Kate Bush- 50 Words For Snow ALBUM REVIEW

Listen: theneedledrop.com/2011/11/kate...
What do you think of this album? Love it? Hate it? Why? What should I review next?
7/10
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FAV TRACKS: SNOWFLAKE, WILD MAN, SNOWED IN AT WHEELER STREET
LEAST FAV TRACK: LAKE TAHOE
KATE BUSH- 50 WORDS FOR SNOW / 2011 / FISH PEOPLE / ART POP, PROGRESSIVE POP, EXPERIMENTAL POP, CHAMBER POP
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?

[@jaywilkinson6292]

He seems to be more of a Kate Bush fan now then He was back then.

[@maxdavies239]

He says that Lake Tahoe is not good musically, but I get goosebumps everytime I hear the segment of the dog running. Kate's humming with the simple violins... mmm, yes

[@amen4ramen]

he may have grew to like it.. why i came around to the comments section to see. i read this review when it first came out...

[@sindripindri1246]

It honestly got me at first listen. The stories that she's telling feel like age-old folklore (they basically are) and her unique vocal approach to the songs is just so hauntingly haunting. The album's jazzy undertone really paints a clear picture of what's going on in the songs and the strings on the record are magnificent. It's a 10/10 for me.

[@Benji.O]

The Dreaming (1982) and Hounds Of Love (1985) are REQUIRED texts for ANYONE who ever even ASPIRES to someday call themselves a "Music Nerd." I'm disappointed in you.

[@thedynamicd85]

Sensual World (1989) as well.

[@jordi2680]

can you review her album the dreaming?

[@getstew]

It's one of the GREATEST/weirdest albums ever made! Happy to help... :-)

[@parkerzimmerman9131]

One of my all time favs

[@gotf]

@@getstew It's my favorite album to sing to while driving.

[@PasseioNoturno666]

@@gotf I LOVE LIIIIFE

[@thecinematicmind]

QUINTESSENTIAL AS ART.

[@kentmains7763]

Love this album, it's so pure Kate Bush that it's just mesmerizing to listen to.

[@aucourant9998]

I personally wouldn't recommend starting with this album if you aren't very familiar with Kate Bush already, perhaps a classically trained musician or someone familiar with modern Jazz might be able to step right in and love it from the get go. I had to stay with it for a bit to get to like it. Lake Tahoe is my favourite track on the album, it is a poignant and moving story about lost love and nostalgia for the safety and security of the familiar past (perhaps Kate was thinking of her own childhood family home here). I would strongly recommend reading the lyrics to this song before listening to it as it gives you a way in to its truly touching beauty. It's interesting that the reviewer felt the last track 'Among Angels' didn't fit in to the overall feel of the album as I believe this song had been written sometime before the rest of the album, this by the way, is another of my favourite tracks. Wild Man is also a great little song, the musical transitions are just amazing. "While crossing the Lhakpa-La something jumped down from the rocks. In the remote Garo Hills by Dipu Marak we found footprints in the snow."

[@FeynmanQED]

I saw her in concert last year.... from the west coast of the USA... so I I am a fan. Kate isn't for everyone. Never has been, never tried to be. But good review. There is so much of her in this... It seems not a song but a personal story, Hell, they all do. I don't know her, but I feel her every time she sings. I think that's what it is about... feeling.

[@iHappy12345]

I think its about feeling too

[@TheMadsVolta]

I’m pretty sure she has never performed in the states..

[@FeynmanQED]

@@TheMadsVolta That is why I traveled from the west coast to London to see her.

[@Monkeyhead75]

I always return to The Dreaming

[@delondramesa2326]

I love this album. I think it's made for a very specific mood: nighttime when it's snowing. That's why the slowness doesn't bother me. It's meant to be quiet, meandering...as if you are sitting by the fire under a blanket and listening to this album while the snow falls quietly into the darkness outside.

[@balobalito4672]

This album reminds me of Mark Hollis and later Talk Talk. I like how quiet they can be and how they invite a listener into them. I probably like this CD more than you Anthony. But your reviews always show your love of music and your searching always seems real and and the critiques are well articulated and insightful. I really enjoy watching you wrestle with music and words.

[@MichaelFlynn0]

Yer - I get the talk talk comparison ... it grows...it is quiet ... it sneaks up on you.

[@aaronxalapa]

I LOVE it. After few days listening to it, It's very very Kate. Nothing would beat 'The Dreaming' and 'The Kick Inside' as my favorites but this one is great, and I was surprised to find out that the longest track 'Misty' is my favorite.

[@palcsibankschuler8471]

Good review, thank you. If a piece of art reveals more and more of itself to you upon return visits now and in years to come, it's great art.

[@zosothebelly]

Excellent! Let me tell you that I adore this album. The first time I listened to it, I felt I had missed pretty much of it... but some notes kept floating in my mind, and I started feeling the need to listen to it again and again. In the end, I can say that this is the only album I know giving me the same emotions as reading a book (Karen Blixen's "Seven Gothic Tales", for instance), resting deeply in my soul. Maybe you're right: I'm just old enough for it!

[@GerardHesen]

I bet this guy wasn't around when Kate released her first album establishing her art. So happy Kate does not deliver instant music for todays x-factor masses. And yes, snow is slow... which makes this album brilliantly slow and beautiful as is the fluffy white stuff. It seems that everything needs to be fast nowadays? A one day hit on the iTunes downloadcharts? Forgotten tomorrow? It seems to me that people don't want to get into a masterpiece album anymore, just devour single tracks, too bad!

