Having been utterly converted to Kate Bush back in 1978, I've followed her progress ever since; from the beautiful sparse ballads of The Kick Inside and Lionheart, through the gentle musical experiments of Never For Ever, exhuberant madness of The Dreaming, stunning crescendo that is Hounds of Love, eerily toned down Sensual World and the funky and spunky Red Shoes.
Each album has yielded something fresh and original, and Kate has never been afraid to go against the grain, dabbling in the exotic and kooky. For some Kate Bush purists, however, 1993's Red Shoes was a musical bridge too far, with its lashings of funk and pop: too far removed from the transcendental otherworldly ballads of old. I personally enjoyed that fresh new direction, but with some reservations too that Kate had compromised a bit far. With this in mind, I had mixed feelings when I sat down to listen to Aerial...
First comes the gently hypnotic strains of King of the Mountain - mmm...interesting and (almost) danceable. Yet it's infused with passion and an effective eeriness. The beat almost has a reggae vibe, reminiscent slightly of Kate's version of "Rocket Man" in 1991 - though darker and more powerful. One of the Kate Bush traits, on so many of her records, is to start simply, then build and develop powerfully. King of the Mountain rises to something stronger than I'd first realised, especially with volume.
Then, Pi, with its theme of numbers - proof if any be needed that Ms Bush could infuse even the driest subject with passion if need be. A low pulsing beat is joined enigmatically by intermittent synths, winding together in a curious spiral. Kate's voice is high and unearthly. "Sweet....gentle and sensitive man..." This is no "Rubberband Girl", and I'm starting to feel that some of the previous album's weaknesses have been
well and truly left behind.
Following, comes Bertie, a celebration of her son. Wow! She's sounding like the Kate I know and love. Starting with a Renaissance Guitar, her clear pure voice joins in with the medieval dance. "Lovely, lovely, lovely..." It brings the joy of morning sun, of new life, in a sort of "Suspended In Gaffa" way!
I am really starting to warm to this album by now, and there is a feeling of excitement and anticipation of even better to come. In sharp contrast with Bertie, Kate turns dark and almost sinister with a piano / vocal ballad, Mrs Bartolozzi, ostensibly about a washing machine. But listen closely, peeps. This is an emotional tour de force. Its simple but effective production strongly resembles the sparse, spine tingling atmosphere of her earliest work. Naughty, ambiguous lyrics too! Boy, I'm falling in love with this album.
The thrumming baseline of How To Be Invisible resurrects the merest ghost of the Red Shoes (but that's good - that's allowed!) It is a groover with a slight air of menace about it, and a magic spell as a chorus. Less emotionally charged than the other songs here, it's perhaps more of a grower. Again, the benefit of added volume yields surprising results.
Visually evocative and atmospheric, Joanni powerfully recreates a vivid historical scene. It crashes and rolls, with a wonderful sustained synth, and is sung with a sense of awe, as if Kate had travelled back in a Tardis to see the Maid of Orleans for herself. The gliding string arrangement towards the end, courtesy of the late Michael Kamen, is used to powerful effect.
The next song, A Coral Room, is, for me, the finest on the album. Indeed, one of the finest ever written by Kate (or anyone else for that matter). There is an unmistakeable high piano, tugging at you, drawing you. Her voice is high and pure. "There's a city, draped in net..." I'm feeling my eyes filling up. I'm almost scared that, in a moment, drums will move in and mar this, but the perfect piano and angelic voice continue untainted throughout. "My mother, and her little brown jug..." Such grief, expressed simply and powerfully, through a Bush-esque piano ballad, sent tears streaming down my face. Michael Wood's brief prayer-like vocals add a poignant contrast. Yet aswell as grief, A Coral Room movingly expresses some of the uncorrupted joys of childhood. Whew...
A bit of a break and a coffee, and I was ready for the second disc of the set. We're going on a conceptual journey from mid-afternoon through to morning of the next day. Prelude: soft bird song fades in, with Kate's son Bertie chanting along with it . This is mesmerizing stuff. Here we have the high piano again, this time mimicking the birdsong. It is gentle but relentless in its beauty - perhaps in the same vein as "And Dream of Sheep" from 1985's concept piece, The Ninth Wave.
