(1982) EMI Manhattan label.  Purchased used in 1989 probably at Penny Lane Records Westwood. This is the first Kate Bush I purchased.  It is one of her best.  The lyrics strike now familiar themes of war, love, life and death, mystical sensibility, and a warrior-like bravery into dark subjects.  The music is strange, her vocals bend in and out melodically, and the listener is challenged to follow along.  “Let the weirdness in…”

1

1. Sat In Your Lap  (3:29)
2. There Goes A Tenner  (3:24)
3. Pull Out The Pin  (5:27)
4. Suspended In Gaffa  (3:56)
5. Leave It Open  (3:22)

2

1. The Dreaming  (4:08)
2. Night Of The Swallow  (5:56)
3. All The Love (4:33)
4. Houdini  (3:48)
5. Get Out Of My House  (5:30)

 

This album was produced by Kate.  She skillfully brings it across the continents (The Dreaming deals with aboriginal themes, Pull Out The Pin the Vietnam War, Night Of The Swallow Ireland), across time (Houdini and Get Out Of My House–inspired by the Stephen King novel The Shining), and across pop and art standards.

Favorite tracks on this album include Pull Out The Pin, Night of The Swallow, and Houdini.  In each one of these there are times when Kate’s voice sings so angrily and with such force, it sounds as though she is trying to save a life, change a mind, or defy physics with her words.  I know I have used my voice at such a decibel trying to change an action just with my words.  And although words are mighty, there are moments when our words have no effect.

In Night Of The Swallow the music is heavily influenced by Irish jig music.  It caught my ear so much so that it inspired me to pursue The Chieftains records.  I recall first hearing flutes and strings at the Ye Olde Renaissance Faire in Agoura CA in the Santa Monica Mountains back in 1978.  All these years later I learn I have Irish heritage and suddenly things fall into place.  DNA has power and reach we still do not completely understand.

(1980) EMI label.  Purchased used in LA in 1989 from Penny Lane Westwood. Original inner sleeve with lyrics printed. Cover includes the following stamped in the upper right hand corner: “Property of Capitol Records, Inc. This album is on loan for promotional uses only.  Holder agrees to return it on demand.  Attempted sales are void, and in violation of law. No 421938.”  What is all that you may ask?  This album was once part of the catalog made available to radio stations for airplay consideration.  My guess is, either a station employee borrowed it and never returned it, thus making its way eventually to a used records store for resale OR as radio stations started eliminating catalogs of vinyl in favor of CDs it was sold to a collector or buyer for a used record store.

This is Kate Bush’s third studio album. The back cover shows Kate in the bat costumes worn during the Live Tour. Tracks on this album smoothly blend from one to another in a complete storytelling fashion.  The magical creatures sketched on the cover and inner sleeve a la Harry Potter, lend an otherworldly sensibility to the album. Indeed these creatures are depicted coming out from underneath her skirt. This hints at the secret world known to women seated in the uterine power of birth and creation. It also takes the listener along a path that questions how this power is flexed.

SIDE ONE

1. Babooshka  (3:20)
2. Delius  (2:51)
3. Blow Away  (3:34)
4. All We Ever Look For  (3:48)
5. Egypt  (4:12)

SIDE TWO

1. The Wedding List  (4:15)
2. Violin  (3:15)
3. The Infant Kiss  (2:50)
4. Night Scented Stock  (0:51)
5. Army Dreamers  (2:58)
6. Breathing  (5:29)

Favorite songs on this album include All We Ever Look For, Army Dreamers, and the hauntingly beautiful Breathing.  This album reached #1 in the UK charts and firmly established Kate Bush as a force to be reckoned with. Hers are the shoulders upon which Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrisette and others would stand.

(1979) EMI Capitol label.  Purchased new in LA probably around 1990 I cannot remember where.  This is an EP– extended play album.  Recorded live during the Tour of Life or Lionheart Tour in 1979.  The recording quality for a live album is quite good.  Kate sounds exactly like she does on albums which indicates she doesn’t need producing tricks or enhancements to sing.

SIDE ONE

1. Them Heavy People  (4:05)
2. Don’t Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake  (3:40)

SIDE TWO

1. James And The Cold Gun  (6:19)
2. L’Amour Looks Something Like You  (2:45)

James And The Cold Gun has a very heavy guitar solo. In this live performance you can hear the promise of what is to come from Kate.  At this point she is 21 and has become a seasoned performer; more sure of what she wants to give to her audience. In all the years I have owned this album in writing and listening to it now I believe this is only the second time I have ever listened to it.

(1978) EMI America label.  Gatefold jacket with lyrics printed on inside.  Purchased used at Record Surplus in the early 1990s.  This is Kate Bush’s second release.  Theatrical, eccentric, kind of messy and all over the place.  Sounds more like it should be a Broadway soundtrack rather than a pop music release.  The songs are not pop recipes.  The lyrics are not pop music either.  However she has pop star beauty and graces the covers of this album in very stylized photographic shots; windblown hair, L’Oreal/Covergirlish makeup perfection and lighting.

