Never for Ever? Definitely Forever, more like! (Never For Ever - Kate Bush)

Member Name: DanielKemp

Product:	Never For Ever - Kate Bush
Date:	21/06/09 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unique song-writing, THAT voice, very dramatic

Disadvantages: You may not have ears, in which case you won't be able to enjoy this album to the full

Kate Bush - Never for Ever (1980)

Producer: Kate Bush, Jon Kelly

Babooshka
Delius (Song of Summer)
Blow Away
All We Ever Look For
Egypt
The Wedding List
Violin
The Infant Kiss
Night Scented Stock
Army Dreamers
Breathing

Never for Ever is Kate Bush's third studio album and her first studio album to be produced by herself (together with Jon Kelly). The album is far more musically diverse than the two albums which preceded it; this is most notably down to the inclusion of synthesizers and drum machines for the first time on a Kate Bush album. Kate still retains her unique and individual song-writing style, but this is easily her most approachable album up to this point.

In terms of statistics, Never for Ever was Kate Bush's first number 1 album in the UK. Going one better, Never for Ever was the first album by any solo female artist to go straight in at number 1 on the UK album chart. Other female artists had achieved this position but it was with compilation albums or in a group, not with studio albums of new material or as a solo musician. Good at breaking records is our Kate.

The album opens with one of my favourite Kate Bush singles, Babooshka. Musically it has little to fault, but it is the tale within which brings me joy. The song records a wife's desire to test her husband's loyalty to her, so she takes on the pen name of Babooshka and starts writing him sultry letters in the guise of a younger woman. The paranoid synths provide the perfect backing to Kate's words, "She wanted to test her husband; she knew exactly what to do. A pseudonym to fool him, she couldn't have made a worst move, she sent him scented letters and he received them with a strange delight..." It's a striking recording and one of Kate's most accomplished singles.

Blow Away is your typical slow-burning Kate Bush piano ballad, but here it is transformed into something more with the clever use of synths and elaborate musical timings. One thing I really like about the song is the way in which Kate structures the chorus; she seems to allow her words to dance in sync with the ringing bass and timed drum beats.

Egypt is heavily indebted to the sounds of its namesake. It accurately recalls imagery of ancient Egypt and Kate's overdubbed chanting in the background always leads succinctly into the chorus of, "I'm in love with Egypt!" In my opinion it is one of the album's most atmospheric recordings and one of Kate's best vocal performances as of yet.

The second side of the LP crashes onto the scene with the wondrous The Wedding List. It is the most directly rock-oriented track on the album and Kate displays a great variety in her vocal range. After the initial chorus the song takes a particularly chilling turn as Kate reveals her murderous desires, "I'm gonna fill your head with lead! I'm coming for you! When it's all over, you'll roll over!" Nothing like a woman scorned, eh?

I'm pretty undecided on Violin as of yet. Sometimes I find it incredibly cool and very listenable, but at other times it can grate and it really drags out its running time. I guess it all depends on how I'm feeling at the time. It certainly does some pretty remarkable things musically; it seems to incorporate a great assortment of instruments and various musical techniques throughout. I even find myself attracted to the ham-fisted guitar solo half way through.

The album ends with a double-whammy of Kate Bush greatness, featuring two of her most skillful recordings. Army Dreamers is probably as political as Kate ever got and its quiet protests pack a far more weighty punch than any commercial protest song could ever hope for. The song revolves around how unjust war is and how it changes the lives of those involved. But most importantly it is about a grieving mother, who is mourning the loss of her son and wrestling with her guilty conscience. The song has a slow waltz-tempo and the musical backing is delightful, it kind of just gracefully glides into your subconscious during its 3 minute running time. The lyrics are outstanding and truly touching, "Our little army boy is coming home from B.F.P.O., I've a bunch of purple flowers to decorate a mammy's hero. Mourning in the aerodrome, the weather warmer he is colder, four men in uniform to carry home my little soldier!"

Breathing was the first single to be released from the album and it closes the album in an immense way. Allegedly the song revolves around a child in the womb who is conscious that the world outside is being poisoned by fumes and that its mother is a smoker. The subject matter is a little odd, I'll give you that, but when has Kate not had a distinctive style? The chorus, PEOPLE THE CHORUS, it is so emotionally dense thanks to the proficient backing, "Breathing - breathing my mother in, breathing - breathing my beloved in, breathing - her nicotine!" The song reaches a definite peak when Kate has a resurgence of disapproval after a subdued instrumental breakdown in the final third of the song; featuring all crunching guitars and Kate shrieking at the top of her lungs. Man, I just love it something rotten.

While I still prefer by a smidgen the dizzying heights of her debut album, The Kick Inside, this is a first-rate addition to the Kate Bush cannon. I loved her second album, Lionheart, but Never for Ever is just so much better. It is such a vibrant recording full of ideas just waiting to burst out. But most of all it is a marvellous insight into Kate Bush's complex mind, and for this reason alone it is a must buy.

9/10

Daniel Kemp

Read more reviews at www.danielkempreviews.co.uk

Summary: Kate's third album is AMAZING and everyone needs to make a purchase!