goodrichard.com

After three years away, how exciting is this?

Only one week to go!

Some said it would never happen. Others, that it’s too little, too late. Whatever the reasoning behind The One’s disastrous non-physical release and promotion, the video for the single has finally surfaced. And it’s really rather good.

Granted, on first watch, it appears to have been made for 1p and looks like a bootleg, but on repeated viewings, it works its magic. The pulsating backgrounds, and zooming in and out Kylies suit the style of the song very well, and it’s simple in its subdued palette with flashes of technicolour brilliance.

The art deco and Fifties styling work well, too. I’d even go as far as to say that it’s probably the best video from the X campaign singles (not to mention ‘the one’ that fits in with the X image the best), although WOW will remain a favourite, if only for its I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper overtones.

But, it’s not enough to save the single’s chart performance. Creeping in at a lowly 36, the download-only release has soon slid down the placings. It could have been so different. Undoubtedly (and deservedly), a misguided Parlophone should have used this storming remix version to kick the whole X campaign off. It would have then started with a very big bang, rather than now be going out with a very tiny whimper.

The story goes that Lose Control was one of X’s forgotten children, but given the negative press Kylie received for the whole X campaign in the US, maybe she should have released this stomper instead of the R&B-tinged All I See.

A visionary YouTuber saw the potential months ago. When I first saw the clip below, I genuinely thought that Apple had picked up on the song. Perfectly synched and with the bright 1980s colours that (the decade that X evokes tries to evoke most), who’s to say what would have happened if this had been the first shot from X’s US cannon.

After all, the coolness of the Apple and iTunes association did wonders for Coldplay recently, helping shoot them to the top of the charts across the Atlantic. There’s yet more synchronicity, too. The British music makers and Kylie share the same record company. The track has had repeated plays on my iPod this week; with a potential Apple association like this, who’s to know what could have been?

It’s a month to go until the latest assault from Kylie’s X tries to crack the charts. The One had ‘single’ leeching from every disco-bleep electronic pore, and it’s been an X highlight for many a fan, so it’s good to see it getting the commercial treatment.

Part of that treatment is of course, the ubiquitous set of remixes. Mostly, the majority of remixes on a single (or in modern pop parlance, download) are rubbish, all dancefloor filler, only appealing to clubbers and not those of us who only wave their hands in the air when saying goodbye to someone. It will, somewhat obviously, go down a storm in the gay clubs, but will it be a summer smash?

Popjustice is campaigning the track, and so in good jumping on the bandwagon fashion, I’ve pinched their clever widget, as I like it a lot, too. I don’t know about ‘one of the most beautiful and captivating pieces of electronic music you’ll hear in 2008,’ but as the high-camp album version (also produced by The Freemasons) got such a favourable response, this remix should do equally well.

(Bah, spoilsports! You’ll have to click on the Popjustice link above to hear the remix, as Parlophone have made this player only feature recent Kylie tracks.)

And, perhaps as a masterstroke, Parlophone have chosen a 28 July release date, just a few days into the tiny stars (broken) 7-night KylieX2008 tour residency at The O2.

‘Love Me, Love Me, Love Me,’ Kylie coos in the chorus. Applicable to both the singer and the song, I already do…