FEATURE:
For the New Generation of Kate Bush Fans…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989
Why You Need to Explore Her Whole Discography
__________
HEADING through December…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
I am going to do one or two Christmas-themed features around Kate Bush. There will be a gift-buying guide, a piece about a track, Home for Christmas. I will also look back on her 2022 and everything she has achieved. I will also do one or two more deep cut dives – where I look at great songs that do not get much attention -, and I will also start features around the forty-fifth anniversary of The Kick Inside (on 20th January). I don’t think it is possible or the full story if fans stick with one album or they are too beholden to a particular period. As I have said numerous times this year, Bush’s music has found a whole new generation because of the Netflix series, Stranger Things. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is a well-known song that is played regularly on radio. It does seem that many people did not know about the track, so the show has put it in their lives. Because of this, Hounds of Love (the song the album is from) has regained a giant amount of popularity and focus. It is no surprise that The Guardian recently recommended 1985’s Hounds of Love as the gateway Kate Bush aolbum – the one that fans should start with:
“With a catalogue as rich and deep as Kate Bush’s, it feels almost too easy to recommend her best-known and biggest-selling album as a first point of contact. But her most famous album is also her best. It has all the strangeness, density and boldness of 1982’s The Dreaming – it variously involves Tennyson, Wilhelm Reich, Gregorian chant, Irish jigs and a song about maternal love written from the point of view of a murderer – but allied to more directly appealing music.
Running Up That Hill didn’t become a No 1 single earlier this year just because it was featured in Stranger Things, but because it combines a stunning melody with a curious atmosphere that buries itself under your skin. To make commercially successful music this complex and fascinating takes unique skill; so does making music that exists so apart from anything else happening at the time that it inhabits its own space: Kate Bush’s genius in miniature. AP”.
I do think that this album is a masterpiece, but I still think there is too much weight on it. Other albums get overlooked. For instance, if you want an album that introduces her music and provides a good starting place, I will say 1978’s The Kick Inside. There are so many brilliant albums that paint the full picture of Bush’s talent and songwriting. I know that, by looking at streaming figures, songs from a few of her album have boosted their numbers. I am curious whether many of the new fans (mainly Gen Z) even know about 1978’s Lionheart, 1980’s Never for Ever, and 1982’s The Dreaming? Those albums are each unique and steppingstones to Hounds of Love. They are very strong and varied, offering treats and new layers of her music. It is all well having a gateway album but, as I have also mentioned before, if it the most acclaimed and popular album, then does that mean people peak too soon? Also, if you have the best album, are you going to explore beyond that? Not to say that everyone who is new to Kate Bush will stick with Hounds of Love, but there are distinct early and later periods either side of that album that are remarkable. The fortieth anniversary of The Dreaming this year was a reminder of how underrated and important it is. Influencing so many artists, I think that it would resonate and connect with young listeners. The same could be said of later albums like Aerial (2005) and 50 Words for Snow (2011).
In the same way many critics and people defined Kate Bush in 1978 on the strength of her debut album, many now might have a very limited and misleading perspective if they remain on Hounds of Love. Rarities and B-sides provide eccentric gems and lost classics. It may be harder for young listeners to afford the vinyl copies of Bush’s albums. They may well buy one, and that is likely to be Hounds of Love. Streaming means there is access to pretty much everything! A few of the B-sides are not on Spotify, but you can get them on YouTube and other sites. I will do a Christmas feature recommending books and albums to buy, but I would say to be bold and adventurous. I can listen to Never for Ever or Hounds of Love and get one experience. I then spin The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993) and there is something else. A new experience. Each album charts that stage in Kate Bush’s career, and gives you that broader impression. Many not diving right into whole albums and doing them all in a single day, I would say to start at the beginning and then spend time with each album going forward. Find out about Bush’s B-sides, because I feel knowing one song or clinging to Hounds of Love denies you of so much treasure and context. Start exploring today because you will find that there is…
SO much wonder to discover.