Review of Kate Bush's Album 'Before the Dawn'

Ordering this vinyl was such an easy decision, but getting it turned into a process full of obstacles. I can’t help but go back to where I first heard Kate Bush – in an attic apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria, with one of my friends playing ‘Wuthering Heights’ and asking me how I wasn't aware of this artist. I felt ashamed, and although I've missed some of her important work over the years, I am catching up quickly.

Skipping ahead a few more years, I met my best friend and partner in crime, who introduced me to her album ‘Aerial.’ One summer day we took a trip to Netherland where I heard her sound in Roermond's greatest park, which looks like it came from the mind of Tolkien. Everything about ‘Aerial’ is perfect. Absolutely coherent, the album flows like a stream of art and music. We have the CD, but after getting our gramophone, we realized that one of the albums we wanted in our newly born collection is the vinyl of ‘Aerial.’

I became more interested in Kate Bush's life, and little by little, I realized that she was discovered by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, who is a genius. I'll soon review 'The Division Bell' (another part of the soundtrack of my life). It turns out her stage fright kept her away from live performances for 35 years (my whole existence), only to return in 2014 with 22 dates in her calendar, all sold out within the first 15 minutes. I mean, there wasn't a chance; you know that week the fans were having lots of Red Bulls and refreshing Firefox and Chrome like crazy.

Recently, I found parts of this concert on YouTube. The live version of ‘The Morning Fog’ mixed with ‘Cloudbusting,’ ‘Sunset’ (the best song on ‘Aerial’), and ‘Cloudbusting’ (the final song of the live concert). After that, I discovered that there is an album in several formats from this rare event, and they are not easy to find. The album is called ‘Before the Dawn,’ made up of 3 acts, 4 vinyl, and some of the greatest hits as well as other gems in her repertoire. Many songs from ‘Aerial’ are in that concert and I decided that I want to hear these versions of these songs and to get ‘Before the Dawn.’

I became a little obsessed with having it. Being obsessed with something makes you act fast, and sometimes you do not see the obstacles and jump right into them. Long story short, the album came. Being me, I was not expecting a happy ending to this story, so holding and unpacking the box was a highlight of that week.

I can’t explain exactly how it happened to you, but starting to collect vinyl is like collecting art itself. ‘Before the Dawn’ is a big box of 4 vinyl and a small book. Everything looks like it's made with precision. It looks complete, mysterious, true to the title art. I also can't believe that some hits are left out, but still, this setlist is incredibly performed and delivers. The feeling of having this concert on vinyl reminded me of going to Roger Waters' concert in Bulgaria. Usually, I am more of a Gilmour fan, but if that was my only chance to catch Pink Floyd in any way, I was not going to miss it. As I went to that concert and had an amazing time, I discovered the same feeling having this piece with me. 

Right after the show setlist you can find the review of the songs.

Before the Dawn: 

Introduction

‘Lily’
‘Hounds of Love’
‘Joanni’
‘Top of the City’
‘Never Be Mine’
‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)’
‘King of the Mountain’

The Ninth Wave

Video Interlude – ‘And Dream of Sheep’
‘Under Ice’
‘Waking the Witch’
‘Watching You Without Me’
‘Little Light’ (Performed by backing vocalists)
‘Jig of Life’
‘Hello Earth’
‘The Morning Fog’

A Sky of Honey

‘Prelude’
‘Prologue’
‘An Architect’s Dream’
‘The Painter’s Link’
‘Sunset’
‘Aerial Tal’
‘Somewhere in Between’
‘Tawny Moon’ (performed by Albert McIntosh)
‘Nocturn’
‘Aerial’

Encore

‘Among Angels’
‘Cloudbusting’

Review of Kate Bush's Album 'Before the Dawn:

The album starts with an incredible introduction, and I can only imagine how it felt live. You can hear the people screaming, whistling, and applauding while Kate Bush takes the stage, performing 'Lily' epically. The song sounds like a prayer and serves as a great opening for Act I.

‘Hounds of Love’ sounds better here than it ever did before, raw and powerful, flowing seamlessly into the performance. ‘Joanni,’ a song about Joan of Arc, contains recordings of bells from the Rouen Cathedral, where the bells ring for her on Joan of Arc Day. 

‘Top of the City’ starts, and you are consumed by the artist. The story is compelling and relatable, with several meanings. Beneath the surface of this story, the top of the city serves as a metaphor for a great feeling, profound love, an explosion that needs to be experienced, even for a moment.This is why she begs to be taken there, to the very highest point of the city. The story describes her first love; she sings that for the first time she sees the town painted in gold. Seeing the lights from above, she finally knows how lonely she was, now that she knows what love is. 'Keep looking for the ladder' sounds more like buying some time on the hill with the idea to climb even more into these powerful feelings, postponing what is about to come. Looking beyond the hill feels lonely, and going back down there feels like is going to be empty and unbearable. The song builds and explodes; the softness contrasting with the climaxes here is magical. Lyrically, this is a masterpiece. Eventually, both individuals come down from that top and continue with the ordinary, separated life. The top of the city is a cherished memory and an escape from reality. That reality in which the other person moved on, because of the suffering in the previous relationship. And this is how Part One of Act I ends.

Before ‘Running up That Hill (A Deal with God),’ Kate Bush sings her soul out, continuing the Act with ‘Never be Mine,’ which grows into the march of the beating drums of one of her most famous songs. The live version is nothing less than a masterpiece, with the help of incredible production and guitar, the song leaps from the gramophone directly into your heartbeat.

The introduction and Act I end with ‘King of the Mountain’ from ‘Aerial.’ I am so happy that she chose to give life to this particular album. She loves her work, and I love her for it. The guitar, the drums, and her voice are one, and you can feel it with a glimpse of the public's reaction here and there.

