AnyBlogDotCom: July 2019

Tuesday 2 July 2019

Grunge

Grunge became popular though the success of Nirvana. It pretty much stopped as a popular music style with the death of Kurt Cobain, and the demise of Nirvana.

Grunge was both a music style and a lifestyle choice, with grunge hair styles and clothing.

Neil Young is considered to be the godfather of Grunge. Kurt Cobain was influenced by Neil Young. Other Grunge bands were closely associated with Kurt Cobain. Nirvana is the key Grunge band.

Grunge could be seen as being Kurt Cobain's take on Neil Young's approach to music and his attitude to clothing and lifestyle.

Wikipedia:

Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is a rock music genre and subculture that emerged during the mid-1980s in the Pacific Northwest U.S. state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. The early grunge movement revolved around Seattle's independent record label Sub Pop and the region's underground music scene. By the early 1990s its popularity had spread, with grunge bands appearing in California, then emerging in other parts of the United States and in Australia, building strong followings and signing major record deals.
Grunge was commercially successful in the early to mid-1990s, due to releases such as Nirvana's Nevermind, Pearl Jam's Ten, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Alice in Chains' Dirt and Stone Temple Pilots' Core. The success of these bands boosted the popularity of alternative rock and made grunge the most popular form of rock music at the time^[7] Although most grunge bands had disbanded or faded from view by the late 1990s, they influenced modern rock music, as their lyrics brought socially conscious issues into pop culture^[8] and added introspection and an exploration of what it means to be true to oneself.^[9] Grunge was also an influence on later genres such as post-grunge (such as Creed and Nickelback) and nu metal (such as Korn and Limp Bizkit).
Grunge fuses elements of punk rock^[1] and heavy metal,^[2] featuring the distorted electric guitar sound used in both genres, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other. Like these genres, grunge typically uses electric guitar, bass guitar, a drummer and a singer. Grunge also incorporates influences from indie rock bands such as Sonic Youth. Lyrics are typically angst-filled and introspective, often addressing themes such as social alienation, self-doubt, abuse, neglect, betrayal, social and emotional isolation, psychological trauma and a desire for freedom.^[10]^[11]A number of factors contributed to grunge's decline in prominence. During the mid-to-late 1990s, many grunge bands broke up or became less visible. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, labeled by Time as "the John Lennon of the swinging Northwest", appeared unusually tortured by success and struggled with an addiction to heroin before he died by suicide at the age of 27 in 1994.

AllMusic

Using the sludgy, murky sound of the Stooges and Black Sabbath as a foundation, Grunge was a hybrid of heavy metal and punk. Though the guitars were straight from early '70s metal, the aesthetic of grunge was far from metal. Both the lyrical approach and musical attack of grunge were adopted from punk, particularly the independent ideals of early '80s American hardcore. The first wave of grunge bands -- Green River, Mudhoney, Soundgarden -- were heavier than the second, which began with Nirvana. Nirvana was more melodic than their predecessors and they also had signature stop-start dynamics, which became a genre convention nearly as recognizable as fuzzy, distorted guitars. After Nirvana crossed over into the mainstream, grunge lost many of its independent and punk connections and became the most popular style of hard rock in the '90s.

1979 Neil Young / Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps Grunge starts here.

1987 Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff

1988  Soundgarden –  Ultramega OK Soundgarden are regarded as a grunge band, which was a Seattle based music movement that blended punk attitude and heavy metal. I'm only seeing metal in this recording, and nothing new or interesting. This is their debut album; it is a blend of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Superunknown, their most popular and well known album, works in the same area., though I prefer the debut album as it has more energy and pith.  Score: 4

