BREATHING / THE EMPTY BULLRING

As with many artists whom I love so significantly greater than 99.999% of all the rest, I am entirely ignorant of the back catalog (at least in the terms of this day and age) of the illustrious, incomparable Kate Bush (aside from my prized 12" single for "Running Up That Hill"). I'm also taking this opportunity to refresh myself with all the many music videos she produced and choreographed herself (most of these will be new to me). I'm not starting at the top, though for reasons I can't explain other than a form of laziness: I found a YouTube playlist of [some of?] Kate's B-sides and it starts here in 1980 (not sure where else to easily find them).

Our A-side is "Breathing", later appearing on her rightly transitional album Never for Ever (1980). More on that below. The accompanying music video is perfect for the song. Haunting and eerie, Kate is basically rolling around in this plastic ball, wearing what looks like nothing more than a clear plastic or cellophane dress. It appears as if she's swimming in it, which is such an interesting effect. I wanted to take an opportunity to say that this track is a great representation of Never for Ever at large [and an essential Kate Bush song, in my opinion], as mentioned a transitional album, coming off of her more youthful late-70s, though entirely fresh and unique singer-songwriter approach (plenty of piano ballads in her first two, for instance) to her most acclaimed Art-Pop era. This latter, technically early-middle period began here, culminating to, in my opinion, her creative peak in The Dreaming (1982) and her greatest popular success in Hounds of Love (1985). Never for Ever and "Breathing" specifically are excellent and bold experiments, but she's still finding her voice. The bulk of the song is pretty static until the end, when a solemn creep morphs into a heavy, washed chorus of voices and electric guitar, here in video as Kate and Co. are shown emerging from a lake, singing together, peaceably escaping to a strange, off-color beach scene... Very interesting. Highly recommend it.

Where "Breathing" is the artful expression of this new era here unfolding, its B-side "The Empty Bullring" is a reflection of her earliest recorded music, as aforementioned, a great example of her piano ballads. It's literally just her voice and an echoey piano. Beautiful melody and featuring Kate's still quite youthful dramatic soprano for which she is in great part known. If "Breathing" is "Essential" Prog/Art music, then "Empty Bullring" is quite "Good" songcraft in general.

True Rate: 4.25/5.00 [You do the math haha!]