Love-Hounds-request@gaffa.MIT.EDU (02/01/91)
Really-From: neff@hp-vcd.vcd.hp.com (Dave Neff)
Recently there have been some postings about some of Kate's videos being
re-released. About a year ago I bought a book called "The Laser Video Disc
Companion" by Douglas Pratt (author of "The Laser Disc Newsletter). It
turns out that a couple of Kate Bush discs were/are available as Japanese
imports (older pressings, no digital sound). I thought some might be
interested in Douglas Pratt's review of the videos. His comments would
apply equally to the VHS videos and the laser discs. I do hope the
videos are re-released in the U.S. with digital sound as I generally
just avoid analog discs -- Kate or no Kate. Anyway, some might be
interested in the reviews so that you can write nasty letters to Mr.
Pratt :-).
------------------------
Kate Bush -- The Single File (Import)
Kate Bush Live at Hammersmith Odeon (Import)
Kate Bush sings as if someone had just dropped an ice cube down the back
of her dress and she didn't want anyone to know. Two hour-long Kate Bush
laser discs are available in Japan, "Kate Bush Live at Hammersmith Odeon"
and "Kate Bush -- The Single File".
"The Single File" is supposedly a collection of 'music videos' though you
have to get through half the disc before the numbers become more than just
Kate Bush standing in front of a gauzy lens in a weirdo outfit, singing.
There is one satisfying video, "Babooshka", in which she dances with a bass
fiddle, but, other than that, there aren't enough to fill a poor 8-inch
let alone a decent 12. On one, the recording is "live" (there's clapping)
while the video is of Bush alone in a room. Dishonest.
"Live at the Hamersmith Odeon" is even less satisfying, since she
doesn't do "Babooshka" (the discs only share three numbers) and there
are no pieces which stand out. Bush has a microphone suspended in front
of her mouth like an orthodontal retainer and generally goes through the
same costume changes and exaggerated movements ('choreography') that
she did on her videos.
---------------------------------------------
Oh well, don't be too hard on Douglas Pratt. After all, he is
a critic, and he can't be all bad since he liked "Babooshka". :-). You
must admit, some of Kate's early albums were a bit "shrill". I find
Kate's voice on "The Kick Inside" to be somewhat shrill, yet I do
find it to be an excellent album. I prefer her lower voice that
she has used on "Hounds of Love" and "The Sensual World".
Anyway, I got a kick out of the review and thought a few people might
like to know that there might be a possibility of getting some of Kate's
videos on laser disc with some effort. However I will hope for a new
U.S. release with digital sound and not try to track down the imports.
I don't know if the Japanese imports are still in print or not.
Dave Neff (Not a Kate Fanatic, but I do like her stuff)
neff@hpvcfs1.HP.COMLove-Hounds-request@gaffa.MIT.EDU (02/02/91)
Really-From: Jeff Burka <jburka@silver.ucs.indiana.edu> >Really-From: neff@hp-vcd.vcd.hp.com (Dave Neff) [reprint from Douglas Pratt's review of TSF] >let alone a decent 12. On one, the recording is "live" (there's clapping) >while the video is of Bush alone in a room. Dishonest. Just of curiosity, does this refer to the "Wow" video? The only "Wow" I've seen is the one made for "TWS." I can't imagine it being "There Goes a Tenner" and the only other video I haven't seen from TSF is "Them Heavy People." If it *is* "Wow" then we have proof of the idiocy of the reviewer--never stopping to figure out what the song is about before branding the artist as dishonest. >"Live at the Hamersmith Odeon" is even less satisfying, since she >doesn't do "Babooshka" (the discs only share three numbers) and there >are no pieces which stand out. Bush has a microphone suspended in front >of her mouth like an orthodontal retainer and generally goes through the >same costume changes and exaggerated movements ('choreography') that >she did on her videos. Hey, boys 'n girls, can you say *innovation*? I *knew* you could. God forbid that a mic should detract from KaTe's beauty in order that people can hear her *SING* while she dances. >Oh well, don't be too hard on Douglas Pratt. After all, he is >a critic, and he can't be all bad since he liked "Babooshka". :-). You Oh, I'm the first to admit that some of those early videos aren't really my idea of a good time. I'm not sure what it is that supposedly makes "Babooshka" all that different from, say, "Wuthering Heights" other than maybe the costume changes, or the props (sword and bass), or the fact that she exposes considerably more of herself in the sword-wielding segments. On the other hands, her dance routines have a lot more feeling, meaning, and all around artistic quality then say, oh, gee, I dunno, something by Vanilla Ice. It comes down the difference between dancing to look cool and dancing as a means to interpret emotion into motion. Critics. Pah. Jeff -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | "At night they're seen | |jburka@silver.ucs.indiana.edu | Laughing, loving, | |jburka@amber.ucs.indiana.edu | They know the way to be happy" --KaTe |
