Greatest Hits (titled on the back cover as Greatest Hits 87–92 and re-titled as Vintage Kylie: The Hits 88–92) is a 2002 greatest hits album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. Released on 18 November 2002 by PWL, the album collects work from Minogue's PWL period, including the albums Kylie (1988), Enjoy Yourself (1989), Rhythm of Love (1990), Let's Get to It (1991) and Greatest Hits (1992).
An updated version of the compilation called Greatest Hits 87–97 was later released on 24 November 2003 by BMG and PWL, distributed by Jive, due to her release of Body Language in early 2004. The cover sleeve for this version was shot by British photographer Simon Fowler in 1990, and includes songs and remixes from the albums Kylie Minogue (1994) and Impossible Princess (1997).
Contents
Background
After the massive success of Minogue's eighth studio album Fever (2001), BMG decided to release a greatest hits album.
The 2002 album cover used a stock photo photographed by Jasper James, which depicts a supposed look-alike dressed in her underwear. AllMusic's Johnny Loftus called it "shoddy." The updated version of the compilation later used a picture from Minogue's photoshoot with Simon Fowler in 1990.
The release ruffled some feathers in the Minogue camp, in particular the cover artwork. An 'official' cover, designed by Minogue and her team was made available to download from her website and was also given away free inside copies of Heat magazine. Titled Vintage Kylie, the card insert bore the cheeky message "Like Kylie? Why not have the real thing!" A version of the compilation titled Best Of was also released in France, but withdrawn from sale on day of release.
Due to Minogue's release of her then-new album, Body Language, in February 2004, BMG re-released the compilation.
Critical response
Greatest Hits
Johnny Loftus from AllMusic gave the compilation two stars out of five. He suggested that there was nothing in the album that feels "very exclusive," with the remixes "readily available to aficionados in other, less after-market places." He also pointed readers to the 2003 version, calling it "a much better option for the casual listener." Writing for Amazon.co.uk, John Galilee compared Minogue's music to "fine wine", which "has aged gracefully over the years". He questioned the replacement of "It's No Secret" with the B-side track "Say the Word – I'll Be There" but concluded: "The collection adds weight to Kylie's early mentor Pete Waterman's assertion that Stock, Aitken and Waterman would one day be viewed as the 1980s equivalent of Motown. Who would have thought back in 1988 that "I Should Be So Lucky" and "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" would become such gems?"
Greatest Hits 87–97
Chris True from AllMusic gave the compilation four stars out of five, praising it as a "valid and well-represented (yet oddly out of chronological order) anthology of what Americans were missing". He concluded the review by stating that "For those who were surprised by her sudden reappearance [with "Can't Get You Out of My Head", 13 years since Minogue's previous US hit "The Loco-Motion"], this will fill in the picture quite nicely, and for those who just couldn't get enough of Minogue upon hearing her for the first time in 2002, Greatest Hits 87-97 will surely satisfy."
Commercial performance
In the UK Albums Chart, Greatest Hits debuted and peaked at number 20, spending a total of 13 weeks on the chart.
Track listing
All songs written and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman except where noted.
Greatest Hits 87–97
The Japan edition replaces "Je ne sais pas pourquoi" and "Made in Heaven" with "Turn It into Love" and "It's No Secret", and adds a previously unreleased instrumental version of "Turn It into Love" at the end of disc 2.
DVD track listing
Notes
^a includes alternate versions.
^b includes introductions and interviews.
^c includes behind the scenes footage.
Charts
Year-end charts
Greatest Hits
Certifications
Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (DVD version)