Japanese boxed set: The Whole Story

[L-H@cup.portal.com]

Hi Lionhearts, 

I _finally_ got the Japanese boxed set this afternoon from fellow Katefan
and fairly fair dealer Tom Richards at C-Side Records (P.O.Box 8456
Clearwater,FL. 34618 USA-get on his extensive KTlist), and all I can say is:

BOYCOTT THE ENGLISH BOX!  PAY THE EXTRA COST FOR THE JAPANESE BOX-IT IS 
CERTAINLY WORTH IT!  

John Relph asked: 

>..is there a difference..? 

Oh, my Kate, is there ever!  For openers, the "rarities" disk booklets
CONTAIN ALL THE LYRICS TO THE SONGS ON THE DISKS!  You read that right! 
Well, how could you miss it since it was in all caps? :-)  Not counting the 
insides of the front and back covers, the booklet for Vol. 1 is contains 16
pages; Vol. 2 has 12.  I can't compare these to the UK box since I have 
not purchased it (although I did get the album boxed set in England during
Kon week (sigh..).  I have seen Ed's set, but I don't remember how the 
rarities booklets looked.  

Before getting into the individual releases, I'll try to describe EMI Japan's
presentation, which in a nutshell, makes the UK box pale in comparison. 
Yes, you've got the strip on top of the lid as Japanese releases do, but 
one thing I found interesting is another strip pasted on the lower part 
of the box.  It has the UPC strip, but among the Kanji is the number 16000,
which also appears on the top strip.  But in parentheses after it (on 
my box) is the number 15,534.  This makes me wonder if at least the 
initial boxing was limited to 16,000 for the Japanese boxed set.  If anyone
else buys this, please post the number on your box to Love-Hounds.  
Each CD in the box is a white plastic base compared to the typical black
jewel boxes on other CDs.  On the upper left hand corner of the back of 
each CD are the words KATE BUSH BOX 1 (through 7).  As previously reported
here and elsewhere, the _The Kick Inside_ and _Never For Ever_ CDs have
different covers than the UK box.  _TKI_ is the "pink top" picture, and 
_NFE_ has an interesting cover-it is a blowup of part of the cover art 
which appears on other releases.  If you look at your cover, it is the 
area approximately from the whale's snout going right, including the 
white bird, the swan, and some of those weird-looking characters riding 
or hanging around them.  You don't see the drawing of Kate with her dress
blowing up at all in the blowup, nor the title of the album below Kate's
feet.  But when you open the first page of the booklet, you see the normal
cover!  REally cool.   Oh, another thing about all the CDs-each one shares 
the same design.  What I mean is that each of the CDs themselves is 
black, with kind of a goldish colour lettering, somewhat similiar to the
colour of the _The Sensual World_ CD, though not as nice a gold, IMHO.
The CDs are manufactured by TOSHIBA-EMI LTD., and the matrix numbers run 
from TOCP-6460 through TOCP-6467.  I had read some allegations that EMI UK
was using their box to rid excess KTstock, and I wouldn't doubt it, but 
it appears that EMI JAP hasn't done this.  
The Japanese box contains two booklets (no sticers, alas.  Wonder why? 
Maybe they thought it was a teensy bit dumb, but that's only one man's 
opinion ;-).  One booklet has the nice small pictures; I suspect it is no
different from the UK booklet, but I'd like to put them side-by-side for 
a clarity comparison.  The other booklet looks special.  It has the design
that the sticker on the lid has, with the border.  It has 28 pages, and is
presented in a 2-column format, all in Kanji.  The title of the document
is: 

THIS WOMAN'S WORK 1958-1990
----The Biographical Notes Of Kate Bush----

It starts out with 1958, and appears to be a chronological biography of 
Kate.  Entries are dated for reference, and a bibliography at the end 
includes 18 sources, including NME 1978-1990, Homeground #22-#39, 
The Amazing Pudding #39, the Vermorel, Cann, and Mayes books, even the
bootleg discography Hot Wacks XIV 1990?!  The compilation is credited 
to one Hideyo Itoh (copyright September 1990). 

Now on to the albums.  Pardon me if I wander or digress-I'm using a 
straight line editor and can't go back all that easily.  I'll describe 
them, plus compare them to the CDs of the same albums that I already own:

_The Kick Inside_:  Booklet is 16 pages.  Times of the songs are listed
on page 1, unlike the UK C with only the titles listed.  After this is 
a 4-page article presumably about Kate, dated Feb. 1978.  Then the lyrics
in English and Japanese. The back cover of the booklet has the drawing of
the kite.  Song titles on the back include a type on "Wuthering Heights." 
The spelled it "Wethering Heights." (hee hee).  I can't compare it to 
my UK CD, since it is currently out on loan (yes, I'm hooking yet another 
one).   On the spine is written THE KICK INSIDE/KATE BUSH - unlike the 
UK CD which I remember says only KICK INSIDE. 


_Lionheart_:  Yes, the wonderful _Lionheart_, a beautiful album. 
Times of songs listed on page 1.  Then, another article, this one is 3
pages long, with no date listed.  The lyrics are next, both in English 
and Japanese.  I don't have my UK _Lionheart_ to compare.  It too is 
on loan to the same guy.  Has he got a treat in store when he feasts his 
ears on the fantastic, horribly maligned and misunderstood incredible 
effort which is the historic _Lionheart_ album.  Kate only said some 
lies about it being less than perfeKT because she was influenced by 
stupid reviewers and people who are easily influenced by what they read. 

