release date: Sep. 8, 1980
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Kate Bush, Jon Kelly
label: EMI - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Babooshka" (4 / 5) - 2. "Delius (Song of Summer)" - 3. "Blow Away (For Bill)" - 4. "All We Ever Look For" - 10. "Army Dreamers" (5 / 5) - 11. "Breathing" (5 / 5)
3rd studio album by Kate Bush who has now taken control of her music as producer as well. The album has a better sound, perhaps because of being less prog rock and baroque pop oriented. It doesn't mean that it's without strings and horns but the classical instruments more play a part as additional instrumentation that doesn't steal the focus. I have always liked this album quite a lot, although, I find that the single "Babooshka" quickly becomes tiring. A track like "Violin" seem to be her less successful attempt to make a new wave track. However, not only does the album have two marvellous album closers, but the its real strength is that the list of good songs is long and it appears almost without fillers making it a more harmonic album than Lionheart. The track "Night Scented Stock" of 50 secs. functions more as intro to "Army Dreamers". The first single from the album was "Breathing" followed by "Babooshka" and "Army Dreamers". The album was not only her first #1 on the album charts list in the UK but it was the first album by a female solo artist to top that list.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]
