WE DO THE MASHED POTATO AND THE FUNKY CHICKEN

Kate Bush

Hounds of Love

  • AMG Review of Hounds of Love

    Amg
    Bruce Eder
    All Music Guide

    Kate Bush's strongest album to date also marked her breakthrough into the American charts, and yielded a set of dazzling videos as well as an enviable body of hits, spearheaded by "Running Up That Hill," her biggest single since "Wuthering Heights." Strangely enough, Hounds of Love was no less complicated in its structure, imagery, and extra-musical references (even lifting a line of dialogue from Jacques Tourneur's Curse of the Demon for the intro of the title song) than The Dreaming, which had been roundly criticized for being too ambitious and complex. But Hounds of Love was more carefully crafted as a pop record, and it abounded in memorable melodies and arrangements, the latter reflecting idioms ranging from orchestrated progressive pop to high-wattage raditional folk; and at the center of it all was Bush in the best album-length vocal performance of her career, extending her range and also drawing expressiveness from deep inside of herself, so much so that one almost feels as though he's eavesdropping at moments during "Running Up That Hill." Hounds of Love is actually a two-part album (the two sides of the original LP release being the now-lost natural dividing line), consisting of the suites "Hounds of Love" and "The Ninth Wave." The former is steeped in lyrical and sonic sensuality that tends to wash over the listener, while the latter is about the experiences of birth and rebirth. If this sounds like heady stuff, it could be, but Bush never lets the material get too far from its pop trappings and purpose. In some respects, this was also Bush's first fully realized album, done completely on her own terms, made entirely at her own 48-track home studio, to her schedule and preferences, and delivered whole to EMI as a finished work; that history is important, helping to explain the sheer presence of the album's most striking element -- the spirit of experimentation at every turn, in the little details of the sound. That vastly divergent grasp, from the minutiae of each song to the broad sweeping arc of the two suites, all heavily ornamented with layered instrumentation, makes this record wonderfully overpowering as a piece of pop music. Indeed, this reviewer hadn't had so much fun and such a challenge listening to a new album from the U.K. since Abbey Road, and it's pretty plain that Bush listened to (and learned from) a lot of the Beatles' output in her youth. [Those seeking to hear the full, exquisite sonic range of Hounds of Love (or any of Bush's pre-1990s albums, for that matter) should ignore the U.S.-made EMI America CDs and go for any of the British CD editions, either individually or in the This Woman's Work set; or, better still on Hounds of Love, the boxed edition with bonus tracks released in conjunction with EMI's 100th anniversary in 1997.]

Review of Hounds of Love
over 2 years ago

I bought this in 1986, having heard Bill Humphries sing the praises of Kate Bush for months. It was the Spring-Summer of my triumphant return to UT Austin (before the inevitable Second Fall from Grace that was to occur a couple of years later), and while I had listened to this album quite a bit during my commute back and forth to classes that Spring, it cemented its hold in my heart during Wine...

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MPHO covers Kate Bush "Running Up That Hill"
4 months ago

MPHO (pronounced Mm-poh) is a British talent like no other. A genre-defying singer, songwriter and producer, she is already a name to drop amongst people in the know and is set to be one of the most exciting names of 2009.MPHO was born in apartheid South Africa and raised in a racially mixed family of musicians and political activists in Brixton. Her life story is as colourful as her music, but...

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On the Ninth Day of Katemas...
4 months ago

Being the Ninth Day we focus on the Ninth Wave.On the second side of Hounds of Love, The Ninth Wave, takes its name from a poem by Tennyson.Each of its tracks conveys the story of a woman who is lost at sea and facing the threat of drowning.IMHO, this is one of the greatest concept pieces ever recordedAs there are no official videos for these songs, nor any known live or TV performances, we hav...

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On the Tenth Day of Katemas...
4 months ago

Kate Bush and David Gilmour performing "Running Up That Hill" live at the Secret Policeman's Ball in 1986.

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Sell Your Used MP3s...Yes, You Read that Right!
11 months ago

https://www.bopaboo.comIf I can purchase and legally resell my CDs, why not my purchased MP3s?The site's in private beta for the time being; you have to request an invitation to sign up. If it ever launches to the public then you might see a new record set for time from launch to first lawsuit.Either that, or they'll be billionaires within the year.

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Yamaha Tenori-on
about 1 year ago

Finally being released for sale in the U.S. Only $1200.00 to get your hands on one... a hands on review with excellent video from Engadget:http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/07/yamaha-tenori-on-everything-you-wanted-to-know-with-video/

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A major shift in the online music social scene
about 1 year ago

Today Last.fm announced they will be allowing users to play full-length tracks and entire albums for free.With all the major labels and many indie label suportThey will be paying artists directly.They are also kicking down a piece of the Web site ad revenue to artists and labelsRead the whole story "here":http://blog.last.fm/

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A Voice and A Piano
over 2 years ago

A predecessor of Tori Amos, Norah Jones.Cool sounding synth sounds too.Always in the mood for this one.And if I only could,I'd make a deal with God,And I'd get him to swap our places,Be running up that road,Be running up that hill,Be running up that building.Say, If I only could, oh...

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Review of Hounds of Love
over 2 years ago

I bought this in 1986, having heard Bill Humphries sing the praises of Kate Bush for months. It was the Spring-Summer of my triumphant return to UT Austin (before the inevitable Second Fall from Grace that was to occur a couple of years later), and while I had listened to this album quite a bit during my commute back and forth to classes that Spring, it cemented its hold in my heart during Wine...

More >

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