FEATURE:
All We Ever Look For
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush shot for the cover of Never for Ever’s second single, Babooshka, in 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
Might We See Some Kate Bush Anniversary Releases This Year?
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ALTHOUGH we have to wait until the…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush photographed by her brother, John Carder Bush, in 1980
autumn to mark the anniversaries of two of Kate Bush’s finest albums, it has me returning to that subject of re-releases and anniversary editions. I have written about a couple of albums that are celebrating anniversaries ext week: Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti is forty-five tomorrow (24th), whilst Tears for Fears’ Songs from the Big Chair is thirty-five the following day. Of course, on 8th May, we mark fifty years of The Beatles Let It Be – the final album to be released from The Fab Four. Kate Bush is not one for retrospection but, through her career, there have been occasions where she has revisited the past. When she produced her Hammersmith residency, Before the Dawn, in 2014, she performed songs from past albums – most taken from Hounds of Love (1985) and the exceptional Aerial (2005). In 1986, The Whole Story was released – it was a greatest hit package that I remember seeing (there was a VHS version) when I was young. She re-released her back catalogue in 2018 and released vinyl sets that collated her work for fans and newcomers. The same year, she brought out a book of lyrics; collating some of her most memorable tracks in a lovely edition. Bush has always been one for looking forward and doing something new but I wonder, as we await a possible eleventh studio album -, there are going to be many who would like to see anniversary editions of two fabulous albums. Never for Ever was released on 8th September, 1980 whilst her big smash, Hounds of Love, was released on 16th September, 1985 (also, Aerial, is fifteen on 7th November).
Both are important albums for different reasons. Never for Ever was released during a busy time for Kate Bush. She released her first two albums in 1978 – The Kick Inside and Lionheart -, and then went to do her Tour of Life in 1979. There was so much attention her way and huge expectations. Whilst Lionheart did not perform as well as The Kick Inside – the label rushed her into a second album and she there was not a song as big as Wuthering Heights on Lionheart (although Wow came close) -, the Tour of Life was a sensation, and Bush could have taken some time out to rest and plan her next moves. Instead, she delivered Never for Ever in 1980; how many artists can release three studio albums and a huge tour in the space of just over three years?! In my view, Never for Ever is Bush’s most-underrated album. With three huge singles – Breathing (14th April, 1980), Babooshka (27th June, 1980), and Army Dreamers (22nd September, 1980) – released, the album went to number one in the U.K. – it was the first ever album by a British female solo artist to top the U.K. album chart, as well as being the first album by any female solo artist to enter the chart at number one. It is not a surprise that Never for Ever was so successful, given the way people reacted to her Tour of Life and (an album) that boasted songs like Babooshka, All We Ever Look For and The Wedding List.
Also, this was the album when a more political tone was coming into her music. Breathing is from the perspective of a fetus who is aware of nuclear war outside the womb; Army Dreamers concerns the waste of young lives who are sent to war to die. The mix of the more accessible tracks and those with a bigger message made it Bush’s most complete and lyrically varied album to that date. Although Bush is not a perfectionist – she has said so herself -, she is someone who makes sure songs are right, and that can often mean doing multiple takes to get the right sound. Bush was only twenty-two years old when Never for Ever was released, and I listen back almost forty years later and marvel at the sheer scope, confidence, and quality of the record. Maybe the inclusion of more political songs stemmed from a (patronising) interview Bush was subjected to by Danny Baker back in 1979 where there was an impression (from Baker) that Bush was nothing more than a fluffy Pop artist; someone who was a bit hippy-dippy and lacked seriousness. Regardless, Never for Ever is a remarkable album, and you just know there are alternate takes and little gems that are in the Kate Bush vault. I realise Bush has released remastered sets that includes original studio albums and some rarities. Fascination regarding her work continues, and I think Never for Ever’s fortieth later in the year warrants celebration and new inspection. It was a new phase in her career, and she would shift directions two years later when releasing The Dreaming.
I am not sure how many alternate takes and tracks there are left in the archives, but there are B-sides that could be included onto the original album. Some might say the fact we have Never for Ever in remastered form means that, two years from that, it might not be a necessary release. Like The Beatles and other bands that have seen classic albums released with extras on their anniversary, it is a rare chance for fans to get a more detailed insight into the creation of an album; to hear early versions of huge songs and little snippets from the studio. Nearly forty years after the release of Bush’s third studio album, it still sounds unlike anything else. The same can be said for her fifth studio album, Hounds of Love. Released in 1985, it is widely considered to be her finest album. It received tremendous and impassioned reviews when it was released, and is her most accomplished work. With The Ninth Wave second side to the album – the story of a woman out at sea and waiting to be rescued – to the more accessible first half, Hounds of Love is a masterpiece. Only twenty-seven when Hounds of Love was released, it is another album of extraordinary ability and depth from an artist so young. After the rather stressful process of recording The Dreaming, Bush needed to make some changes.
