Mailbag: Kate Bush--the complete songs--FURTHER INFORMATION

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

 To: Love-Hounds
 From: Andrew Marvick (IED)
 Subject: Mailbag: Kate Bush--the complete songs--FURTHER INFORMATION

     Since two Love-Hounds asked about apparent discrepancies between
IED's recently posted list of Kate's known musical output and their
own knowledge, here are a few paragraphs by way of clarification.
IED must preface them, however, with the sad declaration that he
cannot himself offer access to the rarities discussed below. After
going through hoops of fire to get copies of a large number of rare
Kate Bush recordings out to more than a hundred Love-Hounds last
year (gratis, it goes without saying), IED has officially retired
from the Katrading business. However, many of the recordings are now
available at swapmeets, etc. And the truly avid Kate fan is anyway
encouraged to prove his or her dediKation by seeking the rarities out
independent of material help from IED. Sorry, folks--he hopes the
following will, however, be an aid to your researches.
     First, Mark Kirk asks for an explanation of the apparent mismatch
between some of the titles posted by IED and the sixteen titles he found
on the back of a recent bootleg LP called _Cathy's_Album_. Mark writes:

 >     The ones marked with a "*" are the ones I didn't see
 >Andrew's listing.  Was this just an oversight or is something
 >fishy going on here???
 >     Also, can anyone give more info about where these demos came
 >from, etc?

     Yes, Mark. The explanation for the discrepancies is simple:
IED identified a number of Kate's unreleased early songs by different
(more likely) titles than do the bootleggers. The confusion arises
because these unreleased early songs, which fans know only through
the various bootleg sources of "Cathy" demos, have no official titles.
Since Kate has never even acknowledged the existence of these specific
songs, all any of us can do is guess at their real titles. IED (as well
as a number of other superior Love-Hounds Kate Bushological scholars,
of course!) can, however, make better guesses than the slime who slap
together the bootleg product.
     N.B.: All twenty-two songs are home demos--just Kate and her piano.
It is just conceiveable that they date from as early as 1973, but IED
thinks a more likely date for them is 1976. No fan really knows.
     Your list, annotated below, consists of the sixteen titles found
on the bootleg LP called _Cathy's_Album_. (This LP also turns up by
the name of _The_Sensual_Woman_, but it is the same collection of
sixteen tracks, so don't be duped into buying both.)
     These tracks are sixteen of the total _twenty-two_ early
recordings which turned up in bootleggers' hands at swapmeets last
year (albeit only in cassette form) with either _The_Cathy_Demos_ or
_Fiddle_ (after _Violin_) as their collective title.
     The title "_The_Cathy_Demos_" stems from a simultaneous release
of _four_ of the twenty-two songs which came out as a seven-inch
bootleg EP. (The reference to "Cathy" in turn stems from a collection
of photos of her as a child--when she still went by the name Cathy--by
her brother John Carder Bush. Photos from that collection were used
on the EP and its two successors in the "Cathy Demos" series of EPs.)
     Now, because the bootlegger who made the _Cathy's_Album_ LP
was aware of the proliferation of the first _Cathy's_Demos_ EP, he
decided to omit those first four titles from the collection on his
LP. Those first four songs (which make up Volume One of _The_Cathy_
_Demos_ EPs) are:

   The Infant Kiss
   Hammer Horror
   Feeling Like a Waltz
   Keeping Me Waiting

      The first two are early, slightly different versions of the
songs we know from Kate's first two official LP releases. The second
two are completely unfamiliar early songs. Already, however, confusion
arises, because the EP misidentifies the song _Feeling_Like_a_Waltz_
as "A Rose Growing Old". Typical of bootleggers in general, they
mis-heard the word "Waltz" in the song as "Rose". The entire phrase
goes: "And I'm feeling like a waltz, growing old."
     The LP that Mark Kirk described, then, begins with the fifth
of the twenty-two demos, and concludes with the twentieth. The first
four (listed above) and the last two do _not_ appear on the _Cathy's_
_Album_ LP.
     Since then Volumes Two and Three in the _Cathy's_Demos_ EP series
have turned up. Volume Two contains the first five songs on _Cathy's_
Album_, which Mark listed as follows:

   Kashka From Baghdad
 * Coming Up
   Oh, To Be In Love
   Playing Canasta (=Playing Canasta In Cold Rooms)
   Snow (=Set In The Snow)