I press play on Act II, and it starts with a strange monologue of a man trying to tell someone that a ship called Celtic Deep is sinking. He is trying to call for help and begging for it, but it seems the person on the other side is not taking him seriously. The monologue transforms into one of my favorite songs, ‘And Dream of Sheep,’ by Kate Bush, marking the beginning of the second Act called ‘The Ninth Wave.’ The song is played as a video interlude and is incredibly touching and soft.

‘Under Ice’ starts menacingly, moved by Kate Bush's banshee vocals, with her incredible backing vocalists adding to this dream-like sequence. I could swear I heard somewhere a whale song. Another prayer-like song, ‘Walking the Witch,’ is slowly turning into an upbeat funky song in which you can hear how the Act is connected.

Before ‘Watching You Without Me’ begins, there is a short monologue. The lyrics of this piece are a surprise, a gentle reminder of my past. Even though the song's meaning resembles more of a dead relationship between spouses, it took me way back to sitting at home, no one knowing I exist, doing my stuff, using my imagination to entertain myself. This is how I learned to be alone and have fun. Now, whenever I am by myself, I do not feel lonely. I was the ghost in my childhood that wasn't there from Kate Bush’s song.

Right after, there is a short and slow piano intro with backing vocals from her band leading up to the upbeat ‘Jig of Life,’ followed by a magical performance of the song ‘Hello Earth.’

‘The Ninth Wave’ ends with an incredible mix of ‘The Morning Fog’ and ‘Cloudbusting.’ I love this fusion between these songs. What a lovely sweet melody; it creates something special from both of them and is a perfect ending to this Act. Hearing how thankful Kate Bush makes me like her even more. We are now heading directly into the culmination of the concert – Act III.

‘A Sky of Honey’ starts with a bird song. ‘Aerial’ is really something else. The lyrics transcend with the voice of Kate Bush like honey onto the piano's soft touch. When this part of the album is on, I feel like I don’t want to be anywhere else right now but here, listening to this in the afternoon. What a lovely afternoon. ‘The Prelude’ turns out to be an incredible introduction to the third Act and flows directly into ‘The Prologue’ with ease.

‘An Architect’s Dream’ starts slowly and beautifully. Like I said, ‘Aerial’ is something else. Somewhere I read that this album is underrated and often passed by. I can’t imagine why. You can see the colors she is describing. You can feel the views that inspired her to deliver this masterpiece, especially in ‘The Painter’s Link.’

In the book that comes with the album, Kate Bush explains that “…unlike ‘The Ninth Wave,’ which is about the struggle to stay alive in a dark, terrifying ocean, ‘A Sky of Honey’ is about the passing of a summer’s day. The original idea behind this piece was to explore the connection between birdsong and light and why the light triggers the bird's song. It begins with a lovely afternoon in golden sunlight, surrounded by birdsong. As night falls, the music slowly builds until the break of dawn.”

I remember hearing the live version of ‘Sunset’ on YouTube. I was blown away by how amazing it sounded live. This is my favorite song from ‘Aerial,’ and it is written and performed so well that most of the time, it just brings me to tears. So, if I want to release tension and unwind the pipes sometimes, I'll just play this song. This live version led me to order this album and got me obsessed with getting it. Now that it plays for the second time, I am more than sure of my decision to buy it; I am grateful for it. Kate Bush is a poet. When the guitars hit, and you hear the public screaming, you can feel that they are on their feet dancing.

“Oh, sing of summer and a sunset, 

And sing for us so that we may remember. 

The day writes the words right across the sky, 

They all go all the way up to the top of the night.”

‘Aerial Tal’ and ‘Somewhere in Between’ are another magical live performance that is fused so well you don’t understand when one ends and the other begins. You can feel the voice of Kate Bush matured. 

‘Tawny Moon’ starts, and I feel that Kate Bush is incredibly generous to let someone else perform during this high peak of her career, and in the show that some fans were waiting for 35 years. Now we are heading to the end of Act III.

‘Nocturn’ is one of the most enchanting songs from ‘Aerial’ and here. The performance is colorful and full of feelings. It seems like you are on the beach at night, watching the stars, hearing waves gently touching your naked feet on the soft sand. And I get it, Kate; we are all tired of the city!

‘Aerial’ ends this Act and connects the whole show ‘Before the Dawn’ with its incredible lyrics, birdsongs, laughter, and psychedelic tones. I remember hearing this for the first time, and I must tell you! You have to understand how extraordinary it is to hear the birds from her songs talking to the ones that were with us in the park in Netherland. Kate imitating them and they responding to her. It was like the music leaped from the speaker through space and time to connect us. Maybe you have to experience it to understand the magic that happened that day, but it sure makes for an extraordinary memory.

‘Among Angels’ is the second-to-last song and part of the Encore. The song is a gentle tone mixed with Kate Bush's voice, clearly and lyrically connected to the last Act, continuing with positivity into the last song.

‘Cloudbusting’ felt so positive that whenever I feel down now, and I do not want to stay there, I put on this song, especially this live version, to pump me up. You can hear the excitement of the public on the record, singing, applauding, screaming. The end of the song is an incredible culmination of this journey that this album is. What a lovely afternoon.

Of course, I have plans to review 'Aerial' and 'The Other Sides' by Kate Bush. However, reviews for Fleetwood Mac's 'Greatest Hits' album and 'Rumours,' Quentin Tarantino's 'Kill Bill Vol. 1' Soundtrack, Bob Dylan's 'Essential' vinyl, and Dua Lipa's 'Future Nostalgia' are scheduled to be released soon.

Iliya Badev