Instead of a cuppa…

Occasional Albums Thing 077 - Kate Bush “Hounds Of Love”

I was DJ’ing recently at a charity event in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and Shropshire Cat Rescue (shhhhh don’t tell the Whippets !) and they were having a raffle. One of the prizes was a set of autographed prints by local DC and 2000AD  comics artist Mike Perkins who I happen to know. I wasn’t really interested in most of them but one was of the front cover of one of the issues of “The Bat-Man: First Knight” and I really liked it. Luckily for me one of the organisers offered the option of making a stand-alone offer for that one print so I did and it’s now mine. I took it to Wellington where another friend, Phil, has a picture framing business. Phil told me to go have a cuppa and he’d frame the print while I waited.

Instead of a cafe I found myself in Spinning Around Records in Wellington where the lovely proprietor Emma (a former White Rabbit customer until her own shop took over her life) told me how many people had been saying it was a pity I was closing down (there’s a moral to that story). Anyways, while rooting around the racks I came across this copy of Kate Bush’s “Hounds Of Love” in EX condition which I bought (I also found a 1981 French re-issue of David Bowie’s debut but as I’ve already written about that I won’t be repeating myself here, even though I bought it too).

I’ve never really been a huge Kate Bush fan. In the past I’ve owned “The Whole Story” compilation and I had “The Dreaming” on cassette at one time and I have to admit to a deep admiration for the song “This Woman’s Work”. I’ve always kinda liked her but never felt the need to own a great deal of her stuff. There’s also the shadow of Pink “fucking” Floyd that’s cast over her that keeps me at a distance.

Now some of you may recall that Kate’s song “Running Up That Hill” experienced something of a renaissance in 2022 after being featured in series 4 (I refuse to call them seasons, another un-needed/unwanted Americanism that’s found it’s way across the pond) of the Sci-Fi horror show “Stranger Things”. Lots of younger folks suddenly wanted copies of “Hounds Of Love” as that was where “Running Up That Hill” lived and the rise in popularity led to a commensurate rise in the asking price. What had, up until then, been a £20 album was suddenly changing hands for up to 3 times that sum. In fact I sold a couple of copies for just that in the “Stranger Things” aftermath. So to find a copy in such splendid condition for less than a score, well, I couldn’t resist could I (there are currently copies in a similar condition for sale at a popular online disc cataloguing site for double what I paid for this one, and more).

Now, don’t get to thinking that I only bought this because of the price, I do actually like it. It not only houses “Running Up That Hill” but also (obviously) the fantastic title song plus “The Big Sky” and “Cloudbursting” so there’s 4 Top 40 singles and we haven’t got past Side 1 yet. That first side is completed by “Mother Stands For Comfort” which is no slouch in such exalted company.

Side 2 is where my Prog alarm starts to twitch. It contains 7 songs but they all fall under the title of a concept piece called “The Ninth Wave”. The story goes like this, our protagonist, maybe Kate, maybe not, is in the water after being on a ship. How they ended up in the water is not explained but the pieces of the concept explain the dark places a persons mind can go when they are utterly alone, at the mercy of their own imagination and in a situation they find terrifying, cheery huh ?

It begins with the subject trying not to fall asleep to escape the horror of the situation they are in (“And Dream Of Sheep”) but they succumb to sleep and in their nightmares find themselves alone, trapped below a frozen surface (“Under Ice”). Then the mind and intuition kick in, in an attempt to waken the sleeper (“Waking The Witch”). This section ends with the sound of a helicopter and shouts of “get out of the water”. Our subject is now unconscious but there is the suggestion of a rescue. In unconsciousness, the character imagines their family waiting at home and wondering where they are (“Watching You Without Me”). If all the previous sections have been leading up to giving in to death we suddenly have a joyous surge of life and a desperation to live “C’mon and let me live, girl !” (“Jig Of Life”). Our subject is rescued from the water (“Hello Earth”) but the chorus of voices on the track suggest the voices of the drowned who were not so lucky. Finally the euphoria of being still alive hits and our subject looks on life with a fresh perspective as the sun rises (“The Morning Fog”).

So yeah, “The Ninth Wave” is all a bit Proggy but thankfully in a way that The Decemberists have prepared me for over the past few years (see things like ”The Hazards Of Love“ and “The Island” from their album “The Crane Wife”). Kate has said she thought of it as a film. All manner of folk are involved in “The Ninth Wave”, in addition to the musicians we hear studio staff, Kate’s Mom, Robbie Coltrane too. Elsewhere on the album there are contributions from classical guitarist John Williams, legendary Irish musician Dónal Lunny (Planxty, Moving Hearts) and ace bassist Danny Thompson (Pentangle and more sessions than anyone has the time for), quite the all star line-up.

Many argue “Hounds Of Love” is Kate’s best work but I honestly don’t know enough of her other records to comment on that. I do know I like it despite its Prog leanings, heck, nobody else was making music like this in 1985, and it has stood the test of time well. It still sounds innovative and timeless.

And Dream Of Sheep - https://youtu.be/_8UUVcGskEw?si=Pjuh895wynivzqe4