FEATURE:
Our Experiment in Sound Was Nearly Ready to Begin
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at Abbey Road recording her third studio album, Never for Ever (1980)
Kate Bush, the Audiophile
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I want to go off of a…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in the studio, captured by John Carder Bush
feature from What Hi-Fi? recently that collated twelves songs from Kate Bush that are best to test your stereo to. It is an element of her music that many overlooked: the fact that she is an audiophile. Someone, like Steely Dan, who makes music of the utmost audio quality. Production that means every element and layer comes to life. Spending time in the studio ensuring all factors of the song are as good as can be, Bush is an artist who always has an eye on the end result. In terms of producing audio quality that is sublime and transformative. She knows that her albums will be bought on vinyl. Thinking about how they will sound will people pop on her albums. There is also that consideration about memorability. Maybe I had not discussed it before but, after reading that article from What Hi-Fi?, it got me to thinking about Kate Bush’s albums and how they sound when played on a stereo or vinyl player. Certain songs test various ranges and aspects. In terms of tonality for instance. The midrange fidelity of your Hi-Fi system. As a producer and artist, Bush is thinking about this. Not only putting out songs that sound good. She is thinking about stereos and listening devices. How people will experience albums. Bush is also someone who has reissued and remastered her studio albums. Not only to get them to new listeners, there is also that consideration about sound and making the audio and listening experience as brilliant as possible. There are articles like this that dive into Bush’s recording and audio. Whether remastered versions of albums such as Hounds of Love (1985) have the best sound. When she does remaster her albums, there is that thought as to whether it is an improvement on the original. Or else why do it?! The 2015 remaster of Bush’s sixth studio album, The Red Shoes (1993), was one of the first times any of her albums had been remastered. I will finish off soon. First, I wanted to select a few of the twelve songs that What Hi-Fi? selected as best to test your stereo too. A range of classics and deeper cuts from Kate Bush:
“Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake (Lionheart, 1978)
A lot of artists struggle when it comes to ‘second album time’, but Kate Bush, of course, had been writing songs for half of her life by the time of Lionheart. What she hadn’t been able to break free of just yet, though, is her record company’s notion that they knew better than her what her records ought to sound like.
Consequently, Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake is overblown and bombastic for no apparent reason, but it does at least give your system a chance to show what it’s got where dynamics and straightforward attack are concerned. The wedding-cake arrangement needs careful handling, too – unless your set-up can unpick it, it will sound less like a performance and more like a collision
Hello Earth (Hounds of Love, 1985)
In which Kate Bush crams more ideas, more tones and textures, more mystery and more emotion into 6m 13s than most artists can muster through the course of an entire album. Because it was released in 1985, Hounds of Love was divided into ‘side one’ and ‘side two’ – and ‘side two’ was a concept/song-cycle affair entitled The Ninth Wave, of which Hello Earth comprised the climax.
There isn’t really enough space here to go into just what a test of tonal fidelity, frequency response, soundstaging, midrange reproduction and rhythm management this recording is – and besides, it’s just a thrillingly ambitious piece of music no matter what your system is like. But if your set-up can’t cope with its scope, a stack of its atmosphere and impact will be lost – which would be a shame.
Rocket’s Tail (The Sensual World, 1989)
‘Rock’ songs are at a premium in the Kate Bush catalogue – and it’s no surprise whatsoever that a Kate Bush ‘rock’ song, despite being complete with great big drums and extended Dave Gilmour guitar solo, is about as far from the mainstream idea of a ‘rock’ song as it’s possible to get. Rocket’s Tail combines a kind of steampunk superhero aesthetic (“...dressed as a rocket on Waterloo Bridge… size 5 lightning boots too…”) with an obtuse tribute to a cat called – guess what? – Rocket.
It’s an absolutely fearsome test of your system’s midrange fidelity, given that the first, pre-’rock’, portion of the song features Bush plus the massed voices of Trio Bulgarka, and its tonality will also be examined closely by the none-more-Pink Floyd guitar sound”.
Think about this article from 2010. It concerns a reissue/remaster of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love. The original, which Kate Bush produced, is masterful. I think that both oriignal and remasters bring something different from songs. Maybe remastered albums bring clarity to songs. Instruments and notes are clearer and sharper. There is a warmth and naturalness from the originals that Bush created. Which is better as a listening experience? I do feel that she is always thinking about sound and how the listener feels:
“According to Wikipedia, an audiophile is “a hobbyist who seeks high-quality audio reproduction via the use of specialized high-end audio electronics.” Clearly, I am a “vinyl-lover” and not an audiophile then, but either way I was very happy to receive my copy of the new Hounds of Love on vinyl yesterday. I’ve been trying to confirm whether this is the very first time it has been issued in a gatefold sleeve like this? Was it released in some territory in that format? South America? Answers to the usual address, please. In any case it looks very nice and sounds really superb. I found the discussions on Steve Hoffman’s site about this release quite enlightening. Steve is the highly-respected guy who mastered the album, in fact Kate has just recently personally approved the test pressing he created of The Sensual World for Audio Fidelity. Kate insists on personally approving the test pressings each time (you may remember the Aerial vinyl release was initially delayed a little till the pressing was to Kate’s satisfaction). A consensus seems to be emerging about the vinyl being “exceptionally quiet”, which I take to mean no crackles and pops etc. One comment says: “Kate’s vocals were clear, the background voices and effects were distinct, the instruments sounded perfect. For example, the double bass on Under Ice was so real and clear that you can easily hear the difference between each note that Danny Thompson played. Lots of air between the instruments here – no muddy sound.” Read more discussion at Steve’s forum here. This is all making me think that I need to invest in a better record player!”.
It would be nice if there was greater discussion of Kate Bush as an audiophile. Someone clearly compelled to create music that is a listening experience. Ensuring that her music affects the stereo, ears and mind. One might say that every artist does this, though I don’t think it is the case. There is something about Kate Bush’s songwriting and production different from many. Albums like The Dreaming (1982) are so full of different affects and sounds. These amazingly rich songs that were hugely impactful in 1982. The remastered versions of that album really bring the songs to life. The Sensual Word is one of the most obvious cases of an album whose songs really are designed to leave a lasting impression. She is almost like an artist in that case. Someone painting rather than recording notes. I have been thinking about all of her studio albums and, since she took over producing from Andrew Powell – 1980’s Never for Ever was co-produced with Jon Kelly -, how sound and the sonic impact of her songs took priority. Songs with more detail and depth. I am going to end with a playlist featuring those twelve songs that What Hi-Fi? selected as the best to test your stereo to. Some very special and distinct Kate Bush cuts. They all have their own distinctions. If you have not got any remastered versions of Kate Bush’s studio albums, I would suggest you invest in one of them. It is proof that Bush clearly wants the listener to experience songs at their most impactful and immersive. Another reason why Kate Bush is…
SUCH a remarkable artist.