Kate Bush – The Light Appears

Released just 9 months after her debut, the record company wanted to jump on Kate Bush’s early success and quickly released Lionheart one out to the public. Second single “Wow” is the standout with Kate just singing “Wow… unbelievable” in the chorus but here, she absolutely makes it believable. Saving (one of) the best for last, “Hammer Horror” features a dramatic, symphonic start before giving way to voice and piano but picks up again for the chorus.

First track, “Symphony in Blue” sees Kate singing of “the sort of blue between clouds, when the sun comes out”. “Oh England My Lionheart” has a harpsichord on it making it sound it could have come out 200 years ago whereas “Don’t Push Your Food on the Heartbrake” has a pounding piano and horn blasts. Lionheart is notable for being first to have Del Palmer performing on it who would then go on to play a significant role on nearly Kate Bush album after that.

Bush’s performance here is generally pretty good and the lyrics are mostly fine, it’s the music that lets the side down. Too much of the time sounds middle of the road seventies smooth jazz that doesn’t contain any quirks or reach for much attention. In the end, Lionheart proves to be a slight step backwards at the beginning of Kate Bush’s long and storied musical career.

6/10

In late 2018, Kate Bush released her entire album collection over two CD box sets. The first covered The Kick Inside through The Red Shoes. My Kate Bush collection at that point covered four of the albums but it was still an easy decision to put money down and have everything in two box sets… Regardless of the peculiar fish head man on the box cover.

The first album is the debut, the aforementioned The Kick Inside released in early 1978 when Kate was just 19 years old. The album is very theatrical with The “Saxophone Song” describing a scene in a Berlin bar but also featuring an unfortunate sax solo. “Strange Phenomena” is another cinematic song that sounds like it could have been lifted from a play. The first time I heard the second single that went to #6 in the UK, “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” was on the DJ Andy Smith’s Document II mix album. The dramatic ballad about an older man has a standout vocal from Kate in the chorus.

There are a few moments where the album does sound of its time such as the 70s arrangement on “James and the Cold Gun” and easy vibe of “L’amour Looks Something Like You”. The slick hi-hat percussion and male vocals in the chorus on “Oh To Be In Love” are used to great effect before the album closes with the excellent title track that sees Kate’s vocals soar.

The centre of the album is first single, “Wuthering Heights”. The video featuring Kate in a red dress, dancing in a field is a stunning visual. The song chronicles the Emily Bronte novel of the same name and is surely one of the most eccentric tracks to have ever reached #1 in the UK. The album followed the single up the charts later peaking at #3. With several standout tracks, this is a solid debut album from the young star.

8/10