FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Tour of Life
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performing in Paris in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
From Big Stripey Lie to Hounds of Love: Inside the Greatest Tracks and Albums Lists
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BEFORE I dive into…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: John Stoddart
some anniversary features and start looking more at albums that were released in September, I wanted to spend a brief bit of time with the lists you see with Kate Bush’s greatest tracks ranked. It is not pertinent in the sense there has been debate or a new list published. I am thinking back and wondering whether these rankings make a difference on our listening. Definitely, you do notice the same tracks coming in the top ten or twenty. A few surprises through in here and there. I think the most recent one might have been from MOJO. With more than a hundred album tracks and some B-sides and covers, there is enough to choose from for a top fifty. I like the fact that MOJO included songs like Song of Solomon in their list – where they placed it at forty-eight:
“Kate swears! In her most R&B song ever.
Marmite, this one. To some “Don’t want your bullshit/Just want your sexuality” is too much information; they prefer their Kate crouched behind prettier metaphors. To others, the startling thrill of Bush’s most direct and demanding love song brooks no contest. It’s startling, but that’s the point: Bush is shocking the guy “who walks the path of the solitary heart” out of his aloof self-importance. And if that doesn’t work, how about “I’ll come in a hurricane for you”? That got his attention”.
Some might say that there are notable songs missed out. That is the thing with song rankings. You will always get some omissions. I am going to bring in some other rankings and lists. MOJO gave us some nice surprises in their ranking from earlier in the year. I like that more obscure songs get attention and people will discover them. I also think that it shows what variety you get from Kate Bush. Whether the same albums are mentioned in the top twenty. I think Hounds of Love will always have the majority vote when it comes to songs in the higher places. I might do a top fifty myself one day. I will discuss the albums and rankings later and what we can learn. I love looking at rankings and how people now perceive and judge songs released from years ago. Especially when it comes to Kate Bush and her earlier work. That period not getting enough attention. MOJO put The Kick Inside’s Feel It at forty-one – though they chose the live take from 1979’s The Tour of Life as the preferred version:
“Falling in lust and in public.
Only Kate Bush can do this: the nice, suburban, English girl, wafting away generations of social/cultural inhibitions – like diaphanous veils, rather than the brick walls many of us crash into as we grow up or try to. Horny sweetness, rampant joy, unbridled grace: song and performance are multifaceted oxymorons, dynamic self-contradictions, and that’s how she reaches so many of us. She asks the same questions we all ask time and again through life and, like Ulysses’ Molly Bloom, she answers: Yes. The live version from 1979’s Tour Of Life remains faithful to The Kick Inside’s simplicity – Kate at the piano, no phantasmagorical show going on around her – but it gains the different intimacy of performance in front of a couple of thousand people, the astonishing candour of sharing with so many, right there, absorbing every detail”.
Critical opinion might differ from the public’s, though it is interesting getting to that top twenty. The elite songs. Will many share the same top ten?! In terms of MOJO, they start with Never for Ever’s Breathing. Never for Ever gets three inclusions. You tend to find that Never for Ever, The Dreaming and Hounds of Love gets most inclusion. Those three consecutive albums that ran between 1980 to 1985. In their top five are two songs from The Kick Inside – Wuthering Heights (two) and The Man with the Child in His Eyes (five) – and Hounds of Love gets three songs in there: Cloudbusting at ten, Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) at three and Hounds of Love at one:
“Kate runs headlong from love and right into its clutches.
No matter how refined the circumstances of its creation – built at leisure in Bush’s new 48-track studio – or how newfangled its production – still tangible in the hi-tech stabs and pads of Fairlight, and the crispness of Jonathan Williams’ cello – Hounds Of Love is red in tooth and claw, its breathless, atavistic fear of capture mixed with almost supernatural rapture. Love is thundering through the psychosexual woods, hunting down somebody terrified of what it means to surrender to another person. The song opens with a quote from British horror film Night Of The Demon but that’s the only moment it feels like theatre. From then on, Hounds Of Love maintains a dizzying emotional velocity, the relentless double drumming of Charlie Morgan and Stuart Elliott stamping down on the accelerator. Bush’s voice might dip and soften, but those drums are merciless, while the strident backing vocals, like a hunting horn call, goad her on if introspection threatens to slow her down. It never lets up, every line heightening the pitch, closing the distance between song and listener. It ends with a suddenness that makes it seem like she’s hit the ground and you’ve hit it with her, breathlessly waiting for an answer to the question: “Do you know what I really need?” The uncertainty, however, is not reflected in the confidence – the perfect, dazzling completeness – of the song’s execution. On Hounds Of Love, Kate Bush is going at full pelt, chasing the horizon, running her vision to ground. Not really the hunted, but the hunter all along”.
