Diary of a wannabe Kate fan

[Raymond Pugh <rpugh@arcadia.win-uk.net>]

Monday 11th October

11:30 PM Arrived home with LaserDisc player retrieved from my
nephew (he really must buy his own!!)

11:35 Carefully extracted virgin copy of "The Whole Story" from its
cover and inserted into player.  Donned headphones (to prevent
waking the neighbours), cranked the volume up, pressed the PLAY
button, and waited with anticipation. . . . . 

Time gets hazy from here on.  This was so much more than just
listening to good music with accompanying videos; it was a TOTAL
EXPERIENCE.  I have never been so completely swept away on a first
hearing as I was with this collection.  Yeah, so some of the songs
I'd heard before, but the only video I'd seen previously was the
first track - everything else was new to me and it *all* grabbed
me instantly.  Here's a blow by blow account:

1. WUTHERING HEIGHTS.  Seen it before, a long, long time ago when
the single was released.  I'd completely forgotten the cartwheels
and the multiple image video trails; wow!  Was this a video ahead of
its time or what?  Of course, when I'd seen it previously on TV it
was accompanied by a mono soundtrack filtered through the TV
speaker. This time it was in stereo with that great thumping bass
line pounding the ears.  Phew, 1 track down, 15 to go! 

2. CLOUDBUSTING.  Never heard the song or seen the video before. 
Hmm.. interesting.. Kate appearing as a tom boy.  Loved the song -
almost a tribal chant.

3. THE MAN WITH THE CHILD IN HIS EYES.  Heard the song before. 
The video isn't terribly adventurous - just some shots of Kate
singing (apart from the intro and outro shots of a foetal Kate.) 
The focus is so soft it gives a really dreamy quality to the video.

4. BREATHING.  Another song I hadn't heard previously.  The start
of the video simply left me open mouthed (not a pretty sight. :-)
)  The imagery of a polythene wrapped Kate as a foetus is awesome
and the birth sequence is truly stunning.  I liked both the video
and song A LOT!

5. WOW.  Yep, heard the song before, sort of liked it but nothing
special.  Hearing it again against a backdrop of various clips of
Kate in performance really enhanced it for me.  The words seem to
take on more meaning.

6. HOUNDS OF LOVE.  Yet another song that's new to me.  Wow, that
beat is so infectious it's impossible to sit still whilst watching
this one.  And as for the video. . .  Kate at her most sultry; I
could watch and watch this. 

7. RUNNING UP THAT HILL.  Heard it before.  The word "lithe" could
have been put into the English language for the sole purpose of
describing Kate's performance in this video.  What a dancer!

8. ARMY DREAMERS.  This was one of the few singles I bought (so it
goes without saying I like the song.)  The video is every bit as
powerful as the song.

[pause to turn LaserDisc over]

9. SAT IN YOUR LAP.   Another one I bought as a single.  A suitably
manic video to accompany the song.

10. EXPERIMENT IV.  Nope, hadn't heard this before.  I nearly fell
off my chair when Dawn French appeared in the video!  All in all,
a pretty gruesome film - the LaserDisc is exempt from
classification but I would have thought some kind of PG warning
would have been in order just for this track (or am I over
reacting to all the dead bodies??)  Loved the "Music For Pleasure"
dig at the end.

11. THE DREAMING.  Um, let's just say I'll have to play this a few
times before it grows on me.

12. BABOOSHKA.  I didn't particularly like this song when it was
originally released as a single.  I still don't rate it as one of
her best but the video makes it worth while - definitely
guaranteed to raise the blood pressure!!

13. THE BIG SKY.  Yet another new one to me.  Quite fun to watch
and impossible to sit still to.

14. THE SENSUAL WORLD.  A first time hearing and I *love* this song
already - it's going to get better and better each time I hear
it.  Mmmmmm I *love* Kate in velvet, she's so, well, *sensual*.

15. LOVE & ANGER.  Try as I might, I couldn't sit still to this. 
The sheer energy behind the song is amply represented in the
accompanying video.

16. THIS WOMAN'S WORK.  What can I say about this?  It's a good job
it's the last track on the disc.  How could you possibly follow
this song with anything?  There's many a song that can cause me to
shed a tear but I have never been so totally devastated by a first
hearing.  I found the ending rather ambiguous.  It *is* a happy
ending, isn't it?  I assume it is from the smile on the nurse's
face but the final shot of Kate closing the piano has sad
overtones.  Anyone care to tell me what the song's all about?

Um, sorry to go on for so long.  I wanted to share my experience
with someone and who better than the people who already know how
great Kate's music is.  Thanks for your indulgence.  It's 2:30 AM
and I'm about to go to bed a richer (though after TWW, not
neccessarily happier), person.

   Ray 

--
NET: rpugh@arcadia.win-uk.net  So what is love then, is it dictated or chosen
                               Does it sing like the hymns of 1000 years     
CIS: 100045,2557               Or is it just pop emotion?
                                             Emily Saliers - Indigo Girls