Never For Ever - Kate Bush

Never for Ever was released in 1980. It was Kate Bush's third album and made her the first female singer to top the British album charts. It differs greatly from the two that preceeded it; the sublimely romantic 'The Kick Inside' and the mellow 'Lionheart'. In 'Never for Ever' Kate worked on the production and it shows, as she begins to express herself in new and experimental ways, using her voice as an instrument, as well as making use of various ...
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The artwork on Never for Ever is pretty cool. The front cover shows Kate standing on a hill in a cloud patterned dress, which billows out and releases all manner of strange creatures from under it - birds, bats, goblins, fish. It reminds me a little of the Bosch painting 'Garden of Earthly Delights'. On the back cover are images of 'batty' Kate, her tongue hanging out, flying around in a winged costume.

The opening track is ... more

Never for Ever was released in 1980. It was Kate Bush's third album and made her the first female singer to top the British album charts. It differs greatly from the two that preceeded it; the sublimely romantic 'The Kick Inside' and the mellow 'Lionheart'. In 'Never for Ever' Kate worked on the production and it shows, as she begins to express herself in new and experimental ways, using her voice as an instrument, as well as making use of various sound effects and samples. She also moves towards using electronic music and away from concentrating on the piano. This album has some aggression that paves the way for what is to come in 'The Dreaming', which followed two years later and which is actually hated by some fans who love her other work. I love both of these albums and wonder if the lack of popularity of her more manic recordings is to do with the fact that she's female. It's ok to be a weird witchy woman when you are gentle or romantic in songs like The Man With the Child in his Eyes or Wuthering Heights, but don't scream - The British don't like it. Me, I love the screaming. YAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The artwork on Never for Ever is pretty cool. The front cover shows Kate standing on a hill in a cloud patterned dress, which billows out and releases all manner of strange creatures from under it - birds, bats, goblins, fish. It reminds me a little of the Bosch painting 'Garden of Earthly Delights'. On the back cover are images of 'batty' Kate, her tongue hanging out, flying around in a winged costume.

The opening track is "Babooshka" which was a hit single and is about a woman who tests her husband by writing to him under the pseudonym Babooshka;
"She sent him scented letters,
And he received them with a strange delight,
Just like his wife,
But how she was before the tears.....
before the years flew by.....
when she was beautiful.".
Babooshka is a Russian word for grandmother and the implication is that here is a woman lamenting the loss of her youth and beauty. There is hysteria here, emphasised by Kates screeching vocals, loud piano crashes, electric guitar riffs and smashing glass. A demonic start.

Before the last glass of Babooshka breaks, the intro to the much gentler "Delius" (Song of Summer) begins. A percussion based song with Kates vocals joined by male voices in a short but dreamy tune with few lyrics. Listening to this you can understand why Kate went on to work with The Trio Bulgarka who are backing vocalists on 'The Sensual World' with their eerie, wailing harmonies.

Nowadays I rarely listen to any of the next three tracks. "Blow Away" is a tribute to rock stars who died young, but I find the thumpy chorus repetitive and irritating. "All We Ever Look For" uses some unusual instruments and sound effects and isn't too bad, but I don't like the whistle like riff and the lyrics, about parent-child relationships, are just too sentimental for me. Then you have "Egypt" which to me sounds like something a romantic teenager would write, I liked it when I first heard it, but today I find it wishywashy. I can see what she's trying to do and it obviously works for some people, but there is a naivety that some would call charming and would make others wince. It reminds me of a Turkish Delight advert. Who else could write lyrics about "My Pussy Queen" in all seriousness and get away with it?

"The Wedding List" starts side two. Joan Crawford meets 'Kill Bill'. This is one I played to death as a melodramatic teenager. It's about a woman seeking revenge and has vivid violent lyrics:
"I die with him again and again,
and I'll feel good in my revenge,
I'm gonna fill your head with lead,
And I'm coming for you."
Lots of screaming on this one, although the melody changes to a gentle pace in the chorus before picking up again and roaring at you. She's using her voice here more fully, it's a stronger, deeper sound than on previous albums where she tends to trill. The song finishes on a high pitched squeal and then swoops straight into "Violin", a song of homage to the instrument. Kates vocals are in imitation of it and she just doesn't care how carried away she gets. She yelps and howls like a demented banshee - 'Get the Bow going, let it scream to me'. This is an exhilarating song which must be played at full blast whilst doing a jig. Another one I annoyed the neighbours with repeatedly, I can only imagine how I must have sounded trying to sing to this, because nobody can sing like Kate Bush at her shrillest.

The music calms down with "The Infant Kiss" but the intensity remains in the lyrics. It's begins as as a sweet lullaby to a child but becomes more sinister as you realise that the woman singing is fighting against her attraction to a little boy.
"What is this? An infant kiss,
That sends my body tingling."
A very unique song on a subject I have never heard anyone else cover. Today, I hate to say it, but I think it has become almost acceptable for men to admit to finding schoolgirls sexually attractive, but when the genders are reversed it's more controversial. This song was apparently inspired by the film 'The Innocents' in which some children become posessed. A soothing tune but kind of creepy.

"Night scented stock" is a very short, (51 seconds), track made up of voice sounds which leads into "Army Dreamers" with the sound of a rifle being loaded. This was another single, an anti-war song with poignant lyrics:
"What could he do-should've been a rock star,
but he didn't have the money for a guitar,
What could he do-should've been a politician,
but he never had a proper education.
What could he do-should've been a father,
but he never even made it to his twenties.
What a waste,
Army Dreamers."
I like the way army noises are made a part of the music,eg the loading gun, a seargent shouting orders. Her voice is at it's gentlest here and complimented by male backing vocals and by the mandolin played by her brother Paddy.

The final track is "Breathing", a grandiose effort. An unborn child sings about a nuclear attack, "Outside gets inside, Through her skin". A rythmic rocking tune that becomes gradually more fierce as the child fights for air. The music fades out towards the end and a male voice is heard describing a nuclear test with awe in his voice. As the music comes back in, Kate is joined by several chanting voices. 'Leave me something to breathe,' she cries and at the climax gives a final gasp for air and the album is extinguished.

Never for Ever isn't Kate's best album but it contains moments of brilliance and remains starkly original twenty five years after its release. Part of its uniqueness is the sheer variation in style between the tracks. In taking another look at Kate's discography it strikes me that Never for Ever, along with The Dreaming marks a kind of adolescence in her musical development; the first two albums are more poppy, next come these two which are full of rage, and then her style matures beautifully into the perfect Hounds of Love.

Kate Bush is in a class of her own. As a musician and songwriter she has managed to maintain an integrity and originality that few others manage. Her music is so diverse that I'm sure there can't be anyone who wouldn't find something they like amongst her work. In a world of talentless fame seekers Kate is the real thing.
She has released eight studio albums and she is noted for taking her time to do it - there was a twelve year gap between the last two. I don't see a problem with this, her second album Lionheart was rushed out after her huge initial success and in my opinion is her weakest work. She has been criticised for being self indulgent and this may be true to some extent, but she has real talent and isn't afraid to go her own way. She could have played it much safer and probably had more commercial success, but she remains a true artist who does her best to speak her truth and for that she deserves respect.

On general release
Label: EMI
Price: 5.97 at www.amazon.co.uk 

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