1988 Green River - Rehab Doll

1990  Nirvana – Nevermind

1990 Mudhoney – Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

1991  Pearl Jam – Ten

1992  Alice in Chains – Dirt

1992 L7 - Bricks Are Heavy

1993  The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream

1993  Nirvana – In Utero

1993  Hole – Live Through This

1993 Soundgarden – Superunknown

1994  Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York

1994 Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters This is an attempt by Nirvana's drummer, Grohl, to keep the Nirvana sound going. It is a long way from the beauty, power, and anguish of Nirvana, and while it copies Nirvana and grunge in general, it is more like mainstream hard rock, with grunge elements married to pop melodies - it sort of sits between grunge and alt rock. It's decently done, and the band were (are) popular, but there's a distinct lack of originality as well as substance in this. Grohl plays all the instruments. "This Is A Call", the opening track, is the peak of the band's achievements - Grohl never bettered the pop-Nirvana joyous thrash of that track. Score: 4

Wikipedia: List of Grunge Bands

50 Best Grunge Songs

Top 10 Seattle Grunge Bands

Rolling Stone Top 10 Grunge Albums

Loudwire Top 30 Grunge Albums

CoS Top 10 Grunge Albums

VMP Top 10 Grunge Albums

Top Ten Grunge Albums

Louder 10 Essential Grunge Albums

Diffuser 25 Most Influential Grunge Albums

***

Music Styles & Genres

Kate Bush album by album

Kate Bush is a fascinating and awkward individual. I really love "Wuthering Heights" - it burst onto the music scene in 1978 and grabbed everyone's attention largely because of Bush's remarkable voice. I remember her on Top Of The Pops, in her black dress and white dress versions doing her amateur dramatics dance interpretations of the words of her songs. It wasn't a good image - such Pans People type dancing had always been, along with the DJ presentation, one of the embarrassing aspects of watching TOTP, but grudgingly accepted as part of the show; however, to find such dancing in one of the performers really wasn't cool. She did the same dance, this time in a red dress, on the video issued to promote the song. She was beautiful, indeed quite sexy in an awkward way (appearing a bit geeky and a bit unsure about sex and her own sex appeal), but she wasn't cool, and wasn't rock. Singer-songwriter she may have been, and the first female British singer-songwriter to reach number one, but she didn't fit comfortably in the conventional singer-songwriter, folk, or rock genres. She was more pop than authentic art, for all the arty fluff that accompanied her and her songs. I bought the debut album, but, despite having some excellent songs like "Man With The Child In His Eyes", it didn't grab me. Over the years she has released songs that while never repeating the magic of "Wuthering Heights" were sometimes pleasing and called for attention, such as "Running Up That Hill" and "Cloudbursting", though could also be a bit daft like "Army Dreamers", "Hammer Horror", and "Wow". And the albums never quite satisfied in the way that I always hoped they would.

Photo session Jan 1978

Anyway, I've long had this attraction to Kate Bush's wackiness, voice, and potential to be a bit different and wonderful, albeit rarely realised, so thought it was time I gave her a closer study. I found starting with her greatest hits album, The Whole Story, to be a useful introduction to her music. Though changing the vocals on "Wuthering Heights" was a typically daft Kate Bush mistake. She took away the best aspect of that song and replaced it with a still good vocal, but nothing like the utterly extraordinary experience of the original. It makes the song sound quite flat. Compare them yourself: Original vocal - Replaced vocal. Yes, exactly. Oh, if you're of the opinion that the new vocal is better, leave this blog right now - this place is not for you.

Driving in my car today I put in a CD I'd made up a while ago of tracks from 1968. There was this particular sequence: Tiny Tim, T. Rex, and Van Morrison, which put me in mind of Bush. A certain quirkiness, softness, twee charm, ethereal beauty, non-specific poetry, British eccentricity, soulfulness, pop sensibility yet with one foot firmly in an arch awareness of art. And that made me think of Molly Drake who sounds nothing like Bush, but has interesting points of commonality.

Bush's sexuality is worth noting. There's a schoolgirl virginal quality about her appearance and her lyrics. There's an innocent, unexperienced, romantic notion of sex and sex appeal. It's awkward, clumsy, twee, mildly charming, and not really sexy. Yet she was attractive, and had the potential to be very sexy if she didn't keep behaving in such a naff way. Her amdram videos complete with her awkward stage two ballet steps are compelling in a cringeworthy way, but reduce her sex appeal instead of build on it. Her lyrics present the idea of sex as the beautiful, virginal woman being seduced by the knight in shining armour, and that moment will be wonderful. Her lyrics, as such, mainly appeal to those whose experience and romantic views match hers. The rest of the world either ignores the lyrics or, if they do read them, find them immature, unrealistic, and superficial.

She has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023. Inductee insight. Induction speech by BigBoi and performance by St Vincent (poor quality video). Bush, of course, didn't attend or sent a video message. But she put a nice message on her website to saying: "I’m only five foot three, but today I feel a little taller."

Wikipedia:

Catherine Bush CBE (born 30 July 1958)^[1]^[2] is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Bush came to notice in 1978 when, aged 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a self-written song.^[11] She has since released 25 UK Top 40 singles, including the top-10 hits "The Man with the Child in His Eyes", "Babooshka", "Running Up That Hill", "Don't Give Up" (a duet with Peter Gabriel) and "King of the Mountain". She has released ten studio albums, all of which reached the UK Top 10, including the UK number-one albums Never for Ever (1980), Hounds of Love (1985), and the compilation The Whole Story (1986). She is the first British solo female artist to top the UK album charts and the first female artist to enter the album chart at number one.^[12]

Bush began writing songs at 11. She was signed to EMI Records after Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour helped produce a demo tape. Her debut album, The Kick Inside, was released in 1978. Bush slowly gained artistic independence in album production, and has produced all her studio albums since The Dreaming (1982). She took a hiatus between her seventh and eighth albums The Red Shoes (1993) and Aerial (2005). She drew attention again in 2014 with her concert residency Before the Dawn, her first shows since 1979's The Tour of Life.

Bush's eclectic and experimental musical style with literary and unconventional lyrical themes has influenced a diverse range of artists. She has been nominated 13 times for British Phonographic Industry accolades,^[13] winning for Best British Female Artist in 1987.^[14] She has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards. In 2002, she was recognised with an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. In October 2017 she was nominated for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.^[15] Bush was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to music.^[16]^[17]

Albums

The Kick Inside (Feb 1978)

The debut. Contains "The Man With The Child In His Eyes" and "Wuthering Heights", an extraordinary moment that she has never bettered. This was the album that broke her, and the sound she has here develops slowly and minutely over her career - the later albums being the most developed - longer, slower, more planned, though essentially the same sound: dreamy, quirky, poppy, arty. Most critics and fans rate Hounds of Love as her best album, and Dreaming also gets acclaim, but there is still widespread respect for the debut. Her best work overall was her singles, and that is a fascinating body of work, so her most representative album is the 1986 compilation The Whole Story (though, be aware, she redoes the vocal for "Wuthering Heights", so removing that track of its most fascinating aspect).

Released	17 February 1978
Recorded	June 1975, July–August 1977
Studio	AIR Studios, London
Genre	Art rock, art pop, baroque pop
Length	43:13
Label	EMI (UK), Harvest (US)
Producer	Andrew Powell

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Moving"	3:01
2.	"The Saxophone Song"	3:51
3.	"Strange Phenomena"	2:57
4.	"Kite"	2:56
5.	"The Man with the Child in His Eyes"	2:39
6.	"Wuthering Heights"	4:28

Side two
No.	Title	Length
7.	"James and the Cold Gun"	3:34
8.	"Feel It"	3:02
9.	"Oh to Be in Love"	3:18
10.	"L'Amour Looks Something Like You"	2:27
11.	"Them Heavy People"	3:04
12.	"Room for the Life"	4:03
13.	"The Kick Inside"	3:30

