafe down from where she was living. "Too Far" was praised from most music critics. Many critics had highlighted the song as an album standout and praised the production standards and composition. Minogue has performed the track twice on two of her concert tours; Intimate and Live Tour and Anti Tour, and both performance received positive commentary for its retrospective performance.

Background

Australian singer Kylie Minogue left London-based record label PWL in 1992 after British tabloids accused the staff of PWL for creating too similar music to other artists who were signed to the label.[1] Minogue signed a three-album deal with British dance label Deconstruction Records in order to achieve further credibility in the music industry, something that artists at Deconstruction were credited for.[2][3] Minogue released her first self-titled album through Deconstruction in fall 1994 and received mixed reception from music critics.[4] Commercially, the album peaked inside the top three in Australia and sold over two million copies worldwide as of April 2007.[4][5]

Minogue began a personal relationship with French photographer Stéphane Sednaoui.[6] Together they embarked on a series of trips across the United States and southern China to help her become inspired for the album. The trips and her relationship with Sednaoui made Minogue feel free to express her own creativity and talent.[6] Sednaoui also introduced her to the work of musicians including Björk, Shirley Manson and her band Garbage, Towa Tei and the band U2, all of whom would influence the musical styles on Impossible Princess.[6]

Minogue had greater freedom to make Impossible Princess sound as she wanted it to. According to music press, Minogue wanted to establish herself as an indie artist. However, she denied, telling Mixmag: "I have to keep telling people that this isn't an indie-guitar album. I'm not about to pick up a guitar and rock."[7] While in production, Deconstruction Records' A&R Pete Hadfield fell terribly ill that lasted for a year, which meant all creative production was handled by Minogue and producers Brothers in Rhythm.[8][9] When he managed to come to some sessions, he was intentionally concerned with the lack of single choices, where he felt the songs written by Minogue were not up to commercial standards.[10] Because of this, a potential January 1997 single release was postponed so producers can make the album "perfect".[10]

Composition

Musical styles and recording

"Too Far" is a dance-driven drum and bass track that lasts a duration of four minutes and forty-four seconds. Nick Levine from Digital Spy had reviewed the parent album in retrospect and commented that tracks like "Limbo", "Too Far" and "Drunk" are "the toughest club cuts of Kylie's career", while Levine had referenced the album as an all over "dance-pop shop."[11] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine compared the song to the work of American singer and producer Moby and said "["Too Far,"] mixes crisp breakbeats with a Moby-style piano progression and lush strings [...]"[12] According to album director Tom Parker, who had written the key notes towards the re-release off Impossible Princess, commented that "Too Far" features "schizophrenic" drum and bass and rock music that featured "juddering strings and piano arrangement."[13]

"Too Far" was recorded at DMC Studios, Real World Studios and Sarm West Studios in London, England during 1997. The song was produced and composed by Brothers in Rhythm and Minogue, making it their first track to collaborate on.[13] Instrumentation including synthesizers, keyboards and drum machines were all handled by Steve Anderson, who had contributed to most off the parent album.[13] Additional instruments were handled by others, including the fiddle by Boguaslaw Kostecki, the viola by Pete Lale and cello by Martin Loveday.[13] The song was engineered and programmed by Alan Bremner and Paul Wright, while mixing the track was by Bremner.[13]

Lyrical content

The song was written by Minogue herself, the first out of two songs self-penned by her after "Say Hey".[13] Both "Too Far" and "Say Hey" remain the only songs self-penned by Minogue on any album.[13] Lyrically, the song deals about Minogues situation of frustration and anger.[14] Minogue recalled having a lot of anger during the mid-1990s and had held it in for a long time.[14] One day, Minogue felt the anger and frustration took a toll on her private life and left her home for the day because she felt it was a "negative atmosphere."[14]

That day, she had walked to a local cafe that she regularly visited and decided to write a song by herself, trying to rid all of the "nasty emotions".[14] She commented "I wrote [Too Far] very quickly and at a very bad state."[14] She exampled the lyric ("Caught up in this house, trapped my very own self in the snare of my mind,") and said that the line explained her "very well at the time."[14] She likened the songs verses to the effects of claustrophobia, feeling that she "couldn't find a way out."[14] Although she commented the song was "nothing I have ever done before," she felt the song was a "good form of release."[14]

