FEATURE:
International Women’s Day 2023
IN THIS PHOTO: Billie Marten in 2016 (the year her debut album, Writing of Blues and Yellows, was released)
Five Albums from Women That Hold a Special Place in My Heart
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ALONGSIDE features…
IN THIS PHOTO: Björk in June 1995, at the time of the release of Post (which is technically her third studio album, as the 1977 Björk album came before 1993’s Debut)/PHOTO CREDIT: Corbis
for International Women’s Day that highlight inequality and issues, I am also writing about artists coming through to watch, plus albums and female artists that impacted me when I was growing up. I wanted to name five albums from women/female groups that have stuck in my mind and have a special place in my heart. It was hard whittling them down but, for various reasons, these albums are ones that mean a lot to me – and ones that I would certainly urge other people to check out and explore more. I wanted to start off with my favourite album ever. It is from my favourite ever artist, and it is one that people would associate with me. I am talking about Kate Bush’s 1978 debut, The Kick Inside. There are so many reasons why this album is so vital and cherished. It introduced me to Kate Bush but, more than that, it opened my world to a completely different type of music. As a child, I was a big fan of so many female artists. It was probably mostly Pop music that was in my thoughts and ears when I was in primary and middle school. I would expand my horizons more when I was in high school but, for the most part, I was keeping things fairly safe and commercial. After seeing the video for Wuthering Heights when I was very small, that lit a fuse. I was compelled to discover more and find out who this amazing and strange artist was.
My love for Kate Bush’s music was cemented shortly after listening to The Kick Inside. It gave me such an insight into an artist who I had no ideas we’d be talking about so much today. It was a very pivotal moment when I heard her debut album. Still quite underrated in my view, this is an album that I would recommend to anyone. It is so accessible, yet it is complex and varied. In terms of the vocal performances and subjects Bush touches on, you get so many layers with The Kick Inside. It is a masterpiece album that is my favourite for a very good reason. On 8th March, for International Women’s Day, there will be a lot of new love and appreciation for Kate Bush. She is still so relevant and important to this day. So many artists have been inspired by her. I feel so many owe a debt to The Kick Inside. I have played the album countless time, yet it always brings something new with each visit. One that provides comfort, happiness and moment for reflection, everybody should listen to The Kick Inside. The teenage Kate Bush was so assured and daring right from the off. There was nobody like her in music back in 1978. There still isn’t. An album that opened my musical mind and horizons, I am always going to be grateful for this amazing work! Forty-five years after its release, and it is still being played and celebrated. That is going to be the case for decades to come.
Maybe not an album people would expect, but I want to mention one or two albums that came out when I was in high school. The first introduced me to the legend that is Beyoncé. Of all the girl groups that were around in the 1990s, I think the most talented, respected, and consistent were Destiny’s Child. I think the group’s 1998 debut sort of passed me by. Destiny’s Child is a great album, but The Writing’s on the Wall is a step forward. Almost like a greatest hits package, it came out in July 1999. There are a few reasons why it resonated. It would only be a couple of months before I would leave high school. I remember hearing songs from The Writing’s on the Wall such as Say My Name and Bills, Bills, Bills. Uplifting and fresh, they were both a source of strength and bonding. I was not a big R&B fan to that point but, inspired by this rising girl group, I was hooked! I would soon become a big Beyoncé fan. This was a transition point for Destiny’s Child. Apart from the classic line-up members of Beyonce and Kelly Rowland, the quartet were completed by LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson. The group did not yet have Michelle Williams in their ranks. This is one of my favourite albums, and it is one that helped me through a tough time in high school. I love it now, as it still sounds exciting and new. The songs hold up really well, and there is great chemistry within the group. The sound of the individual members contributing and performing music that is important to them.
