That’s what Leave It Open seems to be about: a confession that things hadn’t always been done the way she would have liked – “narrow mind would persecute it, die a little just to get to it” – and an announcement that they will be from now on. Not that Kate Bush’s imagination was ever terribly constrained, but The Dreaming is marked by the sense that sampling technology had now enabled her to fully recreate the sounds in her head, and that she was now successful enough to please no-one other than herself. The Dreaming isn’t Kate Bush’s best album, but it remains my favourite there’s something very beguiling about the sound of an artist finally letting their imagination fully run riot. You gotta laugh or you’ll cry, right? Hannah Jane Parkinson Leave It Open (The Dreaming, 1982) No idea if this is true, but I’ve heard the line was inspired by a technician who accidentally wiped a finished track from The Dreaming: “God, I couldn’t stop laughing”. I’d hate to say these lines stand out for me as someone who absolutely copes with the darkest of events using awkward jokes and black humour, much explored by frustrated therapists and partners, but, well … that is why. Mostly inspired by the grief that came after multiple people close to her had died, there are vignettes of memory the titular moments of pleasure (“I think about us / lying on a beach somewhere”). This sense of humour of mine It isn’t funny at all Oh, but we sit up all night Talking about itĪside from being six minutes of gorgeous piano work backed by an orchestra, arranged by Michael Kamen, Bush’s Moments of Pleasure is among her lyrically strongest works thanks to its lightness of touch. Dave Simpson Moments of Pleasure (The Red Shoes, 1993) Thank you Dad, thank you – wherever you are – Paul, and thank you Kate. I clambered out of the tunnel, never to return. Why don’t you write about music?” and a light bulb went on above my head. All this came together when an exasperated dole mate, Paul, said, “Look, all you’re interested in is music. My own father died when I was six, but one of my abiding memories of him is of how he left a new word for me every day on a blackboard before he went to work, which meant I could spell by the time I got to school. Gradually, I realised that the singer was singing about a father, whose memory lingered on, and I related to that too. Cloudbusting – Hounds’ second single - is actually about the relationship between psychologist/philosopher Wilhelm Reich and his son, Peter, and in particular their time spent together making a rain-making machine – a Cloudbuster – but these lines spoke to me and offered a bright light at the end of a very dark tunnel.Įach time I heard it, I instantly felt better: about myself, the future, everything. There wasn’t a vast choice but I got Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits, Prince’s Sign O’ the Times and Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love, and devoured each intensely. I was at my most miserable when I joined a mail order music service called the Britannia Music Club: signing up (however briefly) meant you got three free albums. I had recently graduated but – to misquote Morrissey – couldn’t get a job even if I wanted one my mother had just died and I lived alone in our childhood semi-detached council house on a diet of KitKats and baked beans. I first heard this during the lowest point of my life. Lanre Bakare Cloudbusting (Hounds of Love, 1985)īut every time it rains You’re here in my head Like the sun coming out Ooh, I just know that something good is gonna happen That loss is sprinkled all over the song but these lyrics,in an instant, capture how putting a brave face on things can’t outrun the pain of grief. Bush’s own long-term relationship with bassist Del Palmer had come to an end before the album was recorded, while her mother and guitarist Alan Murphy also died in the lead up to the album’s release. The lyrics, which start with the strangely functional (“It’s alright, I’ll come round when you’re not in”) are the key to its success, as Bush slowly and tragically admits to being unable to function without her lover. But You’re the One, the album’s closer, takes a straightforward story of two people breaking up and turns it into the equal of Nothing Compares 2 U, when it comes to a big bombastic statement about heartbreak. The album it’s taken from – The Red Shoes – contains Rubberband Girl and Why Should I Love You?, which brazenly combines Prince and Lenny Henry. It’s easy to overlook this breakup ballad. I’ve got everything I need I’ve got petrol in the car I’ve got some money with me There’s just one problem You’re the only one I want
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