Kate Bush’s zenith and slooow output
I’m not one of those rabid Kate Bush fans that searches for every trickle of information about her, so I don’t really know what she’s doing right now. The gap between albums certainly has always grown, and now that she’s a mother, I’m sure it’ll take even longer.
I think that The Red Shoes was a great album, but it continues her progress towards ballady "adult comtemporary" music. My wife even likes some of the songs, but not Rubberband Girl, which is my favourite on the album.
Personally, I think her best album was Hounds of Love. The songs Cloudbusting, The Big Sky and Hounds of Love bring me great joy, and The Ninth Wave is really good too.
However, I think her best song is Wuthering Heights, with the new vocals. Amazing to think she wrote that when she was 14. I find the nasally voice on her earlier albums ruins my appreciation of the songs. There’s great stuff there, but I find it tedious. The improvement in her voice from 16 to 24 years old was incredible. I assume she got some very good lessons.
I imagine that if she were to re-record the best songs from the first three albums, she’d have another superior album. Despite the fact that the songs are already written, and she could re-use the music if she wanted, as a perfectionist it still would take a long time.
In some ways though, I find that many Kate Bush songs are like magic tricks. Once you know how the trick is done, it often seems rather mundane. Knowing what the song is actually about can take all of the depth out of it, and make it seem ordinary. It’s much better to speculate and guess what she’s thinking.
Kate, if you’re reading this (unlikely), reissue old albums and/or songs with your much better voice and make lots of fans happy. Oh, and you’ll make some money too!