Before getting to the third album that is meaningful to me – and another one from my childhood -, there is a review from Pitchfork that shines some very positive light on an album that did not get a load of critical love back in 1999 – yet it has gone onto be this album that has been reappraised. The Writing’s on the Wall is one of the best albums of that decade for sure:
“The Writing’s on the Wall is presented with a loose religious theme—each track is introduced in the form of a Commandment, and the album ends with a prayer: “Amazing Grace,” dedicated to late manager Andretta Tillman. Specifically, its theme is confession: a catalog of relationships and the failings thereof. This was, and is, fraught territory. Practically since the album’s release, Destiny’s Child have dodged accusations of man-hating. Beyoncé stood in front of that giant FEMINIST display at the VMAs not as a response to a couple of thinkpieces but to over a decade of misinterpretations of her work, starting here. Forget the dated technological references in “Bug a Boo,” its hapless-clinger archetype has stalked his way from pagers to cell phones to today’s social media. “Bills, Bills, Bills” was so vastly misunderstood the group had to patiently re-explain it in almost every interview. This particular scrub isn’t just broke, but a brokeness vortex; he drains her girlfriend’s gas tank, maxes out her credit cards and ruins her credit. Maybe it’s a testament to the comparatively flush 1999 economy that this almost sounds quaint. (The lady he’s running up her bills with? His mama.)
Beyoncé, in particular, would develop this theme at length throughout her career: money as a weapon, wielded by and against women. It’s the last straw of “Hey Ladies”: “The worst thing of it all was that he gave her money/Now, how he gonna give her my ends?/That’s a no-no.” And it’s one of the many indiscretions on “Confessions”: “Remember that time you wondered where your money went?” The bridge professes contrition, but Missy’s track suggests the lie; the sweet-seeming guitar line curdles within seconds, dropping out ever so often to punctuate lines. The track is a game of confession chicken with Beyoncé delivering, in carefully measured detail, “He kissed me like a guy could never kiss a girl before.” These aren’t the words of someone who's sorry, at least not just sorry. Confessional music in the ’90s is often thought of as the work of gamine singer-songwriters. But The Writing’s on the Wall, along with TLC’s CrazySexyCool, are the template for the 1990s’ other strain of confessional music—it’s right there in the title—and the one that’s survived most into 2017.
A year before The Writing’s on the Wall arrived, I bought an album from an artist I was well aware of. That was when Ray of Light came out. Whilst this is my favourite Madonna album and one that I have written about recently for its twenty-fifth anniversary, it is not the one I am including. It is her 1983 debut. The Madonna album is forty on 27th July. The reason why this album is very dear is that it was released two months after I was born. I think of being that young and this album coming into the world. Again, I am going to bring in part of a review for Madonna. Not doubt one of the most influential albums ever, the fact Madonna co-wrote most of the tracks showed she had that talent and determination! At a time when a lot of women were being moulded by songwriters and producers, here was a strong artist who was putting her own voice out there. Releasing a Disco-inspired album in 1983 was rare. Whereas Pop and more commercial sounds ruled in terms of chart music, here was a rising star who was someone who helped launch Dance-Pop and re-popularise Disco. The assured and stylish videos together with this charm and sex appeal definitely made sure it resonated and made an impression. I think I first heard the album when I was in middle school. Songs like Holiday were still being played a lot in the late-1980s and early-’90s. Maybe I heard 1984’s Like a Virgin in full before her 1983 debut, but Madonna is more important. I love how the album still get into my blood and heart. Released the same year as I was born, it has that clear relevance. I listen to it now and imagine how people must have reacted to this extraordinary debut from an artist who would soon become a legend.
I hope there is a reissue or something special planned for Madonna’s fortieth in July. It is a timeless album that I would definitely rank alongside my favourite. It has a very special place in my heart. This is what AllMusic had to say about a golden album from 1983:
“Although she never left it behind, it's been easy to overlook that Madonna began her career as a disco diva in an era that didn't have disco divas. It was an era where disco was anathema to the mainstream pop, and she had a huge role in popularizing dance music as a popular music again, crashing through the door Michael Jackson opened with Thriller. Certainly, her undeniable charisma, chutzpah, and sex appeal had a lot to do with that -- it always did, throughout her career -- but she wouldn't have broken through if the music wasn't so good. And her eponymous debut isn't simply good, it set the standard for dance-pop for the next 20 years. Why did it do so? Because it cleverly incorporated great pop songs with stylish, state-of-the-art beats, and it shrewdly walked a line between being a rush of sound and a showcase for a dynamic lead singer. This is music where all of the elements may not particularly impressive on their own -- the arrangement, synth, and drum programming are fairly rudimentary; Madonna's singing isn't particularly strong; the songs, while hooky and memorable, couldn't necessarily hold up on their own without the production -- but taken together, it's utterly irresistible. And that's the hallmark of dance-pop: every element blends together into an intoxicating sound, where the hooks and rhythms are so hooky, the shallowness is something to celebrate. And there are some great songs here, whether it's the effervescent "Lucky Star," "Borderline," and "Holiday" or the darker, carnal urgency of "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction." And if Madonna would later sing better, she illustrates here that a good voice is secondary to dance-pop. What's really necessary is personality, since that sells a song where there are no instruments that sound real. Here, Madonna is on fire, and that's the reason why it launched her career, launched dance-pop, and remains a terrific, nearly timeless, listen”.
