A look at the 2001 electro-pop album that cemented the Aussie’s remarkable Y2K renaissance.
Kylie Minogue performs at the Hammersmith Apollo on March 17, 2001 in London, England.
Nicky J. Sims/Redferns
“I feel like I’m on a wave and I actually know how to stand on the board at this point,” Kylie Minogue told The Guardian shortly before dropping her eighth studio effort Fever. “I feel quite solid. I don’t know where it’s taking me, but everything feels really good.”
It’s little wonder that Australia’s greatest musical export was so confident. She’d just staged one of pop’s greatest ever comebacks with 2000’s Light Years, a return-to-form in which she also returned to her effervescent pop roots. And as foreshadowed by the number one success of its lead single “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” she was sitting on a goldmine of electronic bangers which proudly expanded the latter’s dance floor reach.
By the time the record’s campaign drew to a close, Kylie had been firmly reaccepted as an international treasure. Not only did Fever shift six million copies to become by far her biggest selling album ever, it also propelled her to the upper reaches of the Billboard 200 for the first time in her glittering career (remarkably her previous peak had been No. 53 for 1988’s self-titled), won Best International Album at the same BRITs ceremony during which she stole the show, and spawned a glorious run of singles arguably never bettered by the plethora of Big Pop Girls who followed in her wake.
As the star gears up to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her magnum opus (Oct 1), here’s a ranking of its twelve offerings from worst to best.
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“Give It to Me”
“Give It To Me” was co-written by Mark Picchiotti, the Chicago producer/remixer with no fewer than 24 Billboard Dance Club Songs chart-toppers to his name. Unfortunately, he appears to have had an off-day for his sole contribution to Fever. Indeed, hitting harder than any other track, its disjointed mishmash of electro-funk and two-step garage sounds entirely out of place on an otherwise sleek and seductive affair, with the nagging sound of a ringing telephone suggesting Kylie hadn’t yet mastered the mute button. Luckily, it’s the only number you’ll want to silence, too.
Listen here.
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“Burning Up”
The opening acoustic guitars of Fever’s closer briefly suggests that Kylie may be finishing her most electronic album with a throwback to her indie era. But she soon ditches them for another “love in the club” affair which also appears to acknowledge her fondness for bad boys (“You’re not that honest/ No you’re not that nice/ But if I kiss you once, I’m gonna kiss you twice”). While her commitment to the medical theme is impressive, the key change-heavy nu-disco of “Burning Up” doesn’t quite get the temperature rising like the bangers that have come before.
Listen here.
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“Your Love”
Fresh from helping Dido’s No Angel to fly off the shelves, songwriter/producer Pascal Gabriel lent his talents to this breezy Balearic-tinged number which could also be best described as pleasingly inoffensive. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine any fan choosing “Your Love” as their all-time favorite or indeed their all-time stinker. You could argue its only distinctive feature is hearing a lovestruck Kylie playing it totally and unashamedly uncool (“Want you to hear my confession/ You’re my obsession/ Do what you will do, but I can’t help the way I’m wanting you”).
Listen here.
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“Dancefloor”
There are shades of both Sub Sub’s one-hit wonder “Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)” and fellow Aussies Madison Avenue’s smash “Don’t Call Me Baby” in this poolside-friendly affair. The final of three co-writes from ’90s pop star Cathy Dennis finds Kylie taunting the man who’s done her wrong by heading out onto the dancefloor and showing him what he’ll be missing. (“You can dream of changing my mind/ But you’re wasting your time/ ‘Cause if you think you’ve got me right just watch me”). Proof that she can deliver a kiss-off as convincingly as the come-on.
Listen here.
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“Fever”
Forget “Your Disco Needs You.” The campest moment of Kylie’s career may well be the British TV special in which she roleplayed doctors and nurses, while performing Fever’s title track to a bunch of bewildered D-list celebs. The kitsch factor is still notably high, even without the sight of the Big Brother 2 cast awkwardly bopping along as the Aussie purrs for medical attention like she’s auditioning for a Carry On revival (“There ain’t a surgeon like you any place in all the world/ So now, shall I remove my clothes?”). It’s all totally absurd but somehow Kylie pulls it off.