Then Prologue, just awesome in its beauty. "What a lovely afternoon", she sings, in the way that only she can. The piano glides, swoops and soars, winds in with gentle bass and, later, dramatic but unobtrusive drums. "Oh, so exciting! It's gonna be so good..."
Old friend Rolf Harris appears next, cast as "The Painter" and minus the didgeridoo. Now the beat is back, but gently, softly, hypnotically with glorious swirling chords and tender vocals dancing dreamily along with it. The inclusion of Rolf - now singing - on The Painter's Link, demonstrates palpably that Ms Bush remains true to her own artistic and aesthetic sense. Notions of "cool" are disregarded here and the somewhat forced conformity of The Red Shoes has vanished.
Sunset begins breathtakingly with piano and soft ululating vocals..."Could be honeycomb, in a sea of honey, a sky of honey..." It quickly slips into a haunting jazz, then metamorphoses surprisingly but seamlessly into a joyous flamenco. She takes "ordinary" scenes and draws out the poetry, making them shine in new ways. This evokes a vivid picture as seen through untainted, youthful eyes.
Aerial Tal, with its childlike bird impressions - again, casts off conformity and stifling inhibitions. Bjork-esque silliness, touched with the dusk-light of another world.
Somewhere In Between captures the atmosphere of approaching night, in a way that makes me wonder if she's actually seen what's in my own head. Again, much of the spirit of early albums finds new expression here. For those familiar with her work, imagine "The Kick Inside" mixed in with The Srnsual World, and you're not far off! There's so much here that reminds me of my own childhood and this, for me, is the most wonderful thing that any artist can do - evoke personal pictures, memories and ideas.
Nocturn takes the listener on a car drive into the moonlight, then to the ocean for a lovers' union. It starts with an eerie, dreamlike scene of diamond stars, then sweeps along with an unrelenting bass - a journey through night, to the point where her excitement spills over as the grey fingers of dawn appear in the sky. It, too, is visually very evocative.
The sun rises on Aerial the title track, an urgent, pulsating celebration of the new day. There are shades of Pink Floyd and Kate's disquieting laughter adds something unique. The listener is enjoined to become part of the day - "Come on, let's join in..."
So many earlier influences grace the album too: the oriental mystery of her first two albums, the refreshing kookiness of Never for Ever, wobbly baselines of The Dreaming; plus, the conceptual framework of Hounds of Love, mixed in with some some Sensual World ambience and a dash of Red Shoes immediacy. And, of course, it has a unique identity of its own.
I'm left speechless at this masterpiece, and thinking in many ways, that this contains some of her finest work. The darkness and anger of her more rampantly experimental music has gone, and for some this might be a disappointment. There is no crazy shrieking, no mad exuberant Big Sky or Sat In Your Lap. No, "What the heck was that?" Yet, thinking about it, sledgehammer moments like this would not sit well with the thought-provoking material here. In this, it encapsulates some of the spirit of her really early work; it does not bludgeon, but rather persuades. It does so succesfully: on Aerial, I feel that she is singing to me alone. I hope it's the same for you too!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
It's often said that a musician's debut represents the culmination of a lifetime's worth ... more
of experiences, but their sophomore effort is usually derived from just the intervening year. By waiting 12 years betweenThe Red Shoesand her new double CD,Aerial,...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
It's often said that a musician's debut represents the culmination of a lifetime's worth ... more
of experiences, but their sophomore effort is usually derived from just the intervening year. By waiting 12 years between The Red Shoes and her new double CD, Aeri...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: More settled, mature but still with the interesting quirks in music and words. Disadvantages: 'Mrs Bartolozzi'; 'Nocturn'. Nothing like 'Hounds' or 'Dreaming'; light jazz elements, for some.
Advantages: More settled, mature but still with the interesting quirks in music and words. Disadvantages: 'Mrs Bartolozzi'; 'Nocturn'. Nothing like 'Hounds' or 'Dreaming'; light jazz elements, for some.
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Dec 14th, 2005
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