Kate Bush – piano, lead vocals, backing vocals
Andrew Powell – arrangements, keyboards
Duncan Mackay – keyboards
Ian Bairnson – guitars
David Paton – bass
Stuart Elliott – drums

Singles / TV appearances
"Wuthering Heights" 20 January 1978 No. 1

"Moving" (single in Japan only)
"Them Heavy People" (single in Japan only)
"The Man With The Child In His Eyes" 26 May 1978 No. 6

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 8
Score: 7

Lionheart (Nov 1978)

The second album was pushed out quickly and is widely regarded, including by Bush, as unsuccessful, though there's not a lot of difference between this and the debut. Bush sings in her high register, warbling as she does. The songs are competent pop - melodic structures that work effectively enough. It's a pleasant enough listen, but there's nothing that really catches the attention other than "Wow", which has the potential to be both trivial and irritating (as well as fascinating and compelling), but was a moderately popular single and is still liked by some.

Released	12 November 1978
Recorded	7 July – September 1978
Studio	Super Bear Studios (Berre-les-Alpes, France)
Genre	Art rock, baroque pop
Length	36:32
Label	EMI (UK) EMI America (US) Harvest (Canada)
Producer	Andrew Powell assisted by Kate Bush

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Symphony in Blue"	3:35
2.	"In Search of Peter Pan"	3:46
3.	"Wow"	3:58
4.	"Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake"	3:12
5.	"Oh England My Lionheart"	3:10

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Fullhouse"	3:14
7.	"In the Warm Room"	3:35
8.	"Kashka from Baghdad"	3:55
9.	"Coffee Homeground"	3:38
10.	"Hammer Horror"	4:39

Kate Bush – vocals, piano, assistant arranger, harmony vocals (4, 5)
Andrew Powell – arranger
Duncan Mackay – keyboards
Ian Bairnson – guitars
David Paton and Del Palmer – bass
Stuart Elliott – drums

Singles / TV appearances

"Wow" Lyrics 17 March 1979 No. 14 The song is vaguely about a homosexual stage actor who appears to want to be more successful. It's not clear. There's no memorable lines or tune. The opening is quite haunting and captures some of the spiritual feel of "Wuthering". The first verse suggests that the speaker is one of a group of supporting actors or dancers on stage with the great actor, who she has been told not to fear, and that they have all been made to learn their lines (in the official video - in which she appears in a long and transparent cotton skirt - she yawns at this point to act out the tedium of repeating what would possibly be minor lines). Then comes the most memorable part of the song - the simultaneously entertaining and silly chorus in which she repeats the word "wow" , which is presumably an ironic repeating of the superficially of what the great actor says to the supporting cast. Even more ironic is that the mocking pastiche ends up being associated with Bush rather than the actor, as it is Bush herself we hear saying those trite words. Score: 6

"Hammer Horror" Nov 1978 No. 44

"Symphony In Blue" 1979 TV special (single in Japan and Canada only)

"Don't Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake" Lyrics

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 6
Score: 4

Never for Ever (1980)

Contains "Babooshka", a pleasant pop song which reached the top ten - her first single to do so since "Wuthering Heights". Rest of the album is also pleasant, though rather trivial, like the second single "Army Dreamers" where her voice is rather twee and can be somewhat irritating at times - there is little evidence here of the ethereal quality employed on "Wuthering". However, "Breathing" is an interesting single, and is the standout track on the album.

Released	8 September 1980
Recorded	September 1979 – May 1980
Studio	Abbey Road Studios and AIR Studios, London
Genre	Art rock, baroque pop, progressive pop
Length	37:16
Label	EMI (UK) EMI America (US) Harvest (Canada)
Producer	Kate Bush, Jon Kelly

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Babooshka"	3:20
2.	"Delius (Song of Summer)"	2:51
3.	"Blow Away"	3:33
4.	"All We Ever Look For"	3:47
5.	"Egypt"	4:10

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"The Wedding List"	4:15
7.	"Violin"	3:15
8.	"The Infant Kiss"	2:50
9.	"Night Scented Stock"	0:51
10.	"Army Dreamers" (LP mix)	2:55
11.	"Breathing"	5:29

Singles / TV appearances

"Breathing" 26 April 1980 16

"Babooshka" 5 June 1980 No. 5

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 6
Score: 5

The Dreaming (1982)

A more interesting, more mature album than the previous two, though doesn't have the strength of songs or impact of the debut. The focus on the drums gives it a good meaty sound.