     _Kashka_From_Baghdad_ is a very early version of this song.
Some of the lyrics are different from the LP version we all know.
     The song which is listed as _Coming_Up_ on the _Cathy's_Album_ LP
has nothing to do with Paul McCartney! This title is _definitely_wrong_.
The correct title (thanks to Vickie) is _Carmilla_, after the title
character from Sheridan Le Fanu's vampire novella. The idiotic and
sloppy bootleggers simply mis-heard "Carmilla" as "Coming Up".
     The version of _Oh_To_Be_in_Love_ which follows is a hauntingly
slow and moody early incarnation of the _TKI_ album track.
     _Playing_Canasta_(_in_Cold_Rooms_) is another early song--and
arguably one of the most perfect jewels in the history of twentieth-
century music.
     The song referred to on the _Cathy's_Album_ LP as "_Snow_" is
the same song which IED listed as _Set_in_the_Snow_. (Though IED
is not entirely sure that those are the words Kate is singing.)
Further confusion could arise from the fact that the _EP_ (Volume
Two) lists this song as "_Snow_Bowl_" (a definitely _wrong_ title
which resulted from the EP's bootlegger hearing "Snowball" as the
quite meaningless "Snow Bowl"!).
     The next _six_ tracks on _Cathy's_Album_ correspond with the
six tracks on _The_Cathy_Demos_Volume_Three_. They are, as Mark
copied them from the back of the LP:

   Ferry Me Over
   Lionhearts (=Oh England, My Lionheart)
   Violin
   Craft Of Love (=The Craft of Love)
 * Queen Eddie
 * In My Garden

     _Ferry_Me_Over_ (at least that's what everyone _hears_) is
another great early song. The full phrase is "Ferry me over the
music, Dali." Anyway, a few fans do hear "Dali"--most notably
Theo Haast and Rob Assenberg, the editors of the Dutch fanzine
_Kate_. (They offer still a third set of alternate titles for
the twenty-two demos.) IED used to hear "Dali" as "darling", but
Theo's and Rob's suggestion makes better sense. The song's lyrics
are at least marginally less mysterious if the song is read as
a tribute to Dali. And we know that Kate's favorite painter (at
least in earlier days) was Salvador Dali.
     Warning: _Lionhearts_ is _not_ the same song as _Oh_England_My_
Lionheart_! They have no connection at all. The song which is called
_Lionhearts_ on the _Cathy's_Album_ LP should more properly be called
_Where_Are_the_Lionhearts?_. (It's an absolute masterpiece, by the way.)
     _Violin_ is another early version of an LP track. The lyrics
are slightly different than on _Never_For_Ever_, and the song has
a very different tone than in the big-rock-orchestration on the official
LP track.
     _Craft_of_Love_ is probably the correct title, not IED's earlier
"_Craft_of_Life_", though IED thinks Kate _may_ be alternating between
those two phrases in the choruses.
     _In_My_Garden_ is a good alternate title--though probably a
wrong one--for _Something_Like_a_Song_. This is one of Kate's very
earliest compositions, dating at least as far back as 1973. We know
this because the same song turns up on the still-unlocated _Early_
_Years_ LP (as _Something_Like_a_Song_) in a version Kate did with
David Gilmour at age 15, in 1973 (same time _Passing_Through_Air_
was recorded in the version we know from the _Army_Dreamers_ b-side).
     _Queen_Eddie_ is another adequate, though almost certainly
wrong, title. The real title (assuming the _Early_Years_ version
is correctly identified, which is likely) is _Gay_Farewell_. Both
this song and _Something_Like_a_Song_, therefore, were written by
1973 or earlier, but the solo-piano demo versions on the _Cathy's_
_Album_ and _The_Cathy_Demos_ probably date from two or three years
later.
     The remaining five songs on _Cathy's_Album_ have not yet
come out in EP form, though presumably they will shortly appear as
all or part of Volume Four of _The_Cathy_Demos_. On _Cathy's_Album_
they are identified as:

   Frightened Eyes
   Never the Less (=Nevertheless, You'll Do)
 * Goodnight Baby
 * So Soft
 * I Don't See Why I Shouldn't

