Top 10 for 2011
2: Kate Bush - Director’s Cut
Yes, I went with Director’s Cut over 50 Words for Snow, absolutely. The latter contains some brilliant songs, but for me, didn’t really gel (or hasn’t yet, at least) as a cohesive work. This, however, amazed me. I love it when artists revisit their work, most often in a live context, as that is where these things have the opportunity to build and evolve through nightly performance, changes in arrangement, etc. Something which obviously Kate hasn’t given her the opportunity to do. And as an artist who has always stated clearly that she finishes an album, releases it and starts immediately looking forward to the next one, doing something like this was hugely surprising.
When first hearing her rework of ‘Deeper Understanding’, I was hesitant as to how the rest might go, but that is seriously the one track here that I think was overcooked in the process. Everything else I found completely engaging (although would argue that ‘And So Is Love’ was unneccesary in the context of how the rest have been handled). Finally, we have versions of ‘Lily’ and ‘Top Of The City’ that feel properly punchy, which was the biggest appeal for the concept for me. Having a version of ‘Never Be Mine’ like this, and giving the wordy ‘The Sensual World’ space to breathe in ‘Flower Of The Mountain’, as well as the beautifully understated ‘Moments of Pleasure’ were just bonuses for me. The biggest pleasure for me was the new ‘Rubberband Girl’. I did not know that Kate had that kind of thing in her. It’s such a thrill. I want more like that. Kate, if you’re listening? More understated vampy rock. Cheers!
Top Tracks: Rubberband Girl, Lily, Never Be Mine, Flower Of The Mountain
