Director’s Cut was Album of the Day on BBC Radio 6Music on Friday, and as well as songs from Kate’s new album, the coming week on the station will feature new parts of Mark Radcliffe’s interview with Kate that have not been heard so far. You can hear one new clip, where Kate talks about dancing and how she reacts to playing back her own music in the studio, listen at 2 hours 41 minutes into the BBC iPlayer stream here. (with thanks to Louise)
Category: Director’s Cut (album) Page 2 of 7
Andrzej Lukowski on music site Drowned in Sound:
“Back then, in 1996, Britpop was at its lagery zenith and to some degree Bush appeared a relic of the golden age of AOR. Not that you’d find many with a bad word to say about her; indeed, the oompah oompah weirdness of 1982’s The Dreaming was clearly an influence on Britpop’s artier end. But it was over a decade since her tour de force Hounds of Love, and her most recent album, 1993’s The Red Shoes, was on the weak side, with a ghastly roll call of guests suggesting an artist mired in the past”
But this isn’t 1996. Since then, Bush’s legend has grown exponentially, her weaker albums fading out of collective memory as her great ones have grown in stature and reach … the fact Aerialwas a masterpiece also helped. But also, people want big stars to believe in; in the present musical landscape, there simply are no art-pop auteurs comparable to Bush.
… at its best Director’s Cut is a dazzling affirmation of Bush’s genius as songwriter, performer and producer. Maybe one day we’ll take her for granted again. But not today.“
The German weekly interviews the person they call “Pop Grandmaster Kate Bush” Read it here.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Do you know that you are revered by hip-hop titans like 2Pac, Wu-Tang Clan or Dr. Dre and many others?
Bush: I am aware of that, and I cannot do much more than to say I find it surprising and incredibly cool.
In Yahoo Music Jason Draper says:
“Faced with ‘Director’s Cut’, you would, however, be forgiven for incredulously asking, “You’ve spent your time on this?” Deeper Understanding is “a mis-guided attempt at modification that results in this new version sounding more dated than the material it’s based on” Rubberband Girl is “a really badly-recorded take” and though Flower of the Mountain is “a moment of true interest“, the “aforementioned major flops, doesn’t actually offer enough of a difference from the original works to make it relevant to anyone other than the true completist”
Can’t please them all and why should you try?
Premier album of the week on Radio Helsinki …. 5/5 with the Slovak journal Kultura Pravda who describe it as “one of the best albums of this year” … More critical review from Swedish paper Svenska Dagbladet which thinks Rubberband Girl “has gone completely awry” … 5/5 from Polish mag Wirtulana Polska … 3/5 from Swedish site Sydsvenskan “dramatic, multi-layered pop songs” … Culturmag wants to know why Kate has destroyed some of her songs … enthusiasm from Mitteldeutsche Zeitung … Nojes Bladet thinks it strange other artists have not done a Directors Cut … Gazeta Wyborcza celebrates Kate doing her own thing …
Yet another interview! This one is from the Dutch newspaper NRC-Handelsblad on the 12th May, so we’re a week late getting this one to you. Read a rough translation on our forum here.
We are very happy to report that Director’s Cut is No 1 in the UK midweek album sales chart, which means it is the best selling record in the UK after the first day of sales. Fantastic news! We must bear in mind, however, that the figures include all the online pre-orders, plus we know a lot of fans were out yesterday to get copies in the record shops, so the sales will level out over the week. We are predicting that it will probably end up at 2 or 3 in the final chart published on Sunday. By any measure this is a fantastic success and we send our hugest congratulations to Kate and everyone involved in this release! What a tremendous first early indication that the UK public have embraced Kate’s new album.
Music Week are also already discussing the prospects of Director’s Cut toppling Adele’s astounding chart run. Read more here. The NME reckon Kate can take on Lady Gaga next week also! See their spin on the chart race here.
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UPDATE: Listen again to this interview on the BBC iPlayer here.
Kate is interviewed tonight, 11pm UK time, on BBC Radio 2 by Mark Radcliffe for his Music Club show. Hear it live online here. “Mark Radcliffe devotes this week’s show to a particular musical favourite of his, Kate Bush. Mark finds out why Kate decided to re-visit material from two of her albums, The Sensual World and The Red Shoes – including signature song This Woman’s Work – and asks whether she approached the project with any great trepidation. The interview covers her albums and influences over the years, including changes in her personal life, and the developments in recording technology that helped shape her sound. And finally there’s talk of future plans, including the billion dollar question for any fan of Kate Bush: having been back in the studio, is she now inspired to start work on new material?”
