Review Summary: “Most male music, not all of it but the good stuff, really lays it on you. It really puts you against the wall and that's what I like to do. I'd like my music to intrude. Not many females succeed with that.”
Kate Bush has always been eclectic, of this there can be no doubt. This is a fact, not a trivial opinion nor a half-hearted assumption but a cold unwavering truth. It’s apparent in
Aerial’s melodious, tranquil nature and
The Hounds Of Love’s poignant anxiety. It’s apparent too in
The Dreaming, Bush’s
pièce de résistance; an expansive advert for artistic integrity and a *** you to the more unimaginative pop artists that were dominating the charts at the time. Eccentricity, though, is an underappreciated trait, and it is Bush’s ever-changing ideals that lead to the diverse musical spectrum of a discography that elevates her above and beyond her peers.
The origins of these principles date back to 1978 and her debut album
The Kick Inside, an audaciously ambitious collection of tracks penned by a girl as young as 14. Having crafted these early samples into a cassette tape, Bush sent it out to record labels in an attempt to get exposure. Despite the demo tape having been repeatedly turned down by record labels it eventually found its way into the player of none other than a certain David Jon Gilmour. Gilmour liked what he heard and managed to strike a deal with EMI on Bush’s behalf. Finally, after re-mastering the mix many times the early sample transformed itself into
The Kick Inside, an album that would go on to simultaneously amaze audiences and allow Bush her artistic indulgencies.
As far as quality goes, the album starts as it means to continue. Opening track
Moving is gloriously perverse and wholly mesmerizing. Bush’s trademark vocals are hauntingly smooth and the disparity caused against the jaunty piano melody is crucial to the lasting impression of the song. From here, the album segues from track to track smoothly, and while the production is perhaps a little unrefined compared to her later works every song has its own unique feel. Despite her record label EMI preferring
James And The Cold Gun, Bush insisted that
Wuthering Heights, a lavishly over-the-top orchestral piece, be named the debut single. Through sheer persistence and dogged resolution Bush got her way but resisting the labels attempts came at a cost and the release date for the single was pushed back by two months. However this additional time span allowed for much overzealous airplay on radio stations, ensuring that upon release
Wuthering Heights became the first UK number one for a song written by a female artist.
Although every song on the album has its own distinctive sound, it is fair to say that there are only two main blueprints that Bush uses. Ballads and low-key pop tunes suit Bush’s high melodic vocals and her strength in this department can carry songs on its own. The lyrical content is delightfully quirky, with literary references abound and these often usurp the listeners attention away from any possible musical misgivings, not that there are many . Luscious piano riffs embellish the vocals with subtle strings or woodwind adding depth to the recordings. When playing it safe, Bush barely puts a foot wrong, with simpler tracks such as
The Man With The Child In His Eyes and
Feel It giving the listener a chance to relax with more conventional sounds.
It is when Bush deviates from the tried and tested that the results become less predictable.
Them Heavy People commences in a fairly blasé fashion before a subtly reggae influenced melody transforms the track’s complexion. Although the instrumentation is imaginative, the vocals are somewhat less inspired, and while name-dropping George Gurdjieff is a commendable notion the delivery of such a lyric fails to incite as much interest as it perhaps deserves. Equally, however, this youthful imagination explains the unashamed romanticism and sexual implications that turns the otherwise understated
L’Amour Looks Something Like You into an audaciously risqué number. Similarly
James And The Cold Gun benefits from its rhythmic, up-tempo honky-tonk melody while
The Saxophone Song is perhaps the album’s crowning achievement with its brief whale song introduction and sumptuous jazzy interludes contrasting well with Bush’s lofty highs.
The release of
The Kick Inside bought with it a new-dawn for mainstream music. This remarkable album, and particularly the success of its lead single, marked the foundations of the commercial success’ upon which countless female performers have since realised and its influences upon pop culture are both diverse and far-reaching. Such a landmark can only be bought about due to the ingenuity and persistence of an extraordinary individual, and the actuality that Bush was just 19 upon the album’s release – and younger still when many of the tracks were written – illustrates the extent of Bush’s genius. Even ignoring its obvious influences,
The Kick Inside rightfully standout on quality alone, and while not as consistent as some of her later is still well worth investigating for pop aficionados everywhere.
Recommended Tracks
Moving
The Saxophone Song
Wuthering Heights
James And The Cold Gun
L’Amour Looks Something Like You
Overall 4.5 Superb
