KVR Audio

Ian B · Post by **Ian B** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 10:03 am

......review to follow shortly

Hope I'm not gonna be disappointed.

opia · Post by **opia** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 10:09 am

cross your fingers folks

Ian B · Post by **Ian B** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 10:44 am

1st cd > 'A Sea Of Honey'

Track 1 'King of the mountain'
Heard this a few times, still not keen

Quick first impressions on these as I'm listening to them

Track 2 'Pi'
Good

far better than the subject matter suggests

Track 3 'Bertie'
Very, very good

Track 4 'Mrs Bartolozzi'
What a strange song, even by Kates standards. Bizarre lyrics. Don't know quite what to make of this at all

Track 5 'How to be invisible'
(very apt title considering her 12 year absence) Good, and this will be a grower

Track 6 'Joanni'

Another grower I reckon. Good

Track 7 'A coral room'
Typical just Kate with piano song. Not bad

It's different, and all in all a good cd, but this is the first Kate cd I've heard without at least one standout track (imo)

Back later with 'A Sky Of Honey'

Klemperer · Post by **Klemperer** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:13 am

Well to be frank, I am such a Kate-Bush-fan that it would be rather impossible to feel disappointed for me... Simply because she has a beautiful voice and is a great composer for me. Of course this hasn't changed.
The CDs were sold in minutes here at Hamburg on Friday, the biggest shop waits for new copies right now.

As my favourite album was "Dreaming", and the one I liked least (but still very very much) the red-shoes-one, I maybe would have wished for a few more experimental songs. I love this music, but the first CD "A sea of honey" is in not really something new, I think. Well I don't mind, I like it much...

German postmodern feuilleton made a hype and "craze" of the new album, and this time I'd agree to them at least concerning the overall-review

. But they didn't talk much about music, more in the lines of "Björk, Portishead and Tori Amos wouldn't have been possible without Kate Bush" and so on (didn't we hear this some billion times before with only names changed? It's utterly senseless I think, we simply can't know, and better listen to new music than reading every day the same boring sentences).

Yes, Bertie is a nice song (the text a bit conventional, but well, she loves her son and of course thinks there hasn't been a beautiful boy like him ever

.

I like the idea of doing what you want, and doing a new CD exactly in the time YOU like it...Just like Kate Bush had done. In "Aerial" (song9, second CD) she tries to laugh like a bird

.

Ian B · Post by **Ian B** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:35 am

'A Sea Of Honey' Again, first impressions as I'm listening to it

Now this is more like it

The tracks are linked by birdsong sounds for some reason

Track 1 'Prelude'
Excellent short intro

Track 2 'Prologue'
Great. Del Palmer (I presume) stars on bass

Track 3 'An architects dream'
Good. A definite grower

Track 4 'The painters link'
Short but sweet. Good

Track 5 'Sunset'
Good

But nearly great

Track 6 'Aerial Tal'
Good

Track 7 'Somewhere in between'
Good

Track 8 'Nocturn'
Good

Longest track at over 8 minutes, but doesn't really go anywhere till the last 30 seconds or so.

Track 9 'Aerial'
Great

By some distance the best track imo.

Overall, if you're a Kate fan, you'll like this double cd, but there's no 'Man with the child in his eyes' > 'Cloudbusting' > 'Running up that hill' > 'Rockets tail' > 'Waking the witch;' here.

Ian B · Post by **Ian B** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:39 am

Klemperer wrote: I love this music, but the first CD "A sea of honey" is in not really something new, I think. Well I don't mind, I like it much...

Hi Klemperer,
Yeah, you're probably right, there's nothing 'new' on either cd. I'm not disappointed, but I

Kates music and was hoping for more from these cd's. Perhaps expecting too much tbh. It's just good to have her back

opia · Post by **opia** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 9:20 pm

ok whatthehell I'm getting the CD

FaX · Post by **FaX** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:26 am

I'm really enjoying it .
A definate grower and sounds so diffrent to the over compressed dross we hear these days.
Welcome back KATE

.

Ian B · Post by **Ian B** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:36 am

opia wrote:ok whatthehell I'm getting the CD

Go get it opia

After listening to both cd's again, I stand by my opinion of 'A Sea Of Honey' It's kinda flat somehow imo, well, more like bland tbh. There isn't one track that would comfortably fit on any previous Kate album. On the other hand 'A Sky Of Honey' was far better second time round. Just don't expect anything 'new' or groundreaking on either cd.

I never thought the day would come when I could listen to one cd from Kate, let alone two, without at least one track making my jaw hit the floor, but Aerial has managed it. I know I'll grow to love these, but they're not love at first hearing for me. I can't help wondering if Kate felt she needed to release a double album to compensate for her long absence?

daGuru · Post by **daGuru** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:40 am

Love Kate Bush... betta get off me arse and take a listen

ps. I agree, just having her back is a good thing

edit:

check this player out (for the new album)

http://www.emirecords.co.uk/players/kb/player1/

I think the osci. display is actually real.... neat

headquest · Post by **headquest** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:22 am

FaX wrote:I'm really enjoying it .
A definate grower and sounds so diffrent to the over compressed dross we hear these days.
Welcome back KATE .

I thought the single sounded (on the radio) very over compressed. It seemed that new instrument(s) joined in with each new section, yet the overall dynamic level never rose - very disconcerting!

Was that just a radio mix? Does the album version have more musical dynamic contrast?

daGuru · Post by **daGuru** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:50 am

Just saw first TV ad for new album (down under)... It begins

Nice'n'easy, when ya got the $$$$, I guess

diversheat · Post by **diversheat** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:07 am

I'm nobodys fan in the usual way, but I have every released album of KB ever. I love her music from the first success with "Wuthering heights". The only album I never liked so much is "The red shoes". This one here, "Aerial" is KBs most magical for me. I bought it last friday and listened only 15 times. I feel warmth while listen to it - and even after.
Wow! Maybe I'm more fan than I knew...

rollasoc · Post by **rollasoc** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:16 pm

I've had this a few days now and I was worried that I wouldn't like it, but it is an excellent album. For those saying side one isn't as good as side 2, MP3 it up and stick it on random. That should balance it out a bit. (Only kidding).

One of my concerns was the track "Bertie". I hate it when people write songs about their kids like it is something that only they have ever gone through (though I tried to convince myself at the weekend that writing a song about how fantastic your kid is, is no different to writing any other love song).
To be fair musically it is a great track. I just feel sorry for the kid as all the other kids at school now have enough ammo to make his life hell.....

I saw one review at the weekend, saying that Kate Bush in the last 12 years has lost touch as to what modern pop is about. Thank god for that I say....

The interview in this months MOJO is an interesting read also.

Rollasoc

Dorian Gray · Post by **Dorian Gray** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:25 pm

What a swindle to release a bogus double CD when the album content comes just under 80 minutes, which can fit on 1 CD. Costs 15p to make a CD, so they can charge an extra 3 pounds to justify the "double" status.

She seems to have lost her voice as well, nothing is really belted out like she used to do. But its all still a very good album.

DG.

Kate Bush > Aerial just dropped thro' my letterbox.......