I fell into a Kate Bush mood and listened to her first album, The Kick Inside (1978) and The Whole Story (1986). The Kick Inside was remastered in 2018 which made Kate Bush’s premier recording sound even better! The Kick Inside includes Katie Bush’s UK No. 1 hit, “Wuthering Heights“. The album peaked at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Kate Bush became the first female artist to have an entirely self-penned Number One hit in the UK.
The production of The Kick Inside included several progressive rock performers, including Duncan Mackay, Ian Bairnson, David Paton, Andrew Powell, and Stuart Elliott of the Alan Parsons Project, and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.
“Wuthering Heights,” one of my favorite Kate Bush songs, was released as her debut single on January 20, 1978 when she was just 18 years old. Inspired by the 1847 Emily Brontë novel of the same name, “Wuthering Heights” stayed at Number One on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks, and remains Kate Bush’s most successful single. I love Ian Bairnson’s guitar solo at the end of the song.
For some reason, Kate Bush re-recorded the vocals to “Wuthering Heights” on The Whole Story. I prefer the original vocals. Both of these CDs will fill your ears with incredible music! Some of Kate Bush’s best work shows up on The Kick Inside and The Whole Story. Are you a Kate Bush fan? GRADE: A (for both)
The Kick Inside: Track listing
All tracks are written by Kate Bush.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Moving“ | 3:01 |
| 2. | “The Saxophone Song” | 3:51 |
| 3. | “Strange Phenomena“ | 2:57 |
| 4. | “Kite“ | 2:56 |
| 5. | “The Man with the Child in His Eyes“ | 2:39 |
| 6. | “Wuthering Heights“ | 4:28 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | “James and the Cold Gun” | 3:34 |
| 8. | “Feel It” | 3:02 |
| 9. | “Oh to Be in Love” | 3:18 |
| 10. | “L’Amour Looks Something Like You” | 2:27 |
| 11. | “Them Heavy People“ | 3:04 |
| 12. | “Room for the Life” | 4:03 |
| 13. | “The Kick Inside” | 3:30 |
| Total length: | 43:13 |
The Whole Story TRACK LIST:
| Wuthering Heights (New Vocal) | 4:57 | ||
| Cloudbusting | 5:09 | ||
| The Man With The Child In His Eyes | 2:38 | ||
| Breathing | 5:28 | ||
| Wow | 3:46 | ||
| Hounds Of Love | 3:02 | ||
| Running Up That Hill | 5:00 | ||
| Army Dreamers | 3:13 | ||
| Sat In Your Lap | 3:29 | ||
| Experiment IV | 4:21 | ||
| The Dreaming | 4:14 | ||
| Babooshka | 3:29 |
I totally agree with you. My favorite song of hers is Cloudbusting which has a pretty good video featuring Donald Sutherland as Wilhelm Reich. As far as I know she never toured the U.S.A. although she appeared on SNL in 1978 and performed The Man with the Child in His Eyes.
Steve, Kate Bush burst on the music scene in 1978 at the age of 18. Phenomenal talent!
She’s a national treasure in England, but she never really broke through in the States. I like several of her songs—my favorite being “Running Up That Hill”, which has recently experienced a big spike in downloads because it was used in a tv show (“Stranger Things”, I believe). I also like “Cloudbusting”, especially the remix done by the Utah Saints.
Deb, more of Kate Bush’s music should be featured in STRANGER THINGS! A match made in heaven!
I must confess that although I’d heard of Bush, I’d never actually heard her until your comments sent me to YouTube today. I’d always assumed she was someone like Fiona Apple or Tori Amos, which she isn’t, or not quite. I’d say she’s weird but interesting, an acquired taste I’m not likely to acquire.
Michael, Kate Bush’s music has an incredible range. Check out “Pi” where she sings an ode to 3.14…to the 78th digit! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZSHr5E7fZY
No. Because even though I know of her, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her music. Probably my loss.
Jeff, if you’re looking for “different,” Kate Bush fits the bill!
I’ve for whatever reason found her work more pleasant than compelling over the years.
Todd, I enjoy Kate Bush’s ability to experiment with her music. She’s always trying Something Different with each new song!
I actually picked up “The Kick Inside” in 1978 solely as an impulse purchase. A local record store had a huge poster of the album cover in their window and, as I did so many times in the days of vinyl, thought “what the hell” and bought a copy. This would have been right before her “Saturday Night Live” appearance. She was a real breath of fresh air at the time and I grabbed every successive record as they came out. My interests began to grow with “Never For Ever” and really took off with “The Dreaming” and peaked with “The Hounds of Love,” an astonishing record that, for me, was THE great album of the 80s. Her later albums seemed to offer diminishing rewards although Kate’s last record, “50 Words for Snow,” isn’t bad.
Byron, I discovered Kate Bush through my son’s lobbying that I listen to her music back in the 1990s. I did…and I was hooked!
Too late to be on my radar!
Bob, I have some music that was on your radar back in the 1970s coming up soon!