"Cowboy Style" is a song recorded by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue, for her sixth studio album Impossible Princess (1997). The song was released as the fourth and final single on 5 October 1998[1] through Mushroom Records. Minogue wrote the track with Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman while Brothers in Rhythm produced it. Backed by guitars, synthesisers and drum instruments, "Cowboy Style" is a Celtic pop track in which Minogue sings about her relationship with her then-boyfriend, French director Stephane Sednaoui. Critical response to "Cowboy Style" was positive, with praise driven to Minogue's songwriting and the song's composition; some critics highlighted it as a career stand-out track. Released in Australia and New Zealand, the song charted at number 39 on the Australian Singles Chart.
"Cowboy Style" was written by Minogue, Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman, and was one of the first songs composed for the album.[3] Minogue wrote the song prior to being in a relationship with French photographer Stephane Sednaoui with different lyrical context, but it was completed while she was dating.[3] Of the song, Minogue said "the way you start a new relationship with someone, they can bring out so many emotions within you and makes you question yourself a bit more."[3] The title "Cowboy Style" comes from when she first met Sednaoui in person, where she recalled him looking "unusual" and felt like he was "the new cowboy coming into town".[3]
Following the weak commercial performances of the album and its previous singles, Minogue left Deconstruction Records.[4] While performing on her Intimate and Live concert tour in Australia, Minogue confirmed that she would release "Cowboy Style" as the fourth single in Australia and New Zealand by Mushroom Records.[4] The single's artwork was shot during the Intimate and Live tour by Simon Emmert, which featured Minogue with a leather bra and a cowboy hat on.[5]Idolator listed the artwork as one of "Kylie's Best Single Covers", saying "Leather bra and a cowboy hat. Enough said."[6] An unedited shot of the cover was featured in her Kylie photo album book, released in August 1999.[5]
Composition
"Cowboy Style" was recorded at Real World Studios, Sarm West and DMC Studios in London, England and was mixed by Alan Bremner at Real World.[7] Instrumentally, Greg Bones and Anderson played the guitar, Johnnie Hardie played the fiddle, and all other instrumentals played by Anderson.[7] "Cowboy Style" is a Celticpop song that lasts a duration of four minutes and forty-four seconds.[7] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine commented that "Cowboy Style features a tribal percussion break and a string quartet that sounds more Celtic than country."[8] Online music critic Adrian Denning compared the song to the work of Icelandic recording artist and songwriter Björk.[9] Nick Levine from Digital Spy said "Oh, and in 'Cowboy Style', it has a track that manages to sound a little bit Celtic and a little bit Middle Eastern. Pete Waterman must have wept."[10]
Reception
"Cowboy Style" received positive reviews from music critics. A reviewer from Who magazine was positive towards the track, stating it was "an almost Eastern feel under a free-flowing melody", as well as "classic poppy Kyles."[11] Cameron Adams from Herald Sun also commended the track, saying it "manages to border from country music and remain cool."[12] Gary James from Entertainment Focus praised all the songs on Impossible Princess written by Minogue, and selected "Cowboy Style", along with "Say Hey", "Too Far" and "Limbo", as tracks in which the singer was able to portray a "sense of claustrophobia and uncertainty".[13] According to Stockport Times' Anthony Loman, Brothers in Rhythm's production, as well as its "electric fiddle", make the song "work well".[14] Owen Myers of Pitchfork labelled it as one of the "slight almost-anthems" from the album.[15]
John Mangan from The Age was positive in his review, saying the song was a "funky hoe-down sound".[16] Online critic Adrian Denning found the track "impressive, eastern flavored".[17]Louis Virtel from The Backlot listed the song at number 11 on their list of Minogue's best songs and stated: "This stylistic mishmash (featuring a deep Celtic sound that, maybe, Alison Krauss could fiddle along with) is a hard-driving, adrenalized, sexualized quest for freedom. How do you deal with the fact that Kylie sings, 'I am frightened, I'm aroused, I'm enlightened to the now' and totally sells it?"[18] Josh Martin from MTV Australia placed the track at number 16 on his list of Minogue's best singles, commenting it was "one of the richest instrumentals on Impossible Princess".[19] "Cowboy Style" entered on the ARIA Charts at number 39 on 18 October 1998.[20][21] It became the lowest charting single from the Impossible Princess album.[22]
