FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts
Flower of the Mountain
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THERE is not a whole lot…
of background information regarding this song, as it sort of came from another. 2011’s Director’s Cut was Kate Bush taking songs from 1989’s The Sensual World and 1993’s The Red Shoes and revising them. Replacing the vocals and given the production more space and room to move, the album did divide critics. I think that many preferred the original albums and feel the songs did not need to be messed with. There were others who liked the fact Bush was in the studio and provided a new angle. There is one track that is particularly important. Flower of the Mountain was a reworking and updating or The Sensual World’s title track. In that, Bush wanted to use Molly Bloom’s soliloquy from Ulysses. She could not get the permission that time around. The James Joyce estate granted her permission to use the words for Director’s Cut. Bush fought hard in the '80s to get permission from the Joyce estate, but when she did have clearance, that allowed her to reapproach the words to The Sensual World. The backing track remains, but it is almost a new track in terms of how Bush approached it. It is obviously different to the rest of the songs on Director’s Cut. Whereas they were re-approached because of the production or sound, Flower of the Mountain seemed like the end of a quest. For over twenty years, she had tried to get permission to these powerful and classic words. Whilst you hear some radio stations play The Sensual World, I am not sure whether I have ever heard Flower of the Mountain.
I am not including other tracks from Director’s Cut in this feature run, as they are pretty much the original songs, so I cannot class them as new. Flower of the Mountain is so different, so I see it as a separate entity. Maybe it is a moot point comparing Flower of the Mountain to The Sensual World, but I think it is important that Kate Bush finally used the text that she always wanted. In terms of which version is best, I would still say the original. I feel Flower of the Mountain is exceptional and deserves to be heard more. It will draw people to Director’s Cut. That is an album that does not get too much love or focus, so it is important that people find their way to it. I am going to wrap up by bringing in part of an interview from Pitchfork. Bush spoke with them in 2011 in promotion of Director’s Cut. Of course, Flower of the Mountain came up:
“Pitchfork: You got permission to use part of James Joyce's Ulysses for the new version of "The Sensual World". What's your relationship with that book?
KB: I've only read it once-- it was a really long time ago, and it took me a really long time to read it. [laughs] The original idea for the song was to use part of the soliloquy at the end of the book, but I couldn't get permission. It was always a bit of a compromise to me when I had to go and write my own lyrics, which were OK but nowhere near as interesting as the original idea. So when I was putting the ideas together for this project, I though it was worth a shot to ask again-- they could only say no again. And, to my great surprise and delight, I was given permission. To actually be able to fulfill that original idea was fantastic.
"The original vocals had an awful lot of work put into them at the time, and I wasn't really sure that I could better them-- I don't know if I have bettered them."
Pitchfork: Did you take that green light as a sign that you were on the right track with this entire project?
KB: [laughs] No. When I started this project, I thought it was going to be really easy, simple, and quick. Then, quite early on, I just thought: "It's not going to work." I couldn't find my way in. For instance, the original vocals had an awful lot of work put into them at the time, and I wasn't really sure that I could better them-- I don't know if I have bettered them. But what I found was by lowering the key of most of the tracks, I could suddenly approach them in a different way. That was one of the first turning points.
Also, working with Steve Gadd, who did all the drums on the tracks that have a rhythm section, was a great experience because I've been a fan of his work for a long time, and his interpretation of music is quite extraordinary. He has a great subtlety in his approach, and he's someone who isn't afraid to leave stuff out.
Pitchfork: We were talking about Ulysses before, and it's wild to think how James Joyce wrote such an incredibly dense work without all this technology we take for granted now. It seems even more super-human.
KB: Maybe we don't realize how crafted a lot of these people were; maybe there was this element of realization. There are some extraordinary human beings who have worked in the arts who did it all by themselves. Mozart didn't have Pro Tools, but he did a pretty good job”.
A definite deep cut that does not really get played much, I think a lot of people are not aware of Flower of the Mountain. A brilliant moment from an album of reworked songs, go and listen to it and the Director’s Cut album. I have seen people rank the tracks from Director’s Cut in terms of their quality. Whilst some tracks are better on the original albums, there are others that surpass the originals or the new versions are interesting. I think that Flower of the Mountain is…
ONE of the album’s best.