With Red Lips, French disco pioneer Cerrone attempted to recapture the innovative sound of his '70s and early-'80s work after his productions had devolved into mind-numbing, by-the-numbers Euro-disco by the 21st century. All of the instruments on Red Lips were recorded live in the studio, with drumming by Cerrone himself in lieu of programmed beats, and guitars, horns, and keyboards rather than sequenced electronics. In some ways, it's Cerrone's Random Access Memories. Like that album, guest vocalists abound, including Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor, Disclosure collaborator Brendan Reilly, and Canadian dance-pop singer Kiesza. All of the songs are relentlessly upbeat, radio-ready four-minute dance-pop songs (rather than the side-long prog-disco epics of Cerrone's classic early albums), and the cheerful, escapist lyrics are almost entirely about love, dancing, or both. The only exception is "C'est Bon," a politically charged let's-all-get-along number sung by retro-soulster Aloe Blacc. Certainly the musicianship and arrangements are impeccable, but even with differing vocalists, all of the tracks are so similar that it ends up being as tedious as the producer's later work. Nile Rodgers' unmistakable guitar playing appears on "Illuminate Me," but he might as well have played on every one of them. The lyrics reference James Brown and Michael Jackson on first single "Move Me" and Beyoncé and Kanye West on "Ain't No Party (Like Monday Night)," but when Sam Gray sings "Let's go supernatural" on "Time Machine," you question if he's even heard Cerrone's immortal signature hit "Supernature." The only song on the album to break away from the formula is closing track "2nd Chance," which features drumming from Afro-beat legend Tony Allen (best known for being a crucial part of Fela Kuti's Africa 70). It's easily the most refreshing, exciting track on the album. By all means, if Red Lips inspires a new generation of club kids to become Cerrone fans, more power to them, but it's simply not one of his better albums.© Paul Simpson /TiVo

The ageless and brilliant Kylie Minogue is an unstoppable force on the pop music scene. Long after her contemporaries have fallen by the wayside, become irrelevant, released the same boring records over and over, or embarrassed themselves in various ways, she continues to crank out inspired albums that show absolutely no dip in quality whatsoever. Working with the usual cadre of A-list producers and songwriters, her 12th studio album, Kiss Me Once, is an intoxicating blend of uptempo dance tracks, funky club cuts, sexy midtempo jams, and the occasional ballad. Packed with hooky songs that fit her voice perfectly, it's easily the equal of her previous Aphrodite record and therefore one of her best again. The album is split evenly between empowering odes to staying strong and facing down life's challenges with admirable courage and lightweight bubblegum pop that's super-sexy and super-fun, which might seem difficult to reconcile over the course of 11 songs, but Kylie manages to give both the passion and sass they deserve. The mix of serious and uplifting with goofy and cute is a formula she's made her own over the years, and Kiss Me Once is textbook Kylie. Listing off the album's highlights would basically mean running down the entire track list, but there are a few real knockouts among them. On the serious side is "Into the Blue," a truly inspiring song with a soaring chorus that lets her show off the power her underrated voice can tap into when she lets loose. "Fine" is another "stay strong" song with a sweet message, excellent use of Auto-Tune, and the kind of chorus that will fill your heart with warmth as you sing along. On the sexy side, the synth poppy "Les Sex," an MNDR co-write and production, is lots of fun; "Sexy Love" is a strutting funk track that's sunnier than the sun; and "Sexercise" rises above some really dorky lyrics to actually sound kinda sexy in a robotic R&B kind of way. Standing head and shoulders above everything is the track Pharrell Williams wrote and produced for her. Coming out of an emotional first meeting with Kylie, he wrote her the amazingly catchy "I Was Gonna Cancel," a heartwarming affirmation of how awesome she is that sounds like a continuation of his work with Daft Punk on "Get Lucky." One half expects the robots to show up somewhere amidst the clavinets, disco bells, and shimmering synths. They don't, but Kylie proves to be a wonderful conduit for a typically brilliant production. If it's not a huge smash someone isn't doing his or her job right. The only disappointment is her duet with Enrique Iglesias, "Beautiful." It's a sappy ballad that feels out of place here and would work better on the soundtrack of a really bad rom-com. Despite this one skippable moment, Kiss Me Once is a glittering, fun, and surprisingly powerful album that's classic Kylie through and through.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

After the release of her 2014 album Kiss Me Once, the pop whirlwind known as Kylie Minogue set off on an ambitious world tour that took her everywhere from Monte Carlo to Istanbul to Sheffield. Playing before rapturous crowds with a stage show that could only be described as elaborate, Kylie ran through a set that included hits from her impressively long career. From "The Loco-Motion" all the way up to "Les Sex" from the new album, every song is a sparkling nugget of pop greatness brought to life in front of the crowd. This CD/DVD set captures a November show at Glasgow's SSE Hydro arena, and if you were unfortunate enough to have missed the tour, this comes about as close as one can get to actually being there. Just close your eyes and imagine lots of pink lights, sequins, and feathers as the music plays.© Tim Sendra /TiVo