*** EARLY DEMOS PART II ****

[rhill@netrun.cts.com (ronald hill)]

THE CATHY DEMOS

     These twenty-three tracks have only started to surface within the 
fan community since the spring of 1989.  A description of the various 
bootlegs will follow in a seperate article. 

     All twenty-three songs are recorded very, very simply, and 
all feature Kate singing while simultaneously accompanying herself 
at the piano.  Between all but one song on the _Fiddle_ tape there are a 
few seconds of dead air, and in that space one can hear not only some 
loud clicks (much like the sounds of switching on and off an 
old-fashioned tape-recorder),
but even the sound of a page (of music, apparently) being turned. The 
echo-delay applied to two of the twenty-three songs is audible as part of 
the _original_ recordings, not something added at later stage. It adds a 
certain sheen to Kate's vocals but also makes the words even less clear. 

         As for the eighteen "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. 


DATING THE DEMOS 

     If Peter's claims about Kate's development of her high range only 
after the beginning of 1976 are accurate, then we must conclude that this 
collection of twenty-three songs dates from the period 1976-1977.  
Certainly the sophistication of Kate's compositional style, lyrics and 
keyboard work support such a dating.  Also, Kate's high soprano technique 
is fully under her command, there is no hint of uncertainty with 
intonation, and a few of the little vocal embellishments of the melodies 
seem similar to some of those heard on the first two albums. Based on the 
only other pre-album recordings known to us already--the tracks 
_Passing_Through_Air_ and _Maybe_, both of which stem from the first 
David Gilmour session--IED believes that the demos probably date from a 
somewhat later period, because in both _PTA_ and _Maybe_ Kate's voice is 
a little timid and uncertain, and does not venture into her 
now-long-since-abandoned-but-historic falsetto range (which is at its 
primein these demos). Also, although IED is the first to admit loving 
_Passing_Through_Air_, and especially _Maybe_, he thinks it would be 
silly to try to argue that either of those songs--particularly _PTA_--is 
as complex or as stylistically singular as any of the 23 solo-demos.
        On the other hand, if the collection dates from 1976 or 1977, 
then we must accept the notion that Kate was re-recording songs (such as 
"Something Like a Song", "Disbelieving Angel" and "Davey") which she had 
already composed four or even five years earlier, and which she had 
recorded with Gilmour during her first sessions with a band in the summer 
of 1973. This is possible, of course, but it also suggests the 
possibility that the collection of twenty-three songs dates from 
considerably earlier than 1976.  Whatever the correct date of the 
recordings, they are an absolutely invaluable document of Kate's early 
talent and astoundingly precocious mastery of the crafts of songwriting 
and performance. 


THE SONGS

        There is much confusion over the titles to the songs, as we don't 
know what Kate's original title's were and each of the bootlegged 
releases has given them different titles.  Also, various fanzines have 
given them titles.  With the exception of the five titles which have 
since been authenticated through their inclusion in Kate's albums, the 
titles on the following list of twenty-three songs are completely 
hypothetical, and in some cases may not even accurately reflect the 
songs' lyrical content. They are merely temporary and tentative titles 
which are used solely to facilitate identification of individual songs. 
In some cases I have not even been sure of the words I have chosen to 
represent the songs, because the sound quality of the recordings is not 
clear enough to enable me to decipher the lyrics properly. These 
disclaimers made, then, here are the twenty-three songs which make up, 
for want of a better group title, the "Cathy Demos" collection: 
 
        1. The Kick Inside. _TKI_ veers from its album counterpart's
lyrics several times, even referring explicitly to the song's
characters' _identification_ with Lizzy Wan--making it very clear
that the actual story of _TKI_, though similar, involves quite
different characters than _Lizzy_Wan_'s. The piano arrangement--which
Kate obviously plays in real time with her vocal--also differs in several 
places, and stands as further evidence of the subtle and unassuming, 
quietly sophisticated nature of her songwriting technique even at this 
very early stage. Naturally the performances are all highly professional.
        
        2. Hammer Horror.  _Hammer_Horror_ contrasts with its later album 
incarnation even more strikingly than _The_Kick_Inside_. This is partly 
because we know the song as a rocker of sorts, and in its solo-piano demo 
arrangement the expected visceral power of the song is, of necessity, 
suggested rather than hammered home (ha). On the other hand there are 
several marvellous structural touches, especially in the piano writing, 
that are absolutely brilliant, and the overall feeling of intimate 
confession in this demo version is, for this listener, a revelation: it 
completely transforms the long-familiar song into a fresh and touching 
new piece. The bridge section from the album version had evidently not 
yet been composed at the time of the demo's recording, for it is missing 
and the song is consequently much shorter. Also, many of the words are 
different than on the album version.