nrc@cbema.att.COM (Neal R Caldwell, Ii) (02/02/91)
> Really-From: neff@hp-vcd.vcd.hp.com (Dave Neff) > > Recently there have been some postings about some of Kate's videos being > re-released. About a year ago I bought a book called "The Laser Video Disc > Companion" by Douglas Pratt (author of "The Laser Disc Newsletter). It > turns out that a couple of Kate Bush discs were/are available as Japanese ... > Kate Bush -- The Single File (Import) > Kate Bush Live at Hammersmith Odeon (Import) > > Kate Bush sings as if someone had just dropped an ice cube down the back > of her dress and she didn't want anyone to know. Two hour-long Kate Bush > laser discs are available in Japan, "Kate Bush Live at Hammersmith Odeon" > and "Kate Bush -- The Single File". Not an unusual view for someone who is not yet "touched" (in any sense you care to take it) by Kate and even some who are. It sounds as though the author is trying to review the video with little previous exposure to the music. I have known people who have initially reacted to the music and video in exactly the same way who have become devote fans. > "The Single File" is supposedly a collection of 'music videos' though you > have to get through half the disc before the numbers become more than just > Kate Bush standing in front of a gauzy lens in a weirdo outfit, singing. Obviously this Pratt (isn't Pratt used in derogatory manner in some English comedy bit?) doesn't understand the state of music video such as it was around 1978. Besides, "standing" is hardly accurate. > There is one satisfying video, "Babooshka", in which she dances with a bass > fiddle, but, other than that, there aren't enough to fill a poor 8-inch > let alone a decent 12. Hmm, I wonder if the costume had anything to do with it... > On one, the recording is "live" (there's clapping) > while the video is of Bush alone in a room. Dishonest. This is a hoot. _Them Heavy People_ is a video done to promote the Live EP. Thus, the music really _is_ live while the video was done in a studio. This is the exact opposite of todays common practice of producing "live" videos (and even performances) using studio recordings. > "Live at the Hamersmith Odeon" is even less satisfying, since she > doesn't do "Babooshka" (the discs only share three numbers) and there > are no pieces which stand out. Bush has a microphone suspended in front > of her mouth like an orthodontal retainer and generally goes through the > same costume changes and exaggerated movements ('choreography') that > she did on her videos. Evidently he'd rather see those wondrous videos where the "artist" performs "live" without the benefit of a mike or sometimes even a band. > Anyway, I got a kick out of the review and thought a few people might > like to know that there might be a possibility of getting some of Kate's > videos on laser disc with some effort. Thanks, it's always interesting to see things from "outside" now and then. Jeff Burka asks: > > >let alone a decent 12. On one, the recording is "live" (there's > clapping) > >while the video is of Bush alone in a room. Dishonest. > > Just of curiosity, does this refer to the "Wow" video? The only "Wow" > I've seen is the one made for "TWS." I think he's talking about _THP_ as explained above. There is another _Wow_ video. The original is much like the routine performed during the Hammersmith show, with Kate alone on a stage in a blue dress. > On the other hands, her dance routines have a lot more feeling, meaning, and > all around artistic quality then say, oh, gee, I dunno, something by Vanilla > Ice. It comes down the difference between dancing to look cool and dancing > as a means to interpret emotion into motion. > I agree completely. I can't wait to see what sort of dancing she comes up with to express her new direction. "Don't drive too slowly." Richard Caldwell AT&T Network Systems att!cbnews!nrc nrc@cbnews.att.com