Re: Nite Flight / KB Show

[nessus (Doug Alan)]

> [John Rossi:] Is the concert footage representative of what KB was
> doing before (presumably) The Dreaming?

It is representative of her first two albums, *The Kick Inside* and
*Lionheart*.  *The Dreaming* (album #4) introduced a radical change in
style, and is quite more radical a departure from the norm than
*Hounds of Love* is.  *Never for Ever* (album #3) is also
significantly different from her first two albums.  Only one song from
*Never for Ever* was in the concert as broadcast: "Violin".

> I guess I wasn't ready for the mundane music, behind the sometimes incomp-
> rehensible vocals and mime/dance.

I'd hardly call the music "mundane".  EMI-America didn't release
"Lionheart" in the US because they thought that it was too
uncommercial.  I agree that it's not quite *The Dreaming* or *Hounds
of Love*, but keep in mind that this concert was recorded when Kate
was 20, and some of the music was written when she was as young as 12
or 13.  When I first heard *The Kick Inside*, I was incredibly
disapointed at first.  I expected more of *The Dreaming* and I
couldn't believe that this music was done by the same person.  Instead
of bizarre intense progressive rock, I heard love ballads (ick!) sung
in a painfully high voice.  And they weren't even catchy!  After
several listenings, however, I became aware how special and unusual
they really are.  And it just adds to my belief in what a
extraordinary artist Kate is that she could change so radically in
such a short period of time.

> Where is the creativity in musical style expressed in HoL.

It's all there!  It's just at an earlier stage of development.  Also,
Kate didn't produce her first two albums, so she didn't have control
over a part of her music which is crucial to her artistic expression
these days.  (For this reason, Kate often says that her first two
albums aren't really hers.)  Kate's early albums do, however, express
a youthful innocence that Kate has long since lost.

> Does any of the earlier stuff even have synthesizers and complex
> rhythms, or does it all sound like a Rock rendition of Jacques
> Brelle (SP?) music.

Who is Jacques Brelle?

There are synthesizers on KB's first two albums, but they are not
exceptionally prominent.  Almost all of her music at this point is
piano and vocal-based.  There was no such thing as a Fairlight when
these albums were recorded.  Kate Bush was one of the very first
people to use the Fairlight on a record, and the Fairlight does appear
on *Never for Ever*, but it does not obtain particular prominence
until *The Dreaming*.  (Kate has said on several occasions that she is
not particularly fond of synthesizers, other than sampling synths.)

> I was particularly dissapointed by absense of originality in the
> music in the more rock tunes she did (the last one in
> particular),...

Actually I quite like "James and the Cold Gun", but it's not the most
original thing in the world.  Well, so neither is "And Dream of
Sheep".  They're still excellent, though.  The record company wanted
"James" to be Kate's first single, but she refused.  Kate insisted on
"Wuthering Heights".  There aren't many who would deny that "Wuthering
Heights" is not quite your typical song.

> ... do all the previous LPs have music provided by that back up
> group of musicians used in the concert

People in that band appear on and off on all her albums, including
*The Dreaming* and *Hounds of Love*.  They are actually *not* the band
that is featured most on *The Kick Inside* or *Lionheart*.  The band
on those two albums are largely The Alan Parsons Project musicians
(i.e. half of Cockney Rebel and half of Pilot).

> or does Kate play instruments, other than the piano, on the earlier
> works?

She plays piano and sings on every track.  She didn't start playing
synth until *Never for Ever*.

> I am still in a state of shock concerning the mundane simplicity of
> the 2-3 chord music behind the vocals and the dance, however.

I beg to differ.  If anything, her music has gotten simpler melodiclly
and harmonically since her change in style (while getting much more
complex in other ways).  For example, according to the sheet music,
the chords for "Oh England My Lionheart" are F Em C D7 Am G C D7 Dm7
Am E7 Dm7 Am E7 Am F E7 F Am F E7 Am F Em C D7 Am G C D7 D7 Am E7 Dm7
Am E7 Am F E7 F Am Fmaj7 E7 Am C F Bb F C F G Dm7 G7 Dm7 G Dm7 G
Dm7 G.

On the other hand the chords for "The Big Sky" are mostly F Eb/F F Eb
F, etc.  The chords for "Watching You Without Me" are Bb C Bb C Bb C,
etc.  And the chords for "Waking The Witch" are C#m C#m C#m, etc.
  
> I assume that Lionheart is on the LP of that same name, Is this a good choice
> for a third KB album (after I find The Dreaming), or will I find
> more creativity elsewhere (Kick Inside etc.)?

Get either *Never for Ever* or *The Kick Inside*.   *Lionheart* is her
least wonderful album.

			"Give me one wish and I'd be wassailing
			 In the orchard my English Rose"

			 Doug