Kate Bush album rank - 2018 remastered edition (1 Viewer)

Iguana

Iguana

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To celebrate the release of the first round of Kate Bush remasters tomorrow, I thought we could do an album rank as this hasn't been done here in over TEN YEARS as far as I can tell. Okay so she hasn't actually RELEASED much during that time but I won't let that stop me.

I've limited the albums to those that are included in the remaster package and have excluded the b-sides/remixes CD. Aerial/HOL count as one album each for me but feel free to split out the concept parts if you so wish.

Rank the following:

The Kick Inside (1978)
Lionheart (1978)
Never For Ever (1980)
The Dreaming (1982)
Hounds of Love (1985)
The Sensual World (1989)
The Red Shoes (1993)
Aerial (2005)
Director's Cut (2011)
50 Words For Snow (2011)
Before The Dawn (2016)

YES I knew those release years off by heart.
 
My ranking:

01. Aerial
02. The Dreaming
03. Hounds of Love
04. The Red Shoes
05. The Sensual World
06. Never For Ever
07. The Kick Inside
08. Director's Cut
09. 50 Words For Snow
10. Before The Dawn
11. Lionheart
 
01. Hounds of Love
02. The Dreaming
03. Never For Ever
04. Aerial
05. The Sensual World
06. The Kick Inside
07. The Red Shoes
08. 50 Words for Snow
09. Lionheart

Really hard. I love them all really, aside from Lionheart which is obviously the weakest.

I'm not sure Director's Cut and Before The Dawn can really be ranked alongside the studio albums.
 
1. Hounds of Love (1985)
2. The Sensual World (1989)
3. Aerial (2005)
4. Never For Ever (1980)
5. The Kick Inside (1978)
6. The Dreaming (1982)
7. The Red Shoes (1993)
8. Lionheart (1978)
9. Before The Dawn (2016)
10. Director's Cut (2011)
11. 50 Words For Snow (2011)
 
1. Aerial (2005) - only if feat. Rolf Harris
2. The Dreaming (1982)
3. Hounds of Love (1985)
4. Never For Ever (1980)
5. The Sensual World (1989)
6. 50 Words For Snow (2011)
7. The Red Shoes (1993) - I used to rate this much higher but not so much these days
8. The Kick Inside (1978)
9. Lionheart (1978)
10. Director's Cut (2011)
11. Before The Dawn (2016) - I've not listened to this but I'd rather listen to the originals and NOT having to listen to Bertie
 
1. Hounds of Love
2. Never for Ever
(A Sky of Honey)
3. The Dreaming
4. The Sensual World
5. Aerial
6. The Kick Inside
7. The Red Shoes
8. 50 Words for Snow
(A Sea of Honey)
9. Director's Cut
10. Lionheart
 
1. Hounds of Love
2. Never For Ever
3. The Dreaming
4. The Kick Inside
5. The Sensual World
6. Lionheart
7. Aerial
8. The Red Shoes
9. 50 Words For Snow
10.Director's Cut
 
Iguana said:
Aerial below Lionheart SHOCKER :o
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Y'know, "Aerial" is the one I've never gotten into. Since I've got the box sets, I haven't even played the whole thing yet. Maybe that's the problem. At the time I didn't like "King of the Mountain" and I didn't buy the album until a few months later. I wasn't THAT bothered by it all overall.

I secretly love "Lionheart". I have it on vinyl, which helps matters too...I enjoy the experience of it as a whole.
 
Lionheart absolutely has some lovely moments! It's got a warmth to it which I find cozy but I just don't often feel like listening to it all the way through.

Aerial was the first album that she released after I became a fan so I think there's something special about it for me. I've always loved it but it's improved for me as I've 'grown up'. The Nocturn - Aerial double punch at the end of A Sky of Honey is one of my favourite pieces of music ever.
 
My main problem with Lionheart is that it's far and away her worst album vocally. Songs like In The Warm Room and Kashka From Baghdad are nice enough, but she's so shrill on them. I'm pleased she moved away from that style with her subsequent albums.
 
As for Aerial, A Sky of Honey (disc 2) was always pretty special to me for personal reasons. A Sea of Honey was *really* opened up for me by the live shows. Joanni in particular I always thought of as just OK, and now I adore it.
 
See, I found A Sea of Honey a little bit of a slog in the live shows. I’m just not sure it’s my BAG, but I’ll persevere.
 
I’ve never thought about the vocals on Lionheart, but I did only yesterday start imitating her ridiculous Army Dreamers vocal and now can’t stop randomly blurting our “ARRRRRRMY DREEEEEEMERS, ooh what a waaaaaste” in a weird old crone voice...
 
Army Dreamers is from Never For Ever and I actually love her vocal on that one. Yes she still has a bit of the witchy affectation that she pretty much dropped from Hounds of Love on, but it's a lot softer and warmer than the outright shrieking she does in places on Lionheart.
 
VoR said:
Army Dreamers is from Never For Ever
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Oh I know, I was just making a general point about vocals. I love it too.

and I actually love her vocal on that one. Yes she still has a bit of the witchy affectation that she pretty much dropped from Hounds of Love on, but it's a lot softer and warmer than the outright shrieking she does in places on Lionheart.
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I hadn’t really thought about her dropping it until last night either. Playing all the albums really is giving a whole new perspective to me...
 
Her lifelong smoking probably contributed to her voice dropping in her thirties and beyond, but I do think it was a conscious decision to reign that element in as well. You couldn't sing Running Up That Hill with a Wuthering Heights vocal. (Well you could, but it'd be hideous).
 
I hear a bit of that higher voice in the chorus of Wild Man and the song 50 Words For Snow, but obviously it's not the same. There was definitely a time and a place for those vocals but I much prefer the more mature sound. Her vocals on The Red Shoes album slay me.
 
