I got this when it came out in summer 1985, because, as I mentioned before, the album Kate Bush did prior this one filled me with hope for what might come next. But, going against the grain of what everyone else seems to think, I was disappointed, and I probably haven't listened to it since 1986. My vinyl copy is in absolutely pristine mint condition.
The hits Running Up That Hill, Cloudbusting and Hounds of Love seem never to have gone away, as they're often on the radio. So it was Side 2, the 'concept' side, that I was looking forward to hearing again after 20 years (though actually even one of those songs was on Radio 3 just a few weeks ago).
Any album that gives thanks to Werner Herzog and Florian Fricke on the sleevenotes can't be all bad in my book, and the choral end-part of Hello Earth is clearly directly inspired by Fricke's (aka Popol Vuh's) soundtracks for Herzog. But as with The Dreaming, it's the endless clutter of sound effects that gets on my wick. The lyrics to And Dream of Sheep say "I'll wake up to any sound of engines…" — cue sound of engines — "…Ever gull a seeking craft" — cue sound of seagulls — "I'd tune into some friendly voices" — and there are spoken voices all over the place, with quaint accents of course.
| MusicBrainz entry for this album |
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