Customer Reviews

I Wanna Be Kate: The Songs of Kate Bush

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a big fan of Kate Bush. I have collected all of her music, including her cameo appearances on other groups; yet I cannot agree with the other reviewers regarding this CD.

The only good thing about this album is that most of the artists did indeed attempt to render original, different versions of Kate Bush's wonderful songs. However, I find their talent a little limited.

Listening to this album made me a little sad, as it made me wish that a real tribute album to Kate Bush were released, with versions by artists such as Peter Gabriel, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Morrissey, Annie Lennox, Phil Collins, Tori Amos, etc...

The fact that this album was highly rated by other reviewers shows how desperate fans are for more recognition of the talent, uniqueness, and influential nature of Kate Bush's music (especially on some rather popular female artists that followed her).

I got this album from the label a while back, and when it arrived I
unplugged the phone, went in my room and listened to it start to
finish.

Starting with the sweet, fairly straightforward rendition of
"L'Amour Looks Something Like You" by the Aluminum Group, I
was in heaven. After all, the only Kate cover I'd ever heard was Pat
Benatar's tinny and over-produced version of "Wuthering
Heights."

Susan Voelz (formerly?) of Poi Dog Pondering
performed lushly in the James Joyce-inspired "The Sensual
World," and the Moviegoer's take on "The Hounds of
Love" lifted my floodgates, caught my breath and made me want to
write a screenplay just to feature the song in the soundtrack.

I
love Syd Straw, and her simple rendition of "Then Man with the
Child in His Eyes" showcased her uniquely plaintive voice. J
Davis Trio's laid-back-coolio hip-hop "There Goes a Tenner"
was the first song on the album to really explore the
variation-on-a-theme possibilities inherent in the tribute
genre.

Without going song by song, here's a rundown on the rest:
"Coffee Homeground" is creepily interpreted by Mouse with
the Lionheart-era theatricality intact; The Baltimores do a sort of
nouveau-punk reduction of "Running Up That Hill" -- I was
initially put off by it, but grew to love its tweakiness; "Love
and Anger" builds on the elation of the original version by
adding raw touches; and Thomas Negovan uses a string
ensemble to make "And Dream of Sheep" into a heart-rending,
Neil Diamond-esque dreampiece. Finish with a B-side cover, "Not
This Time" (arguably better than the original), and you've got an
amazing collection of lovingly interpreted favorites.

I can only
hope that this will inspire others to look at other Kate Bush songs
with an eye to covering them. And please, Kate, if you're out there,
please give us something new soon, even just a snack.

--gaw

This is, to my knowledge, the only tribute record to the legendary Kate Bush and it showcases the talents of such luminaries as the Aluminum Group and Syd Straw. It also includes wonderful versions of Kate classics done by many of Chicago's up and comers circa 1998. Highlights include Justin Roberts' laid back melancholy on "You're the One" (a great reincarnation of one of my least favorite songs in the Kate Bush catalogue), The J Davis Trio's trip-hop take on "There Goes a Tenner" and Victoria Storm's arcing vocals against The Blue Turtle Tea Party's piano and string backdrop on "The Kick Inside". But, the prime performance in this stellar set belongs to The Moviegoers' Liam Davis (now of Chicago popsters Frisbie) whose gripping vocal on "Hounds of Love" truly rivals even Bush's own virtuosity on the original. This track will be in my headphones at the gym for years to come.

Tribute records often are either, at best, littered with boring redundancies, and at worst presented as some nihilistic, backhanded compliment that reduces a great artist's work into a publicity stunt. This was my fear when I heard "I Wanna Be Kate" for the first time (especially since many of these artists are more or less unknown outside of Chicago). However, producer Thomas Dunning does a deft job of not only keeping the performances high but, presenting his labor of love in an uncloying fashion. Buy this, you won't be disappointed. Henri Porter

While its fair to say that most tribute CDs aren't that great, this one is a fine and rare exception! A wonderful website accompanies the CD which gives a brilliant introduction to the process (77 Chicago musicians, 13 engineers, 10 studios!) and motivation behind the making IWBKate. The interviews with the producer Thomas Dunning at the Kate Bush News & Information website...were really cool as well. There are other tribute cds out there, but I've never found one that demonstrates what the word 'tribute' means so effectively. Congratulations and a big thanks to the team that put this together!

