Happy 30th Anniversary to Dannii Minogue’s debut album Dannii, originally released in Australia October 22, 1990 and later released in Japan as Party Jam and internationally as Love and Kisses in 1991.
[Note: Dannii is not currently available in authorized form via major streaming platforms, hence the absence of embedded audio below.]
For many people living outside of Australia, the knowledge that Dannii Minogue was the more famous Minogue sister at the beginning of their respective careers will probably come as a shock to many. Whilst big sister Kylie was adorning our television sets on shows like The Sullivans and The Henderson Kids, it was little sister Dannii who was front and center as one of the main cast members on the long running, incredibly successful variety show Young Talent Time.
The all-singing, all-dancing cast was broadcast in Australian homes every Saturday night and gave fledging platforms to some of Australia’s finest musicians. The young cast would perform classic music as well as the hits that were rocking the charts at the time. With names like Tina Arena, Debra Byrne and of course Dannii Minogue all having been part of Young Talent Time’s fabric, it isn’t hard to see how the show appealed to so many people, young and old alike. Affectionately known as simply “Y.T.T,” the show and its stars still hold a special place in many Australians’ hearts to this day.
Following on from the success of her stint on “Y.T.T.,” Minogue continued her foray into television with an appearance on the long running Australian soap Home & Away, the direct rival to big sister Kylie’s soap Neighbours. Kylie, who had already released her cover of “The Locomotion,” was finding phenomenal success both at home and abroad, and the transition from soapie star to pop star now seemed inevitable.
Cover artwork for the Japanese release ‘Party Jam’
For many fans of either or both sisters, the likelihood of Dannii releasing her debut album first, given her longstanding connection with the public as a singer and dancer, seemed logical, almost obvious, if you like. Instead, it would be in late 1990 that we would get her debut Dannii, nearly eight months after the release of the album’s lead single “Love and Kisses.”
It’s important to note here that the album was originally released in Australia under the name Dannii in October of 1990, Party Jam in April of 1991 for the Japanese market and Love and Kisses in June 1991 for the international market. Confused? We all were. And whether or not that was a marketing tool or simply messy marketing, it did give the singer a substantial amount of longevity for one album. The Japanese version has the Dancin’ Danny D 7-inch remix version of “Love and Kisses,” whilst the international version includes “Jump to the Beat” and "Baby Love,” making it a twelve-track listing as opposed to its original ten-track sequence.
Heavy on the pop sound of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Minogue also utilized the sounds of New Jack Swing which can be heard on the album’s opener “Party Jam” and other tracks like “Call to Your Heart,” “Success” and “Work.” The album’s lead single “Love and Kisses” has elements of New Jack Swing and I think it would be a fairly safe thing to say that essentially, this album is deeply rooted in the R&B subgenre, paying homage—intentional or not—to the sounds of black music at large.
Cover artwork for the international release ‘Love and Kisses’
The opening to “Love Traffic” automatically transports me back to early Janet Jackson and to be honest, most of the songs on this album, now with a more mature ear and better understanding of music, lead me back to that New Jack Swing/R&B era. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all, except for the fact that this album has always been billed as pop, even worse, bubble gum pop, both things that it clearly isn’t. How ignorant the listener was back then is debatable, maybe it was a blatant move on the label’s part to not educate the listener about the “roots” of the music. Luckily, time has allowed for reevaluating the album with additional context and appreciation.
The original release of Dannii really only gained popularity with its rebranding for the Japanese and International markets that happened the following year in 1991. With a clearer focus on that New Jack Swing sound and the addition of some “heavy on house music” covers “Jump to the Beat” and “Baby Love,” the younger Minogue demonstrated that she had a very soulful approach to music. This soulful approach was in large part due to the writing and direction of the majority of the album’s songs by Alvin Moody. Dancin’ Danny D (D- Mob, Cathy Dennis) also lent some sound expertise to the album, again allowing Minogue to tap into a more profound sound.
Dannii is one of those albums that could easily be parked at the back of any collection if you haven’t listened to it since its release. However doing so would be a mistake, as with a fresh set of ears and a more mature and clearer understanding of music, it’s clear that Minogue went out on a limb to experiment with a sound that didn’t fit the stock standard pop music mold of an up-and-coming female singer from Australia at the time. Like a fine bottle of wine, this album has bettered itself with time, or maybe it has simply grown into itself, finally.