Before coming to the most recent album from a woman/female act that has made a huge impact on me, there is another one from the 1990s that was definitely instrumental and influential when I was in high school. Again, there is a big anniversary coming for this artist’s debut. Björk’s Debut came out on 5th July, 1993. Like Madonna’s July-released album, I hope there is a big anniversary release or something special for the thirtieth anniversary of Debut. It is my favourite Björk album but, again, there is a reason why I am not plumping for my favourite by the artist. I love Debut dearly, but the 1995 follow-up is the one I am including. Post arrived at a very interesting time for music. Icelandic artist Björk, perhaps more invested in and interested in Electronic and Dance sounds from the U.K., definitely upped the ante and evolved her sound. 1995 was a time when Blur and Oasis were fighting it out. There was a lot of interest in Britpop and what was happening there, but I already knew about Björk. I heard Debut when it came out in 1993 - but Post really hit me and changed my perceptions. This album opened a door to Electronic and other genres. So inventive and full of fascinating sounds and worlds, its legacy is clear. This is a huge album that confirmed the brilliance of Björk. I remember hearing the album when I was in high school and being blown away! Songs like Isobel, It’s Oh So Quiet and Army of Me were revelations! It lit this deep love of Björk and her music. I was so struck and in awe of her. Even if Post remains my favoured Björk album, the fact Post arrived at a time when I was new to high school and was really getting into music means it has a deeper meaning and significance.
Before coming to the final of five albums by women that holds a very special place in my heart, I want to bring in some of Rolling Stone’s review of Post. At a time when other styles of music were favoured, this album arrived like a tidal wave. So interesting and different, I was enthralled and endlessly curious about this sensational artist and her second studio album:
“On her second major solo album, this 29-year-old native of Reykjavik, Iceland, embarks on her most unlikely journey yet; Post comes up as victorious and gallant as any of her Viking forefathers. Chock-full of curious noises, mesmerizing vocals and musical surprises, Post provides a much-needed escape route from alternative rock’s dull offerings of late.
While leagues of boys sporting goatees spill their dysfunctional guts over Ted Nugent-esque guitar licks, Björk forages for inspiration in the soundscapes of orchestrated jazz, ambient techno and classical. On Post she uncovers a range of specific sounds — not broad styles — that best express her emotions and color her arrangements. With little awe or irony, Björk blends these recognizable scraps and otherworldly snippets into a striking pattern of her own design, making Post an album that’s post-everything but akin to nothing else.
Björk’s now reaping the benefits of all that earlier trial and error. On her 1993 solo album, Debut, she finally toned down the rowdy theatrics of the Sugarcubes and began to fiddle with jazz rhythms and electronic effects with some success. Post sounds like the culmination of her quest. It’s full of fantasy, humor and the grandiose, melodramatic, wide-open feel of old film scores. Most importantly, the music here finally challenges her voice.
Björk sings in smooth and subdued moods next to a delicate harpsichord, blasts out à la Judy Garland alongside screaming trumpet and growls over a tough, bottom-heavy beat. Her previously unbridled vocal swoops, from primal creature to flighty pixie, now cooperate and flow with the music around them. She communicates in creamy coos and guttural, bluesy belts. In both modes she emanates grace and raw power without forfeiting her uniqueness.
In “Blow a Fuse,” a saucy big-band number originally recorded by World War II poster girl Betty Hutton, Björk saunters out like a sex siren in a smoky nightclub. Against the blare of a 20-piece orchestra, she purrs, then slips into a throaty growl and then releases a shrill “Wah!” that would shame both the Tasmanian Devil and Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna.