Great review by Fiona Shepherd in today’s Scotsman:
“Ever the perfectionist, Kate Bush has revisited earlier songs, the first-time recordings of which didn’t reflect her original vision. The resulting revamps are satisfying, rounded – and occasionally bizarre …Kate Bush has always done exactly what she wanted. It’s part of what makes her the singular artist she is, one whose increasingly rare musical outings have become so revered that there are many, many fans who would prefer to hear anything rather than nothing from her. So if Kate wants to revisit a selection of songs from two of her previous albums, The Sensual World and The Red Shoes, then so be it …“
On today’s BBC Breakfast show, Emma B and Bernadette McNulty spoke about the continuing appeal of Kate. Watch it again here.
This is from last week, so it slipped by us! Kate spoke to the French publication Next – Libération. from Google Translate: “You are working on some new songs?
Yes, it’s like the pieces of Director’s Cut were children and had gone to bed so I could concentrate on new songs, explore new themes. The world we live in is so chaotic, between the disaster in Japan, Arab countries in turmoil and demonstrations in the United Kingdom. Paradoxically, I feel fewer barriers than before to write songs. It is a horrible period but in a very creative way for artists. Proof that there is always hope.” Read the full interview (in French) here.
The Metro free-sheet paper in the UK and Ireland has ran a 4 star review from Arwa Haider who calls Director’s Cut: “a self-styled ‘remix’ album (with guests including Danny Thompson, Eric Clapton and Mica Paris) laced with heart-racing action.” Read the full review here
Kate’s interview with Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork media is now posted:
“After more than 30 years of singular, forward-thinking music, Kate Bush is looking back. Sort of. The British iconoclast’s new album, Director’s Cut, re-imagines songs from her own The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993) with new vocals and drums mixing in with the original recordings. A few songs– including a glacial, near-ambient take on her classic “This Woman’s Work”– have been re-recorded entirely. Leave it to Kate Bush to subvert the typical aging-pop-star reissue cycle ….“
Happy UK release day! It’s finally here, Director’s Cut is out in Kate’s home territory today. News from EMI: they will be running TV ads in the UK from today to support the release of Director’s Cut. Ads will be on Sky One, Sky Atlantic and Sky News, Channel 4 and More 4. We do not have a schedule but they will be running from Sunday 15th through the week of release. There will also be press ads, in yesterday’s Sunday Times Culture magazine, and more papers during the week.
In fact, if you count the two CD versions of Director’s Cut along with the four new reissues of The Dreaming, Hounds of Love, The Sensual World and a remastered The Red Shoes, there are 6 new Fish People releases in UK record shops today. I’ve heard the new remaster of The Red Shoes and it sounds excellent; warmer, fuller and the ‘edgy’ sound Kate talks about in this album’s sleeve-notes is now gone. The reissued albums contain some new photos when compared to previous EMI releases and the booklets and packaging are crisply produced and presented. Interestingly, Hounds of Love now has the ‘Single Mix’ of The Big Sky. The Red Shoes has a charming new dedication to Lindsay Kemp.
Speaking of packaging, the 3-disc Director’s Cut set is utterly beautiful, and so carefully thought out. I love the different shape and colour grading of the cover artwork of the two versions of Director’s Cut. In the Collector’s Edition version it’s like the inner sleeves are giving the two original albums a big hug, keeping them safe – there’s so much respectful love for the originals side by side with the high drama of the way Director’s Cut is presented visually. Such a strong sense throughout the new album’s artwork of Kate, in Sergei Eisenstein mode, directing each intriguing scene and then running the finished product by her inner circle at the end. The iTunes digital booklet reveals much more of the written lyrics in the “nest” and “Marion” scenes, and I’m thinking the vinyl artwork will bring that out more. I can’t see how this could have been done better, and am looking forward to the vinyl to arrive in a week’s time. What a Kate year!
Review by Simon Price in Sunday’s Independent:
“Director’s Cut was greeted with reactions ranging between disappointment, bafflement and ridicule, before anyone had heard a note. On paper, it’s true, the prospects didn’t look promising … Taken on its own merits, however, there’s plenty to enjoy …”