Kate Bush - All albums
I’ve been listening a lot to Kate Bush this week. This isn’t in itself very unusual—-I’ve been listening to her music for as long as I’ve been interested in music at all—-but this past week my iPod finger has been dialling up ‘Artists > Kate Bush > All’ regularly.
How many artists can give you a serious attack of the goosepimples while you’re standing at the bus stop? ‘Song of Solomon’ came round on random while I was waiting in a dreary, dirty bus shelter. The first part of the song is so delicate and quiet, with lyrics alternating between quotes from the biblical Song of Solomon, and rather more contemporary requests from a modern lover:
Don’t want your bullshit, yeah Just want your sexuality Don’t want excuses, yeah Write me your poetry in motion
Then there’s silence. I hold my breath slightly as usual at this point. Then the line, “I’ll do it for you…” comes in, with the Trio Bulgarka’s earthy-angel voices swelling and soaring in the background, wave upon wave of shivers sweep over me, and all the little hairs stand up on my arms. Wow (to quote Kate).
And that’s just one song: there are so many others that do the same for me. Kate Bush writes wonderful, honest songs about love and the loss of love (‘Never Be Mine’, ‘The Sensual World’, ‘Feel It’), but she also writes about many other non-traditional pop/rock topics. Have you ever heard a pop song about the wife of Houdini (‘Houdini’), Aborigine land rights (‘Sat in Your Lap’), the brutality of hand-to-hand conflict in war (‘Pull Out the Pin’) or a biography of an eccentric man who thought orgasms could power machines to make rain (‘Cloudbusting’)? Kate Bush has written songs on all of those topics.
For me, the true test of good music is longevity. I’ve been listening to Kate Bush for 13 years, and I still hear and feel new things when I do. And—-if I am ever lucky enough to see Earth from space for myself—-I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment about which Desert Island Disc I would take. I would choose ‘Hello Earth’ from ‘The Hounds of Love’.
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Funny, I dug out a couple of Kate albums last week. I just adore "Breathing", "the Man with the Child..." and the entire Hounds CD.
Fabulous music!----- Amen to that! I think that The Hounds of Love is probably my favourite Kate Bush album. �Under Ice� is such a perfect gem, with a totally weird off-kilter rhythm.
by bsag @ 10/02/2003 10:02 pm • Permalink •
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Erm, I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all, and I'm seriously happy to see another Kate fan out there. But I noticed a few discrepencies I wanted to note: 1 -- "Sat in your Lap" is about the quest for knowledge. Just when you think you know it all, you find something more that you weren't aware of. The song you're thinking of is called "The Dreaming." 2 -- "Cloudbusting" is based on a book by Peter Reich, called "A Book of Dreams." It's about his father, Willheim Reich, a scientist. He believed that the world was made up of orgone energy, the life force, an energy that all living things excuded; not that orgasms could power machines to make it rain. (Incidentally, years later it was discovered that the energy Reich thought he had discovered was actually ozone.) But I agree with you: Kate is very underrated.
by kristof @ 09/05/2003 6:05 am • Permalink •
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kristof: You are quite correct about 1--I have no idea why I got the titles muddled up. 2. I know about the history of 'Cloudbusting', and my comment about it was intended as a bit of an inside joke--I think my phrase more or less sums up the 'spin' on his research that was spread by the FDA in an attempt to discredit him in the eyes of the public. A joke in slightly poor taste, probably, given the shocking way that the FDA treated him.
As far as I understand it (I haven't read "The Book of Dreams", but have been trying to get hold of a copy for a couple of years), Reich's inspiration came in part from Freud's ideas of libidinal energy. And he did try to make machines to harness orgone to 'bust clouds'.
by bsag @ 09/05/2003 10:05 am • Permalink •
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lagan love... sad dreary..consuming and passionate...true. could this be out voiced by sinaed o connor?....maybe. but love can be devastatingly sad cant it! rain falls silent on those who feel it not.
much faith and admiration. Michael**
by mike @ 23/05/2003 9:06 pm • Permalink •
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Unfortunately Kate isn't as well known here in Canada or the US, so I thought perhaps "Never be Mine" was just one of my favourites. The lyrics, "the smell of the burning fields will now mean you and here" are wonderful.
Hmm - isn't she about due for another album?
by Cal @ 30/05/2003 3:05 pm • Permalink •
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I agree on the above comments, and it's funny to see that there's somebody else out there that has exactly the same opinion that I have. I mean, I always thought that "the smell of burning fields will now mean you and here" is simply the best part of "Never Be Mine". Just like everybody else, I think Kate's long overdue for a new album. And I just can't bring myself to believe in all those rumours pouring out of so many sites... Does anybody have any real information on what Kate's been doing? Cal, you said that Kate isn't very well known in your country, Canada. Well, try imagining how it is for us, Brazilian fans of Kate... Well, at least she has sung a version of "Aquarela do Brasil" in English ( her version was simply called "Brazil"...) I certainly miss Kate's work, and I'd have to say that the entire "Hounds" album is my all-time favorite. And I mustn't forget that "Sat In Your Lap" has always been very influencial on me, and still is....
by Nerrian @ 10/06/2003 12:06 am • Permalink •
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Nerrian and Cal: Hey, me too! I love that line! It's one of those things that makes you think, 'Oh, that's exactly what I would say if I was extremely talented'.