It is perhaps not surprising that the bigger songs and singles get into the top ten. I wonder whether there is too much risk putting deeper cuts into the top spots. MOJO did include Aerial’s Mrs. Bartolozzi at seven. Lionheart’s Wow came at nine. In fact, there were a couple of surprise entries in the top twenty: A Coral Room from Aerial at thirteen; a B-side, Under the Ivy, at seventeen…and even Waking the Witch being at sixteen is a nice high place. Do opinions change over time regarding which Kate Bush songs are best? It is clear that Hounds of Love has this dominance, though there are other albums getting a nod. When it comes to the highest places, it is a split between Hounds of Love and The Kick Inside. It is the surprises and new perspectives that compel us to dig deep. When What Hi-Fi? listed seventeen Kate Bush songs to test your stereo to, there were songs in there that never really get high up songs ranking lists. Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake (from 1978’s Lionheart), Rubberband Girl (The Red Shoes) and Hounds of Love’s Mother Stands for Comfort (the only song on the album never performed live; the only song from the album’s first side not released as a single). I like that you get the same songs coming high up. It shows that there is love for them. However, with every list and feature, you get some differences that are interesting. How various people view her work and the songs that are best. LOUDER named their top forty Kate Bush songs last year. There were at least six or seven big surprise. A song like The Infant Kiss being in the mix – though it does deserve to be!
“The Infant Kiss (Never For Ever, 1980)
This haunting track was inspired by the 1961 film The Innocents, based on Henry James’ The Turn Of The Screw, about a governess who suspects her charges may be possessed. The young boy flirts with the governess as Bush sings, ‘What is this? An infant kiss that sends my body tingling?’
Alice Lowe: “Kate Bush is such a consummate storyteller; her songs draw you in and take you on an emotional journey. The vulnerability is just astonishing, something about the glass tone of her voice and the unashamed femininity. The subject matter certainly had me fascinated, even scandalised – [it’s] one of her most controversial songs because many thought the lyrics were about paedophilia. But even as a child I was struck by how she was one of the few artists singing about children, childbirth, a child’s perspective, a mother’s perspective”.
Lionheart got a few inclusions. It is a magnificent album that never gets its fair credit. My favourite Kate Bush song, Houdini from The Dreaming, was also picked as one of her forty best songs. Once more, it gives these lesser-known tracks some oxygen and love:
“Houdini (The Dreaming, 1982)
Catherine Anne Davies, The Anchoress: “Kate herself has spoken about how ‘emotionally demanding’ Houdini was to write, and it really manages to capture that beautiful and strange relationship of Houdini and his wife. It’s like a small novel, unwrapped over the course of a single song. I find it so beautiful and epic in its range and depth trying to convey that relationship from beyond the grave.
“Kate’s voice on this stands out for me in terms of its emotional and tonal range: to go from the fragile tenderness of the verses, really conveying the emotion of the story she’s stepping into, and then the utter power of that almost death metal scream/cry in her voice: ‘With your spit still on my lip, you hit the water.’ Just devastating. The way that the fretless bass interweaves with her top line in verse two is stunning. I’m obsessed with the whole arrangement. It’s just perfection”.
Whilst some listings and rankings would overlook albums like The Red Shoes, there were some important inclusions in the LOUDER list. Celebrating songs that are ignored and seen as inessential. You’re the One is a classic example:
“You’re The One (The Red Shoes, 1993)
Anneke Van Giersbergen: “Kate’s lyrics are usually very poetical and sometimes mystical, but this song is so down-to-earth and honest: ‘I’m okay and will move on,’ but suddenly she gets really honest and confesses that she just misses her big love. That contradiction always gets me.
“The song has a long outro solo by Jeff Beck, which is breathtakingly beautiful. There’s a lot going on vocally. There’s this beautiful contrast both musically and lyrically between the verses – descriptive and practical – and the choruses, which are so very emotional and desperate.