Released	13 September 1982
Recorded	September 1980 – May 1982
Studio	Advision Studios, Odyssey Studios, Abbey Road Studios and Townhouse Studios, (all) London
Genre	Art rock, avant-pop, progressive pop progressive rock
Length	43:25
Label	EMI (UK) EMI America (US and Canada)
Producer	Kate Bush

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sat in Your Lap"	3:29
2.	"There Goes a Tenner"	3:24
3.	"Pull Out the Pin"	5:26
4.	"Suspended in Gaffa"	3:54
5.	"Leave It Open"	3:20

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"The Dreaming"	4:41
7.	"Night of the Swallow"	5:22
8.	"All the Love"	4:29
9.	"Houdini"	3:48
10.	"Get Out of My House"	5:25

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 7
Score: 6

Hounds of Love (1985)

Widely regarded as her best album. I like Bush - I think she's quirky, but she's not necessarily musical. So sometimes she throws in ideas that don't quite work, or are more odd than successful. It's like someone cooking, and just throwing in ingredients because they seem interesting, rather than out of an understanding of how they would blend in with the other ingredients, and so without a clear idea of what the finished product will be. Throughout her career, her songs have been regarded as odd rather more often than regarded as successful - and even when successful, there's still that naïve quality, which makes the success feel more accidental or incidental rather than planned. On this album there are odd noises here and there, which don't work, and incorporation of musical styles such as Irish dance, which come over as out of place and rather naff. I'll need to read some reviews to find a way into this album, because at the moment I'm not quite seeing why it is regarded as a successful album, let alone as her best.

Coming back to this I can now see what others see in it, and I do regard this as Bush's best work.

Released	16 September 1985
Recorded	January 1984 – June 1985
Studio	Wickham Farm Home Studio (Welling, England), Windmill Lane Studios, and Abbey Road Studios (orchestral sections)
Genre	Art pop, progressive pop, art rock
Length	47:33
Label	EMI
Producer	Kate Bush

, which

Side one: *Hounds of Love*
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)"	5:03
2.	"Hounds of Love"	3:02
3.	"The Big Sky"	4:41
4.	"Mother Stands for Comfort"	3:07
5.	"Cloudbusting"	5:10
Total length:		21:03

Side two: *The Ninth Wave*
No.	Title	Length
6.	"And Dream of Sheep"	2:45
7.	"Under Ice"	2:21
8.	"Waking the Witch"	4:18
9.	"Watching You Without Me"	4:06
10.	"Jig of Life"	4:04
11.	"Hello Earth"	6:13
12.	"The Morning Fog"	2:34
Total length:		26:21

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 9
Score: 7

The Whole Story (1986)

Very useful and attractive compilation. Start here. Though changing the vocals on "Wuthering Heights" was a typically daft Kate Bush mistake. She took away the best aspect of that song and replaced it with a still good vocal, but nothing like the utterly extraordinary experience of the original. It makes the song sound quite flat. Compare them yourself: Original vocal - Replaced vocal.

At the same time as The Whole Story was released, Peter Gabriel released "Don't Give Up", a duet with Bush.

