Some Kind of Bliss
Encyclopedia
"Some Kind of Bliss" is a song performed by Australia
n singer Kylie Minogue
. The song was written by Minogue, James Dean Bradfield
and Sean Moore
(the singer and drummer from the band Manic Street Preachers
) for Minogue's sixth studio album Impossible Princess
(1997). It provided Minogue with an edgier sound, with guitars taking the place of the drum machine
beats heavily featured on her earlier efforts. The song was released as the album's first single
in September 1997 to mixed reviews from music critics. It was a moderate commercial success, reaching the top forty on the Australian
and United Kingdom
singles charts.
It has been reported that Minogue herself wanted the album track "Limbo" to be released as the lead single from Impossible Princess
. However Deconstruction did not think it would be a suitable single release, so instead issued it as a b-side to the newly decided lead single "Some Kind of Bliss". Minogue did agree that "Some Kind of Bliss", while although not her original choice, was nevertheless a good choice, as she felt it provided an appropriate expectation for the album. She claimed that due to the diversity of the sounds and lyrics, any single release wouldn't be indicative of the whole album, but that "Some Kind of Bliss" was a good start.
Manic Street Preachers
had once wanted to work with Kylie on their track "Little Baby Nothing
" from the album Generation Terrorists
. However, Minogue was busy, so they used Traci Lords
instead. Minogue later performed the song live with the group (the live bootleg recording of this is a highly sought after track amongst fans.)
The single only reached number twenty-two in the UK (and ended her streak of 21 consecutive top twenty singles) and number twenty-seven in Australia, making it one of her least successful singles.
Unlike previous Minogue single releases "Some Kind of Bliss" did not feature an unreleased song as its b-side. Instead "Limbo" was included. Later on the United Kingdom
limited edition 7" release, "Love Takes over Me" was released as a B-side. The track was originally intended for inclusion on the album but did not make the final cut.
and was shot in the Desert of Tabernas
in Spain
. Fletcher plays Kylie's lover who she collects being released from jail. They formulate plans to get rich by stealing from various businesses. The plan works by the pair pulling into a filling station forecourt and Kylie filling up the car wearing a very revealing outfit then when Dexter goes to pay she smiles suggestively at the cashier (presumably male) to distract him while Fletcher's character gets the money. The exploits culminate in planning to rob a bank; for this Kylie once again dons a skimpy outfit. Fletcher goes into the bank to rob it with Kylie waiting outside as the decoy. However, she sees the police arriving to catch Dexter and arrest him again and jumps in the car and speeds away. In certain versions of the video flashbacks to happy times for Kylie are seen when she was with Fletcher and her crying after his arrest. Because of the odd combination of flashback, present and future shots it is difficult to understand the video upon first view. The music video is included in Australian budget release Greatest Hits 87-98 DVD.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
. The song was written by Minogue, James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.- Early life :...
and Sean Moore
Sean Moore (musician)
Sean Anthony Moore is the writer, drummer/percussionist and sometime trumpet player of the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.-Early years:...
(the singer and drummer from the band Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
) for Minogue's sixth studio album Impossible Princess
Impossible Princess
Impossible Princess is the sixth studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released in Japan on 1 November 1997 by BMG Records, Australia on 12 January 1998 by Mushroom Records and 23 March 1998 in Europe by Deconstruction Records to mixed reviews. The album was produced by...
(1997). It provided Minogue with an edgier sound, with guitars taking the place of the drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
beats heavily featured on her earlier efforts. The song was released as the album's first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in September 1997 to mixed reviews from music critics. It was a moderate commercial success, reaching the top forty on the Australian
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
and United Kingdom
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
singles charts.
It has been reported that Minogue herself wanted the album track "Limbo" to be released as the lead single from Impossible Princess
Impossible Princess
Impossible Princess is the sixth studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released in Japan on 1 November 1997 by BMG Records, Australia on 12 January 1998 by Mushroom Records and 23 March 1998 in Europe by Deconstruction Records to mixed reviews. The album was produced by...
