Today I'm coming back around the Kate Bush to make my way through her three remaining 80's albums. I don't honestly have high expectations. As I noted in my initial review of 1980's Never For Ever, she's an acquired taste. Her quirky and eccentric tunes can have a hit or miss effect, and she was never one to be favored on the Billboard. She's actually only had four hits which have landed on the Hot 100, two of which were in the 80's. Further, one of them was actually the 1987 Peter Gabriel duet from his album, So. I guess in that regard, it could be argued that she actually only had one hit in the 80's. Can you guess what it was? We'll circle back to this tomorrow, so check back to see if you got it.
Her 1982 released The Dream is touted as the first to be fully written and produced by Bush, and upon its release was not met favorably. Even today, it's often categorized as her worst work to date. It would see a drastic drop in sales from its predecessors which went gold and platinum in multiple countries. It would only reach silver in the UK, where it also somehow managed to land at number three on their album charts. Despite all of this, it would also be the first for her to hit the Billboard 200, peaking at number one hundred fifty-seven. This was credited mostly to college radio and MTV support.
However, the two-year period it took for Bush to record the album, versus sales return didn't sit well with label EMI. This prompted her to build her own studio, garnering her the time she wanted and needed to craft her albums at her own leisure, without label funding. This though would begin a trend for the artist taking several years to complete an album.
But now we're getting too far ahead. Let's first stop off for today's Retro Spin.
.jpg)
After my lackluster listening session of The Kink's Word Of Mouth, I decided to skip over their next two albums, and jump into this one. I felt that perhaps the break would do me some good to get something new in my ears and perhaps come back to the band with a clear perspective. Not that any of this is necessarily relevant to today's post.
Well, it's what I expected. Odd, different, and anything but commercial mainstream. How to sum it up. It's like someone saying something completely random and off the wall, and all you can do is stare at them and say, "What?" Because it's just so bizarre that you don't know what to say. As the same time, it's intriguing that something so strange would come out of their mouth that you want them to either repeat it or explain further.
This may sound weird but hear me out. It's kind of along the lines of what Queen did with A Night At The Opera. It's all over the place in its themes and genres, yet at the same time, it works. Each new instrument and sound effect which hits your ears leaves you hooked, wanting to hear what will come next. Candidly, the critics are wrong with this one. It's not the worst in her catalog (that I've heard). Instead, it's an artist finally taking full control of her music, and saying, "This is who I am."
No, this isn't an album I'm going to reach for repeatedly, possibly ever again. But for what it's worth, it was strangely enjoyable.
As noted above, Kate built her own studio, giving her the time she saw fit to record her albums. This would result in a three-year gap before 1985's Hounds Of Love would be completed and released. While that's the next album in her discography I'm heading into, first, I need to go back in time and get back to The Kinks. The break was certainly needed, and hopefully this works in the band's favor. Of course, at this point, you've already seen that post from two days ago.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment