nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) (09/09/85)
["Hound me down"] As previously advertized, what you are now reading is a track by track review of Kate Bush's new album, "Hounds of Love". Side 1 -- "Hounds of Love" -------------------------- Kate's foray into commercial music. Four of the five songs on this side have strong commercial potential. It seems likely that they will all be released as singles eventually. In the past, Kate has had the tendency to take one of the most uncommercial songs on an uncommercial album and release it as the first single. This backfired with "The Dreaming", though. Will an uncommercial song be released as a single from this album? Probably not, but we'll see... (1) "Running Up That Hill" It doesn't hurt me Do you want to feel how it feels? The first single. Kate's only disco song. As good as disco ever gets! Throbbing mechanical drums mixed with erratic subtle drumming form the background texture for a strange mixture of guitar, balalaika, and gentle to firm melodic vocals about the philosophical problem of never knowing what it is like to be anyone else, anyone other than oneself, and how this relates to art and love. The twelve inch single extended version contains vocal echoes whose rhythms clash wonderfully with those of the drums. Major flaw with song: silly Fairlight sound playing out a four note hook. A certified hit. Currently number 2 in England. Number 1 on WFNX (the trendy new wave radio staion in Boston). Receiving radio play on AOR and pop stations. Will certainly be Kate's first song ever to make the Top-40 in the U.S. Might make Top-10. Has firmly put Kate back in the limelight in England after five years away from it. Will guarantee that the album sells millions. Profits from this song will pay off mortgage on Kate's new 48 track recording studio. (2) "Hounds of Love" I found a fox -- come back ducks I'm gonna take him in my hands His little heart, it beats so fast And I'm ashamed of running away The third single? Will pay to have new 48 track recording studio converted to digital? Nice rhythm. About being scared of love (and fans?) and overcoming that fear. On "The Dreaming", background vocals were haunting and incisive phrases, e.g. "Lock it -- lock it up" and "I want it all". Here background vocals are "Doot doot doot doot doot". Not so inpsiring. Song's still excellent, though. (3) "The Big Sky" That cloud That cloud -- it looks like ivy! The second single? Will pay for disk-based editing system in digital studio? Very up, positive, jubilant, celebrative song recommending a positive attitude. Overly cute backgrounds vocals (Himinee down, himinee down) evolve into better background vocals. Builds up a very very nice and complex rhythm, but kind of thrashes it to death at the end. (4) "Mother Stands For Comfort" And by the cat that takes the bird To hold the hunted Beautiful! Amazingly beautifully haunting! Amazing background vocals. Can you listen to this without crying? A love song to mom. Piano ballad with with slow, strange, and erratic drum beat. Breaking plates and other sounds form parts of the rhythmic backbone. Inspirational fretless bass playing -- must be Eberhard Weber! Beautiful! Wonderfully strange and atmospheric Fairlight work. So beautiful! So beautiful! So beautiful! Send a tape of this song to your mother on her birthday. She'll never forget. (5) Cloud Busting You're like my yo-yo That glowed in the dark What made is special, made it dangerous So I buried it Forget The forth single? Will pay for life-time operating expenses of studio so that Kate will never have to write a commercial song ever again? The best of the commercial songs on the album. Better than any commercial song can possibly be! How'd she do it? A love song to a fugitive. Nice violins! Rhythm evolves into military marching snares at end. The charts will never before have seen such a great song. Side 2 -- "The Ninth Wave" -------------------------- The deeply moving story of a shipwrecked woman alone in the water at night. Supposedly based on the poem "The Holy Grail", by Tennison. (1) "And Dream of Sheep" Like poppies, heavy with seeds They take me deeper and deeper Gentle and sad piano ballad with acoustic guitar. The struggle is too much. Let it be over. "Let me be weak. Let me sleep. And dream of sheep." So good! (2) "Under Ice" Splitting -- splitting sound Silver hairs spitting -- spitting snow Bass violin dirges. Sonar. Kate chants. Digeridu. Trapped under the ice! Haunting. Scary! Scares me shitless! (3) "Waking The Witch" You will burn! (Red red roses) You won't breathe! (Pix and posies) Confess to me girl! (Red red roses go down) Guiltly! Guilty! Guilty! Undescribable! Totally. All of "The Dreaming" crammed into three mintues? Whales sing. Space and echoing piano playing over clips of expressions used to wake people up mutates into a battle between Mother Goose and Satan on the mixing console until they are carried away by the helicopters! Unbelievable! Unbelievable! (4) "Watching You Without Me" I'm not here But I'm not here Starts off a little slow, but builds eventually into something quite interesting. Nice bass playing. More strange drum rhythms, especially for a slow tempo song. Backward vocals and strange digital effects. (5) "Jig of Life" Now is the place where the crystals meet We will look into the future The most bizarre Irish jig you will ever hear. The Bothy Band meets the Talking Heads meet Richard Burton meets Run DMC meet Heart in Kate Bush's mind. I burst into tears the first time I heard this. It's that awesome! It's that awesome! (6) "The Morning Fog" I was there at the birth Out of the cloudburst The head of the tempest Murderer! Murderer of time! Why did I go? Paddy Bush overdubbed into an entire Greek ritual chorus alternates with celestial all-seeing, sadly warning Kate, U-boat space music and German whispers of the deep. Infinitely effective. Infinitely bizarre. Infinitely haunting. Infinitely wonderful. (7) "The Morning Fog" Know what? I love you better now ... I kiss the ground I tell my mother I tell my father I tell my lover I tell my brothers How much I love them The happy results of the traumatic experience. Gently celebrative music. Beautiful guitar and bass playing. Very very touching. The end. And the beginning. Doug Alan nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA)