Re: Disappointed with _TSW_ ?

[vecvax!ken@Sun.COM (Ken Stuart)]

Hello Gaffans,
	Well, it has been slightly over a year since I posted here.  I
lost my access to e-mail as well as USENET, since I changed to
contract work, but now I have a new "permanent position" with e-mail.
	My last posting concerned the ethics of distributing tapes of
presumably stolen Kate material.  What ever happened with that
project?
	Of course, the biggest event since then was TSW, and though I
had MHO concerning it, I assumed two things:
1) TSW discussion was long over (at least in terms of general
reaction).
2) Love-Hounds would react like most fans and most artists themselves
in feeling that the most recent album is, of course, the best.
--
	I was VERY pleasantly surprised to find that both of the above
are wrong.  (One of the things that endears Dave Brock [of Hawkwind]
to me as an artist is that in 1976, he got the first pressing of his
new album, and after having listened to it, tossed it out the window!)
	It is only with this posting that I have actually listened to
all of the KB albums.  My current ranking (from best to least) is NOT
what I would have expected from what I had read here about them:
		The Kick Inside
		Never for Ever
		The Dreaming
		Lionheart
		Hounds of Love
		The Sensual World
	I like both simple and complex music, so that is not a factor.
[I just put "Kick Inside" into the Walkman to give me a more direct
idea of what I'd like to convey - you can't do that with a book or
movie review!]
	First I should say that I like interesting, intelligent
lyrics, but that I only look for that after I have come to some sort
of feeling about the music.  The singing could be in a foreign
language and it wouldn't matter to me [in fact one of my favorite
albums is "Per Un Amico" by PFM and I still haven't the foggiest idea
what they are singing about!].
	To me, it is the melodies (and their internal harmonies) that
are the exceptional aspect of "The Kick Inside".  I think the songs
could be very effectively performed by other musicians - as long as
they really understood the music (usually not the case with covers!).
In fact, I can easily visualize a Wagnerian orchestra playing
"Wuthering Heights"; in fact, I think that WH really is classical
music.
	And, the performances in tKI also have qualities not found in
the recent albums.  In "The Man With The Child In His Eyes", the
singing has a calm and clear quality - you get the impression that she
is not anxious to get to the next note (hmm... this is a difficult
quality to describe...).  Each note stands on its own merits.  Those
of you who agree that different periods of time have different
qualities, might also agree that this calm and clear quality was
easier to achieve in 1977 than in 1989.
	Never for Ever was a pleasant surprise.  I have yet to read
anything about it, nor even see a copy for sale anywhere!  (except, of
course, for the album I finally found used).  It seems to combine some
of the best qualities of The Kick Inside and The Dreaming.  (PS Unlike
the previous poster, I hum songs from the Dreaming all the time!).  I
like the way the songs in NfE create their own atmosphere (like early
Genesis w/Gabriel).  The Dreaming does this too, but I think that
sometimes the effect is marred by things like talking and telephones
ringing that make it sound like you're listening to a movie
soundtrack.
	Frankly, I found TSW to be somewhat crude and commercial in
comparison to her other albums.  If some consider this to be maturity,
then they must have a rather cynical outlook.  I think the previous
poster who said "tired" was more accurate.
	Enough said for now...
				Ken
PS Gaffans might like the excellent album by The Sundays...
PPS I am looking to purchase a copy of 'the Kick Inside" as:
	- original US LP
	- reissue US LP 
	- any issue UK LP
	- any issue UK CD
Send me your horrible obsolete black discs :-)
---