Back to the future

Awaited like the return of a comet, Kate Bush has kept her legions of fans on tenterhooks in recent years.

In fact, after the inital burst of activity that saw her release four albums in four years, to four albums in 20 after 1985′s epic Hounds Of Love, anything that resembles a note on record is greeted with massive anticipation.

So, six years after Aerial, another masterpiece in her canon, and in the absence of new material, Kate has returned to her nineties releases, The Sensual World and The Red Shoes, in order to address the “hard-edged sound” of the original digital recordings and re-make the songs the way her original vision saw them.

Some tracks are entirely re-recorded – This Woman’s Work, Rubberband Girl and Moments of Pleasure – but each of the 11 tracks have new vocals, and the deeper and more mature sound of that unique instrument is apparent from the first “Yes” on Flower Of The Mountain.

With re-recorded drum and bass parts, there is something unquestionably warmer about these new versions, and the new versions of Lily, The Red Shoes and Top Of The City are – heresy warning here – better then their original versions to these ears at least. Whether the world needed another version of Deeper Understanding is questionable, but as I would happily listen to Kate sing the phone book, anything new is glorious in itself.

A deep love for the original recordings might hinder some from entirely embracing this approach, but, honestly, anything with Kate’s presence is to be treasured, and this record no less so for revisiting former glories.

The box set edition features remastered editions of the original recordings of Sensual World and Red Shoes, and it’s part of the joy of listening to return to these and comparing their original incarnations with their new, retooled versions.

The creative process has apparently inspired Kate and there are, apparently, recording sessions going on in her home studios right now. Of course, given her attention to detail and artistic approach to all of her output, it could be another six years before we see any new material.

But if Director’s Cut has awakened Kate’s muse once again, it has to be hailed as a wonderful thing. The anticipation is here again, but this time, we know how anticipation will sound when it is sung by this legendary siren.

Hmmm, yes…

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