The "complete" "Cathy Demos"

[IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@mitvma.mit.edu]

 To: Love-Hounds
 From: Andrew Marvick (IED)
 Subject: The "complete" "Cathy Demos"

     Well, IED won't rave on about how incredibly great these
recordings are, because he was shown (by the varied reactions
which the first few "Cathy Demos" tapes got from different recipients)
that people will have their own reactions--right or wrong, wise or
foolish--to Kate's art, no matter how much time and care IED
might spend trying to demonstrate the obvious truth (i.e.,
that Kate Bush is the one true living God, and that anyone who is less
than absolutely convinced of the divine perfeKTion of her works is a
bloody idiot).
     Therefore, suffice it to say that IED has now finally obtained
the full collection of twenty-two demo-recordings of songs by Kate
Bush from which the EP known as _The_Cathy_Demos_Volume_One_ was
made. To be more precise, the tape which IED received today is actually
a "through-the-air" recording (done by a fan with poor equipment and
no patch-cords, just a built-in microphone) of a _copy_ of the tape from
which the manufacturers of _The_Cathy_Demos_ culled the tracks which
made up their "Volume One". What this means is that there are loud clicks
(the dubber's "stop" switch being snapped on and off) between each song,
audibly greater tape-hiss, a tinnier sound and a narrower
high end--with consequently poorer clarity in the vocals (making the
deciphering of the songs' lyrics more difficult than ever).
     Despite all these drawbacks, what IED now has in his possession
is an authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, honest-to-god twenty-two-song
demo-tape by Kate Bush, dating from sometime between 1972 and 1977.
(There isn't anything in the new collection that helps IED to fix
the dating any better than before, unfortunately.)
     IED will not divulge how much he paid for this tape--both because
the friend from whom he bought it promised confidentiality in the
matter to the shady, anonymous character who had sold it to _him_, and
because IED has no confidence that the tape won't soon become widely
available at much lower prices, which would make him look like a dope
for having paid what he did for his copy. He will say that he paid
a lot--a lot more than he can really afford, too. But fortunately,
it was _worth_ it.
     All twenty-two songs are recorded very, very simply, and
all feature Kate singing while simultaneously accompanying herself
at the piano. A couple of the tracks have an extremely basic analog
echo-delay added, which adds a certain sheen to Kate's vocals but
also makes the words even less clear. IED is not yet certain whether
that delay was applied by Kate at the time of recording, or whether
one or another bootlegger/dubber added it at a later date.
     It will take IED some time to get the lyrics to these songs
even close to figured-out, so please don't expect a transcription for
a while. Also, beware: we can expect much confusion within the Kate
Bush fan community over the titling of these songs during the next year
or so. Since Kate has never mentioned them anywhere in public, and
since IED's tape did not come with any track-listings, he has no way
of knowing what Kate's original titles for any of the new songs were.
In several cases IED hasn't yet even developed a solid make-shift title,
so difficult is it to make out the words as they are heard in the recording.
With that said, here is the track-listing as IED now understands it,
with titles that at least go some way toward identifying which song is
which:

 1. _The_Kick_Inside_. The same as the one on _The_Cathy_Demos_.

 2. _Hammer_Horror_. The same as the one on _The_Cathy_Demos_.

 3. _Feeling_Like_a_Waltz_. The same as the one on _The_Cathy_Demos_.

 4. _Keeping_Me_Waiting_. The same as the one on _The_Cathy_Demos_.

 5. _Kashka_From_Baghdad_. Early demo version.

 6. _Camilla_. NEW SONG.

 7. _Oh_To_Be_In_Love_. Early demo version.

 8. _Playing_Canasta_in_Cold_Rooms_. NEW SONG.

 9. _Set_in_the_Snow_. NEW SONG.

10. _Ferry_Me_Over_(_the_Music_). NEW SONG.

11. _Lionhearts_. NEW SONG. (N.B.: _Not_ a demo of _Oh_England_My_Lionheart_.)

12. _Violin_. Early demo version.

13. _The_Craft_of_Life_. NEW SONG. (TOTALLY GENIUS new song. Sorry...)

