Love and Kisses - Dannii Minogue

Kylie Minogue's younger sister attracted a good deal of scorn when she launched her own pop career in 1991 with Love and Kisses. In spite of her critics, however, Minogue Jr. managed to spin an impressive five hit singles from her debut album. It is often overlooked that she was actually a singer before her sister, on Australian television shows like Young Talent Time. Her voice is as strong as her sister's, if not stronger, although it has a slight nasal quality which can make her phrasing a little difficult to distinguish. She would rectify this problem on her later recordings. The songs on Love and Kisses are heavily indebted to the New Jack swing and R&B sounds prevalent on the American charts at the time. This approach has mixed results. The title track is an entertaining piece of fluff but it has dated badly, particularly the cringe-worthy rap section. Second single "Success" is even worse, and its aspirational lyrics became something of an albatross for Minogue given her struggle to achieve the career momentum of her sister. However "Baby Love," originally recorded by Regina Belle, is a genuinely credible early-'90s house number which benefited from a number of highly popular remixes, signalling the direction Dannii's career would take in the late '90s and into the 21st century. Elsewhere on the album, a fairly perfunctory cover of Stacy Lattisaw's "Jump to the Beat" kept Dannii in the charts, but adds nothing to the original. Other tracks are largely forgettable filler. A somewhat entertaining collection of early-'90s pop music, but the singles are available on Dannii's excellent The Hits & Beyond compilation, rendering this an album for purists only. ~ John Lucas, All Music Guide