This is a good read. From Dean O’Hillis in SLUG Magazine (Salt Lake Underground) another very positive review of Director’s Cut. The most detailed of the recent North American reviews that we’ve seen. Read it here. (Thanks to Jon West)
UPDATE: Collin Kelley has reminded us of his own detailed review of Director’s Cut, published at Soldout, which you can also read here, thanks Collin.
Spin magazine in the US has given Kate’s new album a glowing review and 9 out of 10 stars. We particularly love this summing up: “…the lustiest record in this ever-bodacious cougar’s canon.” We hope Spin is looking forward to this ever-bodacious cougar’s next album as much as we are! Read the full review here. (thanks to Ross Drucker)
Glowing review of Kates’s new album here from Rob Heigh at the Dublin Gazette newspaper site. Also a nice mention for a little event I’m organising on June 18th. Read it here.
Simple adulation from Aaron Peart:
“In this day and age, with the cookie cutter pop music, it’s refreshing to hear an act that breathes new life into the industry. Kate Bush has lost nothing to her voice, both in power and sweetness, and is an artist in the true sense of the word: not afraid to push the boundaries of convention, and knowing exactly what that entails. “Director’s Cut” is set to be another jewel in this girl’s collection.”
Siobhan Kane on Consequence of Sound is thrilled by Director’s Cut:
“The thesis around Kate Bush‘s Director’s Cut is about fulfilling an original vision (or visions and versions), and the results are overwhelmingly thrilling. In a sense, “The Flower of the Mountain” becomes the centerpiece of the record; it is the one song she changes the title of (from “The Sensual World”) and for good reason–she finally gained permission from the Joyce estate to use Molly Bloom’s soliloquy from the end of Ulysses. So where her earlier work paraphrases passages, “Flower of the Mountain” is Bush unbridled, in a dialogue with Joyce, accessing his breadth of ideas, sense of female sexuality, and there is a sense that, finally, two titans are meeting each other …. The most important thing about the record is that it is a document of a genius at work; her sense of musicality, hold on philosophical, physical, and romantic ideas, all of this is bound up in that lyric from “Moments of Pleasure”: “Just being alive. It can really hurt.” And, just like Molly Bloom losing her head and heart in Ulysses, Director’s Cut feels like “After that long kiss I near lost my breath.” Astonishing.”
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.“
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 …
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 …“
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
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 …”
Interesting review in Sunday’s Observer, by Kitty Empire:
“Kate Bush has earned the privilege of working in geological time. She was once a pop star who turned out landmark releases relatively quickly, but now, aeons pass between releases … Only a nerd of the deepest hue would bother to painstakingly transpose her 1993 album, The Red Shoes, from its digitally produced final cut into analogue tracks, held by many audiophiles to be “warmer”-sounding. This is precisely what Bush has done on Director’s Cut. The album takes great swathes of The Red Shoes and choice cuts from its predecessor, 1989’s The Sensual World, and reworks them, sometimes with subtlety, and sometimes with daring …“
The News of the World give a four star review to the new album. “The first new album in six years by Florence And The Machine’s spiritual mum. Sort of – it’s new versions of her old songs. Which is a swizz, but there’s a playful adventurousness here that’s more imaginative than most brand-new music.” The Sun gives Director’s Cut 4 out of 5 and describes the album as “beautiful” in the review below. (with thanks to rblazon on the forum)
“…some truly remarkable performances here from one of the most intriguing and bountifully talented musical artists of our time.” Read Brian Boyd’s review here.
Very good review by Helen Brown in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph:
Director’s Cut should really be enjoyed as a rare, live performance from an artist who hasn’t toured since 1979. The lead vocals and drums have all been re-recorded, allowing us to hear how Bush sounds in 2011. She’s stripped back the digital crunch of the production, giving the instrumentation more breathing space and creating a more intimate, organic feel: Rubberband Girl sounds like it could have been recorded in the backroom of an Irish pub ….“
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