FEATURE:
Snowed In
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005 around the release of Aerial/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton
For Those Who Do Not Rate Kate Bush’s Modern Work As Highly As Her 1980s Albums
__________
I do think that…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for 2011’s Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
there is assumption in the Kate Bush fan community that her very best work came in the 1980s. That is hard to argue against. 1980’s Never for Ever was a step forward from her 1978 albums, The Kick Inside and Lionheart – even though the former is my favourite album ever - and there are some all-time best Kate Bush songs on that album (including Babooshka, Army Dreamers and Breathing). 1982’s The Dreaming is experimental and dense. Kate Bush creating something more akin to art rather than music. The Fairlight CMI creating this sonic world. Hounds of Love is ambitious and grand more had more accessible moments compared to The Dreaming. The classic singles on the first side and the sublime and genius The Ninth Wave on the second side. The brilliant yet underrated The Sensual World in 1989. Bush’s best decade for album releases, when we rank her output, many people will put Hounds of Love first and then The Dreaming will be top three. Maybe Never for Ever will come in the top three or possibly fourth position. However, as hard as it would be to say 2011’s Director’s Cut should rank alongside her very best work, I do think it gets dismissed out of hand without people giving it a chance or truly listening. Understanding the importance of the album and the fact Kate Bush reworked and re-recorded songs from The Sensual World and 1993’s The Red Shoes. However, 2005’s Aerial and 2011’s 50 Words for Snow should be seen as among her best work. Again, when it comes to album rankings, Aerial fares better than 50 Words for Snow. That said, neither album scores as highly as it should. People perhaps unable to get past the 1980s and being stuck in this assumption that nothing can beat those albums. That work that came later is vastly inferior. I confess Hounds of Love especially has this incredible production sound. Bush, as producer, creating so many pages of notes; spending so long with the songs. She created this masterpiece.
Listen to Aerial and the masterful production on that album. I would argue the album is grander and more evocative than Hounds of Love. Bush consciously having another conceptual suite, twenty years after she recorded one for Hounds of Love. Aerial’s second disc is A Sky of Honey. The songwriting is exquisite. The diversity of themes. From celebrating her young son to talking about Pi through to memories of her mother, it is an album that has home and family at the heart. I have talked about this before. Some of its most beautiful moments come on the first side. Underplayed songs like Joanni, How to Be Invisible and A Coral Room are not only unique and extraordinary songs in terms of their lyrics. The production on those songs is phenomenal. The almost cinematic A Sky of Honey one of the best things Kate Bush ever recorded. 50 Words for Snow, again, is defined by its flawless production. Bush able to bring the listener into the songs. Maybe people were less awed of this album because it has longer songs and requires a bit more patience. At seven tracks, it focuses more ion songs unfurling and creating this sonic world. Kate Bush, by 2011, no longer concerned with radio playlists or recording songs that are obvious singles (though Wild Man was released as a single, possibly as it is the shortest track on the album!). There is this division between Bush’s 1980s best and her ‘modern’ albums – those that came in the twenty-first century. I am very much a fan of her later work. Not to say people are ignorant to the brilliance of Kate Bush’s recent albums. I just think there is this sweeping view that her earlier albums, particularly Hounds of Love, are the very best and that the likes of 50 Words for Snow are not in the same league. It bring to mind another interesting point to consider. Look at the reviews for Aerial and 50 Words for Snow and there are more four and five-star reviews than there are for The Dreaming or Never for Ever. Maybe Hounds of Love tops them but, in terms of aggregate reviews, there is not a lot of space between Hounds of Love and Aerial/50 Words for Snow.
Reviewers in 2005 and 2011 dolling out massive praise to albums that they viewed to be among the best of that year. It is strange that, when they rank Kate Bush’s albums, releases that were reviewed more poorly are seen as superior. I would say there does seem to be this instant and understandable rush of love for any new Kate Bush album. However, when it comes to putting some distance between themselves and the albums, critics will perhaps consider them less fondly. Even if 50 Words for Snow got quite a few five-star reviews, that does not mean it will be ranked alongside Hounds of Love. I guess it is a subjective thing. The albums are vastly different. I do hope that those who feel Aerial or 50 Words for Snow are not as interesting or worthy as the albums Kate Bush released in the 1980s to properly investigate these albums. These newer works. I have considered this before. However, today, I wanted people to listen to the production. The arrangement of the songs and the atmospheres that Kate Bush summons. The track sequencing as well. They are sublime and fascinating albums that have so more depth to them. Many people do not recognise this. I am going to wrap up in a minute. However, I was keen to almost come to the defence of Kate Bush’s more contemporary work. Of course, 50 Words for Snow is her most recent album. When she does release a new album, you know it will get ecstatic reviews. In years to come, will this album gain the same sort of affection as Hounds of Love or The Dreaming?!
Here is an example of an album ranking list where 50 Words for Snow was placed tenth (out of ten) and Aerial was fifth; this one a little kinder to 50 Words for Snow. I guess fifth place for Aerial is not too bad. However, the album does not get played as much as others. Not discussed widely. It turns twenty in November, so let’s hope it is given overdue appreciation and spotlight. Perhaps this 2019 NME ranking is the fairest when it comes to the power and potency of Aerial and 50 Words for Snow. I know rankings are subjective. Even so, you can argue that two of Bush’s best albums remain underrated. How do we get past that? Can you ever really turn people’s opinions?! I guess we need to highlight the brilliance of the albums and the incredible production work. People need to listen to Kate Bush interviews from 2005 and 2011. I wonder if a new generation of Kate Bush fans even know about Aerial or 50 Words for Snow. They are albums not really featured much on TikTok or played on the radio. They do not feature on T.V. shows or film and they are albums that demand the listener is immersed and focused. Aerial is a double album and is very long whilst 50 Words for Snow has no typically ‘short’ song. Compared to the tracks on Never for Ever or Hounds and Love and it might be understandable why these are seen as more digestible. I would love to see someone produce short videos and clips online backed by songs from the 2005 and 2011 albums. Interspersed by Kate Bush interview audio. There are not that many features written about Aerial or 50 Words for Snow. This really needs to change. I cannot begrudge people for heralding Kate Bush’s 1980s albums. I love them too. However, we need to give Aerial, 50 Words for Snow and even Director’s Cut more props. Once you truly listen to the albums, you understand Kate Bush is as fine a producer and visionary as…
SHE was in the 1980s.