FEATURE:
Kate Bush: Something Like a Song
Tawny Moon (Before the Dawn)
__________
I am thinking about…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performs on the opening night of her Before the Dawn residency with her son, Albert Mcintosh, during Somewhere in Between/PHOTO CREDIT: Ken McKay/Rex Features
Kate Bush’s Before the Dawn, as I have been listening to it a lot lately. The more that I listen to, the more I am transfixed by it. Kate Bush’s vocals are so powerful! I was not at any of the shows, yet I feel like I am there and transported to Hammersmith when she performed her run of twenty-two dates in 2014. The live album was released in November 2016, so we mark ten years of that soon. I am going to come back to that live album and also explore the residency, as there is so much to unpack and dissect. A fascinating and awesome residency, I am going to bring in some words about a special and unique song. Bush performed the entirety of The Ninth Wave and A Sky of Honey. These two suites appeared on 1985’s Hounds of Love and 2005’s Aerial respectively. The first act features eight tracks that are a mix of songs from various albums. The Red Shoes, Hounds of Love and Aerial are represented. The second act is The Ninth Wave, then the third act consists of A Sky of Honey. The encore brings us Among Angels from 50 Words for Snow (2011) and Cloudbusting (from Hounds of Love). A gem that does not appear on her albums and was included in the residency is Tawny Moon. Perhaps a bit controversial calling it a Kate Bush song, it is performed by Albert McIntosh. It is a Kate Bush song, though it very much hands the spotlight to her son. We heard Albert (or Bertie) on Aerial, Director’s Cut and 50 Words for Snow prior to Before the Dawn. For Before the Dawn, Mcintosh got to show his acting chops. He was also the Creative Adviser and played Son, and Painter. It is part of Kate Bush’s residency, though this is a rare occasion where I am throwing the focus to Albert Mcintosh. There is not a lot of information about the song, though those reviewing the residency and live album did have their say on Tawny Moon. This is what the Irish Times noted about this underrated jewel: “Surprisingly, one of the highlights of the collection is new song Tawny Moon - a song sung by her son, Albert, who prompted her comeback and took part in the ensemble of backing vocals throughout the show. That song was taken from Act 3, based largely around the Sky of Honey song suite from 2005's Aerial, as she observes the work of a painter from the 19th century, replete with birdsong and a significantly lusher, more pastoral palette to draw from”.
Tawny Moon appears after dusk. Kate Bush noting it was the perfect time to slot this song in. Seeing the moon rising and writing about it. Even though it is not sung by Kate Bush, I wanted to include it in this series. Though I have seen some reviews saying that it was not a highlight hearing Albert Mcintosh sing solo and being maybe a bit overdramatic, there was a lot of kindness for Tawny Moon. Background Magazine caught Before the Dawn and discussed Tawny Moon. Providing a mixed review: “Miss Bush's son Bertie got to shine in a solo, the song Tawny Moon, and although he's only sixteen he proved to be both a very talented singer and actor, who clearly felt very much at home on stage, but his voice sounded quite musical-like and therefore couldn't appeal to me that much. I had the feeling that a larger part of the audience felt the same”. When reviewing the live album, Kate Bush biographer Graeme Thomson said this when writing for UNCUT: “A new song, “Tawny Moon”, is slotted into A Sky Of Honey, and it’s good, a churning, mechanical piece of modern blues, sung gamely by Bush’s teenage son Bertie McIntosh”. If you ignore horrible reviews and hatchet jobs like this one, you’ll find that there was a lot of fascination around Tawny Moon. It is interesting what Kitty Empire said in this review for The Guardian: “Bertie stars as the painter in A Sky of Honey and sings a new song, Tawny Moon. While this maternal indulgence is only natural from Bush, Bertie's voice is more suited to the West End stage than art pop”. I wonder why this song was not considered for Aerial, and whether Kate Bush thought of a song like this to allow Albert/Bertie a chance to shine solo? It would have made an interesting addition. I think that her lyrics are wonderful and evocative. The first verse sets the scene: “I'll give every cloud a silver lining/Every star will be bright and shining/Tawny owls swoop, the howling wolf/Every swimming pool will shiver with excitement/I've made the wind blow and starry heavens hang/I ache from head to toe, I've got blisters on my hands”. Albert appearing on Aerial very briefly. When it was rereleased in 2018 and Rolf Harris’s parts were replaced – in light of his sexual assault conviction -, we do hear Mcintosh there. I guess he was too young to sing Tawny Moon in 2005, though it would have been great if Tawny Moon made an appearance. A studio version.
Aerial has this complex history and there is that unfortunate black mark where Rolf Harris appears on the original. I wonder too if he was ever considered for 2014 to appear on stage. As I wrote recently regarding this, it was largely down to her son that she did the residency and came back to the stage, so he was always a first choice. His acting is great and he was a key part of the residency. I really like Tawny Moon. The lyrics are brilliant. I like these lines: “Oh, my love, my love, my Luna/Night is nearly here/Here comes the night, she shimmies across the track/I've got to get it just right, I've got blisters on my hands “. Bush wrote about the nightingale and how “She knows precisely why/The unrequited poet cries”. Bush also mentioned the “Queen of Bedlam”. That would be a great character study for my series, Them Heavy People…, though I will try and keep that pure and reference songs Bush has song. I needed a place for Tawny Moon. To see it in a new light. It is a beautiful and stirring song I could see fitting into a West End show or something dramatic where Albert Mcintosh leads. The final lines are particularly romantic and evocative: “Rise and shine, Tawny Moon/I'm gonna paint all night with the Tawny Moon/I'm gonna dance all with the Tawny Moon”. In spite of the acidic reviews from a couple of people, I do have a lot of love for Tawny Moon. The one time I will include a Kate Bus song in this run that was not sung by Kate Bush. Its importance, though, is a reason for inclusion. As it is her son showcasing his vocal and dramatic talents. Also, and perhaps handily for her, a brief chance to rest her voice and slow down before she was singing and back at the front! On thew beautiful and brilliant Tawny Moon, we get to see…
THE son rising.