[NB: TO ALL KB FANS - Am posting this in celebration and anticipation of Kate Bush's return to the record shops after a 12-year hiatus via the new as-of-yet unreleased double-CD, 'Aerial' (a k a to me as 'KB VIII'), to go on sale in the UK about Nov 7, 2005]

So who is Kate Bush, you ask?

Before there was Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, PJ Harvey, there was a hugely groundbreaking, hugely talented musical phenomenon from the UK named Kate Bush, one of those musicians who pours her heart and soul into her marvelously innovative creations with an unrestrained passion. And yet she has continued to shun any publicity and relentless self-promotion that is par for the music industry course like the devil.

The 'Whole Story' is forty-nine minutes of something completely different from the singer/songwriter. It must be admitted from the very start that Kate's music is not for everyone. Not at first, anyway.

The 'Whole Story' (1986) is a sampler, a collection of songs lifted from previous albums by Kate, and includes a newer version of her landmark tune, 'Wuthering Heights'. I don't even recall how I first got wind of this song, whether through a long-defunct true alternative music station in the Washington, D.C. area, or through a simple gamble I took when I bought the album after reading a rave review. 'The Whole Story', however, remains as an excellent showcase for Kate's wide-ranging talents. ('The Dreaming' and 'Hounds of Love' display Ms Bush at her creative peak, though.)

Choice Cuts, in No Particular Order.

'Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy
I've come home
I'm so cold
Let me in your window . . . '

...wails Kate Bush in this superhit of the late '70s that left an indelible mark for Ms Bush on the music industry. 'Wuthering Heights' is the quintessential Kate Bush song. You either loathe this or love this, characterized as it is by Kate's heartfelt, sweeping vocalizations that take full advantage of her wide vocal range, occasionally soaring to the stratosphere. She captures so perfectly the dark, cold, brooding, windswept English moors so well-trod by the Bronte sisters, that inspired the now widespread and deeply entrenched vision of gothic romanticism common among many a young literary-minded girl.

This newer version is the first one I heard, and is more refined and polished as well as less hurried than the original. Kate adds a seemingly anachronistic yet perfectly suitable electric guitar solo in the trailing repeated choruses, and the softly rocking beat is effectively catchy.

Kate tells a story about 'The Man with the Child in His Eyes'--is it a dream? a ghost of a kind visitor from the sea?--who can tell? A short, sweet, yet intriguing piece beautifully arranged with a nice mix of piano, strings, brass and flute. All too brief, however.

'Army Dreamers' tells a poignant tale of a young army lad who comes home only to be buried. It's gently rendered acoustically against a waltz-like 3/4 time signature, and the ultimate message is about 'What a waste--army dreamers . . .'

'Experiment IV' has a somewhat '80s feel to the guitars, but that's about all that dates it. It's a compelling, deceptively smooth track about creating music for evil ends--which could apply to just about any subversion of the good or innocent purpose for which a product or creation is originally intended. A very catchy rhythm to this one. The character knows, 'It's a mistake in the making,' and says how he/she recorded 'the painful cries of mothers / To the terrifying screams' on their machine.

Can anyone not be seduced by the finely crafted, hauntingly beautiful 'Wow' ? So you sold your soul to the star machine devil, as it were. The orchestration here is simply lovely, and Kate produces a smooth, yet textured sound encompassing piano, strings, mellotron, drums (of course), etc. The light, airy flutes are put to perfect use in the refrain's emphatic pause.

More Interesting for their Quasi-experimental Flavor, Not Exactly Easy Listening.

'Cloudbusting' is somewhat surrealistic, and alludes to Wilhelm Reich, scientist who was labeled a crackpot by some for his theories, including the one about Orgone energy. The continual drumbeat can get a tad annoying after a while, saved largely by Kate's impassioned, direct-to-you singing, with its ultimately optimistic outlook. The sci-fantastic contraption on the album's back cover seems to be a rendition of Mr Reich's design for his 'cloudbusting' machine.

'Breathing' is like nothing else you've heard, with tinkling and percussive sounds, a collage of such that includes Kate's lament on the hazards to breathing, a basic function we take for granted until the very source of life (air) also becomes the source of death. An elliptical dig at toxic air.

'Hounds of Love' possesses a strong and dominant rhythm. A rather throwaway cut about being chased down by the 'hounds of love' nipping at one's heels. The short, quick raspy cello notes lend an urgency to this song that Kate lightens with humorous imitation dog-yapping in the background.

'Running Up That Hill' again showcases throbbing drums and miscellaneous background sounds repeated ad infinitum, with Kate causing a minor controversy with the lyric: 'Made a deal with God and asked him to swap our places'. My, how times have changed. Kinda.

Kate shrieks, belts it out, growls, then whispers in the adrenaline-fuelled 'Sat in Your Lap'. It's more an interesting texture of sounds and rhythms, and you can't deny the infectious quality of the driving beat. What the title means--you might have a clue more than I do!

'The Dreaming' may take some a while to get used to. Kate's musical impression of the Australian aborigines' clash with the white settlers and their stories told in the dreamtime. Again, intriguing mix of an assortment of musical and non-musical sounds.

The Sole Pop-ish Song in the Roster.

'Babooshka' stands uniquely as the most conventionally structured track of all here. A longstanding couple's fading romance results in the wife's resorting to tricks to 'test him.' Ends with the sound of breaking glass. Happy or sad ending? Kate is ambiguous.

Summary and Recommendations.

Kate has a great knack for putting together various pop and orchestral instruments and combining them with snippets of mundane sounds such as radio broadcasts, a chugging train, a drill sergeant's shouts, a bird's flapping wings, and the whipping of a helicopter's blades, creating fairly unusual songs that can be filled with unforgettable melodies, key changes, rhythms and aural sensations.

It may be a bit of a challenge to the mind's ear at first, but the odd beauty of her songs will usually reveal themselves with time and closer attention. She has a fairly wide vocal range that does best as a soprano, stretching from hushed murmurs to midrange growls to light, high pitched wails (which can be an acquired taste, and could annoy some listeners). I don't wish to imply that she doesn't sing in the regular manner--she does, but embellishes her singing with more instinctive, sometimes rapturous inflections. It comes straight from her theatrical heart.

These are far from anyone's usual concept of pop music. These are all astonishingly imaginative creations from a musician who can plumb our deeply human yet spiritual core. Her unusual choices in topics that betray a kind of Greenpeace-mindedness would seem a bit precious, were it not for the compelling and wondrous music she dresses them up in. Like the music of the more fascinating artists, Kate's stuff defies categorization. Call it what you will, her music is simply hers.

She is known to direct every little detail in all her recordings, and is thus responsible for the final sound. Don't like it? Blame Kate. Love it? Thank Kate.

This is an album for those daring musical souls out there who have yet to experience Kate's unique, refreshing, stimulating, mind-altering sounds. Remarkably enough, none of the songs feel dated--since Kate followed no musical trends except those springing from within herself. If you've grown tired of the sameness and predictability in the non-classical music sphere and are seeking something totally different,'The Whole Story'might just be the answer.