FEATURE:
Constellations of Her Heart
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush during the filming of The Line, the Cross and the Curve/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
Do Kate Bush Deep Cuts Reveal More of Her Artistry and Originality Than the Bigger Hits?
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MOST people who are new…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
to Kate Bush associate her with these major songs. Ones that have been released as a single and are well-known. Whether that is Cloudbusting from Hounds of Love (1985), Wuthering Heights from The Kick Inside (1978) or Babooshka from Never for Ever (1980), they are songs that have been explored and played a lot. I guess it depends on what we class as a ‘deep cut’. To me, it is a song that has either not been released as a single or is not that well regarded/known. Others might say it is those absolute rare songs that few know about. Either way, you look through Kate Bush’s ten studio albums and there are plenty of examples. I would say her most recent, 50 Words for Snow, doesn’t have that many. I don’t know why, but the most recent album with deep cuts would be Aerial. Some from the first and second disc of the album. Plenty early in her career. One could say that Hounds of Love’s Mother Stands for Comfort is a deep cut, even though it is from Kate Bush’s most commercially successful and popular album. The one everyone knows. A rare distinction of never been played live or released as a single, Mother Stands for Comfort is an outsider, yet it is one of her most revealing and astonishing songs. I do think that these rare gems tell us more about Kate Bush than a massive hit. That may divide people, though I think it is the underuse of a song that means it seems fresher and less poured-over. This thought process started when I was co-hosting an event with Leah Kardos at Avalon Cafe in Bermondsey on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of Aerial. She was talking about some of her favourite Kate Bush songs or one that she would want played. Kardos mentioned Constellation of the Heart.
It is from 1993’s The Red Shoes. One of my only criticisms of that album is how the final third of the album is a bit weak. The final four songs (of twelve) starts with Constellation of the Heart. However, reinvestigating the song, it is one that warrants praise and inspection! I am not saying that all Kate Bush deep cuts are exceptional, overlooked or deserve new spotlight. I maintain that the remaining three tracks of the final four on The Red Shoes are a mixed bag. However, Constellation of the Heart is a fascinating song. In terms of Bush’s vocal performance and what she is saying in the song, I think it is a really interesting example. Consider these lyrics: “We take all the telescopes/And we turn them inside out/And we point them away from the big sky/Put your eye right up to the glass, now/And here we'll find the constellation of the heart”. It opens up a question whether artists know if a song will be a single and do they write in a certain way that means it will connect with audience commercially. Not to say less insightful or revealing, but perhaps artists are thinking more of accessibility than depth or resonance. Constellation of the Heart is not a single or ever could be, though I feel it is one of Kate Bush’s most compelling songs. How she is writing about love and relationships. Also on The Red Shoes is another terrific deep cut, Top of the City. This is one that was reworked for 2011’s Director’s Cut and was performed live for 2014’s Before the Dawn. It was part of the first act, alongside another The Red Shoes song, Lily. Again, I think that Top of the City reveals more about Kate Bush than singles from The Red Shoes such as Rubberband Girl or even Moments of Pleasure. In terms of its words and the power of the performance, I get more from Top of the City when it comes to delving deeper into Bush’s psyche and soul: “See how that building there is nearly built/There's a big fire over on the north of the city/I see you walking down the street with her/I see your lights going on and off/She's no good for you baby/She's no good for you now/Look I'm here with the ladder”.
