Classic Albums: Aerial by Kate Bush

So this just has to be the best Kate Bush album, well I should say it’s my fave because that’s the kind-off point to these Classic Albums posts so it’s just my opinion, I guess. Does anyone else agree with me? I don’t know, do you? Off course it comes after a whole history of all her past albums before it. Aerial is her eighth album and it’s a double album too but it came after twelve years wait, her first since the early 90’s. She moved to the country to have a family, in her spare time she did this album. The recording dates are from the years 1996 to 2005 and then the released in early November 2005.

It goes for just a tiny bit over 80 mins. It’s got some classic Kate and if you want to call it odd, that’s your call. I think that really just comes down to all the boring male music critics in the 80’s label her weird because she wasn’t doing something as boring as Dire Straits or whoever the latest greatest male artist was doing to sell records. Anyway on the album Aerial you get her courting numbers, singing about her newborn son, her washing machine too, laughing along with bird calls so if that’s all is a bit too much for you, I guess you might not like this! I don’t know what you would make of Kate if you just came to this record first without hearing any of her old stuff, it would be a experience to say the least really and would love to know what you think?

I remember buying it the first week because I just wanted to know what the hell Kate Bush has been up to all this time. She off course is one of the all-time greats and her 80’s and late 70’s music will be on countless all-time list like this but it’s this one for me. There is an amazing sense of adventure is her music, which is what you hope from but very few artists really go full out to create something because I guess most do have record labels to answer too and even fans wanting this or that. Mainstream and/or major label artists don’t have that much freedom when it comes down to it. That’s the other amazing thing about her, Kate just cut off the record label then press, media and even her fans off. Nothing at all, no other artist really did this and made it still work successful before but off course the media labelled her mad, crazy etc. because she wouldn’t talk to them in any interviews for years.

Until a couple of years ago she never played a live show/s for decades. It’s amazing she put up with a producer send from the record label for a little while at the beginning of her career but in the end she build her own studio downstairs in her home and just did it all herself. Then again she always was fighting for the right thing like when at just 18 years old with the very beginning of her career the record company wanted some other song but she was something like you’re not releasing anything but Wuthering Heights as my debut single. Just to prove to you how wrong labels can be, do you know the Kate Bush song called James And The Cold Gun? or would know Wuthering Heights better? Even if you know nothing about her! Wuthering Heights is iconic and you would known it just by the name? I don’t know what the hell they were thinking?

This album totally reminds me of of the Western Australia’s Wheatbelt, I must have got the album just before getting on the train/bus down there, I think I was going down there for work but it don’t matter what the reason is but taking the train and bus or something down there so once I was there I had no car so I had to walking around the small town I was staying in to get anywhere even if I was in the middle of nowhere, I had my headphones on a listening to Aerial album and it couldn’t be more perfect for the landscape I was looking at. Reading a little about when the album was release in England there was nothing but huge big storms hitting just for days after but doesn’t England always have shitty weather? Talking about the weather which is a bit of a theme on the album, the cover artwork is not what it looks like it is at first, it’s glowing photograph superimposed with the waveform of a blackbird song over the top.

Kate in early 2000’s/late 90’s

I’ve notices now the second disc is one long forty mins. track but I do have the older version with the time breaks if you want to know how it was before I’ve got the track listing below, well her songs always seem to flow into one larger work anyway but I guess this edit is taking that whole idea to another level. I do like having it as the nine songs on my disc and my highlight track is Sunset. I do wonder what she would think of all Rolf Harris troubles he’s in now because he’s got a little voice over bit on it too. I think I do like the first disc just little more with maybe King Of The Mountain, Mrs. Bartolozzi, How To Be Invisible and Joanni just even more but I did read a funny review saying the song π just proves Bush could record an album of herself reading a phone book and it still be an entertaining listen. The track Bertie is pretty cute, off course A Coral Room is pretty amazing.

Overall as a total whole album I just love it the best out of all her albums or I just simply enjoy it the very best from the beginning to the end . I can’t wait to hear that new live album at the end of month too. So Kate Bush is only the second solo female artist with the 22 Classic Albums posts, that’s after Grace Jones. It’s also only the fourth English artist but I’m only just getting going really, you know?

Aerial track listing and times

Disc One: A Sea of Honey
1. King Of The Mountain – 4:53
2. π – 6:09
3. Bertie – 4:18
4. Mrs. Bartolozzi – 5:58
5. How To Be Invisible – 5:32
6. Joanni – 4:56
7. A Coral Room – 6:12
Disc Two: A Sky of Honey
8. Prelude – 1:26
9. Prologue – 5:42
10. An Architect’s Dream – 4:50
11. The Painter’s Link –  1:35
12. Sunset – 5:58
13. Aerial Tal – 1:01
14. Somewhere In Between – 5:00
15. Nocturn – 8:34
16. Aerial – 7:52

 My Classic Albums are, so far:

Tales From The Australian Underground – Volume 1 & 2 by Various Artists

Station To Station by David Bowie

Unplugged In New York by Nirvana

Rust In Peace by Megadeth

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs by Marty Robbins

Henry’s Dream by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Whatever You Love, You Are by Dirty Three

Gala Mill by The Drones

Black Monk Time by The Monks

Ex Tropical by Lost Animal

Work (Work, Work) by HTRK

In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn by Pink Floyd

Songs Of Love And Hate by Leonard Cohen

Warm Leatherette by Grace Jones

The White House by The Dead C

Silence Is Sexy by Einstürzende Neubauten

Lulu by Lou Reed & Metallica

Kaira by Toumani Diabaté

Kings Of The Wild Frontier by Adam And The Ants

Drowning In The Fountain Of Youth by Dan Kelly And The Alpha Males

So, this was the reason I started this blog. The idea is simply to write post about one of my fave album each that I consider a classic album. Please leave your comments below about each album because I would love to hear what you think about each album too, cheers!