. However Deconstruction did not think it would be a suitable single release, so instead issued it as a b-side to the newly decided lead single "Some Kind of Bliss". Minogue did agree that "Some Kind of Bliss", while although not her original choice, was nevertheless a good choice, as she felt it provided an appropriate expectation for the album. She claimed that due to the diversity of the sounds and lyrics, any single release wouldn't be indicative of the whole album, but that "Some Kind of Bliss" was a good start.
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
had once wanted to work with Kylie on their track "Little Baby Nothing
Little Baby Nothing
"Little Baby Nothing" was the sixth single taken from the debut full-length album — Generation Terrorists — by the Welsh group the Manic Street Preachers. It features vocals by former porn star Traci Lords....
" from the album Generation Terrorists
Generation Terrorists
- Personnel :Manic Street Preachers*James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, guitar*Richey Edwards – guitar*Sean Moore – drums, percussion, backing vocals*Nicky Wire – bass, piano on Little Baby NothingAdditional personnel...
. However, Minogue was busy, so they used Traci Lords
Traci Lords
Traci Lords , also known as Traci Elizabeth Lords and Tracy Lords, is an American film actress, producer, film director, writer and singer...
instead. Minogue later performed the song live with the group (the live bootleg recording of this is a highly sought after track amongst fans.)
The single only reached number twenty-two in the UK (and ended her streak of 21 consecutive top twenty singles) and number twenty-seven in Australia, making it one of her least successful singles.
Unlike previous Minogue single releases "Some Kind of Bliss" did not feature an unreleased song as its b-side. Instead "Limbo" was included. Later on the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
limited edition 7" release, "Love Takes over Me" was released as a B-side. The track was originally intended for inclusion on the album but did not make the final cut.
Music video
The music video accompanying this song features Dexter FletcherDexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher is an English actor. He is best known for his role in Guy Ritchie film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as well as television roles in such shows as the dramedy Hotel Babylon, the critically acclaimed HBO series Band of Brothers and earlier in his career, the children's show...
and was shot in the Desert of Tabernas
Tabernas
- Cinema :The Desert Tabernas, because of its similarities with the North American deserts like the Far West of the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and onwards for the shooting of many films and westerns making the area famous around...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Fletcher plays Kylie's lover who she collects being released from jail. They formulate plans to get rich by stealing from various businesses. The plan works by the pair pulling into a filling station forecourt and Kylie filling up the car wearing a very revealing outfit then when Dexter goes to pay she smiles suggestively at the cashier (presumably male) to distract him while Fletcher's character gets the money. The exploits culminate in planning to rob a bank; for this Kylie once again dons a skimpy outfit. Fletcher goes into the bank to rob it with Kylie waiting outside as the decoy. However, she sees the police arriving to catch Dexter and arrest him again and jumps in the car and speeds away. In certain versions of the video flashbacks to happy times for Kylie are seen when she was with Fletcher and her crying after his arrest. Because of the odd combination of flashback, present and future shots it is difficult to understand the video upon first view. The music video is included in Australian budget release Greatest Hits 87-98 DVD.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Some Kind of Bliss".- CD single
- "Some Kind of Bliss" – 4:13
- "Limbo" – 4:06
- "Some Kind of Bliss" (Quivver mix) – 8:39
- European CD single
- "Some Kind of Bliss" – 4:13
- "Limbo" – 4:06
- UK cassette single
- "Some Kind of Bliss" (edit) – 3:50
- "Limbo" – 4:06
- UK vinyl single
- "Some Kind of Bliss" (edit) – 3:50
- "Love Takes Over Me" (single version) – 4:09
Live performances
Kylie performed the song on the following concert tour:- Intimate and Live Tour
Credits and personnel
The following people contributed to "Some Kind of Bliss:- Kylie Minogue - lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - James Dean Bradfield - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Nick Nasmyth - keyboardsMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
- Sean Moore - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Andy Duncan - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Charts
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 27 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
24 |
| Estonian Singles Chart | 15 |
| Greek International Singles Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
7 |
| Hungarian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 17 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 46 |
| Russian Singles Chart Russian Music Charts The Russian Music Charts are Russian music industry standard popularity rankings compiled weekly by 2M and Tophit . Albums and tracks rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through retail data captured electronically each week from Russian music retailers... |
20 |
| Slovenian Singles Chart | 36 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
22 |