Re: LIONHEART

[Richard Bensam <rabensam@earthlink.net>]

shane wrote:

>I would like to ask some questions about LIONHEART.  I can see that it is
>one of Kate's least popular albums, because the wonderful person who posted
>his or her list of Kate albums in order of preference put it second to
>last (by
>the way, I loved your list and think everyone should do one, even though you
>may have in the past); plus, I have never read a review for it that was
>anywhere
>near good (in the ROLLING STONE RECORD GUIDE, SPIN ALTERNATIVE
>GUIDE, and a few others.)
>It was almost the last Kate album I bought this summer when I was purchasing
>the seven major LPs.  Based on the reviews I had read, I was prepared for
>a boring, lyrically weak hodgepodge.  However, I must say that I don't mind
>it at all.  While I would by no means place it near the top of my Kate list,
>I don't think it is as bad as people make it out to be.  "Hammer Horror" is
>one of my favorite Kate tunes, and I also like listening to "Symphony In
>Blue", "Wow", and "Don't Put Your Foot On The Heartbrake."  In fact, the only
>one I'm not overly fond of is "In The Warm Room."  Furthermore, the cover
>is awesome, although that obviously has nothing to do with the music.  I would
>like to hear peoples' views on this album.

I'm with you.  I've never understood the low rating LIONHEART consistently
gets from this crowd and, it seems, from Kate fans in general.   There are
some historical strikes against it.  It was made and released fairly soon
after TKI -- "soon" by Kate standards; it was not released with unseemly
haste by typical record industry standards -- and may have been composed of
songs which had been written long before but didn't make the cut for the
first album.  Kate herself has disowned a couple of songs she doesn't feel
were up to her standards (a view I question).  But there are things to like
about this album!  "Wow" and "Hammer Horror" to name but two.  And where
else would you find a delightful oddity like "Coffee Homeground"?  And
there is a lush, warm acoustic sound in the actual recording which, IMHO,
has occasionally been missing in later releases.  This album is very
effective at setting a well-defined aural mood, the audio equivalent of
getting under a blanket and curling up in front of a roaring fireplace
while the snow falls outside.  Maybe that's not to everybody's taste, and
you might not want a steady diet of it, but there are times when it really
hits the spot on a cold winter night.

Make no mistake, this album is full of rich creamy goodness.  Think of it
as comfort food.

RAB

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