NEVER FOR EVER

NEVER FOR EVER is the third release by KATE BUSH and this is the album that began to expand her sound after the progressive piano ballads and occasional rockers that graced the first two albums. Here she hit the mark in many ways. This was her first #1 album in the UK and she was also the first British female solo artist to top the album chart and also this album entered the charts at #1. This is very much a transition album between the first two albums that were practically identical in sound and approach and the following two albums that would lead to some of the best albums the 80s had to offer.

The first noticeable difference between the previous albums and this one is the huge expansion of instrumentation, sounds and song structures. It seems that everything was expanded in the KATE BUSH universe but yet there is something oh so familiar that ties the rhythms and melodies to her origins. The romanticism has retained its core feel but expansion into other lyrical arenas such as nuclear war in "Breathing" also makes its way into this first 80s album.

I can't find one bad track on this one but "Violin" really stands out for me since it not only takes KATE's unique vocal style to a more acrobatic level but is one of the most rocking tracks she has performed on at this point in her career. A really catchy and brilliant track that just rocks my freakin' socks. Songs like "The Infant Kiss" definitely bring previous endeavors such as "Wuthering Heights" to mind, thus connecting this leap of innovation to the past offerings of this brilliant vocalist turned producer (her first effort as such.)

NEVER FOR EVER sees KATE BUSH evolving into the next phase of her career which is transitionally as pleasant as the first phase and the second. Equally embracing both sides of the equation, this is simply an album filled with the brilliant progressive pop melodies she created started with "The Kick Inside" and ratcheted up the interesting developments that would lead to her upcoming pinnacle of progressive pop paradise. As pianist, composer, vocalist and producer, she really struts her stuff on this one and gains the momentum to push her limits to unforeseeable heights.