Re: Getting into Kate

[Robb McCaffree <nsrjm@nursepo.medctr.ucla.edu>]

dmckiern@weber.ucsd.edu (Daniel Kian Mc Kiernan) wrote:
> 
> It seems fairly clear that Tori Amos has to some extent been
> influenced by Kate Bush.  Beyond that there are only some trivial
> similarities.
> 
> Kate Bush has a great deal more vocal ability than Amos.  And she
> pushes the envelope to an extent that Amos does not.  Thematically,
> she's a great deal more varied than Amos.
> 
> Amos =does= have some strengths that Bush does not, at least insofar
> as the persona of the former can express sentiments incompatible
> with that of the latter.  I regard some of those sentiments as
> interesting and important.
> 
>


Well put, Daniel! And if I may expand on the Tori 'strengths' idea,
those are the ability to go with the flow; she's not such a perfect-
ionist as Kate and her music often reflects a spontaneity that Kate
and her four-year-per-album production schedule now lack. (This
perfectionism of Kate's is even the subject of Rubberband Girl, IMHO.)

Another strength (or weakness depending on your POV) is that Tori
tends to look inwardly for material, creating songs out of her intense
personal experiences. Kate, for the most part, had eschewed that
approach until recently, often taking inspiration from literature,
films and the outside world and treating each subject as if it WERE a
personal matter. Quite possibly this is because Kate has lead a life 
sheltered from a great deal of upheaval until the recent death of her
mother, Hannah. Only on 1993's The Red Shoes has Kate expressed the
tangible turmoils of her own life in a very specific way.

Tori's songs often remain on the piano while Kate's are destined to be
produced to the hilt -- Nobody does concept like Kate Bush. Tori's
music hearkens back to Kate's earliest albums and demos, but does have
production influences from later Kate songs as well. Despite Tori's
nonchalance when asked about Kate's influence, it should be noted:
Tori HAS drawn inspiration from Kate lyrically, vocally and with her 
image.

Anyone who has compared the covers of Little Earthquakes and the US
release of The Kick Inside...the vocal bridges of Crucify and Watching
You Without Me...the breath patterns of Precious Things and The
Dreaming...and even the covers of the rare Y Kant Tori Read with
Kate's also rare US mini-LP must acknowledge the similarities. And 
these are just the specifics; both exude 'high-priestess of music'
images, piano driven songs and high-pitched, multi-layered vocals.
Ethereal lyrics and often sentimental ballads are their trademarks.

Suffice it to say that all the hoopla (and there has been a lot!)
surrounding these two artists on rec.music.gaffa and rec.music.tori-
amos (which was born of rec.music.gaffa, BTW) declares that both of
them are vibrant, exciting musicians and lyricists. They are very
similar...and (embarassed coughing) they are very different. But with
songs like China and Moments of Pleasure, aren't we lucky to have both
of them?


--Robb