        3. Feeling Like a Waltz. <Incorrectly identified as "A Rose 
Growing Old" on the "Cathy Demos" Volume One EP: the word "waltz" was 
mistaken for "rose".> 

        4. Keeping Me Waiting was apparently influenced by Elton John's 
"Rocket Man" which Kate was to later cover.
     
        5. Kashka From Baghda. 
     
        6. Carmilla <possibly Camilla>.  This is probably called 
_Carmilla_, in reference to Sheridan LeFanu's vampire novella. The lyrics 
strongly suggest imagery from the book.  However, "Camilla" (the name on 
the bootlegs) is the title of a well-known novel by Fanny Burney, and 
"Camille" is the title of the classic by Alexandre Dumas (the younger), 
and Kate might conceivably have been using an Anglicized form of that 
name in her song. 
     The song is listed as _Coming_Up_ on the _Cathy's_Album_ LP
 This title is _definitely_wrong_.  The idiotic and sloppy bootleggers 
simply mis-heard "Carmilla" as "Coming Up".
 
        7. Oh To Be In Love.  A hauntingly slow and moody early 
incarnation of the _TKI_ album track.

        8. Playing Canasta in Cold Rooms is another early song--and
arguably one of the most perfect jewels in the history of twentieth-
century music.
 
        9. Set in the Snow.  The song is referred to on the 
_Cathy's_Album_ LP as "_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"!).

        10. Ferry Me Over (the Music), or Dali.  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.
        Also, there is an old Irish ballad with the title 
_Ferry_Me_Over_. IED couldn't afford to buy the recording he saw of it, 
but he would be very surprised if this ballad didn't have a lot to do 
with Kate's own song. Can anyone do some research on this title for the 
group?

        11. Where Are the Lionhearts?, or On The Rocks. <N.B.: Not an 
early version of "Oh England My Lionheart", but a completely different 
song.> 

        12. Violin.  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.
 
        13. The Craft of Love, or possibly The Craft of Life.  
_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.

        14. Gay Farewell, or possibly Eddie the Queen.  _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 _The_Cathy_Demos_ probably date from two or three years 
later.

        15. Something Like a 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 collection which 
was briefly, allegedly marketed as an album called _The__Early_Years_.) 
        _In_My_Garden_ is a good alternate title--though probably a wrong 
one--for _Something_Like_a_Song_. 

        16. Frightened Eyes.  An extremely beautiful, poignant song about 
the loneliness of life in civilized society.
        
        17. Disbelieving Angel.  (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.  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_.

        19. Goodnight, Baby, or Who Is Sylvia?.  (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, or perhaps simply Soft.  A very sophisticated 
and spooky melody with imagery that anticipates _In_the_Warm_Room_.

        21. (I Don't Know Why I Shouldn't) Pick the Rare Flower.   
        
        22. _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 the '73 sessions at 
Gilmour's house. 

        23 Organic Acid   This song is only available on the fifth EP.
        This recording is _EXTREMELY_BIZARRE_. It consists of a duet, of 
sorts, featuring Kate on sung vocals and piano, singing an unfamiliar new 
(old) song, and her brother John Carder Bush reciting (in between Kate's 
verses/choruses, and to the accompaniment of her piano bridges) a lengthy 
and artily pornographic poem in his own characteristic style 
(characteristic to those who are at all familiar with JCB's poetry).  The 
poem was published by John as Before the Fall.  The song, at least on 
early listenings, doesn't seem to have too much (or anything) to do with 
JCB's poem, but perhaps IED is wrong about this. The whole track is 5:45, 
the longest of all the demos by far, but this is because of the length of 
JCB's poem, not the song itself, which is actually as brief as any of 
Kate's early songs.
        The song is a slow and sensitive ballad sung by a very young Kate 
Bush to her own piano accompaniment.  IED cannot see any really clear 
connection between Kate's song and John's poem: the former seems to be a 
kind of lullabye to a troubled lover, and is filled with imagery of the 
sea. (One possibility, therefore, is that this is the song known as 
_Atlantis_, which IED has not heard but which is listed among the songs 
on the _The_Early_Years_. album) John's poem, however, is a far more 
detailed and explicit descriptive poem which details the progress and 
violent end of a vaguely perverted love affair. It is possible that the 
speaker in Kate's song is addressing a character in John's poem, or 
possibly the narrator of John's poem, himself; but neither of these 
interpretations seems likely to IED. (On the other hand, the reference to 
the beach at the climax of John's poem does provide for the possibility 
that the two are interconnected.) It seems more probable that Kate simply 
invited John to recite one of his poems during the performance of her 
song. She must have felt that the two works complemented each other in 
some intangible way; and IED, for one, agrees with her.
        Organic Acid is, we now know, definitely not the actual title of 
this song, and although we still don't know what Kate's original song was 
called, Before the Fall now seems a more legitimate title than Organic 
Acid.


---
rhill@netrun.cts.com (ronald hill)
NetRunner's Paradise BBS, San Diego CA