Listen here.
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“Love Affair”
Unsurprisingly once tabbed as a future single, “Love Affair” hurtles the album firmly into Ibiza territory. But with Kylie explicitly stating she doesn’t want to think about the morning after, the vibes are more trance party than sunset chill. Indeed, bringing the energy levels back, this is one of Kylie’s clubbiest moments outside the realm of the remix, its propulsive beats and shimmering synths a perfect fit for its ‘live for the moment’ sentiment (“I am only here for a little while/ Would you like to take me out tonight?”).
Listen here.
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“Fragile”
A welcome breather after all the beats and bleeps of “Give It to Me,” “Fragile” is the closest that Fever comes to a ballad. It’s still very much danceable, of course, but the mood here is ethereal, dreamy and vulnerable, as Kylie sings of the anxieties that manifest themselves both physically and emotionally (“Shake and sweat, wipe my brow/ Scared of what’s to come)” in the wake of a new relationship. Chillout master Chicane later turned down remixing duties for both Kylie and her sister Dannii Minogue, but this lush downtempo is possibly the next best thing.
Listen here.
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“More More More”
Although not a cover version of the same-named Andrea True Connection disco classic, Fever’s opening number “More More More” undeniably boasts a similar insatiable joy. Cleverly bridging the gap between the poppier Light Years and the slicker electronica indicated by the album’s minimalist William Baker-designed artwork, it also sets the sensual tone ahead: See Kylie’s alluring vocal melodies or the unabashedly desiring lyrics which straddle that fine line between suggestive and explicitly sexual (“Here am I and deep inside/ I got a little spot for you/ Ooh, make me sigh with sheer delight”). A pitch-perfect opener.
Listen here.
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4. “Come Into My World”
Fever’s singles were undoubtedly chosen well. The fourth and final landed Kylie her first ever Grammy in the best dance recording category, thwarting fellow pop icons Cher and Madonna in the process. It also followed its three predecessors into the UK Official Charts Top 10, reached No. 91 on the Hot 100, and spawned a mesmerizing Michel Gondry-helmed video – in which multiple Kylies navigate a Parisian suburb – regularly hailed as one of the decade’s best. Sure, “Come Into My World” isn’t a million miles away from the album’s juggernaut, but the dreamier production and more enchanting vocal ensures it still has its very own charms.
Listen here.
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“In Your Eyes”
“Is the world still spinning around?” Kylie coos in one of her career’s most-meta lines. Well, it might have got over those famous gold hot pants, but it was still trying to come to terms with Fever’s juggernaut of a lead single, one which could have easily overshadowed everything that followed. Luckily, Kylie had several other gems in the bag, including this effervescent ode to lust in the club. Interestingly, despite failing to even chart in the States, it’s now the Aussie’s fourth-most-streamed song on Spotify (third if you discount seasonal favorite “Santa Baby”).
Listen here.
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“Can’t Get You Out of My Head”
With its juddering Kraftwerk-esque synths and infectious “la la la” hooks, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” practically conquered the world in 2001, famously drubbing Victoria Beckham’s debut solo single in a one-sided U.K. chart battle and returning the Aussie to the Hot 100’s top 10 (No. 7 to be exact) for the first time since 1988’s “The Loco-Motion.” Its Metropolis-inspired video and inspired mash-up with New Order’s “Blue Monday” – performed while chained to a spinning disc at the BRITs – only strengthened its legacy, too. A genuine game-changer not only for Kylie, but for the entire world of pop.
Listen here.
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“Love at First Sight”
“CGYOMH” may have been the monster smash, but Fever’s third single – a UK No. 2 and Hot 100 No. 23 hit – was its ultimate keeper. From its head-over-heels disposition to the vibrant production, “Love at First Sight” captures the euphoria of a new relationship in sunshine-in-a-bottle style. And Kylie has never sounded more joyous, particularly on the Donna Summer-esque ad-libs, which blissfully float away into the ether (“It was love, it was love, it was love”). Whereas “CGYOMH” was deliberately cold and clinical, LAFS sounds warm, jubilant and most impressively, completely effortless.
Listen here.
