FEATURE:
Kate Bush’s The Kick Inside at Forty-Eight
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: David Bailey
The Nerves and the Confidence
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I think I have covered…
The Kick Inside from a number of different angles throughout the years. However, Kate Bush’s debut album turns forty-eight on 17th February, so I do want to cover it again. I am going to bring in a words from Bush about the album. It was clearly something she wanted to do since she was a child. Put out an album. Looking at this resource from the Kate Bush Encyclopedia, and they collated some critical reaction to The Kick Inside. There was some bewilderment and those writing it off. In terms of the music of 1977 and early-1978, Kate Bush definitely was not like other artists. As I shall explore, The Kick Inside is this hugely confident and accomplished album. The examples of recollections and words from Kate Bush about The Kick Inside are interesting:
“Hello everyone. This is Kate Bush and I’m here with my new album The Kick Inside and I hope you enjoy it. The album is something that has not just suddenly happened. It’s been years of work because since I was a kid, I’ve always been writing songs and it was really just collecting together all the best songs that I had and putting them on the album, really years of preparation and inspiration that got it together. As a girl, really, I’ve always been into words as a form of communication. And even at school I was really into poetry and English and it just seemed to turn into music with the lyrics, that you can make poetry go with music so well. That it can actually become something more than just words; it can become something special. (Self Portrait, 1978)
There are thirteen tracks on this album. When we were getting it together, one of the most important things that was on all our mind was, that because there were so many, we wanted to try and get as much variation as we could. To a certain extent, the actual songs allowed this because of the tempo changes, but there were certain songs that had to have a funky rhythm and there were others that had to be very subtle. I was very greatly helped by my producer and arranger Andrew Powell, who really is quite incredible at tuning in to my songs. We made sure that there was one of the tracks, just me and the piano, to, again, give the variation. We’ve got a rock ‘n’ roll number in there, which again was important. And all the others there are just really the moods of the songs set with instruments, which for me is the most important thing, because you can so often get a beautiful song, but the arrangements can completely spoil it – they have to really work together. (Self Portrait, 1978)
I think it went a bit over the top [In being orientally influenced], actually. We had the kite, and as there is a song on the album by that name, and as the kite is traditionally Oriental, we painted the dragon on. But I think the lettering was just a bit too much. On the whole I was surprised at the amount of control I actually had with the album production. Though I didn’t choose the musicians. I thought they were terrific.
I was lucky to be able to express myself as much as I did, especially with this being a debut album. Andrew was really into working together, rather than pushing everyone around. I basically chose which tracks went on, put harmonies where I wanted them…
I was there throughout the entire mix. I feel that’s very important. Ideally, I would like to learn enough of the technical side of things to be able to produce my own stuff eventually. (The Blossoming Ms. Bush, 1978)”.
It must have been a strange experience. Putting together a debut album and considering everything. I have ever been keen on the cover. Not really representative of the sound and themes of The Kick Inside, it is interesting what Bush said about the production and mixing. Even though Bush did not produce the album herself (Andrew Powell produced The Kick Inside), she was truly immersed and invested. Wanting to be involved with every aspect. Reading Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush and what he says about The Kick Inside. Like with many artists, there was this dichotomy of the public and professional persona. This was not a brand-new thing for Kate Bush. She was used to recording demos and performing at her family home. She recorded her first professional songs at AIR Studios in June 1975. The Man with the Child in His Eyes and The Saxophone Song appeared on The Kick Inside but were recorded a couple of years before everything else. However, when she returned to AIR Studios in 1977, there was this combination of nerves and confidence. The songs about sex, lust, death, philosophy, ghosts and classic literature. If other artists of her generation were writing about love or very ordinary things, Bush was bringing in this material that was so deferent and bold. Maybe not confidence as such as to release a debut album like that. It was definitely brave. It could have been a commercial disaster or not understood by the public. Instead, The Kick Inside sold over a million copies and was did get a lot of positive reviews. If some were harsh towards it or did not know what to make of The Kick Inside, the music did connect with people. Debut single, Wuthering Heights, went to number one and was this audacious and brilliant introduction. In terms of the unique aspect of her lyrics and the cast of characters Bush brought into her songs, the musicians she worked with were struck by this confidence. How she was creating these incredible songs that were so strange and enchanting. Musicians like Ian Bairnson stunned. What would come next? They’d play a particular track and all of its wonders would hit them.