I've also heard that she's due to put an album out this year. She and Peter Gabriel seem to be on the same schedule: an album about every 10 years
by bsag @ 11/06/2003 6:06 pm • Permalink •
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So good to see RECENT discussions on Kate. I had to dig through 5 or 10 Google pages to get to this spot. I would love to believe that she has an album coming out this year.. She is amazing, I'm so happy a friend of mine told me that the old SNL with Kate was going to be on so I was able to Tivo it and save it for myself. I too have been disappointed that the VHS copy deleted her performances. My favorite album: "The Dreaming" - it grew on me over the last decade to become my favorite.
by Andrea @ 12/06/2003 12:06 am • Permalink •
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what can i say there are artists and there are artists kate is maybe the most prolific writer in music this century horrid waiting for next album
by lethal @ 26/08/2003 11:08 pm • Permalink •
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kates new album please!!!!!!!luv kate bigtime lionheart is a gem .egypt from never forever wow!houdini,all the love,the "HEE HAWS"on get out of my house .hounds of love-truly exceptional fave bit the speech at the end of jig of life rockets tail from the sensual world is awesome!the shrieks from the trio is spinetingling rubberband girl crazy wonderful stuff top of the city what can u say u ever heard a voice like that? pure emotion!and the final youre the one is absolutely incredible!
by joseph @ 24/09/2003 8:09 pm • Permalink •
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Hi there fellow Kate Bush fans. Does anyone out there know where I can get hold of a copy of the Kate - Live at Hammersmith CD. Also, if you have any rarities / collaborations etc on a disc too. I am true fan of Kate's but only have her studio albums and nowt else but want to complete my collection of hers. I am not a dealer etc of music, just an honest fan. Please e-mail me on : maureensteve@freenetname.co.uk with your info / quotes etc etc - no junk mail please. Thanx Steve Mullen.
by steve mullen @ 27/09/2003 12:09 pm • Permalink •
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Interesting.
by term life insurance @ 07/10/2003 7:11 am • Permalink •
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i have quite a few 7" singles odd covers etc what are you after and i'll see what i can do
by daz @ 12/10/2003 11:11 am • Permalink •
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Can anyone tell me which album I can find the single âIm leaving on a jet planeâ? Thanks.
by LexieGoBlue @ 17/10/2003 7:11 pm • Permalink •
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Its so..oo..nice to see Kate Fans are still in force and at large. I too would like to know when Kates next album is due for release! Anyone know? I am singer/sonwriter who grew up with Kate music. So it is no great surprise that my music is influenced by her. see my web page on www.geocities.com/freethejoy and too all Kate fans long may your red shoes dance...
by Lydi Dix @ 02/11/2003 4:12 pm • Permalink •
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"Leaving on a Jet Plane?" Um, you're either thinking of Peter Paul and Mary or perhaps Kate's "The Big Sky" in which she says "pause for the jet" and "looking at the big sky."
As for what Kate's up to, she just finished recording strings for the new album on October 11th...so the album will be coming as soon as next Spring. Exciting no? Here's the brief newsbit so you don't all think I'm one of those lying spammy types:
http://www.lmo.co.uk/?page=news&id=21
Enjoy!
by Robb @ 13/11/2003 10:12 pm • Permalink •
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Robb: No, Lexie knows what she's talking about I think. I have a an .mp3 of a female lead singing Leaving on a Jetplane and I'm pretty sure it's her.
by xenothaulus @ 17/12/2003 8:13 pm • Permalink •
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The smell of the burning fields , i think refers to pratice that used to happen around fall here in the uk. It was when farmers used to burn the stubble off of straw, after it had been havested. On a clear Autumn night it was a real sight , and signaled the end of summer, and the start of the path to winter.
by johnjohn @ 03/01/2004 6:01 am • Permalink •
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The song 'Leaving on a Jetplane' did you by any chance find his on kazaa? I think that it may be Tori Amos rather than Kate.
by vivisquallcloud @ 09/01/2004 2:01 am • Permalink •
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The modern version of âLeaving on a Jet Planeâ is done by Jewel. Sorry Kate fans.
by sophor @ 22/02/2004 8:02 pm • Permalink •
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Does anyone know if there is a DVD of "Live at the Hammersmith Odeon"? If there isn't, there sure should be! I gather that most of the concert didn't for "technical reasons" make it to the video; anyone confirm this? Thanks, Steve
by Steve @ 04/04/2004 9:04 pm • Permalink •
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Iâm puzzled as to why the album hasnât yet been released. My gut feeling is this. I tend to think, as was the case withThe Red Shoes, that she had indeed finished recording by late 2003, but that she probably wonât release it until late 2004/ early 2005. She had completed The Red Shoes, if you read her interviews, by early 1992, but it wasnât released untilâ¦was it the Spring of 1993?
Either that, or sheâs fussing around, agonising over the lyrics to one of her songs, playing something in rotation to see if she can add the finishing touches, not listening to the people around her saying âKate, itâs FINE!". Hehe.
I do very much believe Kateâs releasing new material. Kate never says ANYTHING to the media unless itâs true, and in November 2001 she even told them she was making an album, but that it was taking longer than she had expected. Besides which, making music is Kate Bushâs livelihood, and furthermore, she DID state in a magazine interview for the promotion of The Red Shoes that there may well come a day when she would only release once a decade because there were other things she wanted to do in her life.
So the signs were always there. Kate never rushes.
by Tom @ 20/04/2004 2:04 pm • Permalink •
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