An Album For The Cold

Original released on CD Fish People 5099972986622

(EU 2011, November 21)

Kate Bush's "50 Words for Snow" follows "Director's Cut", a dramatically reworked collection of catalog material, by six months. This set is all new, her first such venture since 2005's "Aerial". The are only seven songs here, but the album clocks in at an hour. Despite the length of the songs, and perhaps because of them, it is easily the most spacious, sparsely recorded offering in her catalog. Its most prominent sounds are Bush's voice, her acoustic piano, and Steve Gadd's gorgeous drumming - though other instruments appear (as do some minimal classical orchestrations). With songs centered on winter, "50 Words for Snow" engages the natural world and myth - both Eastern and Western - and fantasy. It is abstract, without being the least bit difficult to embrace. It commences with "Snowflake," with lead vocals handled by her son Bertie. Bush's piano, crystalline and shimmering in the lower middle register, establishes a harmonic pattern to carry the narrative: the journey of a snowflake from the heavens to a single human being's hand, and in its refrain (sung by Bush), the equal anticipation of the receiver. "Lake Tahoe" features choir singers Luke Roberts and Michael Wood in a Michael Nyman-esque arrangement, introducing Bush's slippery vocal as it relates the tale of a female who drowned in the icy lake and whose spirit now haunts it. Bush's piano and Gadd's kit are the only instruments. "Misty," the set's longest - and strangest -cut, is about a woman's very physical amorous tryst with, bizarrely, a snowman. Despite its unlikely premise, the grain of longing expressed in Bush's voice - with bassist Danny Thompson underscoring it - is convincing. Her jazz piano touches on Vince Guaraldi in its vamp. The subject is so possessed by the object of her desire, the morning's soaked but empty sheets propel her to a window ledge to seek her melted lover in the winter landscape.

"Wild Man," introduced by the sounds of whipping winds, is one of two uptempo tracks here, an electronically pulse-driven, synth-swept paean to the Tibetan Kangchenjunga Demon, or "Yeti." Assisted by the voice of Andy Fairweather Low, its protagonist relates fragments of expedition legends and alleged encounters with the elusive creature. Her subject possesses the gift of wildness itself; she seeks to protect it from the death wish of a world which, through its ignorance, fears it. On "Snowed in at Wheeler Street," Bush is joined in duet by Elton John. Together they deliver a compelling tale of would-be lovers encountering one other in various (re)incarnations through time, only to miss connection at the moment of, or just previous to, contact. Tasteful, elastic electronics and Gadd's tom-toms add texture and drama to the frustration in the singers' voices, creating twinned senses: of urgency and frustration. The title track - the other uptempo number - is orchestrated by loops, guitars, basses, and organic rhythms that push the irrepressible Stephen Fry to narrate 50 words associated with snow in various languages, urgently prodded by Bush. Whether it works as a "song" is an open question. The album closes with "Among Angels," a skeletal ballad populated only by Bush's syncopated piano and voice. "50 Words for Snow" is such a strange pop record, it's all but impossible to find peers. While it shares sheer ambition with Scott Walker's "The Drift" and PJ Harvey's "Let England Shake", it sounds like neither; Bush's album is equally startling because its will toward the mysterious and elliptical is balanced by its beguiling accessibility. (Thom Jurek in AllMusic)

KATE BUSH: "Lionheart" (2018 remaster)

Original released on LP EMI EMA 787

(UK 1978, November 13)

Proving that the English admired Kate Bush's work, 1978's "Lionheart" album managed to reach the number six spot in her homeland while failing to make a substantial impact in North America. The single "Hammer Horror" went to number 44 on the U.K. singles chart, but the remaining tracks from the album spin, leap, and pirouette with Bush's vocal dramatics, most of them dissipating into a mist rather than hovering around long enough to be memorable. Her fairytale essence wraps itself around tracks like "In Search of Peter Pan," "Kashka From Baghdad," and "Oh England My Lionheart," but unravels before any substance can be heard. "Wow" does the best job at expressing her voice as it waves and flutters through the chorus, with a melody that shimmers in a peculiar but compatible manner. Some of the tracks, such as "Coffee Homeground" or "In the Warm Room," bask in their own subtle obscurity, a trait that Bush improved upon later in her career but couldn't secure on this album. "Lionheart" acts as a gauge more than a complete album, as Bush is trying to see how many different ways she can sound vocally colorful, even enigmatic, rather than focus on her material's content and fluidity. (Mike DeGagne in AllMusic)

KATE BUSH: "The Kick Inside" (2018 remaster)

Original released on LP EMI 062-06603

(UK 1978, February 17)

"The Kick Inside" was an impressive debut by a precocious young singer/songwriter that EMI had been nurturing in the studio for the 18 months up until it's February 1978 release. Kate's earliest proper studio demos dated back to 1975, when she was just 17 years of age. The record company felt she wasn't quite ready for her launch at that time, but signed her anyhow. They knew they had something extraordinary and weren't going to let another label steal her. Kate's music isn't easy to categorize, although there are elements of classical in her piano playing and her approach seems a bit more Baroque Pop than Art Rock. Coupled with intelligently written lyrics that are highly emotive & wise beyond her years, her music seems to exist within its own unique niche that seemed rather incomparable to her contemporaries at the time. Although this record was merely the beginning of her musical journey, it is remarkably well realized for such a young artist. While Andrew Powell produced this record, Kate would be in charge for all of her following records. The higher more youthful tone of Kate's voice is especially evident on this album and may be something of an acquired taste for some. However, her almost operatic singing range puts her obvious ability on display. "Moving" and her smash hit "Wuthering Heights" are fine examples of her vocal prowess.

Yet, it wasn't her singing that impressed me the most. It was her emotional honesty and willingness to discuss such topics as the female condition in such a tasteful, but curious manner, as she does in "Room For The Life". While occasionally slipping in a cheeky line that might make a vicar blush, she does so with great precision and intelligence. Although I enjoy nearly all of the tracks on some level, the songs towards the end of the record seem to be stronger. "The Man With The Child In His Eyes" is a beautifully sung ballad that has Kate pining for her absent lover who is out at sea. "James and the Cold Gun" provides a nice contrast to all of these ballads with a brief foray into hard rock. "L'amour Looks Something Like You" is yet another fine piano ballad, as well as the aforementioned "Room For the Life". "The Kick Inside" is a well balanced record that provides a wonderful snapshot of Kate's songwriting ability during her early years. While she would only refine her talents and become more adventurous on later records, her beginnings are remarkable to behold. (Rob Dwyer in AllMusic)

WALLPAPER: "Kate Bush"