Single release

When Hadfield became ill, a potential single release for January 1997 was postponed because he struggled with the lack off single choices written by Minogue.[10] They then re-recorded and composed more tracks to ensure that the album was more "perfect."[10] During the production off Impossible Princess, Minogue had persisted in wanting "Limbo" as the lead single from the studio album.[10] She believed that the sound was powerful and "radio friendly".[10] When Minogue had opined the release off the track, her collaborator Steve Anderson was not convinced of the choice and believed that either "Too Far" or "Jump" had "represented" the album more that her decision.[13] After their discussion for an single, both parties had disagreed with their choices and left Deconstruction to decide on the single. However, Deconstruction did not believe any songs they decided should have been the single, so instead issued it as a B-side to the newly decided lead single "Some Kind of Bliss".[15]

Despite the decision and initial release, the song attracted negative commentary from most music critics in 1997; one particular music critic, NME was scathing towards the album and commented "[Kylie] belt's out the lyrics like she's reading from an autocue. Any soul is lost in a slurry of bought-in brass and a ropey guitar solo that's be more at home on a Shakin' Stevens record."[10][16] Commercially, the song under-performed in international countries, mainly in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, where it peaked inside the top twenty and top fifty respectively.[17][18][19] The song managed to chart in various European countries in lower positions including Europe, Greece, Russia and Italy.[20]

In the US and UK, "Too Far" had became very popular through the underground club scene and featured a lot of remixes from different disc jockeys in the US, with the likes of Junior Vasquez and Philip Steir.[13] Deconstruction decided to release "Too Far" as a limited edition vinyl and radio format through the UK and the US. This served as Minogue's first promotional single from Impossible Princess, the fifth overall single and her first single released in the US since her 1994 single "Confide in Me".[21][22]

Critical reception

"Too Far" achieved critical acclaim from most music critics. Chris True from Allmusic had highlighted the track as an album standout from Impossible Princess.[23] Sarah Smith from FasterLouder.com highlighted the song as an album standout and praised Minogue's experimentation on the "spoken word" effect.[24] Gary James from Entertainment Focus praised all her written tracks and had especially praised "Say Hey", "Too Far", "Cowboy Style" and "Limbo" for her being able to portray an "sense of claustrophobia and uncertainty."[25] Adrian Denning from his own online publication felt that "Too Far" was one of the best tracks, saying "A very full sounding track with funky beats, it flows well into the impressive, eastern flavoured ['Cowboy Style'].[26] A reviewer from Sputnikmusic said "Too Far" is "quite possibly one of the best songs not only on the record, but of her entire catalogue." [27]

Susan Corrigan from I-D had said positively stated that "Too Far" "shimmer[ed]".[28] Robin Bresnek from Melody Maker had discussed their parent review, and said that "Too Far" and "Drunk" were immediate highlights for Minogue showing her "schizophrenic self-disgust" nature that "spins dizzily in the shadow of fluttering heartbeats and inspired rushes of sound."[29] Sam Upton from Select magazine was particularly positive towards the track, saying "[Too Far] sets out the stall perfectly with beats that want to be jungle when they grow up and Kylie slipping between half-rap and the usual sensual breathing's."[30] Upton, however, gave the parent album an overall mixed review.[30]

Live performances

Minogue has performed the track twice on two of her concert tours; Intimate and Live Tour and Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour. Minogue first performed the track on her first tour in 1998. The track was used as the opening track along with several other tracks on the Impossible Princess album and featured Minogue rising up on the stage inside a rainbow-colored cone, similar to the album artwork of the parent album, wearing black overalls.[31] Like the rest off the costumes on the tour including the performance off "Too Far", it features Minogue with a lot of "princess"-inspired outfits that were created by her and her long-time friend and Fashion designer William Baker.[32] The song was featured on the CD and DVD versions off the concert tour.[33][34]

In 2005, Minogue went forth on her Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour but had stopped half-way after being diagnosed with breast cancer.[35] After recovering a year later, Minogue resumed and re-named her tour and schedule to Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour, where "Too Far" was later included in the setlist. Inside the Samsara act, "Too Far" then plays and Kylie acts as though she's trying to escape from her dancers. She goes to the end of the catwalk before singing a bit and turning and sitting where she stands. The lights extinguish on her and she is taken under the stage on a lift. The dancers continue dancing and the backing singers singing. The dancers go beneath the stage.[36] The song was featured on the CD and DVD version of the tour.[37][36]

Other usage

"Too Far" has been featured on many of Minogue's compilation albums. The songs first appearance was on her 2002 BMG greatest hits compilation album Confide in Me, a compilation consisting majority off her singles and tracks from her Deconstruction period, and Heather Phares from the publication praised the Impossible Princess tracks including "Too Far".[38] It then appeared on her 2004 compilation album Artist Collection, that consisted majority off her Impossible Princess era.[39] It's most recent appearance was on her second disc off Confide in Me: The Irresistible Kylie released in July 2007 by UK independent label Music Club.[40]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes and the singer's official website.[13]

Song credits

Track list

All lyrics written by Kylie Minogue. 