_Never For Ever_:  Booklet is 16 pages.  Lyrics are first presented in 
English.  Note that the page that has the lyrics to "Violin" and "The
Infant Kiss" is the page which is used as the back picture for the UK CD,
with Kate flying around.  Neat.  After this is a 2-page article dated 
Dec. 1986.  Then the lyrics in Japanese.  I just noticed something.  On 
page four of the UK CD booklet is the same blow-up picture that is used 
as the cover for the Japanese boxed set CD!  Only not nearly as sharp. 
The UK CD booklet has 10 pages. 

_The Dreaming_: Compared to my EMI AMERICA (hoot-snicker) CD, which has 
10 pages, the EMI JAPAN booklet has 20.  The clarity of the pictures 
makes me want to throw the American booklet away (just kidding-but i 
think I would if it wasn't a Kate CD).  Page one: times listed of course,
not on the American CD (of course).  The _only_ thing the American CD 
has that the Japanese CD doesn't is the blowup of the cover picture on 
page 6 (just Kate's face with the key in the mouth is all you see). 
That's interesting.  I'd bet that this was simply an oversight.  After
the lyrics in the Japanese booklet is another 4-page article.  After 
the article is a discography of Kate's singles, EP, and albums up to 
_The Whole Story_, with dates of release.  The article is dated Dec. 1986.

_Hounds Of Love_:  I'm comparing the Japanese boxed set CD, the EMI AMERICA
CD (hoot-holler-snicker), and the UK CD, which was printed in Holland and
which has a CD inside which was made in Japan.  Oh yeah-it was purchased 
in Germany-maybe that's why it was printed in Holland, I don't know.  
Anyway, the EMI AMERICA booklet is 7 pages long and simply a fright to 
behold.  So I'll put it away, for what it's worth.  UK CD booklet has 10
pages, and the Japanese booklet is 20 pages long.  After the English 
lyrics is a 4-page article which looks like an interview, but not with 
Kate (but I could be wrong, of course).  After that you get a BLACK AND
WHITE copy of the picture that is included in the LP record release of 
_HOL_, with Kate and the hounds, but Kate has her eyes closed.  In the 
LP album, the picture is in colour.  Neither the American nor UK CDs have
this picture, in colour or black and white.  So that's something extra. 

_The Sensual World_:  Interesting stuff here.  I'm comparing it to a 
UK CD made in Austria which was also purchased in Germany.  The UK CD 
booklet has but 5 pages; the Japanese booklet has 16 (actually 17, since
I'm counting the inside back covers this time).  The layout is quite 
different, for instance:  Page 1 of the Japanese booklet has song times,
the other doesn't even list the titles, much less the times.  The 
layout of the Japanese booklet is better.  One thing that surprised me
was in the lyrics to "WSDTM."  In the UK booklet, you can plainly make 
out the fuzzy, lightening-bolt line and curved line which follow the 
note symbols, all in quotes, in the last three lines of the song.  In 
both the American booklet (which I don't own, but have seen), AND the 
Japanese booklet, these characters are not visible.     Ha ha, I know 
some of you must be thinking "Jesus, why go to such detail in describing
the differences?"  Well, it's terribly interesting to me, obviously. 
And of course it is related to Kate, so it's terribly important.  Anyway,
onward.  After the English lyrics (in the Japanese booklet I talking about
again) come the credits.  The layout is the same except for one thing: 
At the very end where Kate says Thank You! KATE BUSH (London 1989) in the 
UK CD booklet, the exclamation point DOES NOT APPEAR after the word You
in the Japanese booklet!  Now _THAT_ is interesting! :-)  Does the 
exclamation point appear in the American CD booklet, anyone?   Knowing 
Kate as I do, I'd guess that she used the exclamation point in the original
submitted draft.   After this remarkable omission are not one, but TWO 
articles!  One is 1 page long written by one Mayumi Chiwaki on 30th Aug.'89.
At the end of this article in English in ALL CAPS are the words: 
TAKE A DEEP BREATH!  Boy, can't wait to get that one translated.  The 
second article is 3 pages lg.  It was written by one Michinari Yamada
on Sep 3, 1989. 

Isn't this all just so NEAT?  And doesn't it PISS YOU THE HELL OFF THAT 
EMI UK PUT OUT SUCH A RELATIVELY POOR BOXED SET?  I can't believe the 
differences between the two boxes. IMHO, EMI UK should be ashamed.  Kate
being from England and alll.  The Greatest Artist The Civilised World 
Has Ever Known being cut-cornered.  The disgrace of it all.  Please, if
any of you are still contemplating getting the boxed set (and you 
definitely should now if you were at all undecided), don't get the UK 
set.  Especially if there are only a limited number.  Maybe, just maybe,
EMI UK may see the shift in sales and learn a thing or two how to honor 
a deserving artist with a boxed set.  Just the little extra of putting 
articles in the booklets-forever and ever, wherever those CDs may go in their
lifespan, people in the future  have the opportunity to learn thatmuch 
more about Kate.   Issues of Melody Maker and Tower Pulse!  will last only
so long before the pages yellow and are forgotten about or tossed out.  I 
sure feel lucky that I held out and waited for the release of the Japanese 
boxed set.  A Japanese guy at work has offered to try to translate all this 
stuff for me.  As soon as I get it done, I'll post all the articles.   

She really IS! 

Larry (l-h@cup.portal.com)  

(oh, one more thing-John Relph, send me your mailing address and I can send 
you photocopies of the rarities booklets for your booklet project.  I hope 
you continue with it because the detail you provide is excellent.  Even
though I have the Japanese booklets, I sure would like a copy of what you
produce.  Thanks.  Larry )