Never For Ever

I'm one of those rare people who believe it's important to start with an artist's first release, slowly get to know it, and then move on to the 2nd, 3rd, etc. So that means that this is my 3rd Kate Bush album, after The Kick Inside and Lionheart.

Just by looking at the cover artwork, I suspected this album was going to be an interesting one, and I was definitely right! While maintaining the excellent production values, in terms of vocals and instrumentation, this album goes into a much more experimental direction than the first two albums had gone. One of the first things I noticed is that the instrumentation is a lot "bigger" and much more powerful than the first two albums. This album is quite a bit darker and has some slightly spooky moments, which, combined with the overall sweetness of Kate's vocals, is really quite unique.

Highlights for me are "Delius (Song of Summer)", "All We Ever Look For", "The Infant Kiss", "Night Scented Stock" (which I'm sure inspired Goldfrapp to write their track "Voicething" from their 2010 album; Head First). "Army Dreamers" and "Breathing" are absolutely beautiful songs that are just as perfect as "Wuthering Heights" is, but both in totally different ways. Both of these songs were released as singles and charted at number 16 in 1980; which I think shows how the mentality of the public has changed. These days something as beautiful and experimental as these songs probably wouldn't even be on the chart at all... The last minute or so of "Breathing" is incredibly powerful, and makes me just want to listen to the entire album again, and again, and again. I'm always listening to music, and I have a LOT of stuff to choose from, so it's very rare that I came across an album that I can listen to on repeat (which I have done for most of today!).

This album is, in my opinion, much better than "The Kick Inside" and "Lionheart". As the cover artwork suggests, I think Kate let a lot of what was inside her to release and the result was a magical, moving, unique, and incredibly powerful album that is just pure art in every way.

Anybody reading this review who is thinking of exploring Kate's music, I would strongly suggest starting with the first album, then the second, and then this one. "Never For Ever" seems to be, sadly, overshadowed by Kate's later work. I actually read a review saying that this album is "too much of a transition to be considered a masterpiece". I'm quite glad that I haven't yet heard her later albums so that I can't compare this one to them and, in the process, spoil my own enjoyment of this absolutely beautiful, amazing, and moving album. I consider it to be a masterpiece!

If it's true what so many people say about Kate's later albums being better than this, then I really do have a lot to look forward to...

This is the album that smashed all the preconceptions of Kate's music and defined the directions that her music would move in later years. With this release she moved from being just another female singer/songwriter with a quirky voice to a serious artist, continually reinventing herself and seeking out new themes and directions. 'Never Forever' remains my favourite Kate album 20 years on, even though 'Hounds of Love' is probably a far more complete set. 'Breathing' is far and away the best single she ever released, although certainly not exactly radio-friendly. 'Infant Kiss' even now makes me shiver any time I listen to it. 'Egypt' would preview her later instincts for seeking out influences from far around the globe. 'Never Forever' introduced Kate's use of the Fairlight at much the same time as Peter Gabriel's third album did and both these artists would continue to wield extensive influence in the following years. I don't think its possible to underestimate how much the success of this album had on Kate's future work and I don't think that if this one had bombed out, we would have been listening to any more of this woman's work 20 years on. This, for me, is the quintessential Kate Bush recording.

This is one of Kate's darkest recordings - suitably, the front cover boasts a flurry of mythical beasts flying out of under Kate's skirt, and the back has a bunch of bats with her face on them. This sets the scene for a collection of fascinating, morbid and haunting songs with very different subject matter to most pop/rock music: The Wedding List is about a woman whose husband is murdered on their wedding day and sets out to get revenge (it's also brilliant to boot), while Breathing, about nuclear war, features the immortal backing vocals: "What are we going to do? We are all going to die!" The album opens well, with Babooshka and Delius, then settles into a warm but slightly disturbing sound. After a while - basically by "Egypt", which is the closest any Kate song has ever come to being a filler - the slow pace gets to you, but then the album springs into life with The Wedding List, Violin and Army Dreamers, then finishes with the epic-sounding Breathing. (Always entertaining, especially with the rumours that an EMI official came into Kate's studio while the backing vocals of "in out in out" were on repeat, and asked her if she was planning on selling such pornography.)

Overall, this album is beautiful, rich and varied (something very rare in pop music), and doesn't sound too dated considering it is more than twenty years old. The lyrics are funny, clever and slightly bizarre (The Infant Kiss in particular), and the music is beatiful and absorbing, if somewhat eccentric at times. Depite the low points of Blow Away and Egypt, it is still a worthy addition to the collection of anyone who likes proper pop/rock music, and an great antidote to most of the stuff going around today.