Side 1

1. Symphony In Blue  (3:31)
2. In Search of Peter Pan  (3:45)
3. Wow  (3:48)
4. Don’t Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake  (3:14)
5. Oh England My Lionheart  (3:10)

Side 2

1. Fullhouse  (3:13)
2. In The Warm Room  (3:37)
3. Kashka From Baghdad  (3:54)
4. Coffee Homeground  (3:38)
5. Hammer Horror  (4:37)

I am surprised Tim Burton hasn’t used this album in a film.  Coffee Homeground is a perfect Tim Burton soundtrack with circus rotations and and merry-go-round melody. Again, another album with an acquired taste.  If I feel like listening to Kate Bush this is not an album I think of putting on.  I know, I know.  I own 11 of her records!

 

(1978) EMI America label.  Original release with lyrics on back cover, purchased used at a used record store in West LA the name of which I cannot remember probably in 1996. I was so happy to find this her first release– although originally released in 1997 with a different cover.  This is the first of 11 Kate Bush albums I own.  Many to listen to and remember.

SIDE ONE

1. Moving  (3:08)
2. Saxophone Song  (3:44)
3. Strange Phenomena  (2:58)
4. Kite  (3:00)
5. The Man With The Child In His Eyes  (2:40)
6. Wuthering Heights  (4:25)

SIDE TWO

1. James And The Cold Gun  (3:33)
2. Feel It  (3:04)
3. Oh To Be In Love  (3:19)
4. L’Amour Looks Something Like You  (2:27)
5. Them Heavy People  (3:05)
6. Room For The Life  (4:03)
7. The Kick Inside  (3:37)

Musicians on the album include: Stuart Elliott drums, David Paton bass, Ian Bairnson guitar, Duncan Mackay electric piano, Barry de Souza drums, Bruce Lynch bass, Paul Keogh guitar,  Alan Parker guitar, Andrew Powell keyboards,  Alan Skidmore saxophone, Morris Pert percussion, and Paddy Bush mandolin (Kate’s older brother).

Favorite track on this record is The Man With The Child In His Eyes although Wuthering Heights was the hit. Kate’s vocals are highly pitched on most of the tracks on this album, almost whiney– nails on the chalkboard at times.  For many that I know, Kate Bush is an acquired taste.

This was not the record that caught my ear or compelled me to buy her albums. That one comes a little later.  Illinois always says the first album of any artist is their best/truest. There is an argument here for this: many of these tracks Kate wrote at age 15!  She was 19 when this album was released.  But this album is not at all my favorite.  The Kick Inside shows Kate Bush’s potential and she will definitely rise up and surpass it in albums that follow.

(1969) Columbia label original issue.  Purchased used at Record Surplus probably in 2006. Illinois was playing a Cannonball Adderley album with Joe Zawinul called Mercy, Mercy, Mercy Live at the Club! When Mercy, Mercy, Mercy played I remarked that I know that tune has lyrics, because I used to sing it as a little kid.  Next time we went record shopping I picked up this album.

The Buckinghams were Carl Giamarrese, Dennis Miccolis, Dennis Tufano, Jon Paulos, and Nick Fortuna. Hailed from Chicago and on this record enjoyed three big hits and a few minor ones.

SIDE 1

1. Don’t You Care  (2:27)
2. Lawdy Miss Clawdy  (2:00)
3. Back In Love Again  (2:07)
4. Why Don’t You Love Me  (2:09)
5. I’ll Go Crazy  (2:26)
6. Susan  (2:45)

SIDE 2

1. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy  (2:47)
2. And Our Love  (2:46)
3. Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song)  (2:42)
4. Foreign Policy  (4:15)
5. Kind Of A Drag  (2:08)

As with so many best of records; on this album you get a few ripe apples and then some strange fruit.  Foreign Policy is crazy.  It even has a JFK spoken word section.  You gotta love the 60’s and bands trying to stand for something using experimental gimmicks.

(1973)  Elektra label.  Gatefold jacket. Purchased used in 1990 at Record Surplus.  I owned this album new originally.  I remember buying it a Kmart with babysitting money I had earned.  I don’t remember how much I paid for it.  Over the years I somehow lost it. In the early 1990’s I began to replace records I remembered loving in my youth.  All sorts of genres.  I just wanted all the albums I had ever spent so many hours listening to, singing to, and studying, while alone in my bedroom.

side one

1. Make It With You  (3:15)
2. Everything I Own  (3:06)
3. Diary  (3:05)
4. Baby Im-A Want You  (2:25)
5. It Don’t Matter To Me  (2:41)

side two

1. Mother Freedom  (2:55)
2. Down On My Knees  (2:44)
3. Too Much Love  (2:45)
4. Let Your Love Go  (2:25)
5. Look What You’ve Done  (3:10)
6. Truckin’  (2:31)

Bread is Mike Botts drums, David Gates lead vocals and guitar, James Griffin guitar and vocals, Robb Royer bass until 1971, Larry Knechtel keyboards and bass.  Undeniable– the top shelf pop quality of this band.  13 songs on the Billboard Top 100 from 1970-1977. Side One– I can sing each song without one mistake, each one permanently scorched into my brain.  Side Two meh… none of these had any real airplay that I can recall.  Own this for side one for sure.

