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So you voted in your droves (well... 10s) and here are the lists of Buzzjacks favourite KB albums and singles.

 

I'll start with the albums and I don't promise to be completely regular in the results but I will get them finished!

 

In the meantime please speculate what you think came bottom and what you think came top.

YAY

 

Bottom in the albums... probably Director's Cut, or maybe The Red Shoes? Nothing's beating Hounds of Love for the top spot, that's for sure.

10. Director's Cut (6.6)

 

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Propping up the bottom of the albums rate is Kate's amalgam of rerecorded material from The Red Shoes and The Sensual World. She has done this (Wuthering Heights for The Whole Story) these are completely new versions rather than just adding new vocals. I thnk it's a bit hit and miss but the best of the tracks are as good as anything in her canon. Perhaps she did this because of a perception that the two parent albums are two of her lesser regarded works.

 

9. The Red Shoes (6.63)

 

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Up next is Kate's 1993 album. The last before her long silence there are some fantastic tracks on the album to which the low rating does not do justice. I had a low opinion of this album for a very long time but over the years delights such as Song of Solomon and Moments of Pleasure became more apparent despite some other mediocre material such as the Prince collaboration Why Should I Love You.

 

YAY

 

Bottom in the albums... probably Director's Cut, or maybe The Red Shoes? Nothing's beating Hounds of Love for the top spot, that's for sure.

 

You might be surprised. All I'm saying is it was very close...

I've now heard five Kate Bush songs and am excited to see where they'll chart.

The Red Shoes probably needs to be re-assessed by me. It was the first studio album I bought from here - after The Whole Story, and even then I didn't like it a whole lot.

 

Moments of Pleasure, Song of Solomon are the two stand outs.

8. Lionheart (7.36)

 

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The next album is her slightly rushed follow up to The Kick Inside, released just 9 months after her debut.

 

While it does harbour some excellent tracks it doesn't hang together as well as the albums either side of it. It also doesn't seem to move on enough from The Kick Inside.

Standouts include Wow, Oh England My Lionheart and Coffee Homeground (which seems to be the best signifier for the incredible leaps she would make in the next few years.)

 

07. 50 Words For Snow (7.50)

 

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Probably suffering from it's recent release is 50 Words For Snow, her surprise release from 2011, coming just 6 months after Director's Cut.

Including lots of guest appearances such as Stephen Fry and Elton John (sorry but I really can't stand his voice on Snowed In - one of my least favourite Kate tracks) it succeeded in both maintaining her mystique and reaching out to many new fans.

 

06. Aerial (7.60)

 

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I have to admit that I thought this would a lot nearer the top. This was the album that reintroduced Kate to the wilder world 12 years after The Red Shoes.

I don't think I have ever been more excited about an album release and this didn't disappoint. From singing about washing machines and reciting Pi (incorrectly as it turned out!) to the stunning song cycle on disc 2, it was such a brilliant comeback after so long away.

 

Top 5 next, any predictions as to the order?

Aerial is stunning, aside from The Whole Story it was the album that got me to go deeper into Kate Bush's discography, ie beyond the big singles.

 

Hounds Of Love, The Dreaming or The Kick Inside would all make amazing winners :wub:

Just given The Red Shoes another listen and although there are some really dreadful tracks (Constellation of the Heart, Why Should I Love You, You're the One just goes on and on) there are some fantastic songs on there. In fact the first 8 tracks are as good as anything else she has released.

05. The Sensual World (7.91)

 

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Taking the fifth place spot is the 1989 album The Sensual World. This album houses for me the best moment of any Kate song - everytime she says yes throughout the title track just leaves me with a dropped jaw. So gorgeous. And the rest of it is not far behind. This Woman's Work is just one of the most gorgeous songs committed to tape and tracks like Rocket's Tail and Never Be Mine with their vocal from Les Trio Bulgarka just add to the brilliance.

 

 

04. Never For Ever (8.30)

 

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This album is the start of Kate's experimentalistic streak coming to the fore. With it's tales of shunned wives, ornery old composers and babies born into a post nuclear holocaust it was a true masterpiece only trumped by the next two albums.

The cover seemed to articulate this tremendous burst of female creativity showing a cornucopia of fantastical creatures issuing forth from under Kate's skirt(!).

And it was the first ever album by a solo female artist to hit #1 (although why we had to wait until 1980 for that feat is mind-boggling)

 

03. The Kick Inside (9.00)

 

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So in the bronze medal position we have Kate's debut. Released after Wuthering Heights made #1, this album is full of pure romanticism and pure sex. From Oh To Be In Love and The Man With The Child In His Eyes to Feel It and L'Amour.

How she wrote some of these songs at the age of 13 leaves me gobsmacked. A brilliant debut and unlike other artists she was left to develop and experiment with her sound. An amazing record.

 

So it's The Dreaming vs The Hounds of Love - which came out top? And it was just 0.1 points between the two!

Please be The Dreaming to win

The Kick Inside is a masterpiece, it really is unbelievable she wrote some of those songs at such a young age :o Also have a lot of time for The Sensual World. I'm not as big as Never For Ever but it's Kate so of course it's good.

 

Hounds Of Love to win please but they're her two best albums!

So your Number 2 album is...

 

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2. The Dreaming (9.90)

 

Probably the hardcore KB fan's album of choice, this record saw Kate truly come of age. Containing some truly experimental music including the brilliant title track with it's Australian rhythms, the albums subject matter incorporates everything from a song about Houdini to trying to get inside the the head of a Vietcong fighter. A totally diverse record and yet another brilliant album.