FEATURE:
Army Dreamers
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
Revisiting the Thought of Two Different Kate Bush Projects
_________
I have written about…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985
two different and distinct Kate Bush projects. Well, not ‘projects’ as such. Albums that would be welcomed. I am not sure whether we will get a new Kate Bush album anytime soon – or at all. It is always a risk and guessing game. I know that people bemoan the reissuing of her albums. She has done this a couple of times in the past five or six years. It is great that fans have access to her work. There is a desperation for something new from. I have stated how it would be great to have a DVD for Before the Dawn. The tenth anniversary of the start of the residency happens in August. I think a new documentary would be good. I do feel that there are two possibilities that fans would welcome. The first relates to a greatest hits or new collection. It would not be like reissuing albums. There has been a reissue of her rarities and B-sides. Rather than this being another retread, it would be a perfect chance and time for some of her best tracks, alongside a few unreleased or less-known numbers to sit alongside one another. We have not had a greatest hits collection since 1986. In terms of introducing new fans and pleasing existing ones, I do think that an album dedicated solely to her work is overdue. It would have its own title. The reason I bring this up is because the increased interest in Kate Bush’s music. It would not be an expansive album. Maybe a double vinyl and a version available on cassette and C.D., this would provide entry point for new fans. A chance to go beyond the big hits. Some would push back and say that this would be a bit too much. Considering the album reissues. Right now, we have so many people paying their respect to an artist who is still very much in the mix. Many might not be able to afford all the studio albums. Price is a factor. Re-releasing the same thing is not going to win everyone over. I don’t think we will see her studio albums get reintroduced and repackaged. I feel that a new album is a gamble. We can never say for sure either way.
I like the thought of this new greatest hits. Maybe a collection. Maybe it would offer little to those who have the albums and know her work. Even so, there could be this big market among those coming to Kate Bush fresh. Perhaps the song choices would be contentious. How would you limit it down?! I don’t feel it would be exploiting fans. Instead, so much has happened since The Whole Story came out in 1986. This is a new era for Kate Bush. A new generation have come on board. I still think there is a problem with younger listeners streaming Kate Bush rather than buying her music. Maybe they naturally go for Hounds of Love when thinking of a studio album. Sure, they could get a taster of her other studio albums from streaming sites. I do think that an anthology or slimmer greater hits collection would prove popular. Perhaps the last time there would be some retrospection. Clearing the path for new work. Or maybe a full stop to Kate Bush bringing out her music. That would be a sad thing. You know how many artists love Kate Bush. Are influenced by her. As I have written before, everyone from legends and music icons like St. Vincent and Björk take inspiration from her. Newer artists coming through such as The Last Dinner Party definitely have shades of Kate Bush. I know I am repeating myself to an extent. Great acts like The Anchoress are fans of Kate Bush. If you think far and wide, there is a wealth and world of artists who look up to her. I am heading ever closer to a documentary and getting them all together!
That is a feature and thought that I will explore later on. I do still believe there is a new documentary possibility. One where we do not need to see Kate Bush appear in. In terms of tribute albums, now more than ever seems like a time to discuss it. It has not happened before. Uniting major artists and newcomers, maybe with poetry or spoken word, there is an album idea. One that would surely not find objection in the Kate Bush household. She knows how many artists are influenced by her. There have been minor collections of Kate Bush songs covered by other artists. Nothing especially memorable or authoritative. There was this wave of Running Up This Hill (A Deal with God) covers following its inclusion in Stranger Things and chart success. Ranging from the slightly good to the abysmal, I do think there is opportunity for a genuine reimagining of the song. Think of bigger tracks of hers that could be covered by an artist you would not expect to sing it. The most appealing reason to consider a tribute album is those lesser songs. The deeper cuts. Together with an anthology or greatest hits albums, an opportunity to bring perhaps a couple of dozen musical Kate Bush fans – and, you know, maybe others who could recite her songs or are not necessarily artists – together would be amazing. I am not sure what you would call it. DO NOT call it This Woman’s Work! Or Running Up That Hill. There are more interesting and original naming opportunities! Many might say that this could not happen because Kate Bush would not allow it. For a start, she would not have to. People can cover her songs and I don’t think that EMI or Fish People would necessarily need to give sign off. If there was a stricter route where Kate Bush would need to sign off, I think that she would not object. Touched by so many artists covering her work. There have been plenty of Kate Bush covers through the years. She is not that strict when it comes to allowing people to interpret her work. Maybe recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios. Amazing possibilities and combinations spring to mind!
There is a lot to be said for both ideas. In terms of drawing together existing work into a collection or single album, it is a step away from the studio albums purely. A chance to collect together single releases but also some different and deeper songs. At a time when so many major artists reissue their studio albums so shortly after they first come out, nobody could begrudge a Kate Bush greatest hits collection. I think that the collections that have come out – The Whole Story in 1986; This Woman's Work: Anthology 1978–1990 in 1990; The Other Sides in 2019 – are perfectly fine. There is room and justification to have something new in the world. A beautiful thing that could be kept by fans for so many years. I know it is not the same as a new album. I fear so many people are missing out on her work. Its full extent. Perhaps not a greatest hits, then: more a deeper dive from 1978 (her debut, The Kick Inside) to 2011 (her latest studio album, 50 Words for Snow). In terms of a tribute album. It does not signal an end of her career or some grizzly eulogy. It is also not opportunistic. It is a beautiful way of combining artists one might love to see collaborate with Kate Bush but may never. Those who have but have not tackled one of her songs. A fascinating glimpse into some of her beloved songs and some that people might not know. Who knows, seeing this love and demand for her music might well compel Kate Bush to at least think of the possibility of gifting the world with new music in the future. I can understand people’s reticence with what they might see as reworking old work or slightly repackaging it. I definitely don’t see that. Definitely when it comes to a tribute album. Instead, as there are magazine articles and books published about her, there is room and many valid reasons why we should have an anthology/greatest hits and a tribute album. When it comes to the amazing and hugely influential Kate Bush, we can never be done celebrating…
THIS woman’s work (bugger!).