but there is nothing within.
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| I
hold a cup of wisdom, but there is nothing within. |
Kate Bush |
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 "b.
Catherine Bush, 30 July 1958, Bexleyheath, Kent, England. While still at
school, the precocious Bush was discovered by Pink Floyd 's David Gilmour, who
was so impressed by the imaginative quality of her songwriting that he financed
some demo recordings. EMI Records were equally taken with the product and in an
unusual act of faith decided not to record her immediately. Instead, she was
encouraged to develop her writing, dancing and singing in preparation for a
long-term career. The apprenticeship ended in 1978 with the release of the
extraordinary Wuthering Heights. Inspired by Emily Bronte's novel, Bush
had created a hauntingly original piece, complete with an ethereal, almost
demented, vocal that brilliantly captured the obsessive love of the novel's
heroine, and her namesake, Cathy. It was no surprise when the single rapidly
reached number 1 in the UK and established Bush in Europe. "
Kate Bush Biography, leninimports
  ¾ 1978:
The Kick Inside "Kicking things off with a whimper, not a bang, Kate Bush quietly released her 1978 debut, The Kick Inside and that disc still to this day affects an incredible number people, Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan among them. There are so many elements that make this disc unique--Kate's soaring soprano, her warm piano playing--but the one thing that perhaps sticks out most is how different her sounds were from anything else circulating at that time. Ten years before 'alternative' hit the forefront, this music was neither easy nor palatable, truly an alternative from the other styles out there. Among the more legendary tracks, search out The Man with the Child in His Eyes and her timeless classic Wuthering Heights."
-- Denise Sheppard, amazon.com
¾ 1978:
Lionheart"There seem to be two perspectives when discussing Kate's second effort. The first is that it's basically a pale, disappointing clone of The Kick Inside, and that it ranks as one of her least impressive efforts, if not at the very bottom of the barrel. The second, which mostly comes from the hardcore fan base, is that it's an unfairly overlooked absolute classic, the aural equivalent of a charming fairytale world ... I basically lean closer to the first perspective, agreeing that the record company's decision to demand a followup from her so quickly was a mistake, and the result is even less memorable and weaker than before, especially since she hardly had much great material ready."
-- Nick Karn
1980:
Never for Ever"The two singles included here are the most successful tracks she has ever committed to vinyl. Yet no two pieces of music by the same artist could be further apart in style than Breathing and Babooshka. In the boldly experimental, ominously lovely Breathing, the dreamy, fretless bass-fronted arrangement weds an uncanny feeling of dread and fear to a deeply personal view of the possible effects of nuclear fallout. Its chorus flows with the syncopated rhythm of human breathing while in the background a BBC announcer offers the specific details. This unusual experiment is a masterpiece. At the other extreme is Babooshka. To the tune of a wonderfully infectious chorus refrain, it offers the whimsical tale of a wife who tests her husband's fidelity by attempting to seduce him with a love letter written under the pseudonym of the song's title."
-- CMJ New Music report, via CDnow
1982: The Dreaming "The Dreaming is the darkest, the most bizarre, and one of the most intense albums of Kate's brilliant discography... CMI, Fairlights and Prohets, computer instruments often used in the 80's, create unique soundscapes full of dark humor and anger, and Bush's voice is more expressive than ever...Here we also see collaborations of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Bill Whelan. This is, without a doubt, an album way ahead of its time, where Kate takes away the innocence of her previous albums , leaving her attitude and courage completely naked."
-- 'Pekky' Marquez, birdpages.purplenet.co.uk
 ¼ 1985:
Hounds of Love"The new album is actually two mini-concept albums. Side one, also titled "Hounds of Love," is the more elusive since it is less about love than about some of love's attendant emotions—fear, alienation, rage, and confusion. In the title song, for instance, the narrator compares falling in love to a fox being chased down by hounds. Much of "Hounds" marches along to steady, galloping rhythms. Bush employs drums very much the way Peter Gabriel does, putting the music in motion through a succession of violent climaxes and hushed pauses. Her vocals carry on a dialogue with, in turn, piano, drums, and bass, and they are shadowed virtually everywhere by a Fairlight backing vocal. "Hounds" is far more pleasant to listen to than to contemplate, and the same is true of side two, "The Ninth Wave," which re-creates the last moments of a drowning victim, an eternity of recollections and hallucinations compressed into a few final breaths. Here the electronic effects are more integral—whirring helicopters, bullhorns, tangled tape-loop voices, chiming synthesized church bells, echoing snatches of conversation, and a host of fantastic characters hurtle into and out of the victim's ebbing consciousness. Bush's vocals, which explore a range of feelings—terror, sadness, resignation, and, finally, euphoria—are posed against an instrumental tableau in which strings, piano, and synthesizer shift in and out of the foreground. The growing sophistication of Kate Bush's compositions, arrangements, and production techniques does not obscure her unique, weird point of view. Only she could make such macabre subjects so seductive."
