THIS WOMAN'S WORK

Kate's box set was the definitive collection of her work up to the point it was released, although it has now become outdated with the release of newer work. The box included full individual CDs for each album, and originally I believe there was even a vinyl and cassette version of the box. After the studio albums there are two prized discs of rare material, live tracks, and singles b-sides never available on disc before (or since to my knowledge.) The quality of the extra material is very good but not overwhelming, suggesting that Bush made wise decisions on which tracks to include on actual albums, and which to shelve.

"My Lagan Love" is a beautiful a capella vocal with lyrics written by her brother John, to an Irish traditional song. "Under the Ivy" is a gorgeous piano ballad which came from the "Running Up That Hill" single. These are such sad sounding song but really lovely. On the flip side there is the poppy single "Passing Through Air" which apparently dates all the way back to 1973. "December Will Be Magic Again" is Kate's version of a winter/Christmas ode, delightful, light-hearted fare from her most inspired period. There is the Donovan song "Lord of the Reedy River" recorded in 1981 which finds a breathy, longing Kate vocal to trippy back vocal effects and some kind of woodwinds or keys simulating them. Very mysterious and cool. There is also a French language version of "The Infant Kiss." Most of this early stuff is really sublime ear candy, the later Hounds era extras do not impress me as much, but admittedly, I'm an early-ear Bush fan.

These early rarities are nearly essential for the hard core Bush fan, and yet, if you already own the albums, you're looking at a huge investment to get these additional materials, which have not been released as stand alone CDs. In a perfect world, these discs would be released alone in a rarities box with even more?there are other early Bush recordings which remain unreleased. Then again, if you are new to Kate Bush and have the money, this box set is a great way to get her catalogue with the extra goodies. Whatever you decide, this is the way to do a retrospective, not via a silly single disc mess like "The Whole Story."

Share this KATE BUSH review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Finnforest
• Report this review (#317279)
• Buy KATE BUSH music online with PA partners
• Show all KATE BUSH MP3/Stream
• Go to KATE BUSH page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to This Woman's Work page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for KATE BUSH related discussions