The Red Shoes

[Suspended In Duct Tape <METH@delphi.com>]

Hi!

<please be kind to my typos- I have no delete key>

Unlike Valerie, who used her erascible (but not erasable) charm to
weasel a copy of TRS out of a record store employyee on MONDAY, I
picked up my copy of TRS at lunch on Tuesday.  I bought a cassette
to pop into my Walkman immediately, and a CD for real listening.

Initial impression: eh.  But it's not as bad as I thought it was going
to be.  The only song to make me sit up and take note upon first listen
was "The Red Shoes", which is positively infectious- I literally
couldn't stop dancing until it was over, which is an interesting
phenomenon, now that I think about it..

Song-by-song, it looks like this:

Rubberband Girl:  Fun, poppy, I hope this does well on the charts here.
I liked it from that first over-the-phone listen at KaTemas (hi Vickie :),
and I still do, a lot.  More on the video later.

And So Is Love:  MUCH better than I thought from that aforementioned
phone listen, but not exceptional.

Eat The Music:  Barf-O-Rama.  But we already knew trhat.  Er, that. :}

Moments of Pleasure:  Mmmh, yes.  Again, not goddesshead, but it has
its own power amidst its flaws.  I find it hard to think critical
thoughts because it seems amost disrespectful, considreing the events
in Kate's life which caused her to write it in the first place...but.

The Song of Solomon:  Interesting.  I saw the lyrics (danke, L  Uli!)
before I heard the music, so I was expecting soimething much harder
edged than I got, but it still works for me.  I do think the "bullshit"
line is a bit much, however- once is okay, but after the nth time it
staet,  damn,   starts to get a bit gratuitous.  Besides, now I can't
play it on my radio show, and it's one of the prettiest tracks on the
album!  Waah!

Lily:  This song is wonderfully weird.  I agree with those who think
it's the "curse of the red shoes" woman from the new "RG" video does the
opening narration.  I can't wait to see it in the context of the film,
so I can staret to figure it out!

(For those keeping score at home, thus ends side A of the cassette,
it's imo a perfect break.)

The Red Shoes:  In a word, awesome.  If this album didn't include it,
I would be gnashing my teeth in frusttration at the lack of a single "WOW"
on the first listen, but thankfully this is it.  It's been going through
my head all week.

Top Of The City:  I like, but am not going orgasmic over it.  All I can
think of is Kate sitting on top of the huge angel/eagle statue in the
lobby of the Ministry of Information in _Brazil_ laughing at the silly
Flying Nun tour group going by underneath...  dunno weh er, why.

Constellation of the Heart:  I think the line about turning the telescope
away from the big sky is telling, and it has its (breif) moments, but all
in all, I don't think this song should have been recoreded.

Big Stripey Lie:  I liked it before, and I like it even more than I know
Kate plays guitar aand BASS (I've always had a soft spot for short female
bass players ;), but it doesn't fit at all.

Why Should I LOve You:  This song has GOT to go.  I *knew* Prince would
destroy whatever song on the album he had a hand itn.  Gag.

You're The One:  At first I liked this one a lot, but I'm already sick
of it.  There are some interesting voacl bits, but I'm not so sure I like
them any more.

All in all, I think that as an album, it blows most of the crap out there
out of the water, and is quite good.  But as a Kate Bush Album, it's 
rather of a letdown.  I'd say it's one of her bottom three, but I'm not
going to let myself pass a real judgement on that sort of thing until it's
had a lot more time to osmose itself into my being.  I know my opinions
of these songs will change tomororw, anyway- probably for the better, except
for EtM and that goddamed Prince atrocity.  (Eek, that was a bit harsh-
sorry.  Can['t delete it know anyway...)

As for the New And Improved "Rubberband Girl" Made For eMpTV Video, I
liked it.  A lot.  It's a vast improvement over the original video,
and was just perfectly tongue-in-cheek.  ;>  I've always wanted
to see Kate humping a mike stand.  In shades, no less.  I will say,
however, that I wish she'd done more weith the scenes with the straight
hair and leather jacket, and had left out the three random clips from the
film, which ruined the video's continuity and seemed tacked-on.  (They were,
weren't they?)  It looks like she was having fun out there, at least.

There you have it, MY *OWN& OPINIONS.  I don't care who agrees or disagrees, so there.

Meredith
meth@delphi.com