An unusual post for me, but also totally run of the mill as far as my tastes go. Lene Lovich is a true heroine in the Post-Punk, Proto-Goth, "crazy girl" scene of the late 70's. I always thought of her as the American equivalent to Nina Hagen. She may not have the classical chops of Nina, but she still has attitude and character for days. The songs are simple yet strange with Lene's voice always as the focal point. You really have to hear this to know what I'm talking about.
I don't normally post bootlegs here, but I'll always make an exception for Kate. This album is a collection of her early demos from '76, '77, and '80. The '76 material is the main focus, and most of it is unreleased. These were home recordings, so the sound is rough, as is her voice at this young age. Still, her signature tone and expressiveness are there, and some these unreleased songs are pretty sweet. If only she re-recorded this old material for Directors Cut, instead of her 89-93 stuff...
Remember, years back, when I made my first post on BBB entitled "Kate Bush - The Albums That Matter"? Well, that statement wasn't wholly true, because The Sensual World alsomatters. While not as exciting or unique as her prior albums, this one is still quite good.
The biggest strength The Sensual World has going for it would have to be Kate's voice. Here, her singing is flawless and has reached an apex of warmth. All the gritty and shrill moments, which were likely artistically intentional, are now gone. Before, she may have gone up and down the chromatic scale like a neoclassical shredder, now she sits very comfortably in Alto territory.
The biggest drawback (which may still be a plus if you're old and frumpy), is her change of direction from "Art Rock" to more Adult Contemporary Pop. Don't get me wrong, she still doesn't sound at all like Air Supply, but since this album, she's gone much more polished and straight-forward. The production value has also changed to suit this new style; the use of Fairlight's and drum machines have been minimized or replaced by "world" instruments (perussion, flute), as well as the return of the violin.
This album definitely has to grow on you, but within it, you can still find lots of musical sustinence.
I would definitely say Bat for Lashes is the best Pop act going now, so it's no surprise that I've been pretty stoked on Natasha Khan (her real name) for over a year now. Actually, I was obsessed for a good six months until I finally discovered Kate Bush, and Natasha kind of took a back seat. Still, there's a place in my heart for her music and I pretty regularly listen to both albums.
Many critics have called her "the second coming of Kate Bush", which does have some validity to it; but I'd say she's more of compromise between melodic nature Kate and the simpler and more rhythmic moments of Bjork. Her music does sound very English in that it's both romantic and dreary, which, I'm always a sucker for.
On this, her first album, her voice is under-controlled, but does lend a warmer, more human quality that her second album sometimes lacks. The production is very ambitious, from the musical saw on "Horse and I", to "Priscilla" with it's sole percussion being claps and stomps. Of course, the driving force behind any type of Pop music is melody, of which this album does deliver. Every song here has memorable hooks, except for a couple "experimental" (filler) tracks at the end. I made sure to upload my own copy, as it has the bonus "I'm on Fire", which is arguably the best song on the album, and way better than Springsteen's original.
As she's now my favorite musician, I feel that I have to make my very first post about the greatest singer-songwriter of all time. Outside of Elton John, I've never heard melodies this original and complex, or just this good. Through the first two-thirds of her career, she really was the whole package (singer, songwriter, dancer, lyricist), a true multi-talented genius. It's a shame that she's kind of a cult figure these days, and really not that well-known in america. Here, I start from her first album, The Kick Inside (my favorite), all the way to Hounds of Love (her most successful and what most consider to be her best).