Released	10 November 1986
Recorded	1975–1986
Genre	Art rock
Length	48:53
Label	EMI
Producer	Kate Bush Jon Kelly Andrew Powell

All tracks are written by Kate Bush

Side one
No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Wuthering Heights" (New Vocal)	The Kick Inside (1978)	4:57
2.	"Cloudbusting"	Hounds of Love (1985)	5:09
3.	"The Man with the Child in His Eyes"	The Kick Inside	2:38
4.	"Breathing"	Never for Ever (1980)	5:28
5.	"Wow"	Lionheart (1978)	3:46
6.	"Hounds of Love"	Hounds of Love	3:02

Side two
No.	Title	Original album	Length
7.	"Running Up That Hill"	Hounds of Love	5:00
8.	"Army Dreamers"	Never for Ever	3:13
9.	"Sat in Your Lap"	The Dreaming (1982)	3:29
10.	"Experiment IV"	Previously unreleased	4:21
11.	"The Dreaming"	The Dreaming	4:14
12.	"Babooshka"	Never for Ever	3:29

Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 7 1/2

The Sensual World (1989)

There is a dreamy theatrical feel to this album, which I suppose is there in much of Bush's work, but I am particularly feeling it here. This has the sound and feel of Bush - work that is on the edge of progressive pop, and has something of an affinity with Bjork, Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie Sioux, and Enya - musicians who like to explore creative, dreamy, feminine sounds. It's an attractive sound, though lacks the edge that can get and hold my attention. And this is a step too far, for me, from the early Bush that I find both interesting and special. There is no song here the match of "Man With The Child In His Eyes".

Released	16 October 1989
Recorded	September 1987 – July 1989
Studio	Wickham Farm Home (Welling, England) Windmill Lane (Dublin, Ireland) Angel (Islington, England)
Genre	Art rock art pop
Length	42:10
Label	EMI
Producer	Kate Bush

All tracks are written by Kate Bush

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Sensual World"	3:57
2.	"Love and Anger"	4:42
3.	"The Fog"	5:04
4.	"Reaching Out"	3:11
5.	"Heads We're Dancing"	5:17

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Deeper Understanding"	4:46
7.	"Between a Man and a Woman"	3:29
8.	"Never Be Mine"	3:43
9.	"Rocket's Tail"	4:06
10.	"This Woman's Work"	3:32
11.	"Walk Straight Down The Middle"	3:50

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 9
Score: 5

The Red Shoes (1993)

The concept is a little arty, but has potential and "The Song of Solomon" is an interesting song, but on the whole this feels like a pop album straining to be meaningful.

Coming back to this, I feel I was a little harsh last time. There is a power and beauty about this. This is a mature and considered work. Arty, yes, but all the better for being so. This is a strong, interesting, beautiful album.

Released	1 November 1993
Recorded	June 1990–June 1993
Studio	Abbey Road (London)
Genre	Art rock alternative rock baroque pop
Length	55:30
Label	EMI
Producer	Kate Bush

All tracks are written by Kate Bush

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Rubberband Girl"	4:42
2.	"And So Is Love"	4:16
3.	"Eat the Music"	5:08
4.	"Moments of Pleasure"	5:16
5.	"The Song of Solomon"	4:27
6.	"Lily"	3:51
7.	"The Red Shoes"	4:00
8.	"Top of the City"	4:14
9.	"Constellation of the Heart"	4:46
10.	"Big Stripey Lie"	3:32
11.	"Why Should I Love You?"	5:00
12.	"You're the One"	5:52

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 4
Score: 7

Aerial (2005)

Twelve years since her last creative release. I like this. A more mature album than her normal pop. Some sense of Joni Mitchell has crept in. It is softer, more dreamy, and with greater depth than her previous work. Her voice is more modulated and refined. Quietly attractive without being particularly special. Not the work for which she will be remembered, but a decent working record.

