ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 15, 1985
By Steve Newton
Hounds of Love, Kate Bush’s fifth album (her seventh counting mini-LPs) entered the British charts at No. 1, and from the effect of its lead-off track (and first single) “Running Up That Hill”, it’s easy to see why.
Over a backdrop of pattering drums and keyboards Kate’s powerfully unique voice soars, and her song about “a deal with God” is immediately enticing.
While Side One of Hounds shows a more “accessible” side of Bush, Side Two is a seven-song conceptual piece entitled “The Ninth Wave” in which her compelling words are buoyed by such unusual instruments as the fujara, bouzouki, didjeridu, and balalaika.
Former Al Stewart drummer Stuart Elliott, guitarist John Williams, and percussionist Morris Pert are a few of the people helping out on this record. All the songs were written and produced by Bush, who also played piano and Fairlight.
Adventurous music lovers should get quite a kick out of Kate’s latest. And what a great cover!
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