Album: Kylie Minogue, The Abbey Road Sessions (Parlophone)

In which the Aussie pop icon goes into the iconic British studio with a full orchestra in tow, and comes out with what, counterintuitively, often turn out to be stripped-down reworkings of 16 Kylie classics.

It would be impossible to improve on "Can't Get You Out of My Head", but this take turns it into a pizzicato thriller score. What's revealed is what's often been outshone by the originals: the sheer quality of the songwriting and vocals.