Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…
15 February 2018
Artist: KATE BUSH
Album: THE KICK INSIDE – debut LP
Released: 17 February 1978 – 40 years ago
BBC Music wrote (in 2008) : “The tale’s been oft-told, but bears repeating: Discovered by a mutual friend of the Bush family as well as Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Bush was signed on Gilmour’s advice to EMI at 16. Given a large advance and three years, ‘The Kick Inside’ was
her extraordinary debut. To this day nothing sounds like it. Using mainly session musicians,
‘The Kick Inside’ was the result of a record company actually allowing a young talent to blossom. Some of these songs were written when she was 13! Helmed by Gilmour’s friend, Andrew Powell, it’s a lush blend of piano grandiosity, vaguely uncomfortable reggae and intricate, intelligent, wonderful songs. All delivered in a voice that had no precedents. Even so, EMI wanted the dullest, most conventional track, James And The Cold Gun as the lead single, but Kate was no push over. At 19 she knew that the startling whoops and Bronte-influenced narrative of Wuthering Heights would be her make or break moment. Luckily she was allowed her head.
TURN UP THE VOLUME says: “I still remember being completely struck dumb when I
first heard this album (some years after its release, actually). That otherworldly voice. Those peculiar song structures. Those daring, mature and outspoken stories. It took
some time to fully understand the genius of this young, experimental pop phenomenon. Special then, still special now. Oh yeah, after a couple of spins yesterday and today this magnum opus sounds as spectacular and compelling as back then. Well, this is what outstanding artists are all about…
Three highlights: Wuthering Heights / Strange Phenomena / The Man With The Child In Eyes…
* WUTHERING HEIGHTS – unavoidable and imperishable…
* STRANGE PHENOMENA – angelic and mysterious…
* THE MAN WITH THE CHILD IN HIS EYES – a beauty of a different kind…
The kick in full…
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KATE BUSH: Website – Facebook – Discography