“I love that Kate is so involved with every aspect of her music. Also, she doesn’t seem to care about fame or success, but wants to create on her own terms. She has taught me the importance of integrity and being honest as an artist”.
Stereogum did a top ten in 2022 and included the underrated Rubberband Girl in there. I think opinion and narrative does change through time. Obviously, there might be some subjectiveness and personal bias, though we can learn a few things from song rankings. What various people value in songs. Those who instantly go for the obvious tracks. Those who dig deeper. I think we would all debate every song ranking list and say that the order is wrong! The Guardian’s ranking of her singles from 2018 was especially surprising. Lyra (from the soundtrack album of the film, The Golden Compass, in 2007) is definitely not one of Bush’s best singles but was seen as her twenty-third-best. Love and Anger came in sixteenth. Again, not one of the strongest. It is good Rubberband Girl consistently gets some love, even if Kate Bush dismissed The Red Shoes version as a throwaway song. She revisited it for Director’s Cut and I get the feeling she was not overly-fond of that version. What I have noticed is that five songs in particular come in the top five or ten for most. You have Hounds of Love and Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), Wuthering Heights, The Man with the Child in His Eyes and This Woman’s Work. Again, known and big songs. You tend to find something from Hounds of Love comes top – though occasionally Wuthering Heights steals it. There is a whole psychologically behind the switch of number one. There was a time when Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) was always the favourite and, even though that song enjoyed a resurgence in 2022, Hounds of Love ranks higher and seen as better.
Like albums by The Beatles. Is it a case of various works revealing strength over time or something else affecting our opinions and perceptions?! It is interesting to explore it psychologically. Same with Kate Bush albums. Going back to the songs, and it is clear that albums like The Red Shoes, The Sensual World, 50 Words for Snow and Aerial don’t do too well. I wonder whether this is to do with the age of the person writing features or something in the songs that means they do not connect as hard. A lot the denser or more experimental tracks could make a top fifty but not so the much higher positions. When it comes to album rankings, Hounds of Love nearly always comes top. I can understand to an extent, though it is strange few have a different choice. If some rankings change, you tend to find the same patterns with album lists. Hounds of Love will be top. The Kick Inside is top three or four. In the bottom three positions will be Lionheart, The Red Shoes and Director’s Cut. Maybe mirroring critical opinion or the lack of exposure these albums get, I do worry that some worthy and brilliant albums will always be seen as runts and inferior. I will take four examples of album ranking features. Rough Trade put Hounds of Love top, through they shockingly put 50 Words for Snow at ten! Even so, Lionheart, Director’s Cut and The Red Shoes were low. SPIN following the same pattern. It is surprising that 50 Words for Snow comes so low. They put it in eighth. One of her most acclaimed albums, there must be something that puts off some critics. Strange. I would have 50 Words for Snow in the top five!
NME’s 2019 ranking is a standard pattern. Those predictable bottom three and Hounds of Love coming top. In 2022, The Pink News again put The Red Shoes, Lionheart, 50 Words for Snow and Director’s Cut in the bottom four. Not a lot connecting these albums. Two are from 2011, so I am curious whether it is a generational thing or people not loving the modern Kate Bush albums. Director’s Cut and 50 Words for Snow not getting the love they deserve. I always feel Lionheart should be higher up. How much of these albums do people listen to before voting?! Hounds of Love once again top. What we can see is that there is this favourite across the board and four albums that will sit in the bottom four. A bit of change and shift with the other five, though we tend to see The Kick Inside and The Dreaming high up and The Sensual World, Never for Ever and Aerial lower. The fact 2005’s Aerial much more regarded than 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. So much to discuss when it comes to album and track rankings. If I did my top ten Kate Bush albums, The Kick Inside would beat out Hounds of Love. Never for Ever in third. I would have The Red Shoes and Director’s Cut in the bottom two, though Lionheart and 50 Words for Snow would be higher. In terms of song rankings, I would have Houidini at one and my top-rated Hounds of Love track would be The Big Sky – a song that never really gets affection or a high placing. It would be good to get other people’s views on the best Kate Bush songs and albums. What they think about various rankings and if there is a reason why there is a shift in popularity for various songs and time period – and why 50 Words for Snow is so underrated! I do like the mix of surprising placings, odd choices, the usual favourites and how these lists might shift and adapt in years to come. However, it is always upsetting to see great Kate Bush songs and albums…
LEFT out in the cold.