 

(1986)  Passport label.  Purchased used in 1989 at Record Surplus.  This is a Best of album.  I own it because Phil Collins is on this album.  However tracks on this record are from Non-Phil Collins Brand X releases including: Masques (1978) and Do They Hurt? (1980).  I guess there was a time when Phil was too busy to be in the band after all.

SIDE ONE

1. Don’t Make Waves  (5:28)
2. Blackmoon  (4:48)
3. Maybe I’ll Lend You Mine Anyway  (2:09)
4. Cambodia  (4:31)
5. Hate Zone  (4:41)

SIDE TWO

1. Soho  (3:47)
2. Nuclear Burn  (6:25)
3. Ipaneamia  (4:30)
4. Nightmare Patrol (Live)  (7:50)

Solid tracks on this album include Cambodia and Hate Zone.  Another ripping guitar performance by John Goodsall on both.  Hate Zone has such a Jeff Beck quality to it with a heavy bass performance by Percy Jones.

This is the last Brand X album in my collection.  It was a treat to listen to these again.

(1982)  Passport label.  Purchased used in 1987 in LA at one of two locations: Penny Lane Westwood or Rhino Westwood.  This album line up includes saxophone from Raf Ravenscroft– Raphael Ravenscroft is the musician who performed the iconic saxophone on the Gerry Rafferty hit Baker Street.  I remain gobsmacked that Phil Collins had the ability to release this album, Genesis records, and his solo work at the same time.  I know he has taken a lot of crap for his career trajectory and over saturation, but I say you have to give it to the guy; he worked really hard for 20 years and covered quite a bit of rock and roll space in the process.

SIDE 1

1. Ipanaemia  (4:30)
2. A Longer April  (7:00)
3. Modern, Noisy, And Effective  (3:56)

SIDE 2

1. Swan Song  (5:30)
2. Is There Anything About?  (7:52)
3. Tmiu-Atga  (5:07)

A Brand X trademark continues: the humour abounds on this album. Liner notes include:

Anyone who doesn’t like this record has far too much taste, and is obviously too sensible to remain at liberty, and therefore will be tied up with piano wire , and sentenced to five years listening to Demis Rousoss albums.  (Ouch! Demis Rousoss was in Aphrodite’s Child a prog rock group.  Don’t own any of their records but who knows, maybe this will lead to a new line to collect!)

This tune (Tmiu-Atga) was recorded live on a cassette machine at Startling Studios by accident, and left the way it came out, snare rattles and all. So there. Incidentally, the initials stand for “They’re Making It Up As They Go Along”.

Favorite track on this album is Modern, Noisy, And Effective.  It is another great song to listen to while one drives around Southern California.

 

(1979) Passport label.  Purchased used at Record Surplus for $2 in 1989 (still has price tag on it).  You have to love being around record collectors.  They are usually VERY knowledgeable and you can learn so much talking with them about artists, labels, record stores, values, and the veritable answer to the “Did ya know…?

I learned about Brand X from collectors.  Vinnie, Thom, and I worked together. When we learned that we all loved collecting rock and roll and in particular progressive rock drummers we spent every break talking about it.  Bill Buford, Phil Collins, Neil Pert.  It was Vinnie who shared with me the “Did ya know Phil Collins played with Brand X” info that started this whole journey.  Vinnie made me a mixed tape of choice Brand X tracks that I still have to this day 30 years later.

SIDE ONE

1. Don’t Make Waves  (5:28)
2. Dance Of The Illegal Aliens  (6:52)
3. Soho  (3:47)
4. … And So To F….  (6:34)

SIDE TWO

1. Algon (Where ordering an ordinary cup of drinking chocolate costs £8,000,000,000)  (6:07)
2. Rhesus Perplexus  (4:06)
3. Wal To Wal  (3:09)
4. Not Good Enough-See Me!  (7:27)
5. April  (2:40)

This album has two rare vocal performances.  MOST Brand X is instrumental.  But Don’t Make Waves and Soho have vocals done by… who else, Phil Collins.  Don’t Make Waves sounds exactly like a Genesis song or a Phil Collins solo release from 1985.  My favorite track on this album is Algon  (BTW according to the liner notes, Algon is a hotel).  I have fond memories of driving around Los Angeles in my Volkswagon Scirocco blasting this song on the mixed tape I got from Vinnie.