Most of Post isn’t quite as flamboyant, however. The elegant “Isobel,” yet another number featuring string arrangements and a smaller orchestra, snakes along like a patient desert caravan; the minimal “Cover Me” features nothing more than harp, hammer dulcimer, the sound of crashing surf under Björk’s whispers.
The surreal hum and gurgle of ambient techno motivates “Army of Me,” on which DJ Graham Massey of 808 State lends a hand. His approach — muted, bass heavy, Beasties-like — melts into transcendental lightness beside Björk’s voice. “Enjoy,” co-written with ex-Massive Attack member Tricky, contributes a menacing feel to Post via some seriously dark, seething undertones.
Björk enunciates her words carefully and clearly throughout, as if the slightest clumsy slip would shatter their meaning into a million pieces. Inside her delicately constructed English, bizarre Björkian imagery materializes. On “Modern Things” she sings, “I listen to the irritating noises of dinosaurs,” and turns fantasy into morbid but honest wonderment for “Hyperballad.” Here’s what she sings over a sweeping, panoramic vista: “I imagine what my body would sound like slamming against the rocks, and when it lands, will my eyes be open or closed?”
The last album I want to get to is Billie Marten’s 2016 debut, Writing of Blues and Yellows. This is an album many may not have heard of. I was in awe of Marten from the moment I heard the album. I am not sure how aware I was of her prior to 2016, but this was a very hard year for me. Not only had the music world lost titans in David Bowie and Prince, but I was not happy in general. In a job and town I was bored of and felt the need to break from, it was very difficult getting through. From the beautiful painted cover to the incredible music within, Writing of Blues and Yellows was a real balm. Both strengthening and of huge comfort, there is such tenderness, beauty, and familiarity within. Still only a teen when the album came out, I draw parallels between Billie Marten and Kate Bush. These prodigious musicians with such intelligent, mature, and inspiring lyrics and the most amazing voices, Writing of Blues and Yellows dug so deep and really helped me through. Of course, Marten is still recording and has a busy year ahead of her. Although I love her other two studio albums - Feeding Seahorses by Hand (2019) and Flora Fauna (2021) -, it is her 2016 debut that ranks alongside my favourite albums ever. The Yorkshire-born artist has a new album, Drop Cherries, that comes out on 7th April. She is one of our very best artists. Writing of Blues and Yellows got love when it came out, but it deserved so much more! Just listen to the extraordinary emotions and sounds within Heavy Weather and Emily. The gorgeous and transporting nature of Bird and Hello Sunshine. The great drum hop and skip of Green, or the great cover of It’s a Fine Day (I think you can hear the sound of her dad in the garden on the recording!).
I am going to finish off with part of a review for Writing of Blues and Yellows. This is what CLASH said in their review of the magnificent and utterly beguiling debut album from the utterly bewitching and stunning Billie Marten:
“Billie Marten’s thoughtfully crafted debut is a collection of tales, retrospect and self-examination. Candidly honest about her periods of mental health, ‘Teeth’ places you in the centre of her overwrought mind: “I’m writing this in a bad way, no one can hear what my head says.” Her vocals are infused with a fragility that drills down into your consciousness, whether you want it to or not. Full of contradictions, ‘Lionhearted’ highlights the songwriter’s desire to be braver, yet she fails to acknowledge that she has achieved exactly this through her overt lyrical sincerity, which is intrinsic to the success of this record.
‘Writing Of Blues And Yellows’ manages to be flawlessly delicate in terms of instrumentals and tone, drawing on inspirations from her quaint upbringing in her home-town of Ripon just near the Yorkshire Dales. Fixating upon the wilderness and nature, this is a theme that is inter-weaved throughout songs ‘La Lune’, ‘Heavy Weather’ and ‘Hello Sunshine’; later on ‘Live’, she explores her close relationship with her family, versus her yearning to explore and find some adventure.
Billie Marten delivers a pragmatic album that explores the equilibrium between her positive and negative outlooks on life, whilst confirming that being preoccupied with our own contemplation is and will forever be an ongoing process of the human condition.
Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8th March, I wanted to mention some very important albums from female artists. From U.S. R&B/girl group magic to Kate Bush and Billie Marten, to Madonna and Björk, these five albums have been very important in my life. Even though they were crucial years ago and had their place then, these special and brilliant albums will always be…
IMPORTANT to me.