jackson@curium.DEC (SETH JACKSON 297-4751) (10/24/85)
Finally, after reading all the rantings and ravings of you-know-who, I finally got to hear "The Dreaming". It was only natural that I'd be curious about Kate Bush, being a Deadhead and all, because the way Doug talks about her, you'd think she was Jerry Garcia or something! :-) Anyway, I like good music (what's that?), so I thought I'd give ol' KB a listen or 2. And the verdict is: Well, she's ok, but she's no Grateful Dead. Yes, yes, Doug, she's talented, sincere, she does unusual and difficult things, she's musically complex, etc., etc., but so what? Some of the stuff on the album is kind of neat, but, as a whole, I didn't find the album particularly enjoyable to listen to. In fact, after a while, it became somewhat grating on the nerves. Especially those background vocals. Her melodies were "complex", but not beautiful. Most often, I find, the most beauty is found in simplicity. Elegance is taking a simple idea and weaving subleties around it. It's complex without hitting you over the head with it's complexity. (Yes, folks, I'm making veiled comparisons to the Dead). Kate Bush changes time signatures. Big Deal. The Dead do that, too, but they don't make a habit of it. Doug loves to talk about how innovative Kate Bush is. Well, perhaps she is, but not to the level that Doug wants to believe. On much of the album, she seemed to me a lot like female version of Pink Floyd. That's certainly not the kind of comparison one would be ashamed of, but it's been done before. I'm also not sure what Doug means when he raves about her musical importance. Only in her wildest dreams will her influence on the world of music ever even approach that achieved by the Beatles. I can understand why someone with Doug's tastes would like her so much, because she is different from most of what you hear today. But if you really want to hear some beautiful, powerful, elegant, and innovative music that comes from the gut, I'll see you at the Centrum in Worcester Nov. 4 and 5. -- "We used to play for silver, now we play for life" Seth Jackson