Kate Bush - Never for Ever
#365
by Tami Fitzkoff
September 7 1980
Kate Bush
Never For Ever
Genre: Kate Bush
Allen’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Tami’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Highlights:
Babooshka
All We Ever Look For
Violin
Breathing
Listening to this album, I couldn’t help but think of Homer Simpson’s quote when he was watching Twin Peaks, “Brilliant! Heh heh. I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.”
Kate Bush is an anomaly. She’s a little bit broadway, jazz, opera, world music, ancient music, punk and pop. Her voice is both operatic and child-like. Her lyrics vacillate from completely bizarre “My pussy queen knows all my secrets,” to beautiful, “All they ever want for you. Are the things they didn't do. All they ever wanted, a little clue. All they ever wanted, the truth. All they ever wanted, a little bit of you. All they ever wanted. But they never did get.”
Every single song on Never For Ever is a completely different genre. As a whole, this is unlike anything I’ve ever heard and for that I really just enjoyed this album. I would actually love to hear the whole thing without lyrics too because the music is so good. I’m an admitted pop music fan. I love good hooks and good lyrics.
I was only 7 years old when this album came out and it was not played on WCAU Hot Hits 98FM in Philadelphia. Suffice it to say, Kate Bush was WAY off my radar. In fact, if it were not for the 1988 movie “She’s Having A Baby” and her song “This Woman’s Work” playing at a pivotal moment in the film, I would not have known who she was until college. My friend put one of her songs “Cloudbusting” on a cassette mix for me and I loved it. Oddly enough, though, I never thought to examine Kate Bush further as an artist. And even though there’s only one tune on this record that I would describe as “catchy,” her originality makes it hard for me not to like her. I can see where people could possibly find her annoying. I don’t know. All I can say is that I was intrigued and pleasantly surprised by it all. I have listened to the album a few times now to make sure I am not crazy. I keep asking myself, do I really like this? And yes I do.
**BABOOSHKA The song is kinda catchy and has lyrics similar to Rupert Holmes “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” but with the twisted twist of the wife trying to seduce her husband incognito and him falling for “her character” because she reminded him of his wife before “the tears.”
DELIUS Bossa Nova meets Opera meets I don’t know. The music itself is nice, but the lyrics and background vocals are just weird.
**ALL WE EVER LOOK FOR My favorite song for the lyrics. The Chinese-style music (I don’t know the instruments) with the whistles and foot steps sound effects are odd and interesting.
BLOW AWAY Orchestral, jazzy, this is a song that made me want to listen to the album without any lyrics.
EGYPT Lyrics: “My pussy queen knows all my secrets”
THE WEDDING LIST What sounds like a quintessential 70’s 80’s pop rock song, without the chorus, about a murder suicide
**VIOLIN A punk song about the violin
AN INFANT KISS A bizarre lullaby
NIGHT SCENTED STOCK A short beautiful acapella chorale piece
ARMY DREAMERS A peaceful interesting song
**BREATHING Beautiful but heavy song.
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