Search - Kate Bush :: Hounds of Love (Dig) (Mlps)

Ravishing, thoughtful stuff

tierny | 05/16/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For anyone who thinks I only disparage things on Amazon......



Back in the day, when I first saw the video for Running up the Hill, I scoffed at it. Kate Bush was too girly for me. I was punk. But then I succumbed to the drivign 'wall of percussion' of 'Running' and was drawn in. That single is song number one on the album, and what a surprise it was to find that all that follows is of astonishingly high quality, a labor of love. I always found the album to be an interesting listen. Eventually I came to respect the whole effort quite a bit, and now it can easily be said; this is a great, seminal work of the 80s, the peak of Kate Bush's career. My respect for this album has only grown, as new singers like Tori Amos borrowed and built on Kate Bush's persona. Over twenty five years I continue to stumble across the references hidden in these songs; (i.e. Kate was trying to make us inerested in the life, odd ideas and persecution of William Reich). The album is inhabited by untold multitudes of femininity.



This album is now a deeply-respected milestone, a classic. I didn't know when I was buying it that this was no t just another album I'd tire of and forget. These songs haunt and inspire me almost 30 years later. While doing my laundry today I caught myself humming, then singing:

"Motherrr ...stands for COMfort

MoTHER will.. hide the madman

M0therrrr ...stands for comfort

MoTHER will... staaaaay mum"



Kate Bush associated herself with Peter Gabriel, a decent songsmith who eventually dissolved under tepid, generic world-music urges."