Then they’d record another song and it would be completely different. David Paton recalled how Bush was the first person to offer cups of tea and make sure everyone was okay. If the music suggested something that was amplified and the work of this experienced artist, that was not really the case. This special artist who knew what she wanted and was creatively comfortable and strong, this instantly assured and direct voice took many by surprise. How these songs came to life and Bush took care of everything. How she recorded these vocals and they were layered. That she would stick around for the mixes and she was truly committed. Even if she would record albums more acclaimed and better received, it was clear how important The Kick Inside was. I don’t think we talk about it enough as a truly special and hugely groundbreaking debut. For a female artist in 1978 to release an album like that. It was recalled by those who worked on the album how Bush, as a dancer, would limber up in the studio. Making sure she was physically prepared. However, she did largely stand still for the vocals. I always imagined her gesticulating and being very animated whilst recording, though it seemed she was very focused and disciplined. Not moving around and off microphone. She was also quite nervous. This was a big deal and she was working around experienced musicians. They would note this and try and diffuse and relax her with humour. Bush would smoke weed, maybe as a way to chill, and sometimes there would be a lot of that which threatened to derail sessions. However, what comes across most is this very eager and warm woman who was putting together this remarkable debut. There was no standing on ceremony More one of the lads – as she was recording entirely with male musicians -, it was not like they had to mind their language and there was this division. She was very hands-on and she would also lean on them. They could sense how she was an experienced artist but also someone very special who had this instant and natural gift.
The camaraderie and bond was incredible. The confidence was clear. Intelligent and forthright, Bush did know what she wanted and how the songs should sound. Explaining things to these experienced musicians and not being led and pushed down, that communication from her and respect of her led to this remarkable and happy recording period. However, Bush was not really revealing motives and insights into the songs. If other artists were rattling on about songs and lyrics, Bush was a bit more guarded. There was no improvisation or working on the fly. These songs were ready and honed before they were heard by the public. Something she had been working towards for years, it is also an album of contradictions and contrasts. Making the muse masculine, as Graeme Thomson notes, The Kick Inside is also “one of the most profoundly female albums ever made”. It is interesting too what Laura Snapes said in her review of The Kick Inside from 2018 for Pitchfork: “The Kick Inside was Bush’s first, the sound of a young woman getting what she wants. Despite her links to the 1970s’ ancien régime, she recognized the potential to pounce on synapses shocked into action by punk, and eschewed its nihilism to begin building something longer lasting. It is ornate music made in austere times, but unlike the pop sybarites to follow in the next decade, flaunting their wealth while Britain crumbled, Bush spun hers not from material trappings but the infinitely renewable resources of intellect and instinct: Her joyous debut measures the fullness of a woman’s life by what’s in her head”. Although the lyrics were definitely eye-opening and not what those experienced musicians were used to, there was no chit-chat about it or conversation in the canteen about what the songs were about. No doubt speculations regarding songs like Strange Phenomnea or L’Amour Looks Something Like You. However, for the most part, it was this mutual respect where Kate Bush explained the songs and have some directions and the musicians brought something out of her. Making her more confident and stable.
EMI were not really primed for the reaction to The Kick Inside. Expecting Kate Bush to become successful a few albums in and this being a slower burn, the fact her debut was a huge success and it was maybe a curse too. She did not have time or opportunity to commit to dance or catch up with family and friends. She was instantly on the treadmill of musical success and promotion. Pulled around the world and even expected to tour in the U.S. – she had no interest in this and did not want to break America; none of her post-The Kick Inside albums were released until after 1984 -, I wonder how her career would her career would have developed if The Kick Inside was a more moderate success and Bush was building and working towards something big. As she as an instant success, there was this demand and expectation. Trying to make something bigger, better and different to what went before. Bush hardly had a moment to rest through most of her career. However, what we can take from The Kick Inside is that, when it was released on 17th February, 1978, it was this astonishing and complete work. The lyrics explored throughout were not only advanced or unexpected from a teenage artist. It was unlike anything any artist was putting out. This cast of characters and tracks that went beyond the ordinary, you can feel the influence and impact The Kick Inside today. Artists like CMAT have cited the album and you can feel some of Bush’s debut album in her work. However, Bush couldn’t have imagined how it would explode. She was young and nervous. A shy and introverted person, she never wanted to be famous and wanted to write. She was promoting around the world and performing on T.V. Subjected to this whirlwind 1978, 1979 was a year when she was writing and recording, though there was no new album. She put out her second album, Lionheart, in November 1978. I think The Kick Inside is one of the greatest and most important debut albums ever. One of the most distinct too. It was the astonishing and incredibly original offering from…
A musical genius.