|>oug's Long-Awaited Review of *The Red Shoes*!

[Douglas Alan <nessus@mit.edu>]

Before we begin, there will be a short announcement:  |>oug *will* be
attending the Homeground/KBC Convention next Sunday.  See you all
there!

|>OUG'S LONG-AWAITED REVIEW OF *THE RED SHOES*
----------------------------------------------

Yes, you know you've been waiting for it!  Well, here it is...  Months
in the works!  (Actually, months collecting dust in my "to do" basket.
As you can see, I'm as quick as Kate!)  A cast of... one!  Ladies and
gentlemen, (drum roll: rat tat tat tat tat tat) it's (drum roll: rat
tat tat tat) |>oug's Long-Awaited Review of *The Red Shoes*!  (The
audience cheers madly.)

In this momentous work, in addition to reviewing each song, I also
assign a letter grade to each song on a scale from A+ to F.  The
grades are B/C centered on Kate's average song quality.  A grade of C
for a track by Kate might be a grade of A+ for some other artist.  For
your convenience and correlation I will mention that I would give
songs such as "Get Out Of My House", "Night Of The Swallow", "Under
The Ivy", and "Jig of Life" grades of A+.  "Don't Push Your Foot On
The Heart Brake" and "Army Dreamers" would get grades of C+ and B-,
respectively.  "Reaching Out" would get an F.

Rubberband Girl
---------------

The album opens with a song that reminds me a bit of "The Big Sky",
both musically and thematically.  Like "The Big Sky" it is a seemingly
fun, silly song that is really about a serious topic: the ways in
which we cope with hurdles in life.  Both songs also feature sections
where Kate "goes wild" with her vocals.  "Rubberband Girl" also
features some cool ersatz Bulgarian singing by Kate,
"rub-a-dub-a-dub".  Unfortunately, when I listen to this track, it
mostly makes me want to put on "The Big Sky".  Grade: B-

And So Is Love
--------------

Eric Clapton does not disappoint us here.  His guitar adds
significantly to the profoundly melancholy feel of this song.  Most of
the lyrics are rather trite, but the music is not at all.  It is very
heartfelt.  This is classic mellow Kate, "Symphony in Blue" for the
90's, featuring exquisite emotive Kate sounds and a perfect Kate
ending.  Grade: A (95)

Eat The Music
-------------

Despite Kate's assertions that she feels only love and gratitude
towards her fans, she again comes up with the kind of imagery ("split
me open with devotion") you would expect from someone who is quite
nervous about being idolized.  A previous example of this is the song
"Hounds Of Love" ("the hounds of love are hunting").  Just as in the
song "Hounds of Love", a fear of fans is not what the song is really
about, however.  Both songs are about the intensity of feelings, both
positive and negative that arise when two people are in love.  In "Eat
The Music", the two lovers are willing to open themselves up
completely to each other, but the imagery of splitting open and
tearing guts out accurately conveys the scariness of making oneself
vulnerable.  The song portrays more of the positive aspects of
relationships than "Hounds Of Love" does, and alludes to the joyous
messy stickiness of sex with compelling metaphor.

Despite sophisticated, rich lyrics, the song fails because of the
music.  The background vocals in "Eat The Music" are interesting, but
the horn section is annoying.  The song is repetitive, and strives to
be hypnotic, in the way that tribal drumming often is.  Unfortunately,
there is no tribal drumming to be heard, and the music just bores.
Grade: C-


Moments Of Pleasure
-------------------

"Moments Of Pleasure" is a gentler translation of that song that goes
"These are friends of mine who died, died!"  The imagery is very
personal, but specific and resonant.  The song would have been better
without the schmaltzy orchestral backing.  Despite its
heartfeltness, it makes me want to listen to "Under The Ivy".
Grade: B

The Song of Solomon
-------------------