Mailbag (Kate-echism XV.7.v)

[IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]

>> From: rogoff@ITSGW.RPI.EDU (David H. Rogoff)

>> I've seen the books for Hounds of Love and The Whole Story, but
>> they are basically just lyrics, guitar chords and melody.  Are
>> there any better transcriptions available?

>     Well, Dave, I've seen Kate Bush Complete in several music stores
> around here, including that dinky one in downtown Troy, and it
> suffers from the same problem as the Whole Story and HoL
> collections..... I recall ONCE seeing an imported copy of a full
> transcription of KBComplete, but that was somewhere back around
> Springfield....

> -- Robert J. Kudla - Pseudo-Freshman Extraordinaire

     IED would like to know what you mean, Robert, by "full
transcription".  As far as IED has ever heard anywhere, there has only
ever been one _Kate_Bush_Complete_, and it is _only_ available as a UK
import book (trade-size paperback, white cover featuring _TWS_ cover
photo).  As you said, its notation of the music is extremely
simplistic -- even worse, in fact, than some of the earlier versions.
Aside from the dozen or so individual songs that have been published
in sheet-music form over the years (Kate's official singles), the
_only_ books of Kate's music to have appeared to date are:

    _The_Kick_Inside_ (more a booklet than a book, it includes the
music to only seven or so songs from the album);
    _Lionheart_ (the complete album, very nicely packaged, but no
better from the standpoint of musical accuracy or detail);
    _The_Best_of_Kate_Bush_ (a selection of twenty-five or so <?>
songs through _Never_For_Ever_, IED believes, maybe including one or
two songs from _TD_, as well; this book has marginally more
interesting transcriptions, but the distinction is really negligible;
it does have a large number of black-and-white photos, and its most
interesting asset is the appendage of a one-sentence "comment" by Kate
about each song in the book -- so far as IED knows, those remarks,
some of which are highly intriguing and odd, are exclusive to this
book);
    _Hounds_of_Love_ (a wonderful product from a visual point of view,
it includes an exclusive poster, several other good photos, etc., but
musically it's even more inadequate than previous transcriptions --
perhaps because Kate's music has become steadily more complex and
multi-voiced, while the official transcriptions have never shown that
anyone is trying to keep up with her);
     _The_Whole_Story_ (another respectable package, but no change at
all in the scoring);
     _Kate_Bush_Complete_ (hopeless from a notational standpoint, but
very valuable for its chronology and its lyrics).
     IED obtained _TKI_, _Lionheart_, _HoL_, _The_Best_of_KB_ and all
of the sheet-music for individual singles either in England or through
UK mail-order services, mostly years ago; but he has since seen _HoL_
and _The_Best_of_, as well as _KB_Complete_ and _TWS_ in U.S. shops.
     Main conclusion: If you're looking for a detailed and accurate
transcription of _any_ of Kate's music, your only option is to do it
yourself. Sorry. That's all the information IED can offer at present.
Hope it's of some help.

>  Date: Wed, 29 Jun 88 17:25:45 EDT
>  From: jw@BOURBAKI.MIT.EDU
>  Subject: Kate Bush

>     I'm posting this so that I can see Kate Bush's name in the next
> issue of Love-Hounds.
>     All the Love,

     IED fully shares your frustration over the dearth of worthwhile
KT discussion in L-Hs, but he for one long ago gave up complaining
about the apalling tendency on the part of many Love-Hounds to clutter
up this forum with endless dialogues (more often monologues) about
inconsequential musicians (i.e., all musicians unconnected with Kate's
work).  No matter how strong the argument, he has found, Love-Hounds
_will_ keep prattling on about "Colourboxes" and "XTCs" and all the
other flotsam and jetsam of the pop-music world. No amount of
complaining will alter the essential triviality of the average
Love-Hound's extra-Katian musical tastes. We just have to put up with
it.

> Rumor has it Kate will be on this album in some capacity (B-vocals, I
> assume).  Anyone know for sure?

> -- Andy Tucker

     Where did _this_ rumour originate from? Kate has already worked
with Midge Ure, of course. Midge contributed BVs and electric guitar
to Kate's live performance of _The_Wedding_List_ at the Prince's Trust
Gala concert. In addition, Midge had the good sense to praise Kate and
_Hounds_of_Love_ in several different UK music publications, and
listed it as the best album of 1985; and during an interview to
promote _The_Gift_ he also said that he would like to collaborate with
her on a song some day. As IED recalls, he said something to the
effect that her music was "a bit weird" (presumably as opposed to the
more rigorously structured and classically based music of Ure and
U-Vox) but streets ahead of anyone else in terms of imagination. But
that's all IED has ever heard about a KT/U-Vox connection.

> "Strangeways" is a prison (in Manchester I think). This is consistent
>  with the interpretation of the rest of the verse. In fact, this is
>  the interpretation I have always put on that line and assumed Kate
>  did too.

>  -- Andy Greener

     IED adds his name to the list of people thanking Andy Greener for
this terrific bit of info. Kate does spell the words out "strange
ways", not "Strangeways", so she clearly must have meant the words to
bear two distinct meanings. That's great. Also great to have another
contributing UK Love-Hound.

>     I think so many people spend so much timing analyzing and "feeling"
> songs by Kate is because she takes so bloody long between albums.  If
> there were more albums we would spend time listening to the new stuff
> and spend less time going over the old stuff over and over and over
> again.  Granted, you can't argue with the results, but there has to be
> a better way than waiting three years between releases
> (_The_Whole_Story_ doesn't count).

> -- Michael Sullivan
>    sullivan@vsi.com

     Alas, Michael, there _isn't_ any better way. What would you have
us do -- start listening to "Colourbox"? Faugh! The best we can hope
to do is to devote ourselves selflessly to the study of the holy
sKripTures until such time as their pages shall finally multiply.

-- Andrew Marvick