Goldmine review of *The Whole Story* Video

[NESCC%NERVM.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU (Scott C Crumpton)]

KATE BUSH
The Whole< Story
EMI/Picture Music International


Ever the consummate artist, it would seem logical for Kate Bush,
who writes, performs, arranges and produces her own music, to
extend her all-around touch to her video work.  _The Whole Story_
video package mirrors the album's greatest hits format with one
additional video selection, "The Big Sky." The resulting
compilation features all but three of Bush's major singles
(others, like "Suspended In Gaffa," were only released in limited
markets).

As Bush's music has become increasingly complex since her debut
in 1978, so have her videos.  The relative simplicity of early
work like "Wuthering Heights" (presented here with the original
vocal, not the re-recorded version on the _Whole Story_ LP), "The
Man With The Child In His Eyes" and "Wow" -- which basically
featured Bush dancing against differently colored backgrounds --
stands in marked contrast to the business of "The Big Sky,"
"Hounds of Love" and "Experiment IV." Bush's hand in the latter
three (she receives a director's credit for all of them)
indicates that she could use more objectivity in transferring her
music to video; the three are almost overwrought with activity
that threatens to bog down the music.

But held in check, her ideas provide a good base for a video to
grow from, as in "Army Dreamers." The song, an anti-war plea form
a deceased soldier's mother, has Bush as one of a squadron of
soldiers stalking through the undergrowth, each desperately
trying to avoid being killed, punctuated by close-ups of Bush's
eyes blinking in time with a rifle being cocked.  The effect is
powerful and haunting with just the right amount of pathos.
"Running Up That Hill," the first of the _Hounds Of Love_
singles, is incredibly erotic, simply having Bush (her body
almost totally clothed in grey) writhing over, under and around
her male partner.  With Bush's music being as rich as it is
musically and lyrically, an excessive visual accompaniment proves
to be more of a burden than a good illustration of the song's
subject matter.

With other Bush videos usually notoriously difficult to get a
hold of, Bush fans are strongly advised to snatch this video up
as soon as it appears in the stores.  Because her videos appear
so infrequently on cable television, _The Whole Story_ provides a
rare opportunity to view a nearly complete collection of vintage
Kate Bush video.

                                        Gillian G. Gear