For everyone who is new to Kate Bush

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of everyone who is just discovering Kate Bush after the phenomenal success of Running Up That Hill as heard in Stranger Things. I have been obsessed since I first witnessed Kate singing Wuthering Heights way back in 1978 and over…

21st June 2022

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of everyone who is just discovering Kate Bush after the phenomenal success of Running Up That Hill as heard in Stranger Things. I have been obsessed since I first witnessed Kate singing Wuthering Heights way back in 1978 and over the years she has been my musical mainstay and my most treasured artist.

So all those lucky people who have heard RUTH (as we call Running Up That Hill) have so much to look forward to and I am going to try and explain in succinct words what each album means to me.

The Kick Inside: A majestic debut that oozes charm and softness and quirky tracks that defy Kate’s age when first released. Check out the beautiful Moving and The Saxophone Song, the truly magnificent The Man With A Child In His Eyes, Wuthering Heights (of course) and the title track The Kick Inside. Be mesmerised by this beautiful album and get ready for the roller coaster that’s going to follow it!

Lionheart: Kates’ least personal favourite, she felt rushed into releasing it, but it still contains some incredible tracks.  In Search Of Peter Pan, Wow, Oh England My Lionheart (an absolute masterpiece), Kasha From Baghdad, gay friendly at a time when life wasn’t!! It’s a beautifully constructed album and is well worth a listen.

Never For Ever: There isn’t a track on this album that isn’t worth getting to know, from the epic Babooshka to the phenomenal Breathing, every single track is a classic in it’s own right. Blow Away deserves mention as I was thrilled that Kate mentioned my other musical hero Marc Bolan in the lyrics. And of course Army Dreamers is another genuine classic track.

The Dreaming: This album was Kate stating her claim on what her music was going to be like, totally in control for the first time, it was met with mixed reviews but for me it has stood the test of time and is another album that is packed full of great tracks. Suspended In Gaffa, Leave It Open, Houdini and the utterly outrageous Get Out Of My House are all gems.

Hounds Of Love: Regarded as her masterpiece, and rightly so, it contains the monumental Running Up That Hill and Cloudbusting and the genuine work of art that is The Seventh Wave with the truly beautiful Hello Earth. Words can’t do The Seventh Wave justice, you have to listen to it, preferably in a dark room.

The Sensual World: The title track is based (loosely) on James Joyce Ulysses and if you can , watch the video, it’s as beautiful as the track itself. Love And Anger is fabulous, Rockets Tail is odd in all the right ways and the truly spectacular This Woman’s Work wraps up an overall mellow album.

The Red Shoes: Listen to the joy in Eat The Music, wipe a tear from your eye when you hear Moments Of Pleasure, dance like no one is watching to the title track The Red Shoes. My least favourite album but still filled with great tracks.

Aerial: It took Kate 12 years to release this and it was so worth the wait. A double album packed full of magical moments. Mrs Bartolozzi, A Coral Room (it makes me cry), An Architects Dream, Sunset, Nocturn to name just a few on this truly amazing album.

Directors Cut: Ever the perfectionist, Kate revisited tracks that she felt could be improved or altered. For me, the originals are all the best versions of the tracks contained herein but still Flower Of The Mountain (reworked version of The Sensual Word featuring James Joyce words), Deeper Understanding and Lily are all fabulous in their new versions.

50 Words For Snow: An utterly divine masterpiece that only Kate could deliver… it’s not a Christmas album, it’s an album about Snow and features the wonderful Snowflake, Wild man, Snowed In At Wheeler Street and Among Angels. This was the last album of new material Kate has released, and that was 11 years ago, here’s hoping the new found interest in her music spurs her on to release something new.,

The Whole Story: Her only greatest hits album release, it was the follow up to Hounds Of Love and featured new vocals on Wuthering Heights and the (spookily enough, very close to Stranger Things vibes video) Experiment IV. 

The Other Sides: As part of the remastered project this gem of an album features some well known classic unavailable elsewhere including one of her all time greatest pieces of music Under The Ivy,  Ne T’enfuis Pas, One Last Look Around The House Before We Go and December Will Be Magic Again. 

Before The Dawn: A triple live album capturing Kate Live in the Before The Dawn residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2014 (I was so lucky to witness this event). The three albums each contain the songs featured in the three different segments of the show, from classic hits to The Seventh Wave and then the full second part of Aerial, A Sky Of Honey It’s amazing how each has it’s own unique feel to it, but highlights are without doubt Running Up That Hill, Hello Earth, Sunset and Cloudbusting.

If you are curious about Kate then you should check out anything and everything you can, but I hope this little blog gives you some insight into what you have yet to discover. Enjoy every moment, after all they will become your very own moments of pleasure.

All album images courtesy of wikipedia

 

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