Last week on Artists Condensed, I gave a thorough trim to the catalog of Rufus Wainwright as a means to introduce listeners to the core of today's finest piano man. The process got me thinking about other ivory-bound musicians. In general, artists who spend most of their time in front the piano tend to be pretty prolific. It only stands to reason, then, that they would also be artists whose canon needs some reduction. I can think of no musician more deserving of a good experiment in focus than Kate Bush. Like Roxy Music (a band we'll be hearing from later) did with their album
Avalon, Kate Bush influenced the sound of the 80's and the first half of the 90's with her innovative style. Still, when it gets down to brass tacks, Kate Bush is a brilliant songwriter. There are a lot of pretenders to the Kath Bush throne,
Tori Amos chief among them, but no one has really properly inhabited the space Bush created throughout her career. This first of two CDs will look at that aforementioned solid songwriter before we delve into the stranger side of this artist on disc two.
I'm gonna say right off the bat that it's going to be hard to find links to a lot of Kate's songs. She almost never performed live, thanks to a deadly accident prior to one of her shows. That being said, this is the first song on her first album,
Lionheart. "Symphony" fits nicely if unremarkably in the sonic landscape of 1978. Back then, singer-songwriters were a dime a dozen. Here, Kate doesn't diverge much from the world dominated by the likes of Carly Simon. Still, it's a great song and it has hints of the more complex, quirky approach from Bush's later projects.
- And Dream of Sheep
- And So Is Love
- Between a Man and Woman
- Cloudbusting
One of things that sets Kate Bush apart from so many of her contemporaries is her literary bent. This song from the wonderfully realized
Hounds of Love is directly inspired by Peter Reich's story
A Book of Dreams. Bush's literate approach wasn't the pseudo-intellectual variety adopted by a lot of musicians. Hers is more emotionally-driven than pedantic. Also, props to Bush for working with Terry Gilliam for the music video.
The best artists of the 80's embraced theatrics in their look and sound. It made for a pretty vibrant cultural atmosphere. "Hounds of Love" sounds like the centerpiece number from a modern stage show. It's the title track from what is probably Bush's best album, one that is chock full of this thespian bent.
I'll admit it, as much as I like Kate Bush and believe she deserves a space in the pantheon of great musicians, I don't think she's very good at flat-out rocking. She tries every now and then, but the results are often pretty annoying, RE: "Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake". But this song comes close enough to hard rock without straying from the styles conducive to Bush's sensibilities.
- Moving
- Running Up That Hill
- The Man with the Child in His Eyes
- The Morning Fog
- The Sensual World
OK, this is here mostly because it's one of the sexiest songs ever recorded. As for where it fits in Kate Bush's career, it's the title track from her 1989 album. Its appeal is in Bush's use of some unusual instruments. She really grabs exoticism with the instrumentation and restrains her own vocals. This more balanced Kate Bush came just before she bowed out from pop music for a little while.
This song is from the last album Kate Bush put out (so far). 2005's double disc
Aerial is the sound of an artist no longer attempting to hit the Top 40. David Bowie did similar projects in the early 00's. It's always nice to hear the songs big artists write pretty much just for themselves. On
Aerial, Bush wasn't trying to impress anyone or even do anything that innovative. She just wanted to play some nice songs, and that's exactly what she does.
I'll be back later this week to explore the wild excursions of Kate Bush's career and why she's not just another piano woman. Until then, listen well.
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