THERE'S AN ARMY ON THE DANCEFLOOR!
Since music has already been mentioned right outta the starting gate, I'd just like remain tuneful and mention Kate Bush's new cd. "Aerial" is the silver-throated songbird's first album since 1991's "The Red Shoes"; a somewhat uneven album but a terrific one that had a lot going for it. "Aerial" is an ambitious two disc-er consisting of a first disc (subtitled "A Sea of Honey") of individual songs and a second disc ("A Sky of Honey") consisting of one continuous song cycle (a la "Hounds of Love"; the greatest album of all time).
Ahem.
Anyway, the first time I heard Kate's new single "King of the Mountain". . . . well, I kinda went "eh". Having now purchased the cd, the song has grown on me. The song is, of course, about Elvis Presley and Kate does a pretty cute Elvis impression as she sings about "The King" still alive scooting down a snow slope on Charles Foster Kane's "Rosebud". A fun song, but I don't exactly get goosebumps. The rest of the album (and yes, ALBUM is the correct term for a collection of songs on cd much the same as a photo ALBUM is a collection of pictures. . .so there. . .it's an ALBUM on CD). . . so where was I? Oh yeah. The entire album is mainly a sparse affair musically (which is in no way a bad thing). Some songs feature merely Kate's voice with piano accompaniment. Having listened to the entire cd a few times, I cannot disguise my slight disappointment. Of course, after a 12 year wait, ANYTHING she released would have to be a letdown. However, I'm not ready to dismiss "Aerial" as a failure. It's not. Just read any of the reviews it's been getting: four or five stars is a commonality. For my part, I plan to reimmerse my ears in the album quite a few more times because I'm certain it's the kind of album that has to creep up on you after multiple listenings. Once I can discard all that baggage of 12 years of expectations, I may come to a better appreciation of "Aerial".
One potentially scream-inducing factor is Kate's use of her seven year old son Bertie on a couple tracks. Eek, she's turned into Kathie Lee, I can hear you say. Hold on, don't worry. I am famously slightly less of a child-fancier than W.C. Fields and I find the sentiment "Get away from me, kid! You reek of popcorn and lollipops!" to just about cover it. However, Bertie is actually quite good on the album and is used to good musical effect without any overbearingly gratuitous baby-worshipping on Kate's part. She's obviously mad about her son but she doesn't let that fact destroy her artistic sensibilites.
As for the songs themselves, I still haven't become sufficiently familiar with them to be on speaking terms with them. The song entitled with the mathematical symbol for "pi" has a nice groove to it but, being a lifelong numbers-hater I'm still a little gunshy when Kate sings the string of numbers making up "pi". It's a tribute to Kate that I didn't immediately hit the "skip" button in panic. "Joanni" is of course about Joan of Arc. Nowhere, however, does Kate utilize Joan's reported last words (as told on "The Young Ones"): "Loiks oh Lordy, my bottom's on fire!" "A Coral Room" is being singled out by many cd reviewers as a heartbreakingly beautiful song dealing with the death of Kate's mother. It is indeed a lovely song; whether it deserves such praise will require several more earfuls by yours truly. "Aerial Tal" is a frankly ingenious track featuring Kate actually singing birdsong along with a recording of a blackbird. Kate's ear is phenomenal as she exactly. . .and I do mean EXACTLY mimics the bird's song. . . so much so that I'm sure an actual bird would understand every word (while perhaps noting her English accent while tweeting away). This track sounds like it would be really annoying but it's definitely not (and at only a minute and one second in length it doesn't overstay it's welcome in the least).
So anyway, this is not meant to be a sort of review in any way; only a smattering of my impressions upon first and second listening. In a recent interview, Kate was asked if she planned on taking such a glacially slow amount of time to make her next album. With typical mischief, Kate chuckled that she might just released two cds next year. That would surprise them, she laughed. Here's hoping for many more surprises from Kate.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
THERE'S AN ARMY ON THE DANCEFLOOR!