That album was her most experimental to date, and her record label, EMI, were a bit disappointed by its relatively poor sales and the fact it took her two years to release another album after Never for Ever – now, two years seems a pretty quick turnaround! In 1983, Bush discovered a fantastic space in the countryside that allowed her to move out of London; she found this wonderful barn/facility that she turned into her own studio and, with her boyfriend, Del Palmer (her engineer and long-time friend and performer), and family close, it was a hugely happy and productive time. Songs like Running Up That Hill, Cloudbusting and Hounds of Love are instantly recognisable; The Ninth Wave is this engrossing and wonderfully rich series of songs charting the isolation of a woman at sea who, happily is rescued as she sees all of her hope fade away. Hounds of Love is considered one of the 1980s’ best albums, and it has not had an anniversary release yet. Maybe a thirty-fifth anniversary is not that important but, consider the fact Tears for Fears have released a thirty-fifty anniversary set for the less-adored Songs from the Big Chair, and it makes me wonder whether Bush or EMI will dip into the vault and bring out a Hounds of Love special. It is a wonderful record that Bush is very proud of and counts as one of her all-time favourite releases – I think 2005’s Aerial remains at the top of her list.
When it comes to reviews, one would be pushed to find one that is anything less than glowing and radiantly positive. This is AllMusic’s take on Kate Bush’s 1985 masterwork:
“Kate Bush's strongest album to date also marked her breakthrough into the American charts, and yielded a set of dazzling videos as well as an enviable body of hits, spearheaded by "Running Up That Hill," her biggest single since "Wuthering Heights." Strangely enough, Hounds of Love was no less complicated in its structure, imagery, and extra-musical references (even lifting a line of dialogue from Jacques Tourneur's Curse of the Demon for the intro of the title song) than The Dreaming, which had been roundly criticized for being too ambitious and complex. But Hounds of Love was more carefully crafted as a pop record, and it abounded in memorable melodies and arrangements, the latter reflecting idioms ranging from orchestrated progressive pop to high-wattage traditional folk; and at the center of it all was Bush in the best album-length vocal performance of her career, extending her range and also drawing expressiveness from deep inside of herself, so much so that one almost feels as though he's eavesdropping at moments during "Running Up That Hill." Hounds of Love is actually a two-part album (the two sides of the original LP release being the now-lost natural dividing line), consisting of the suites "Hounds of Love" and "The Ninth Wave."
The former is steeped in lyrical and sonic sensuality that tends to wash over the listener, while the latter is about the experiences of birth and rebirth. If this sounds like heady stuff, it could be, but Bush never lets the material get too far from its pop trappings and purpose. In some respects, this was also Bush's first fully realized album, done completely on her own terms, made entirely at her own 48-track home studio, to her schedule and preferences, and delivered whole to EMI as a finished work; that history is important, helping to explain the sheer presence of the album's most striking element -- the spirit of experimentation at every turn, in the little details of the sound. That vastly divergent grasp, from the minutiae of each song to the broad sweeping arc of the two suites, all heavily ornamented with layered instrumentation, makes this record wonderfully overpowering as a piece of pop music. Indeed, this reviewer hadn't had so much fun and such a challenge listening to a new album from the U.K. since Abbey Road, and it's pretty plain that Bush listened to (and learned from) a lot of the Beatles' output in her youth”.
It is a remarkable album, and people are still hugely moved by Hounds of Love. It is great that one can buy Hounds of Love on vinyl – it was hard to get a new copy before 2018 -, and I play the album now and then. I would love to see whether there are alternative versions of the tracks from the album.
Like Never for Ever five years before, I can imagine Bush and her musicians/engineer working through these songs before the finished version came about. I know for a fact one of the singles from Hounds of Love, The Big Sky, started out completely differently, and it was a struggle getting the song from where it started to where it ended up. I think a thirty-fifth anniversary edition of Hounds of Love could include alternate takes/early versions, some snippets of reviews around the time the album was release, in addition to the original album and B-sides. It would expand on what is already out there and give people a chance to experience this legendary album in a new light. As I keep saying, I am not sure what Bush’s plans are this year and whether there is a new album being worked on. Even if she is releasing something later this year, I do think there is a demand and genuine space for anniversary editions of two of her best albums. Bush has shown that she is not adverse to looking back, and I don’t think she would be repeating herself if Never for Ever got a special edition to mark its fortieth, and Hounds of Love’s thirty-fifth was celebrated with a new set. I, and so many other music fans, love that studio process and wondering how these immense songs began and how they changed through the recording process. Never for Ever and Hounds of Love arrived five years apart, but they are extremely different alums that arrived, in a way, after intense periods in Bush’s life – Never for Ever after touring and a relentless first couple of years; Hounds of Love followed the busyness and draining (but exceptional) The Dreaming. 1980’s Never for Ever and 1985’s Hounds of Love are two remarkable albums from…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush captured in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
A true genius.