14. _Eddie_the_Queen_. NEW SONG.

15. _Something_Like_a_Song_. NEW SONG. (N.B.: This song was also recorded
    by Kate with Dave Gilmour and a small rock band in 1973, when Kate
    was 15--according to the track-listing for the Gilmour-demos collec-
    tion which was briefly, allegedly marketed as an album called _The_
    _Early_Years_.)

16. _Frightened_Eyes_. NEW SONG. (Utterly incredibly great new song...)

17. _Disbelieving_Angel_. NEW SONG. (N.B.: Also recorded with Gilmour
    in the '73 sessions. Incidentally, this song appears to be a very
    bitter rejection of traditional Christian faith--apparently by an angel,
    not necessarily by Kate herself, though the implication is hard to
    resist. Beats both "XTC"'s and "Midge Ure"'s _Dear_God's_ to hell.)

18. _Nevertheless,_You'll_Do_. NEW SONG.

19. _Goodnight,_Baby_. NEW SONG. (N.B.: The title IED has chosen
    from among the lyrics sounds trite, but that's misleading--the
    song seems to be about a woman whose lover is in love with someone
    else, and who is talking about the other woman in his sleep. The
    full phrase is "Goodnight, baby--come on home."  Extremely brilliant
    and neato song.)

20. _You're_Soft_. NEW SONG. (Again, IED's title doesn't begin to
   indicate the intelligence of the song's lyrical ideas.)

21. (_I_Don't_See_Why_I_Shouldn't_) _Pick_the_Rare_Flower_. NEW SONG.

22. _Davey_. NEW SONG. (N.B.: This song, which was also recorded during
    the Gilmour sessions, is _NOT_ the same as the song known as
    _Maybe_--another song recorded at the Gilmour sessions. _Davey_
    and _Maybe_(probably not that song's true title) are entirely different,
    so disregard any earlier remarks made by IED or Peter F.-M. or anyone
    else. It seems likely now that the song we call _Maybe_ is really
    one of the other titles on the ephemeral album _The_Early_Years_, or
    perhaps even another Gilmour-session song not included on that album.
    IED has never had any real idea what the lyrics to _Maybe_ are, or
    what its real title might be. At this point he is very, very
    confused about the whole thing, and is sick to think that his
    "corrections" of the Juby book on this point, which may be used
    in the paperback edition, are actually just as false as Juby's
    original mistakes.)

     Anyway, as you can see, the collection includes a total of
_fifteen_ hitherto unknown, vintage Kate Bush songs that Love-Hounds
are completely unfamiliar with, plus the four original _Cathy_Demos_
tracks, plus three early demo-versions of long-familiar songs. As for
the fifteen "new" songs, IED cannot detect any inherent qualities in
them which would explain why they were rejected for inclusion in Kate's
early albums in favour of the ones that were selected: each one of these
songs is filled with fresh and powerful musical ideas, each one has a
wealth of remarkable lyrical ingredients, and each one is a completely
polished composition, performed with sometimes astonishing strength and
assurance. The well-known songs fit in well with but do not stand out
from the others.
     Naturally, Love-Hounds will want to know when they will be getting
a copy. Well, that's a good question, but IED would like to hear a
few suggestions from the group before deciding how to go about
distributing the music. There was much talk earlier about using a
duplicating service to make cassette copies of the first "obsKuriTies"
tape. That may be the way to go this time, providing a large number of
people are interested in getting a copy. But that would entail at least
a little cash outlay--in addition to a blank tape and a stamped, self-
addressed envelope--from each person who requests a copy.
     Also, there were several people who volunteered their
own VHS Hi-Fi duping services. If they are truly able to organize the
project and handle all requests, that may be a preferable solution.
Finally, there is the very real possibility that these demo-recordings
may become widely available, now that there has been a definite breach
in the _Cathy_Demos_ bootleggers' monopoly. There is no doubt that
the _Cathy_Demos_ sound-quality is superior to IED's present dub,
and that added quality may be worth waiting for. So--the floor is
open for discussion.

-- Andrew Marvick
   A True Disciple of the One God Kate Bush