7" Vinyl
No. TitleMusic Length
1. "Too Far" (Brothers in Rhythm mix)  10:21
2. "Too Far" (Junior Vasquez Remix)  11:44

Source:[21]

References

  1. ↑ Baker, William (7 November 2002). Kylie: La La La. London, United Kingdom: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 71. ISBN 0-340-73439-6.
  2. ↑ "track information | discography". mixKylie.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  3. ↑ "Second Coming". djmag.com. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Confide in Me: The Irresistible Kylie (Album liner notes, provided by Paul Lester). Kylie Minogue. Music Club. July 2007. MCDLX043.
  5. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Kylie Minogue". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Baker, William; Minogue, Kylie (7 November 2002). Kylie: La La La. London, United Kingdom: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 108. ISBN 0-340-73439-6.
  7. ↑ Petridis, Alex (October 1997). "Kylie Chameleon". Mixmag (Development Hell Ltd). Retrieved 4 October 2012. OCLC 780074556
  8. ↑ Baker & Minogue 2002, pp. 113–114
  9. ↑ Heath, Chris (January 1998). "That's Impossible, Princess!!". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Smith, Sean (13 March 2014). Kylie. London, United Kingdom: Simon & Schuster Ltd. p. 137-138. ISBN 978-147-113-5804. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Levine, Nick (March 14, 2015). "Digital Spy - Kylie Revisted: Impossible Princess #6". Digital Spy. p. 1. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  12. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (19 November 2003). "Kylie Minogue: Impossible Princess". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 13.9 Impossible Princess (2xCD) (Liner notes of Special Edition). Kylie Minogue. Deconstruction Records. 2003. 82876511152.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 An Interview with Kylie Minogue (Question 26: Too Far). Kylie Minogue. Deconstruction Records. 1997. KM002.
  15. ↑ "::: Sweet Music ::: Music for Music Lovers - Music news :". Freewebs.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  16. ↑ Willmott, Ben. "Improbable Princess". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  17. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Kylie Minogue - Some Kind of Bliss". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  18. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Kylie Minogue - Some Kind of Bliss". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  19. ↑ "Kylie Minogue - Some Kind of Bliss". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  20. ↑ "Slovenian Kylie Site - Some Kind of Bliss". SloKylie.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Kylie Minogue - Too Far (Vinyl) at Discogs.com". Discogs. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 1998.
  22. ↑ "Discography 1994–1998". MixKylie.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2006.
  23. ↑ True, Chris. "Impossible Princess – Kylie Minogue". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  24. ↑ "The Most Underrated Albums Of All Time". Fasterlouder.com.au. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  25. ↑ James, Gary (March 15, 2015). "Kylie the Songwriter - Entertainment Focus". Entertainment Focus. p. 1. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  26. ↑ Denning, Adrian (March 14, 2015). "Kylie Minogue Albums". adriandenning.couk. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  27. ↑ Unknown, Author (March 14, 2015). "Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess (review)". Sputnikmusic. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  28. ↑ Corrigan, Susan (March 15, 2015). "Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess (review)". I-D. p. 1.
  29. ↑ Bresnark, Robin (March 15, 2015). "Impossible Princess". Melody Maker. p. 1.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Upton, Sam (March 14, 2015). "Select Magazine - Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess review.". Select. p. 1.
  31. ↑ "Kylie Minogue - Too Far [Intimate and Live Tour]". YouTube. March 15, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  32. ↑ "Kylie Minogue - Some Kind Of Bliss [Intimate and Live Tour]". YouTube. March 14, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  33. ↑ Intimate and Live (DVD) (DVD liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Deconstruction Records. 2001. 335248.
  34. ↑ Intimate and Live (2xCD) (CD liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Deconstruction Records. 1999. MUSH33183.2.
  35. ↑ "Kylie Minogue Has Breast Cancer". CBS News. 17 May 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 White Diamond/Showgirl Tour (Liner notes of album). Kylie Minogue. Deconstruction Records. EMI Records. 2006. 50999-517189-9-2.
  37. ↑ Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour (Liner notes of album). Kylie Minogue. Deconstruction Records. 2006. 00946 385331 2 2.
  38. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Confide in Me (Album) – Kylie Minogue". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  39. ↑ Kylie Minogue: Artist Collection (CD liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Deconstruction Records. BMG. 1999. BVCM-37560.
  40. ↑ Confide in Me: The Irresistible Kylie (CD liner notes). Kylie Minogue. Music Club Deluxe. 2007. MCDLX043.

External links