     _Frightened_Eyes_ is the same title IED and the Dutch fans
give to this extremely beautiful, poignant song about the loneliness
of life in civilized society.
     _Never_the_Less_ (more properly _Nevertheless,_You'll_Do_) is
a departure for the early Kate: an attempt to write a consciously
upbeat, British pop-rock song somewhat along the lines of McCartney's
_Penny_Lane_.
     _Goodnight_Baby_ is the same song as _Who_Is_Sylvia?_. Amazing
song.
     _So Soft_ is the same as _Soft_ and _You're_Soft_. A very
sophisticated and spooky melody with imagery that anticipates
_In_the_Warm_Room_.
     Finally, _I_Don't_See_Why_I_Shouldn't_ is the same as the extremely
cool rocker _Pick_the_Rare_Flower_. (The complete phrase from the song
is "I don't see why I shouldn't pick the rare flower.")
     The last two songs in the collection of twenty-two solo-piano
"Cathy" demos are missing from _Cathy's_Album_, nor have they turned
up as a volume of _The_Cathy_Demos_ EPs, yet. They are so far known
only through cassettes, usually with the titles _Disbelieving_Angel_
and _While_Davey_Dozed_ (or just plain _Davey_). The former appears
on the still unlocated _Early_Years_ LP in an earlier (band) version,
along with _Something_Like_a_Song_ and _Gay_Farewell_ (see above).
     _While_Davey_Dozed_, which is sometimes called just plain _Davey_,
is an amazing early song which should _not_ be confused with _another_
early song called _Maybe_. (The reason this is stressed is because
_Maybe_ was originally called _Davey_, too, according to Peter.)
_Maybe_ is another song which Kate recorded at age 14 or 15 with
Dave Gilmour at Gilmour's house (during the same '73 sessions which
produced the _Army_Dreamers_ b-side called _Passing_Through_Air_).
     Fortunately, we _do_ know the song _Maybe_, through an
excerpt of that early Gilmour-band demo which Kate played very briefly
on the old BBC radio programme "Personal Call" back in 1979. This
song has never been put out as a bootleg product, however, and is
available only through trade with collectors, as far as IED is aware.
The excerpt lasts all of fifty seconds, too.
     That takes care of the very early demos. In addition to these,
there are several other "demos", though they date from a slighly later
period. In 1976 or 1977, during the early sessions for _The_Kick_Inside_
(IED theorizes), Kate recorded six other tracks. Five of these are
simply alternate early takes with the studio band of songs which
later did appear on _The_Kick_Inside_ and _Lionheart_. But the sixth
is an unreleased song--very light and poppy, though its subject is at
odds with the tone--called _Scares_Me_Silly_ (as far as one can tell).
     Now, IED has not yet seen it, but he has been _told_ that a
second bootleg LP has emerged since the appearance of _Cathy's_Album_,
which contains the six demos that were omitted from that first LP;
as well as at least some of those six band takes--including _Scares_
_Me_Silly_. If you're interested, check out your nearest record
swapmeet and ask about it. It should be turning up soon. Ed Suranyi
reported an ad in _Goldmine_ which seemed to be a description of this
album.
     Aside from the twenty-two _Cathy_ demos, the _Maybe_ demo,
the six _Scares_Me_Silly_ demos, and _Passing_Through_Air_ (along with
the other _Early_Years_ tracks), there are only two others of
which IED is aware: two early demo versions of _Babooshka_. These two
may conceiveably also appear on the bootleggers' sequel to _Cathy's_
_Album_.
     Next, Gene Lee asks for information about a large number of
Kate songs--the sources of many of which were given in IED's list
of the other day! However, here is more information for you all:

