NEVER FOR EVER

With this third album KB started to show her real capacities and appear as more mature musicmaker. On her first two albums she gave a bit girlish (after all, that's what she still was), head-in-the-clouds image of herself, her musical stories dealing mostly with intimate feelings without much connection to the 'outside world'. Here her palette is wider, and also now she began to use electronic instruments (e.g. Fairlight) as well as folklore expertise of her brother Paddy. The key word is nevertheless "romantic" but in the deeper sense than before. The album cover - drawn by a respected book illustrator - was planned by Kate: all kinds of animals and nightly creatures burst from under her dress in a very symbolic manner.

I'd like to use the song-by-song approach this time (I'm reading a biography on KB which helped me to understand some ideas on songs). 'Babooshka' doesn't need much introducing, it's THE hit of this album. The way it turns directly into the soft dreamy soundscape of 'Delius' shows the art rock /prog-related leanings. Frederick Delius was an English composer who lost his health before his creativity and who needed the aid of others, mainly Eric Fenby whose name is mentioned in the lyrics - if one can call the male character's mumbling lyrics. The track, together with 'Night Scented Stock' (which has only wordless multi-layered vocals) is the closest to instrumental Kate has done, if I'm not forgetting something now. Then comes 'Blow Away' about the idea of heavenly meeting of dead musicians. It's dedicated to a man who accidentally died during the stage setting.

Light-mooded 'All We Ever Look For' is to me quite boring; it should be half shorter. 'Egypt' is a highlight, haunting and shamelessly romantic wailing of exotica. 'Wedding List' is an edgier song telling of a wedding that ends up in killing. In it Kate operates with her vocals very powerfully. The next crazy, would I say punkish song 'Violin' is not my cup of tea.

'Infant Kiss' is a controversial song: it's easily interpreted as pedofilian, but Kate was inspired by a story of a dead man's spirit living in small boy's body. The nanny gives the child a goodnight kiss and the man in the boy's body answers with an adult passionate kiss and messes up the nanny's emotions. At the end of the album comes two more single-released tracks, both with a serious message: 'Army Dreamers' is musically naiive and pretty but is actually very political, about British military activities outside the country ("B.F.P.O" = British Forces' Post Office) and the Irish accent makes the message clearer... 'Breathing' interprets the fear of a nuclear disaster and is one of her most touching songs. The protagonist is an unborn baby. An anecdote: during the recording someone from EMI heard the "out... in... out... in" part and thought she was doing a sexual song!

Never For Ever has qualities that makes me want to grace it as a masterpiece, but since she was to do even better and since here are two songs I'm not so fond of, I give "only" 4 stars though it feels to be too little for this excellent and very creative work. Progheads really should give Kate Bush a chance, and this is one of the key albums.