Our US and Canadian friends have waited oh so patiently to get their hands on Kate’s acclaimed ninth studio album, Director’s Cut. We hope you’re finally enjoying it guys – here’s what the official site has said:
Unfortunately, our North American distribution partner has had some quality issues manufacturing the physical versions of Director’s Cut. As a result the CD and Vinyl release date for Canada and the United States has been postponed until the 30th May.
Update: Kate enters the Irish album charts at number 4! Congratulations again Kate! Wow. In other news, big thanks to Louise for compiling these! Kate’s conversation with Mark Radcliffe was featured every day last week on BBC 6music and now you can listen by clicking on the following BBC iPlayer links and forwarding to the indicated time in the stream. These contain unheard bits, so well worth a listen – they will only be available to hear on the iPlayer for a few more days. Listening to these is a reminder of just what a fantastic couple of months we’ve had watching the Director’s Cut project unfold.
The Guardian seems to be on a roll Kate-wise. Also on Friday a slide show from the 1979 tour and an interview with two people who took part.
A thoughtful review from Adam Gold on American Songwriter:
“How you judge and enjoy Director’s Cut really depends on where you fall philosophically on its plan of attack. If it isn’t a problem for you; if you’re not married to the time-capsule aesthetic of the original recordings, then there’s plenty to enjoy in an undeniably stellar set of songs, executed with a more resolute attitude, and with vastly varying changes in nuance — from stripped rhythm tracks to elongated intros. But if you just can’t abide Bush’s approach, then there’s simply no pleasing you, and you can expect to only be surprised at best, and frustrated at worst …”
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.”
Further unheard parts of Kate’s interview with Mark Radcliffe continue to materialise on BBC Radio 6:
“Speaking to 6 Music, she said there were already plans to release new material. “I’m working on a new record,” the 52-year-old singer-songwriter told Mark Radcliffe. “It’s all kinds of bits and pieces, really. There’s always ideas buzzing around, but it’s whether they actually end up materialising into a song. “It’s quite an elusive process.” …
| Contact Music | Exclaim | Music Rooms |
Julie Burchill in today’s Independent:
“BetaBoomers are those laid-back souls totally at ease with themselves – they may screw up as much as anyone else, but they won’t turn a drama into a crisis by beating up on themselves. They find regrets utterly pointless and somewhat self-important; Sade, Kate Bush and Adele appear to be like this…“
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.”
From Daiana Feuer in todays’s LA Weekly:
“Kate Bush is one of the most important female musicians of all time. As an innovator and producer of her own sound, she’s sort of like the female Prince. It’s about the unitard. It’s about her googly eyeballs and interpretative dance moves, her music videos, and her way with a synthesizer. It’s about this 5 foot 3 woman standing up to the music industry and her refusal to let anyone make her be sexier than she wanted to be–which was plenty sexy as long as it was on her own terms. Bush’s ninth studio album, Director’s Cut, debuted today at #2 in the UK. It’s a re-imagining of some songs from 1989’s The Sensual World and 1993’s Red Shoes, and it’s a good opportunity to revisit her legacy. Here are The Top 10 Reasons To Love Kate Bush ...”
We are happy to confirm that Director’s Cut has debuted at no.2 in the UK album sales chart. This is a huge achievement and we all offer massive congratulations to Kate and everybody else involved in the recording and promotion of the album.
This is Kate’s tenth chart album, which with the exception 1978’s Lionheart have all been top 3.
Well done Kate!
Sean Dave Krys Peter
Antonello has sent us a round-up of reports and mentions for Kate’s new album that have been surfacing in Italy. They are mostly very receptive of Kate’s latest work, though a couple of them just report the official Fish People statement that was out before its release. One surprising happening has been what Antonello calls an exquisite review from the official site of the Catholic Church! Read it here. (thanks Antonello!)
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)
As many bloggers have over the past few years, Adrian, an artist and illustrator adds his own tribute to Kate:
“In 1978, aged 13, like many other teenage boys, I saw this on Top of the Pops and realised there was more to life than Action Man & Marvel Comics.
That was pretty much it. I’ve been a KB fanboy ever since …”
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