Why Kate Bush is an Art Pop Genius | VOX | Professor of Rock

Here we honor the indispensable Kate Bush. The word “genius” gets thrown around rather recklessly, and undeservedly. In my opinion, there are only a few true geniuses in the music world, and to be labeled a genius, you need to be able to do virtually everything- sing, perform, compose, produce, at a high-level- with equal transcendence. If you add tabs, or descriptive words, to define Kate Bush- genius would be one of those words. I believe she’s earned that exalted designation.Kate Bush’s vocal innovation is astonishing. Every song she’s ever recorded has a distinct originality. Not one of her singles, or her album cuts, sounds the same. Even though you recognize Kate’s unmistakable voice, she mixes up her tone, her style, her cadence, and her inflection, with shifting range, resonance & emotion.

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#5- From 1981..."Sat In Your Lap”- The lead single from Kate’s album The Dreaming.
It’s a song about existential frustration, and the constant quest for knowledge that was a #11 hit in the UK in 1981
Written and produced by Kate Bush. “Sat in Your Lap" is full of sensory stimulation- starting with the gruffness of Kate’s shrieking vocals in the chorus that makes the listener feel the frustration that Kate wrote about, and then there is the powerful instrumentation directed by Kate’s experimental production:

#4- "The Man with the Child in His Eyes”- A riveting ballad that Kate composed when she was only 13 years old, and recorded it when she was 16- with guidance in the recording studio by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, who co-produced the track with Andrew Powell. David also paid for the studio expenses to record the song, because he wanted to help Kate launch her career as a professional artist. Although she was only a teenager, Gilmour saw something in Kate that he believed was very special.


#3- “Cloudbusting”- the 2nd single released from one of the most complete albums recorded in the 80s- Kate’s 1985 triumph Hounds of Love. “Cloudbusting” shows off yet another dimension of her enchanting flair; Kate Bush as a story-teller.

“Cloudbusting” is a musical yarn about a father & son spending time with a rain making process called “cloud busting” on their family farm called Organon. Kate wrote the song from the son’s perspective, and she gives us a heart-warming vocal performance painting vivid nostalgia, and poignancy, especially the part of the song.

“Cloudbusting” was a mild hit, peaking at #20 in the UK, but was a model of Kate Bush’s fascinating artistic eccentricity.

#2- “Wuthering Heights” (New Vocal version!!!)- The song that launched the career of Kate Bush in 1978 at the ripe old age of 19!! “Wuthering Heights” is a musical interpretation of the classic novel of the same name that Kate wrote one night under the light of a full moon. It was an inspiration that she acted upon just before recording her debut album. Like Emily Bronte’s classic book, “Wuthering Heights” is story about the love affair between the two lead characters Catherine & Heathcliffe.

“Wuthering Heights” ascended all the way to #1 in the UK for young Kate Bush, and when it hit #1, it made Kate Bush the first female solo artist to top the charts in the UK with a self-composed song. “Wuthering Heights” was also a #1 smash in Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia- and broke into the Top 10 throughout Europe.

It’s hard to put Kate’s vocal performance on “Wuthering Heights” into words, because when you listen to her sing this song, it leaves you speechless. Kate more than honors the legacy of Bronte’s novel- creating a soaring, dramatic, rock opera.

#1- "Running Up That Hill” (A Deal With God). For me, this is Kate’s opus. “Running up that Hill" manifests every facet of her genius- as a vocalist, a lyricist, a producer, and a visionary.

The original title was just “A Deal With God” but EMI, Kate’s record label, was afraid of having “God” in the title, so the compromise was to make "A Deal With God” parenthetical. It was the lead single from the epic Hounds of Love album, but Kate had to tussle with the label yet again, because EMI wanted the first single to be “Cloudbusting.” After Kate’s concession on the song title, the label caved to her wishes for the first single.