1. Hounds Of Love
2. The Dreaming
3. Aerial
4. Never for Ever
5. The Red Shoes
6. The Sensual World
7. The Kick Inside
8. Lionheart
9. 50 Words for Snow
(10. Director's Cut)
 
This would be like ranking my children - like obviously I have a soft spot for the eldest child, naturally feel extra protective of poor, troubled 'The Dreaming', and wish I had aborted '50 Words for Snow' when I saw his little carrot nose on the ultrascan, but I really couldn't bring myself to RANK THEM.
 
So tricky as they're all pretty marvellous. In order of overall enjoyment though:
  1. Hounds of Love (1985)
  2. Aerial (2005)
  3. The Dreaming (1982)
  4. Never For Ever (1980)
  5. The Kick Inside (1978)
  6. Lionheart (1978)
  7. 50 Words For Snow (2011)
  8. The Red Shoes (1993)
  9. The Sensual World (1989)
 
I didn't include Director's Cut as I barely listen to it any more. I think she was on to a hiding to nothing with this project really. The reworkings either weren't different enough to the original to make them worthwhile, or were plain worse.

Same with Before The Dawn though it does conjure up wonderful memories of the show itself.
 
Christian said:
I didn't include Director's Cut as I barely listen to it any more. I think she was on to a hiding to nothing with this project really. The reworkings either weren't different enough to the original to make them worthwhile, or were plain worse.
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I don't disagree but I do think that Director's Cut led to Before The Dawn as she got more confident about revisiting her back catalogue so worth it. Plus the new Lily is just wonderful!
 
Iguana said:
I don't disagree but I do think that Director's Cut led to Before The Dawn as she got more confident about revisiting her back catalogue so worth it. Plus the new Lily is just wonderful!
Click to expand...
I'm definitely very grateful for that!
 
Ouch this is so hard. 50 Words is a Winter/Autumn STAPLE for me, and is probably one of my most listened to as a result.
There's really not a lot between my top 6 though tbh.

01 The Dreaming
02 50 Words For Snow
03 Ariel
04 Hounds Of Love
05 The Sensual World
06 The Red Shoes
07 The Kick Inside
(Director's Cut)
08 Never for Ever
09 Lionheart
 
Last edited:
1. Hounds of Love
2. The Dreaming
3. The Sensual World
4. The Red Shoes
5. Aerial
6. Never for Ever
7. The Kick Inside
8. Lionheart
9. 50 Words for Snow
10. Director's Cut

 
I definitely think Director's Cut was largely a dry-run for her live shows, so I tend to associate the two quite closely.

I still adore the revisited versions of The Sensual World and Deeper Understanding.
 
Director's Cut is perfectly fine for what it is. I'm happy to have a whole selection of alternates to sit alongside the originals.

I really like the drawn out, stripped back This Woman's Work and Moments Of Pleasure personally. They certainly fit the elongated song structure of Ariel/50 Words a lot better, and are almost like different songs as a result.
 
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I don't mind Director's Cut as a record - it is perfectly well crafted and I have no issues with that; but I generally do not like it when artists revisit their old material and try to improve on it or 're-interpret' it in the studio. There's something self indulgent and almost narcissistic about it which doesn't appeal to me for some reason.

I don't have a problem wit live reinventions or whatever but to re-record it is a bit over the top..
 
Shall we attempt to post our Kate Bush top 10 songs? This will be far tougher than ranking the albums I think..
 
Hounds of Love - an unparalleled momentum of moments

The Sensual World - and then he pushed me against the bins behind Greggs, yes! The album brings a tear to my eye and who knew Hitler was such a gas, etc.

The Dreaming - play loud (and duck)

Aerial - it's just great

The Red Shoes - I was reading The Robber Bride when I first heard this, so it's my Roz album.

The Kick Inside - The shriller to MJ's Thriller. Placed so "low" purely because what is above this is so accomplished, but this is incredibly songful and there were more hits to be had here (Oh to be in Love is still a thrill).

Never for Ever - living, breeeaathing and dying by the lyrics (you must have met the mothers of Army Dreamers quite often back then and I always think how truly lovely Kate is just for conjuring something so beautiful with her sympathy for how broken these people must have been), catfishing before it was really cool (I'm lapsing into Wow here), her music becomes art pop now

Lionheart - Wow and Symphony in Blue are the keepers and Hammer Horror isn't always bad at all. Almost my least revisited bit of Bush...

50 Words for Snow - and all because Stephen Fry left a voice message by mistake. I haven't given this a good enough once over since it came out to really rate it much.

The Director's Cut would have been amazing as a live session moment, but it was all rather unnecessary and I even prefer the original The Sensual World (*shampoos chest hair to it in the shower*)

And she's had 2 live albums so I'm not even entertaining casual fan Iguana's attempt to promote Before the Dawn just because his screaming throughout The Morning Fog can be heard at the 2 second mark onward.
 
straightorbroken said:
And she's had 2 live albums so I'm not even entertaining casual fan Iguana's attempt to promote Before the Dawn just because his screaming throughout The Morning Fog can be heard at the 2 second mark onward.
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:D

On Stage is an EP so doesn't count :oi:

I enjoyed your synopses! I also way prefer the original The Sensual World to Flower of the Mountain - I find her vox a bit unpalatable on Flower of the Mountain, whereas they are perfection on The Sensual World!
 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE! Don't EVER EVER EVER DIE!

I just gave The Directors Cut a re-listen in celebration :eyes: I enjoyed it SO MUCH more than I remembered, especially her Ibiza-chill afterparty versions of Moments Of Pleasure & This Woman's Work.

I did have to turn it off when it got to Rubberband Girl HOWEVER :D
 
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