-- Mark Peel, Stereo Review, 01/86
¼ 1986:
The Whole Story
A best-of compilation of Kate's best moments spanning the early years: 1978 to 1985. ½ 1989:
The Sensual World"Expectations ran high for the long-awaited follow-up to her 1986 breakthrough The Hounds of Love, and she met them with this sometimes breathtaking, often introspective work. On songs like the erotic title track and the dramatic Love and Anger, Bush charts the many rhythms of relationships with a keen eye for detail and less frilly bluster than usual. Elsewhere, with the tense Between a Man and a Woman and the lush This Woman's Work she virtually lays the foundation for Tori Amos's future success. Musically, Bush broadens her palette with the smart additions of Irish piper Davey Spillane, Balkan singers The Trio Bulgarka, and jazz bassist Eberhard Weber."
-- Michael Ruby, amazon.com reviews
 1993:
The Red Shoes
"British-born Kate Bush, perhaps the queen of ethereal pop, has been spinning exotic rhythms and esoteric lyrics into space for 15 years. Which is great if you want a huge cult following. But what if you also want listeners closer to the mainstream? Simple. You make _The Red Shoes_. This is the best and most conventional of all Bush's albums and even includes a couple of potential Top 40 singles: the happy-skippy dance number Rubberband Girl {well, it got into the 90s} and the Prince-like Why Should I Love You? {nope} (which features {Prince symbol}, the Human Hieroglyphic himself, on keyboards). There are still plenty of unique twists and turns to Bush's music, however, and on the title cut, a mandolin, some whistles and a tidal wave of vocal overdubs come close to aural theater. The one constant that will both appease the Kate cult and entice new fans is Bush's voice. She coos. She sighs. She seduces. Her soft and sensual vocals have always cast a siren-like spell, and on this outing the magic feels too good to resist."
-- Craig Tomashoff , People Magazine, 01/94
 ¾ 2005:
Aerial
Tracklisting: Disc 1- 1. King Of The Mountain 2. Pie 3. Bertie 4. Mrs. Bartolozzi 5. How To Be Invisible 6. Joanni 7. A Coral Room Disc 2- 1. Prelude 2. Prologue 3. An Architect's Dream 4. The Painter's Link 5. Sunset 6. Aerial Tal 7. Somewhere In Between 8. Nocturn 9. Aerial "'Aerial' is a double album and, like most doubles, it has its ponderous moments. Thankfully, it also contains half-a-dozen tracks that are as good as anything she has done, and its closing triptych, Somewhere In Between, Nocturn and Aerial,represents the most joyous and euphoric finale to an album that you will hear all year. If the recent single and opening track, King of the Mountain, hinted at a newfound maturity in her voice, it also confirmed the increased sophistication of her lyrics. Who else inhabits the kind of skewed terrain where Elvis morphs into Citizen Kane? And who else would have written a homage to pi? “3.1415,” she coos over a rich bed of acoustic guitars. “926535,” she continues fetchingly. During her long period of exile, a friend phoned to tell me that he had seen her in the street, gleefully reporting that “she’s starting to look like your favourite hippie aunt”. She’s starting to sound like it, too. The second half of 'Aerial' abounds with twittering birdscapes, melting suns and artists who morph into their paintings, the whole shebang culminating with that extraordinary trio of songs in which Kate seems to merge with the birdsong. There really is no one quite like her. There are moments on Aerial when you wish she would cut loose with the arrangements — which at times remain far too linear and rooted in a soundscape that she hasn’t tampered with significantly since the 1980s — and collaborate with a Massive Attack or a Future Sound of London. But all is forgiven the moment you hear a song such as Mrs Bartolozzi, in which a life of domestic drudgery is suddenly transformed into something magically sensual just by watching a blouse and a pair of trousers intertwining in a washing machine. Shine on you crazy Hotpoint-wielding diamond."
-- Rob Chapman, The Times of London, 10/05
 2011:
50 words for snow Tracklisting: 1. Snowflakes 2. Lake Tahoe 3. Misty 4. Wild Man 5. Snowed In At Wheeler Street 6. 50 Words For Snow 7. Among Angels release date: Nov 21, 2011 |
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