Since music has already been mentioned right outta the starting gate, I'd just like remain tuneful and mention Kate Bush's new cd. "Aerial" is the silver-throated songbird's first album since 1991's "The Red Shoes"; a somewhat uneven album but a terrific one that had a lot going for it. "Aerial" is an ambitious two disc-er consisting of a first disc (subtitled "A Sea of Honey") of individual songs and a second disc ("A Sky of Honey") consisting of one continuous song cycle (a la "Hounds of Love"; the greatest album of all time).
Ahem.
Anyway, the first time I heard Kate's new single "King of the Mountain". . . . well, I kinda went "eh". Having now purchased the cd, the song has grown on me. The song is, of course, about Elvis Presley and Kate does a pretty cute Elvis impression as she sings about "The King" still alive scooting down a snow slope on Charles Foster Kane's "Rosebud". A fun song, but I don't exactly get goosebumps. The rest of the album (and yes, ALBUM is the correct term for a collection of songs on cd much the same as a photo ALBUM is a collection of pictures. . .so there. . .it's an ALBUM on CD). . . so where was I? Oh yeah. The entire album is mainly a sparse affair musically (which is in no way a bad thing). Some songs feature merely Kate's voice with piano accompaniment. Having listened to the entire cd a few times, I cannot disguise my slight disappointment. Of course, after a 12 year wait, ANYTHING she released would have to be a letdown. However, I'm not ready to dismiss "Aerial" as a failure. It's not. Just read any of the reviews it's been getting: four or five stars is a commonality. For my part, I plan to reimmerse my ears in the album quite a few more times because I'm certain it's the kind of album that has to creep up on you after multiple listenings. Once I can discard all that baggage of 12 years of expectations, I may come to a better appreciation of "Aerial".
One potentially scream-inducing factor is Kate's use of her seven year old son Bertie on a couple tracks. Eek, she's turned into Kathie Lee, I can hear you say. Hold on, don't worry. I am famously slightly less of a child-fancier than W.C. Fields and I find the sentiment "Get away from me, kid! You reek of popcorn and lollipops!" to just about cover it. However, Bertie is actually quite good on the album and is used to good musical effect without any overbearingly gratuitous baby-worshipping on Kate's part. She's obviously mad about her son but she doesn't let that fact destroy her artistic sensibilites.
As for the songs themselves, I still haven't become sufficiently familiar with them to be on speaking terms with them. The song entitled with the mathematical symbol for "pi" has a nice groove to it but, being a lifelong numbers-hater I'm still a little gunshy when Kate sings the string of numbers making up "pi". It's a tribute to Kate that I didn't immediately hit the "skip" button in panic. "Joanni" is of course about Joan of Arc. Nowhere, however, does Kate utilize Joan's reported last words (as told on "The Young Ones"): "Loiks oh Lordy, my bottom's on fire!" "A Coral Room" is being singled out by many cd reviewers as a heartbreakingly beautiful song dealing with the death of Kate's mother. It is indeed a lovely song; whether it deserves such praise will require several more earfuls by yours truly. "Aerial Tal" is a frankly ingenious track featuring Kate actually singing birdsong along with a recording of a blackbird. Kate's ear is phenomenal as she exactly. . .and I do mean EXACTLY mimics the bird's song. . . so much so that I'm sure an actual bird would understand every word (while perhaps noting her English accent while tweeting away). This track sounds like it would be really annoying but it's definitely not (and at only a minute and one second in length it doesn't overstay it's welcome in the least).
So anyway, this is not meant to be a sort of review in any way; only a smattering of my impressions upon first and second listening. In a recent interview, Kate was asked if she planned on taking such a glacially slow amount of time to make her next album. With typical mischief, Kate chuckled that she might just released two cds next year. That would surprise them, she laughed. Here's hoping for many more surprises from Kate.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Having listened to Aerial straight through after posting, I can admit to liking the album even better. Stay tuned for more developments.
I feel in love with Kate many moons ago when I first heard Wuthering Heights. Also, whenever I hear Running Up That Hill, I am transported to Boulder Colorado, summer of 1985...good times."If I only could, make a deal with god..."
Post a Comment