Released	7 November 2005
Recorded	1996–2005
Studio	Abbey Road Studios (London)
Genre	Art rock progressive pop
Length	79:58
Label	EMI Columbia (US)
Producer	Kate Bush

All tracks are written by Kate Bush

*A Sea of Honey*
No.	Title	Length
1.	"King of the Mountain"	4:53
2.	"π"	6:09
3.	"Bertie"	4:18
4.	"Mrs. Bartolozzi"	5:58
5.	"How to Be Invisible"	5:32
6.	"Joanni"	4:56
7.	"A Coral Room"	6:12

*A Sky of Honey*
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Prelude"	1:26
2.	"Prologue"	5:42
3.	"An Architect's Dream"	4:50
4.	"The Painter's Link"	1:35
5.	"Sunset"	5:58
6.	"Aerial Tal"	1:01
7.	"Somewhere in Between"	5:00
8.	"Nocturn"	8:34
9.	"Aerial"	7:52

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 8
Score: 6

Director's Cut (2011)

Remixed and partly re-recorded versions on songs from Sensual World and Red Shows. Not exactly a "director's cut" as Bush produced all the material both times, this is simply an update or remix, common in music - The Cure did this with Mixed Up in 1990. The most significant change is to "The Sensual World", which had been inspired by Molly Bloom's soliloquy; Bush had wanted to use Joyce's words as lyrics, but was refused, so wrote her own. This time she had been given permission, and so used the lyrics, changing the name to "Flower of the Mountain", a phrase from the soliloquy. Other than that I see little point in changing the originals.

Released	16 May 2011
Recorded	2009–2011
Genre	Art rock
Length	57:04
Label	Fish People EMI
Producer	Kate Bush

All songs written by Kate Bush except "Flower of the Mountain" lyrics by James Joyce.

"Flower of the Mountain" – 5:15 (originally from The Sensual World, 1989)
"Song of Solomon" – 4:45 (originally from The Red Shoes, 1993)
"Lily" – 4:05 (originally from The Red Shoes, 1993)
"Deeper Understanding" – 6:33 (originally from The Sensual World, 1989)
"The Red Shoes" – 4:58 (originally from The Red Shoes, 1993)
"This Woman's Work" – 6:30 (originally from The Sensual World, 1989)
"Moments of Pleasure" – 6:32 (originally from The Red Shoes, 1993)
"Never Be Mine" – 5:05 (originally from The Sensual World, 1989)
"Top of the City" – 4:24 (originally from The Red Shoes, 1993)
"And So Is Love" – 4:21 (originally from The Red Shoes, 1993)
"Rubberband Girl" – 4:37 (originally from The Red Shoes, 1993)

Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 5

50 Words for Snow (2011)

Bush's last album of original material. She has lost some the unique beauty of her young voice, but makes good use of her mature voice. This is an interesting art album - and art it is, and interesting it is. There is beauty here, and some romantic and poetic ideas, though I'm not sure how successful it is. I like that it exists, though it is in the world of Enya and Cocteau Twins, in that it is more the idea of art rather than hard art. Aspirational, but lacking true depth. I like that it exists, but neither the music nor the ideas really engage me.

Lyrics

Released	21 November 2011
Recorded	2010–2011
Studio	Abbey Road (London)
Genre	Art pop, jazz, chamber pop, jazz-rock, experimental
Length	65:29
Label	Fish People
Producer	Kate Bush

All tracks are written by Kate Bush

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Snowflake"	9:52
2.	"Lake Tahoe"	11:08
3.	"Misty"	13:32
4.	"Wild Man"	7:17
5.	"Snowed in at Wheeler Street"	8:05
6.	"50 Words for Snow"	8:31
7.	"Among Angels"	6:49

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 8
Score: 5

Before The Dawn (2016)

A recording of Bush live from one of the 22 dates at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2014. Bush was overweight, so asked those attending not to release photos or videos. And has not made freely available any recordings. Some recordings are starting to come out on YouTube and remain for a few months before they are taken down. Tracks I've listened to have been adequate rather than special. Decent stuff, and it would have been cool to be there. The album is not essential, however, other than as a record of a rather unusual event in which an artist who had only done two live tours - one when unknown, and one when famous - decided to do their first live concert after 35 years, and to do the tour in one location so the fans had to come to her.