If you're looking for a Kate Bush album, they're all listed here and they're all amazing. This isn't a Kate Bush album. Running Up That Hill is turned on its head for good reason. The reason being that the artist to whom we are paying tribute to has been at the forefront of creating innovative and challenging music. I recommend the reviewer below listen to The Baltimores' RUTH on headphones. It's an astounding version built from Kate's song and there are some wonderful and delightful things going on amongst all those layers. However, its not meant to be Kate's song. It's a wild interpretation, inspired by Kate's genius! I'd also suggest checking out the interview in the "Features" section of the Kate Bush News and Information website. Thanks for taking a chance, supporting independent GOOD music and your 2 stars are better than no stars! :-) Thomas Dunning, Producer

Quite frankly, I'm suprised that no one has ever done a Kate Bush tribute album. Given her cult following and ecclectic catalogue, and the number of recording artist who cite Kate as a major influence, it's an project that's more than a little overdue. And Tom Dunning rises gloriously to the occasion. Clearly everyone involved in this album considers this a labor of love, and it makes for a delightful listen.

Some of my favorite tracks? "There Goes a Tenner" is rendered in trippy-hippy-hoppy-happy fashion - clever and fun. "Hounds of Love" is just lovely to listen to, perhaps even better than la Kate's version. Those who chose to cover the B-sides have my devotion, as those are among my own personal favorites. And the tracks I didn't love, well, I didn't love 'em to begin with.

Simply put, if you're a fan of Kate, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection - and if you're trying to introduce any of your friends to la Kate, this album could only aid you in your cause.

Overall, a little disappointing that it wasn't more adventurous. Valiant efforts that, for the most part, serve to emphasize that it is not Kate singing. There are a few notable exceptions: Justin Roberts' version of You're The One is surprisingly more sensual than the original, The J Davis Trio's take on There Goes A Tenner delivers beautifully on the potential this album had to present the songs in a new way, and The Moviegoers' rendition of The Hounds Of Love is pure magic. I just cannot bring myself to like The Baltimores' punk deconstruction of Running Up That Hill, though. If only they had chosen something other than one of my most cherished Kate songs, I could live with it.

There are some singwriters whose songs just can't be covered; the original performance is so much a part of the song that it can't be seperated. Consider the first Hendrix cover album, or the various attempts over the years to cover Beatles songs. Only a few have been done well.

Kate Bush's songs aren't pop songs in the usual mold; they're little theater pieces, intimately connected to her performance of them. It's hard to imagine anyone covering one with any conviction, although it would be interesting to hear some well-known singers attempt that. Some cover albums have been moderately successful, but it's worth noting that only one cut from such an album ever received more than token air play- Sara McLachalan's cover of XTC's "Dear God". And that was an album with a half-dozen better than average covers.

Nothing like that can be found here. In this poorly conceived album, a number of relative unknowns attempt to bring their style to Bush's songs, and the end result is just not worth listening to.

Well at first when I purchased this album I was so full of hope, curiosity and impatience, because I admit I am starving for some new work of Kate Bush--hint, hint)and I know I am not alone on this one. Anyhow, I listened to it again, and again, and I realized that this is unfortunately not it. I really liked the remake of "Suspended in Gaffa" that was my favorite, very original (that's why the record is not 1 star), but then I quickly skipped to listen to the classic "Running up that hill" and...I cried, I am sorry but the remake was well below average. I agree with another reviewer who expressed the wish of having high profile artists performing Kate's awesome art, I am surprised why they haven't done it so far...However no offense to the artists who did take up on the challenge of performing Kate's songs, more power to them, however I wish they came up with something better.