Composition
The album combined a fresh dance-pop sound with elements of disco and house music. The opening track and lead single "Spinning Around" was composed around a disco foundation. It was co-written by American singer Paula Abdul, who planned on it being her own comeback single. However, Abdul's album never came to fruition so Parlophone attained the song and gave it to Minogue. The lyrics bore a resemblance to Minogue's own career, quite coincidentally considering she had not written the song, nor was it written specifically for her. "On a Night Like This" was noted for its house and europop sound. Released as the second single, Minogue also performed the song at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
"So Now Goodbye" was written by Minogue and Steve Anderson. It contained a mixture of disco and house music styles. "Disco Down" showcased a modern dance-pop/house sound, while also embodying synthpop and electronic styles, as did the title track "Light Years". Both songs were considered highlights of the album and were praised as being futuristic. "Koocachoo" marked a change in the album with its psychedelic pop layout, similar to the tracks "I'm So High" and b-side song, "Cover Me With Kisses".
"Loveboat" and "Your Disco Needs You" were written by Minogue in collaboration with Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. Both songs were composed as a homage to disco music, with the latter single being regarded as a gay anthem. Williams and Chambers also wrote the pop/rock track "Kids" initially as a solo single for Minogue, however Robbie Williams became quite fond of the song that he instead altered it to be a duet. "Kids" was released in October, 2000 as the second single from Williams' album Sing When You're Winning and as the third single from Minogue's Light Years.
While the majority of the album's songs were original recordings, Minogue did cover the Barry White disco song "Under the Influence of Love". Other tracks ranged in sound from the fourth single release "Please Stay", which differed from the rest of the album as it contained a Latin music style, to "Bittersweet Goodbye" which was notable for being the only ballad on the album. "Butterfly" was also acknowledged as a standout of the album, due to its strong house and techno influences. In the US, the song was remixed and issued to clubs around the country, thus allowing it to peak on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart at number fourteen.
Read more about this topic: Light Years (Kylie Minogue album)
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—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
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“I live in the angle of a leaden wall, into whose composition was poured a little alloy of bell-metal. Often, in the repose of my mid-day, there reaches my ears a confused tintinnabulum from without. It is the noise of my contemporaries.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)