It is not only The Red Shoes where Bush’s deeper cuts offered up more depth or personal insight than the singles/more popular songs. Cast your mind back to Never for Ever of 1980. Some stunning and very popular songs from that album, though I would contest All We Ever Look For is one of those deep cuts and lesser-discussed songs that is one of her most extraordinary and hugely compelling. I will perhaps use that word again, as I feel it is very apt. In terms of the inspiration, as she revealed to Derek Jewell for The Sunday Times, “It’s about family relationships generally. Our parents got beaten physically. We get beaten psychologically. The last line – “All we ever look for – but we never did score”.’ Well, that’s the way it is – you do get faced sometimes with futile situations. But the answer’s not to kill yourself. You have to accept it, you have to cope with it”. Think about all of that. I think many of us can identify with the themes and what Kate Bush is saying. Maybe knowing it would not being a single, even though Babooshka, Breathing and Army Dreamers – the three singles released from the album – let us into Kate Bush’s heart and creative mind, I think that All We Ever Look For offers up more. Some of her most powerful and potent words: “The whims that we’re weeping for/Our parents would be beaten for/Leave the breast/And then the rest/And then regret you ever left”. These songs I have exhibited and exposed are also musically rich. Bush’s voice offering new colours and layers. Perhaps it is the under-familiarity of the songs. Or, knowing they were unlikely singles, Bush felt she could be more vulnerable or open. One could say The Dreaming has no obvious singles and all the songs are deep cuts, yet that is not the case. Even so, there is an example of a track not played a lot that I will add to a playlist at the end: All the Love. I never hear this played and it is not one that I have heard people write about in any depth. Dreams of Orgonon dismissed the song when they wrote about it. Graeme Thomson, in his biography, Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, was a bit kinder.
In terms of how Bush writes about relationships, mortality, love and friendship, All the Love is one of her most important songs. Even if you think the composition is a little heavy or dirge-like, the sentiment of the song and its extraordinary sounds cannot be ignored. This is what Kate Bush said in her fan club newsletter of 1982:
“I think it’s sad how we forget to tell people we love that we do love them. Often we think about these things when it’s too late or when an extreme situation forces us to show those little things we’re normally too shy or too lazy to reveal. One of the ideas for the song sparked when I came home from the studio late one night. I was using an answering machine to take the day’s messages and it had been going wrong a lot, gradually growing worse with time. It would speed people’s voices up beyond recognition, and I just used to hope they would ring back again one day at normal speed.
This particular night, I started to play back the tape, and the machine had neatly edited half a dozen messages together to leave “Goodbye”, “See you!”, “Cheers”, “See you soon” .. It was a strange thing to sit and listen to your friends ringing up apparently just to say goodbye”.
Such a remarkable deep cut that I feel offers more of Kate Bush than many of the other tracks on The Dreaming. Even though I shot through Mother Stands for Comfort, it is the Hounds of Love deep cut that I think is as memorable and personal as the singles released from the album. I would urge people to read Leah Kardos’s analysis and interpretation of the song in her 33 1/3 Hounds of Love book. This loner or outsider on a classic album, Bush talks about a mother protecting her son, who has murdered someone. Maybe the son is exploiting his mother’s love and unconditional devotion. Psychologically and emotionally, I think it is the most powerful song on Hounds of Love – and yet nobody really talks about this song! The Sensual World and Aerial have songs that are deep cuts that are so extraordinary and should be highlighted. And yet it is the singles and bigger songs people mention when we talk of the album. There are actually a couple of examples on 1989’s The Sensual World.
One is The Fog. Not only does it feature her late father, Robert, providing vocals. It is this masterpiece that is an under-explored treasure. I feel this could have fitted on Hounds of Love, as The Fog, like so many songs on Hounds of Love, connects to water. Its dangers, mystery and romantic nature. As Bush explained to BBC Radio 1’s Roger Scott in a 1989 interview, there were personal inspirations behind the song. One that really goes deep into Kate Bush’s mind. Even though This Woman’s Work, The Sensual World and Love and Anger (the album’s singles) are wonderful, there is something more personal and impactful on The Fog:
“Again, it’s quite a complex song, where it’s very watery. It’s meant to be the idea of a big expanse of water, and being in a relationship now and flashing back to being a child being taught how to swim, and using these two situations as the idea of learning to let go. When I was a child, my father used to take me out into the water, and he’d hold me by my hands and then let go and say “OK, now come on, you swim to me.” As he’d say this, he’d be walking backwards so the gap would be getting bigger and bigger, and then I’d go [Splutters]. I thought that was such an interesting situation where you’re scared because you think you’re going to drown, but you know you won’t because your father won’t let you drown, and the same for him, he’s kind of letting go, he’s letting the child be alone in this situation. Everyone’s learning and hopefully growing and the idea that the relationship is to be in this again, back there swimming and being taught to swim, but not by your father but by your partner, and the idea that it’s OK because you are grown up now so you don’t have to be frightened, because all you have to do is put your feet down and the bottom’s there, the water isn’t so deep that you’ll drown”.
Even though I recently spotlighted Heads We’re Dancing, it is not the other song from The Sensual World that I feel is a gem of a deep cut that we all need to revisit. I think that Bush should have included it on 2011’s Director’s Cut, This is Rocket’s Tail. Speaking again to Roger Scott, this song was a showcase for the Trio Bulgarka. They are a Bulgarian three-piece vocal group who Bush was introduced to by her brother, Paddy (I think around 1985 sort of time). They added something magical to The Sensual World and The Red Shoes. Rocket’s Tail is perhaps their most incredible moment. However, I like the subject matter of Rocket’s Tail:
“Rocket is one of my cats, and he was the inspiration for the subject matter for the song, because he’s dead cute [laughs]. And it’s very strange subject matter because the song isn’t exactly about Rocket, it’s kind of inspired by him and for him, but the song, it’s about anything. I guess it’s saying there’s nothing wrong with being right here at this moment, and just enjoying this moment to its absolute fullest, and if that’s it, that’s ok, you know. And it’s kind of using the idea of a rocket that’s so exciting for maybe 3 seconds and then it’s gone, you know that’s it, but so what, it had 3 seconds of absolutely wonderful… [laughs] “.
There is this whimsical and funny throwaway nature. Rocket being one of his cats. I love the names of her pets. Her Weimaraners, Bonnie and Clyde, who feature on the cover of Hounds of Love. Other cats Pyewacket and Zoodle. There is another thread regarding how Bush’s pets made their way into her work. However, what she says about that brief excitement. Whether the first rush or love or something superficial, it is so interesting whether Bush was referring to the brevity of life or the importance of hanging on to moments of joy. Whether the transient and ephemeral nature of passion, happiness or contentment is like a rocket. Regardless of the truth, one cannot deny it is one of the most interesting and deep songs from The Sensual World. Made all the more beautiful – and almost spiritual – by the Trio Bulgarka!
Let’s end with Aerial. A double album, there are a few deep cuts on that album that are not really discussed that much. One single from the album, King of the Mountain, was released, though there is one particular song that I feel gets pushed aside and mocked. I have talked about it before. Other tracks that are deep cuts and offer us a deep window into Kate Bush’s soul include A Coral Room, Somewhere in Between and even How to Be Invisible. The latter is particularly compelling (that word again!). However, Bertie is the song I am referring to. It is an unabashed, unfiltered and unambiguous song of joy for her then-new son, Bertie (Albert). Why it is so important as this is a rare occasion of Bush not adding mystery or any barriers. Her heart exploding and exposed for all to see. Whether you find it cloying or saccharine, one cannot deny the importance of the words she sings! Simple and direct, this is a new mother marking that milestone and achievement by putting it onto the record. It is a song that will never be played and people will not talk about it in fond terms. However, it tells us more about Kate Bush at that moment than almost anything else written for Aerial. One can argue that the hits and popular songs offer plenty of revelation and insight into who Kate Bush is and why she is so special. However, and going back to Constellation of the Heart and how Leah Kardos talked about why tie was special to her, I do think people need to listen to these songs. We can only learn so much from the well-played and big-streamed songs. It is these rare jewels and dustier works of brilliance where I think Bush is less inhibited, more free and more revealing. An artist often seen as oblique or guarded, you only need to play some of these deep album cuts to see plenty from her soul and heart. You will feel and hear that brightly and brilliantly in…
THIS deep cuts blend.