Two Aphrodite Tour Editions!

With Kylie's "Aphrodite" tour less than a month away from reaching our shores, Warner Music Australia has suddenly remembered they have Kylie on their register and rushed out not one but two tour editions of the album. There's the "Aphrodite – Les Folies Tour Edition", which is a 3 CD opus that includes the original album, a remix CD and a megamix party disc. Check out the tracklist below:

Disc 1:

Standard "Aphrodite" album

Disc 2:

1. Put Your Hands Up (Pete Hammond Remix)
2. Aphrodite - (Denzal Park Remix)
3. Cupid Boy - (Stereogamous Dub)
4. Get Outta My Way - (Paul Harris Vocal Mix)
5. All the Lovers - (WAWA & MMB Anthem Remix)
6. Put Your Hands Up - (Muscles Club Remix)
7. Better Than Today - (Bimbo Jones Remix)
8. Higher - Taio Cruz feat. Kylie

Disc 3:

20 Minute Megamix Party Disc

On the bright side, this is an improvement on the heinous "X" tour edition, which was probably thrown together in 5 minutes by a drunk intern. I'm glad there's a new cover and some new locally commissioned remixes. I featured the excellent Stereogamous Dub of "Cupid Boy" on the blog a while ago and I'm glad my former flatmate MMB made the cut! New mixes by Muscles and Denzal Park are also a nice touch. It's nice to see that some thought has gone into the project.

However, is Warner Music completely unaware that the majority of Kylie's fanbase is heading towards 40 and no longer tears up the club on a regular basis? Perhaps sticking on a couple of unreleased "Aphrodite" tracks instead of two remix CDs would have been a good idea. They could have started with "Change Your Mind" and "Broken Hearted (Love Love Love)". Or how about the amazing Japanese bonus track "Heartstrings"? That song easily ranks as one of the finest moments of Kylie's entire career. Even better - why not show some confidence in the the album and push a new single to radio in a bid to properly revive it instead of putting out a tour edition for a quick buck? A cheap live video and a handful of remixes is all it takes and that would pay dividends for longer than the two weeks she's in Australia.

The other super stan "Aphrodite Goddess Edition" looks much more promising. It comes with an incredibly fabulous pop-up booklet and exclusive new photos. Check out some pics of the booklet here. Some real TLC went into this glamorous and original package. I'll have ten! Both tour editions apparently hit stores on June 3 to coincide with the tour. Here's my friend's remix of "All The Lovers":

Kylie Thrills Me Like She Did Before

To be completely honest I was growing tired of the "Aphrodite" era. It started brilliantly with "All The Lovers" but "Get Outta My Way" was criminally mistimed, the past couple of videos have been utterly vile and don't even get me started on that shiteous album killer of a single "Better Than Today". But then I got online this morning and started watching clips of the Aphrodite World Tour - which kicked off in Denmark last night - and I'm back. The $25 million dollar stage is truly spectacular, Dolce & Gabbana have outdone themselves with the costumes and I wholeheartedly approve of the setlist. There's a nice mixture of new, old and very old songs, while still keeping the focus on her latest album.

I'm slightly bitter that "Looking For An Angel" (AKA the Dannii B-side from "Aphrodite") made the cut, while Pascal Gabriel's glorious "Can't Beat The Feeling" was reduced to medley status but the surprise inclusion of my favourite Deconstruction era track "If You Don't Love Me" more than makes up for it. But the absolute highlight (from what I've seen online) has to be "Cupid Boy". I saw Kylie perform the song at GAY in London and it was a not so hot mess but she's finally nailed the vocal. The presentation is also perfection, from the Dangerous Liaisons-esque gown to the semi-naked men hanging from the rafters. Watch in awe below as the slightly more famous Minogue brings Luciana's pop gem to life.

Oh and I'm told the tour will hit Australia in late July/early August. Just not sure if I can wait that long!