Promotion
Music video
The music video for "Cowboy Style" was directed by Michael Williams and taped at a sound check at one of the Intimate and Live shows in June 1998.[23] The music video was dubbed with the radio edit, and it was featured on the CD single. The music video was released on the DVD version of Greatest Hits 87–99 in June 2003.[24]
Live performances
Minogue performed "Cowboy Style" on the Australian morning TV series Hey Hey It's Saturday.[25] Minogue included the song on the set list for her 1998 concert tour Intimate and Live. The performance was recorded on 30 June and 1 July at Capitol Theatre in Sydney, and appeared on the related CD and DVD.[26][27] The live version also appeared on her promotional single "Dancing Queen".[28] "Cowboy Style" was included on her 2002 Australian and European Fever Tour.[29] The performance featured Minogue standing on a level of staircases, dressed in a bright-pink sleeveless jacket with white cargo pants. The performance was recorded on 4 May 2002 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, and was released on 4 November that same year.[30] The song's most recent performance was on the Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour in 2006. The performance was recorded on 12 November 2006 in Sydney, Australia and was released as a double CD set.[31]
Other usage
"Cowboy Style" was released in mid-1997 in the UK on a cassette tape with all other album tracks as part of a promotional release and a CD sampler.[32][33] "Cowboy Style" has been featured on many of Minogue's compilation albums. Its first appearance was on her 2002 BMGgreatest hits compilation album Confide in Me, a compilation consisting majority of her singles and tracks from her Deconstruction period; Heather Phares from AllMusic praised the Impossible Princess tracks including "Cowboy Style".[34] It then appeared on her 2003 compilation album Greatest Hits: 87–99, and her 2004 album Artist Collection, which included most of her Impossible Princess era.[35][36] It appeared on the first disc of Confide in Me: The Irresistible Kylie released in July 2007 by UK independent label Music Club and her K25: Time Capsule by Warner Music Australia.[37][38]
^Mangan, John (11 January 1998). "Britsoap princess makes steady progress". The Age. p. 31. ISSN0312-6307.
^Denning, Adrian (19 September 2010). "Kylie Minogue Reviews". AdrianDenning.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
^Minogue, Kylie (March 2002). Intimate and Live (DVD). Kylie Minogue. Sydney, Australia: BMG; Mushroom. MUSH33183.2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^Minogue, Kylie (November 1998). "Intimate and Live booklet". Intimate and Live (Double CD Album). Kylie Minogue. Sydney, Australia: Deconstruction. p. 6. MUSH33183.2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^Minogue, Kylie (November 1999). "Dancing Queen". Dancing Queen (Promotional CD). Kylie Minogue. Australia, New Zealand: Festival Mushroom. Kylie-3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^Minogue, Kylie (November 2002). "KylieFever2002 booklet". KylieFever2002 (DVD). Kylie Minogue. Manchester, United Kingdom: Capitol, Mushroom, Parlophone. 7243 490101 9 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^Minogue, Kylie (September 2006). "Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour booklet". Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour (DVD). Kylie Minogue. Sydney, Australia: Parlophone. 00946 385331 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^Minogue, Kylie (1997). "Tracks from the forthcoming album booklet". Tracks from the forthcoming album (Promotional CD). Kylie Minogue. United Kingdom: Deconstruction. p. 1. KYLIE01.
^Minogue, Kylie (June 2003). "Greatest Hits: 87–99 booklet". Greatest Hits: 87–99 (Double CD album). Kylie Minogue. Australia, New Zealand: Festival Mushroom. p. 2. 337492.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^Minogue, Kylie (2004). "Artist Collection booklet". Artist Collection (CD). Kylie Minogue. London, England: Deconstruction. BMG. p. 1. BVCM-37560.
^Minogue, Kylie (July 2007). "Confide in Me: The Irresistible Kylie booklet". Confide in Me: The Irresistible ylie (Double CD album). Kylie Minogue. London, England: Deconstruction. BMG. p. 4. MCDLX043.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^Minogue, Kylie (October 2012). "Time Capsule booklet". K25 Time Capsule (Box set). Kylie Minogue. Australia, New Zealand: Mushroom, Warner Music. p. 29. 531054255.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
^Minogue, Kylie (18 August 1998). "Cowboy Style booklet". Cowboy Style (CD single). Kylie Minogue. Australia, New Zealand: Mushroom. MUSH01812.2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: year (link)