Flippyshark reviews Kate Bush: AERIAL

[flippyshark]

I posted a thread some weeks ago about an upcoming CD release from British artist Kate Bush. Several of you seemed intrigued, so I figured I'd post my reaction now that the disc is out (just a few days ago) and I have given it a couple of spins.

I'll try to restrain myself but I have to tell you, I'm pretty overjoyed. This is a fantastic accomplishment, easily the best thing Kate's done since Hounds Of Love. If you have any interest in KB at all, don't bother finishing this review. Just go get AERIAL. It's a two-disc set, though it only runs about eighty minutes. I found it on sale at the Virgin Megastore for $14.95. By the third track, I knew I had spent my hard-earned dollars well.

I didn't have much use for Kate's last album, THE RED SHOES, twelve years ago. She seemed to be trying to catch up to the pop and dance music of the day, and the strain showed. Here, she is completely back in her own unique milieu, not even trying to cater to current trends, but instead striking out into new territory. Overall, this is a strange and beautiful album, gentle and accessible, and not quite like anything that Kate has done before.

Disc one is titled "A Sea of Honey," and offers a variety of stand alone songs. Disc Two is billed as "A Sky of Honey," and it is the "themed" disc, describing a 24 hour period through a painter's viewpoint, turning the elements of sea, sky, birdsong and sunlight into a panoramic soundscape. At least, that's what I got out of it. This is arty and ambitious stuff, but it's also highly listenable, something to get lost in. I'd also venture to say that this is the most "up" piece of work Kate's ever produced.

I'll just list a few favorite tracks.

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN - I've already commented on this song, the first single from the album. It gets things off to a great start. This is one of those songs I wish I had written, and it gets better each time I hear it. References to Elvis and Charles Foster Kane run throughout its spooky but funky sonic corridors. Great stuff.

Pi - (I can't find the symbol for Pi but that's what the song is called.) Here's the perfect song to use if you want to memorize a lengthy sequence of pi. A love song for mathemeticians, this song is another early hint that Kate is still an eccentric and utterly singular voice.

BERTIE - Kate is a new Mum, and this is her no-holds-barred love song to her son Bertie. This kind of thing can easily become glurge but Kate manages to make this statement of unfettered maternal joy into something buoyant and enjoyable. Medieval flavored lute and harp and ancient sounding strings give this a light and classy quality.

MRS. BARTOLOZZI - Probably the most impressive example of the poetic imagery that runs through the whole album. This seems at first to be a rumination on laundry, but there's more going on. A simple piano and vocal arrangement, this song shows that Kate doesn't have to use five hundred layers of sound to create something beguiling and complex. Masterful.

HOW TO BE INVISIBLE - This song involves a spell to make you invisible. Here, I will quote a couple of lines from the lyrics and let you guess why I adore this song.

"Eye of Braille, Hem of anorak, Stem of wallflower, Hair of doormat"

This is one of only a handful of songs that would really qualify as rock or dance numbers, and as such, would be a good choice for the next single. I could easily imagine this tune being covered in a rockier version.

SUNSET - Part of the ambitious suite on disc two, this song covers enormous musical ground, flowing from Kate's romantic piano-based style to a light combo jazz arrangement, suddenly bursting into a Spanish flamenco hybrid.

NOCTURN - A slow build to a stunning finish, I'm too new to this track to give it an adequate description, other than to say that it strikes me as the climactic high point of the "Sky of Honey" suite. (This is the penultimate track, but the one that follows it didn't impress me as much.)

The final track, AERIAL, may be the only one that I will have to take time to get used to. Kate combines endless peals of laughter and bird noises in perhaps the most eccentric, maybe even batty, moment on the disc. Still, it ends pretty spectacularly.

There's a lot more that's worth hearing and writing about, but nothing I say can come anywhere near just hearing it for yourself. Consider this an essential purchase for fans, and a good bet for the uninitiated.

[lizziebith]

I ordered mine from Amazon on Thursday...it should arrive any minute! Can't wait -- and thanks for the heads-up! Great review, too!