Kylie Minogue - Flower : Single Review

Touted as the carrier single of a reworked-hits album, Flower is Kylie Minogue's second single  released in celebration of a very remarkable 25 years in the industry.

This song was supposed to have been included on Kylie's 2008 X album but got eliminated from the final tracklist. Despite the omission, it was performed live during the X Tour in 2008. As a pop-ballad, it boasts of violins and keyboards on instrumentation notably heard during the singer's years with the deConstruction label. It has this undeniable mid-90's appeal which perhaps is due to it having been co-written by Steve Anderson of Brothers in Rhythm from that era. Just think of it's more marvelous predecessor If You Don't Love Me from the same collaborator and you know what I mean. While not as melodically retentive as the aforementioned or it's cousin, the unreleased Extraordinary Day, from the same period, Flower has it's strong points particularly the deep lyrics that many people think speak of the singer's longing for motherhood. "Imagining the moment I can be, looking deep into your eyes. For now a mystery or not at all.." may mean exactly Kylie's want to be a mother but is uncertain of it because of the unforeseen effects of the illness that she had just battled with at that time. Vocally, she sings thin on some parts but lives up to expectations as she hits it well on 2:58-3:04. The single is okay as a whole but she's had better ballad pieces actually and this effort may be appreciated only until the time boredom sets in for a listener to press the next button. Now I undersatnd why this never made it on the eclectic X! This is okay in it's lonesome for many but I look forward to it's inclusion on The Abbey Road Sessions tracklist to hear it blend well with the rest.

Vocals: 1.5, Production: 2, Lyrics: 2, Chorus Strength: 0.5, Mainstream Appeal: 0.5 = (6.5/10)

On the monochromatic video, (the way I see it) Kylie is depicted as a nymph that basks in the elements: earth, water, air, & fire (sun). For all we know, after her Elisa Day character's death in Where The Wild Roses Grow, her spirit was transformed into that of an elemental being that forever inhabits the particular abode! She can be seen in the woods, on the meadows, floating on the waters, frolicking by the beach at sunset or some state of undress. The credits go to Kylie herself for directing the video and conceptualizing how the song is to be illustrated. For all it's plus points, the only thing missing is a tinge of colour that would have made the title Flower come alive. A 5-second full-colour climactic shot of Kylie on that blossoming meadow could have made a great difference. But anyway....

The nymph (Elisa Day) re-enacts her "death" in 1995.

Elisa Day "died" in 1995.

The nymph misses her colourful life.

Elisa Day had a colourful life in 1995.

Flower didn't exactly send the public buying on it's release day but it's fair share of dowloads might have given it a decent position within the UK Top 100 hadn't a technicality prevented it from charting: it was given off as a freebie for pre-orders of The Abbey Road Sessions. It can be remembered that the same ruse had negatively impacted Madonna's Give Me All Your Luvin' on the first quarter of the year. The only chance for Flower to chart normally is when the limited physical copies get out in November. If Kylie does extensive promo for the album, the single may actually regain public interest especially when it is sung at every stop. She had performed the single during the Proms In The Park event and we look forward to more performances when the album is out.

*** Chart Performance Update ***

Official UK Singles Top 100 - 10th November 2012

# 96

Netherlands                                        # 96



Watch the 2012 Proms In The Park performance of Flower :

Watch the 2008 X Tour performance of Flower :

Watch the Official Video of Flower :