DIRECTOR'S CUT

In between the release of the amazing albums "Ariel" and "50 Words for Snow", Kate Bush released "The Director's Cut", which is an overlooked, yet still enjoyable "sort-of compilation" album. The songs on this collection were originally released on the albums "The Sensual World" and "The Red Shoes", two of Kate's most accessible albums. People that know Kate's music know that these two albums were probably the most affected by the record label to try to make her music a bit more appealing to the masses. Even though I still love both of those albums, I don't consider them her strongest works, yet I still enjoy listening to them for the ingenuity that exists on them, even if it might be to a lesser extent than usual.

On "The Director's Cut", Kate Bush re-visits some of the songs from those aforementioned albums, and she does it in a good way. Making them a bit more pensive, a bit more experimental and a lot clearer and cleaner than before, she approaches the sound and style of her newer albums of the time. For the most part, this works quite well and gives the songs more life.

I have to admit, though, that at first I had a hard time listening to this album as I had grown so accustomed to hearing these songs done a certain way. However, with time, this album has aged very well and I have grown to appreciate these renditions much more. I love the new, stripped down and simpler feel of "Lily", "The Red Shoes", "Moments of Pleasure" and "Never Be Mine". The biggest surprise is her re-working of "This Woman's Work", probably one of her most recognized songs. This is one I didn't think needed to be reworked, but the version on this album is simply beautiful and emotional. It feels more heartfelt and seems to reflect how the song was meant to feel. If you don't hear anything else from the album, make sure you hear this new version. Eric Clapton's contribution to "And So Is Love" is kept intact on this version and it pares quite well with the quieter and more atmospheric feel of the new version. It ends up sounding quite lovely.

There are a couple of songs here that I am not as enthusiastic about. "Flower of the Mountain" (originally known as "The Sensual World") is one that is okay, but it doesn't top the original, which is exotic, mesmerizing and one of my favorite tracks from Kate Bush. "Song of Solomon" also sounds better on the original album than it does in this form. "Top of the City" isn't too bad, but really didn't need to be re-done in my opinion. I actually loved the upbeat sound of "Rubberband Girl" in the original version, and while this one is upbeat, it seems unnecessary and a bit bland compared to the original.

So, overall, this is a pretty good collection of re-made tracks that I think most people will be happy to hear as many of her long-time fans were a bit disappointed by the albums that these songs originally came from. As for myself, the tracks I love far outweigh the ones that I am less excited about. The sound of the album (mine is on vinyl and sounds amazing) is excellent and the large booklet (which is full of beautiful artwork spreads for each track along with the lyrics is tastefully and amazingly put together) makes it all worth the purchase. These things elevate the package to a four star album, at least as far as the vinyl edition is concerned. Instead of the full size booklet, the CD edition comes with remastered versions of the original "The Sensual World" and "The Red Shoes" which probably won't appeal to the fans as much. I can't tell you whether the sound is as awesome on the CD as it is on the vinyl, so this rating applies to the vinyl package.