       Maybe  -- see above
       You Were the Star -- part of unlocated _Early_Years_ LP
       Cussi Cussi -- part of unlocated _Early_Years_ LP
       Atlantis -- part of unlocated _Early_Years_ LP
       Sunsi -- part of unlocated _Early_Years_ LP
       Go Now While You Can -- part of unlocated _Early_Years_ LP
       Passing Through Air -- b-side from _Army_Dreamers_ single
           (also known as _Need_Your_Loving_ on unlocated _Early_Years_)
       Something Like a Song -- from "Cathy" demos (see above)
           (earlier version on unlocated _Early_Years_ LP)
       Disbelieving Angel -- from "Cathy" demos (see above)
           (earlier version on unlocated _Early_Years_ LP)
       Gay Farewell -- from "Cathy" demos (see above)
           (earlier version on unlocated _Early_Years_ LP)
       Feeling Like a Waltz             !
       Carmilla                         !
       Playing Canasta in Cold Rooms    !
       Set in the Snow                  !
       Ferry Me Over                    !
       The Craft of Life/Love           !     See above for explanation of
       Frightened Eyes                  !          these "Cathy" demos
       Nevertheless, You'll Do          !
       Who is Sylvia?                   !
       You're Soft                      !
       Pick the Rare Flower             !
       While Davy Dozed                 !
       Scares Me Silly -- see above for explanation of this ca. 1977 demo
       Room for the Life -- this is an LP track from _The_Kick_Inside_
       The Long and Winding Road -- Jap. TV, 6/78--also on 7" bootleg
       She's Leaving Home -- Jap. TV, June '78--also on 7" bootleg
       Japanese Folksong -- reported only--IED has never heard this
       Coffee Homeground -- this is an LP track from _Lionheart_
       Sing, Children, Sing -- a Lesley Duncan charity single (Kate in chorus)
       Tour of Life -- the name of Kate's one and only tour (spring '79)
       Trois Gymnopedies (No. 1--Satie) -- arr. by Kate for Tour and Xmas TV
       I Don't Remember -- live w/Gabriel (his song), Duffield concert, 5/12/79
       Let It Be -- already explained in last posting (three versions done)
       Ran Tan Waltz -- b-side of _Babooshka_ single, also on Xmas TV special
       Kate - Christmas Special -- a forty-five min. show by Kate, Xmas '79
       Peter, the Angel Gabriel -- short intro by Kate for Gabriel, Xmas show
       Another Day -- duet of Roy Harper song w/Gabriel, Xmas show
       Ibiza -- never-heard, unreleased song co-written w/Gabriel
       December will be Magic Again -- Xmas show; Abba special; later as single
       Blow Away -- LP cut from _Never_For_Ever_; also a never-heard live vers.
       Delius -- LP cut from _Never_For_Ever_
       The Empty Bullring -- b-side of _Breathing_ single
       Warm and Soothing -- b-side of _December_Will_Be_Magic_Again_ single
       The Magician -- M. Jarre song, from film _The_M._of_Lublin_ (no LP)
       You (The Game Part II) -- R. Harper song, duet on his _Unknown_Soldier_
       No Self Control -- Kate does backups on Gabriel song from _PG_3_ LP
       Games Without Frontiers -- Kate does backups on _PG_3_ LP track
       Lord of the Reedy River -- cover of Donovan song--b-side of _Sat_in_Y_L_
       Flowers -- backups on Zaine Griff song from his LP _Figures_
       The Seer -- duet of Big Country song from their LP _The_Seer_
       The King is Dead -- backups on Go West song from _Dancing_on_the_Couch_
       My Lagan Love -- trad. song, new lyrics, b-side from _Cloudbusting_ 12"
       Burning Bridge -- b-side from _Cloudbusting_ 12"
       Not This Time -- b-side from _Big_Sky_ 12"
       The Handsome Cabin Boy -- trad. song, b-side from _Hounds_of_Love_ 12"
       Do Bears Sh.. in the Woods? -- duet w/R. Atkinson, UK Comic Relief LP
       Brazil -- non-film cover of old standard, from never-released S-T LP
       Be Kind to My Mistakes -- fm. _Castaway_ S-T LP; remix is TWW b-side
       Sister and Brother -- duet w/Midge Ure of his song fm. _Answers..._ LP
       Bulgarian folksong -- duet w/Trio Bulgarka, fm. UK TV _Rhythms_of_Wld._
       Rocket Man -- never-heard/released cover of Elton John song
       I'm Still Waiting -- b-side of _TWW_ CD-single
       Ken -- b-side of _Love_and_Anger_ CD-single & _Aspects_of_the_S_W_ CD
       The Confrontation -- b-side of _Love_and_Anger_ UK 12" and CD-single
       One Last Look Around the House Before We Go... -- b-side of _Love_and_
                             _Anger_ UK 12" and CD-single


     IED fervently hopes that that will satisfy the newcomers to the
KT-collecting community, at least for a while. Enjoy, and happy hunting!

-- Andrew Marvick