The album follows the concert performance, which consisted of three parts - Act 1 being songs from several albums, mostly Hounds of Love, Act 2 being the whole of side two of Hounds of Love, and Act 3 being the whole of side two of Aerial plus two songs. There were a lot of theatrics in the concert which do not come across in the recording. It sold reasonably well, and was was reasonably well received, but nobody got excited.

All songs written by Kate Bush, except "Astronomer's Call", "Waking the Witch", and "Watching Them Without Her", written with David Mitchell, and "Jig of Life" written with Bill Whelan and John Carder Bush.

Disc one: Act I

"Lily" – 4:50
"Hounds of Love" – 3:29
"Joanni" – 6:09
"Top of the City" – 5:13
"Never Be Mine" – 5:57
"Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" – 5:39
"King of the Mountain" – 8:08

Disc two: Act II – The Ninth Wave

"Astronomer's Call" – 2:38
"And Dream of Sheep" – 3:35
"Under Ice" – 2:59
"Waking the Witch" – 6:35
"Watching Them Without Her" – 2:01
"Watching You Without Me" – 4:25
"Little Light" – 2:04
"Jig of Life" – 4:09
"Hello Earth" – 8:00
"The Morning Fog" – 5:19

Disc three: Act III – A Sky of Honey

"Prelude" – 1:53
"Prologue" – 10:12
"An Architect's Dream" – 5:19
"The Painter's Link" – 1:33
"Sunset" – 7:59
"Aerial Tal" – 1:29
"Somewhere in Between" – 7:01
"Tawny Moon" – 6:10
"Nocturn" – 8:48
"Aerial" – 9:45
"Among Angels" – 5:50
"Cloudbusting" – 7:16

Kate Bush – vocals, piano ("The Ninth Wave" pre-recorded, "Prologue", "Among Angels"), pre-recorded synths
Kevin McAlea – keyboards, Uilleann pipes, accordion
Jon Carin – keyboards, guitars, programming, vocals
David Rhodes – guitars
Friðrik Karlsson – guitars, bouzouki, charango
John Giblin – bass
Mino Cinelu – percussion
Omar Hakim – drums

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 8
Score: 5

Discography

The Kick Inside (1978)
Lionheart (1978)
Never for Ever (1980)
The Dreaming (1982)
Hounds of Love (1985)
The Sensual World (1989)
The Red Shoes (1993)
Aerial (2005)
Director's Cut (2011)
50 Words for Snow (2011)

Albums ranked

* BestEverAlbums
* NME
* Stereogum
* The Moderns
* BBCAmerica
* TheGuardian
* SteveHoffmanForum
* Ranker

Links

* KateBush.Com

* KateBush.BlogSpot

* KateBush FanClub

* Twitter

* KateBushNews

* Gaffa.Org

* Links

Songs ranked

*"Wuthering Heights" (1978) UK No. 1; Points 30
*"Running Up That Hill" (1985) UK No. 3; Points 20
*"The Man With The Child In His Eyes" (1978) UK No. 6; Points 16
*"Cloudbusting" (1985) UK No. 20; Points 11
"This Woman's Work" (1989) UK No. 25; Points 9
"Hounds Of Love" (1986) UK No. 18; Points 7
"Moments Of Pleasure" (1993) UK No. 26; Points 6
"The Ninth Wave" (1985) Album only; Points 5
"Breathing" (1980) UK No. 16: Points 3
"Moving" (1978) Album only; Points 3
"The Sensual World" (1989) UK No. 12; Points 3
"Wow" (1979) UK No. 14; Points 5
"Sat In Your Lap" (1981) UK No. 11: Points 2
"Get out Of My House" (1981) Album only; Points 2
"Babooshka" (1980) UK No. 5; Points 1

Summary

[Note: Aspects which go toward final score are given a rough percentage figure of how much that aspect may have influenced the overall score. However, some bands may well exceed that percentage, particularly if their main focus is in that area.]