GAS Featured Musician: Kate Bush, presented by Kevin M. Hibshman

Copyright: Noble and Bright

The Weird and Wonderful World Of Kate Bush

Kate Bush began writing songs as a child and was nineteen years old when she first topped the charts in her native UK with the whimsical “Wuthering Heights.” Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd) assisted her in procuring a recording contract. Her first album, The Kick Inside was released in 1978. It was piano-based , off-kilter pop that belied a precocious intelligence and a quite active imagination. Each subsequent release showed a marked progression in her musical abilities and her further exploration of often literary or cinematic themes focusing on the human condition. She became an instant pop star in the UK while maintaining a loyal cult following in the U.S. and many other countries.

  

        Bush would swiftly move to producing her own material and 1980's Never Forever saw her branching out in that capacity for the first time. Always theatrical and lyrically unbridled, this album was her first number one in the UK and spawned the hits “Babooshka,” “Army Dreamers” and “Breathing,” The follow-up album, The Dreaming was released in 1982 and was her most experimental

and non-commercial album yet. Critics weren't sure what to make of the album upon its release but it has gone on to become a favorite with fans and has been influential to many other musicians including Icelandic avant-pop artist Bjork. Bush has always included exotic instruments in her music and made use of uilleann pipes and a didgeridoo on this album. The Dreaming also features extensive use of the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer, a tool she would use to create her masterpiece, 1985's The Hounds Of Love.

        During the Summer of 1983, Kate built her own recording studio in a barn on her parent's property. Over the course of a year, she would create what would be her most commercially and critically successful album, Hounds Of Love. The album features the hit “Running Up That Hill,” which peaked at number 3 in the UK and at number 30 in the U.S. The accompanying video displayed her skills as a dancer. The album was split into two suites: Hounds of Love and The Ninth Wave. Critics have labeled the album “post-progressive” as it is a rare foray into the progressive rock genre from a strictly female viewpoint. She followed up this daring effort with 1989's The Sensual World which features one of the most haunting movie theme songs ever recorded: “This Woman's Work,” from the film She's Having a Baby. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1991. 

       Bush has, to date released three other original albums: The Red Shoes,1993 which included guest appearances from Prince, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, the double album, Aerial, 2005, and 50 Words for Snow, 2011. These albums reflect a calmer, quieter Bush but still retain the mysticism and visionary quality she is known for. Kate Bush is a true artist who transports the willing listener to worlds only she holds the keys to, so abandon your previous perceptions and allow her to unlock the gate to a universe of infinite experience.