[@theviper1999uk]

Snowflake is one of the best songs there is. I just can't get enough of its emotion. It's a meditation on the pathos of a snowflake, a real goddamn spiritual journey and exercise in empathy. Justifies its name beautifully

[@johnsmusicpassions9740]

Your analysis rang with many of my comments Thanks I love your work

[@angell1970]

sing too - I think that's why I instantly loved this album, for the sheer beauty of the sound of her voice and the lush piano playing. I appreciate it musically, does that make sense and not sound pompous? I can see how it's maybe a grower for some, perplexing for others...but I like it! I think you've given a very fair and insightful and thoughtful review. I'll now go and watch some of your others! Just out of interest, which of her albums have you liked? Hounds of Love is great, but I love th

[@tishbite69]

As a long term Kate devotee , I really appreciated your perspective on this album. I think context is important here, as this is Kate's most recent studio album. And already it's nearly ten years old. So my relationship and experience of this album has changed alot. Were as with her first 5 albums , so Kick Inside through to Hounds of Love. Each Kate album was about to a certain degree the shock of the new. On each of the albums of that "first wave" . Kate was constantly breaking new ground, inventing new approaches and expressing new ideas about what pop music could be. Were as the albums from the Sensual World have felt maybe more intimate , personal and emotional. 50 words for me at first kjnda washed over me , then slippped away from view. Until I saw the Before the dawn live concert , where Kate encored the performance with amongst angels which uttrerly destroyed me. Since that point I have fsllen in love with this album. Its not however my favourite Kate album. That would be The Sensual World. But I do now have a deeper connection to this slbum and I appreciate it much more now. My request for you to review , would be Head Over Heels by Cocteau Twins, which is my all time favourite album ever.

[@0ntology]

whoa i didn't think you'd review this. i love all the space on this album, it''s especially nice to listen to after The Dreaming or Hounds of Love. only Kate can pull off something like this!

[@runlogan5]

Thanks for the thoughtful review. This is an album you definitely have to immerse yourself in. I find people I play it for think it slow and mellow and cold, even when they're fans of Kate's. But even more than Aerial, you have to give this music your full attention. Then you'll find it as emotionally charged as any of Kate's work, just more leisurely. I was actually shocked and surprised to get two albums from Kate last year! Yeah, one was re-recordings but still...

[@orangerichard56]

i love lake tahoe

[@llllemomn]

Yeah lake tahoe is a great place to visit

[@orangerichard56]

i meant the song, but i bet the place is nice too

[@brendano3735]

lmao

[@seekah1]

Very articulate reviewer, liking your style. Have yet to hear this, kinda guessing what the outcome will be. I know it will take more than one listen however.

[@enyafreak2007]

Thanks Anthony for giving this album a chance! I was waiting for you to review something like this :-) Being a Kate fan, I know that listeners have to immerse themselves in her world and go on the journey that she takes you on, and 50 Words for Snow did just that...yes, she is always eccentric with her lyrics and story telling, but that makes it all the better. I really enjoyed this album and I hope that Kate continues in her musical eccentricities.

[@johnjosmith42]

Dude, I'm so impressed with you and this review. I'm a big Kate Bush fan, and I completely hear you about having to listen to this album in the frame of mind of searching; and it's clear to me that you really did listen to the album many times and looked around in there. You weren't reactionary on first listening, which is cool. Great review; very honest. I know when I'm arguing the point for this album in the near future I'll be able to direct them to you and this review. THANKS. John

[@burgerboot]

This is really one of your best reviews. Your review seemed really well thought out.

[@Vindrag]

I really enjoyed watching this review! You're great at doing what you do! I must say I give the album 5 out of 5 stars, and add "Album of the Year" to that. I agreed on a lot of things that you say, there was just one thing (apart from Lake Tahoe). I think the album is extremely bold, and that a 7 is a bit too low, but this is your review after all! :) The instrumentation is very quiet and lush, I don't find it boring but very eventful and exciting, now and probably in many years to come. Peace!

[@Ksu_]

fifty words for snow always gives me goosebumps

[@TheBlackycat]

Good review. I think he does a nice job of describing the album, specifically how it is like walking into the woods in a heavy snow and losing yourself in the forest (the music). This album is not going to be for a lot of folks, but from my first two listens I'm liking it and expect I will be picking up on those subtle flavors throughout it.

[@juliandrinkme]

By the way. This review is fantastic and you have a wonderful understanding and erudite commentary

[@davidcarbonnel6396]

I love it! And it took me ten years to love it, TEN YEARS

[@AndrewGouldingsuburbangeek]

That was a terrific, honest review and I think you hit the nail on the head - it's probably better for older folk. Well done!

[@Fenghorn_Zob]

This is a comfort album for me. Went years without listening to it and finally did again a week ago. Still so emotional and impactful

[@damiankarras]

Hounds of Love is my favourite album of all time. And I’m primarily a hard rock/metal fan from a young age. When I heard this album in 86, it changed my life. It opened up my eyes to all types of music that I in my closed minded impressionable teen years previously ignored or dismissed. Not a wasted moment on the album. My only complaint is the absence of the b-side Under The Ivy, which is as good or even better than other cuts that made the album. At least it’s on the deluxe remaster. What a masterpiece. You should review the other album that came out that year that also changed my life. Sting hasn’t made a good album in decades, but 85’s Dream of the Blue Turtles was a gutsy jazzy adventurous solo album and a complete 180 degree turn from the safeness of the Police. He left the biggest band in the world at the time to explore new musically territory, to moderate success compared to the Police’s Synchronicity massive commercial success. His risk deserves a review dammit! I bet you’ve never really listened to that album from start to finish. It is amazing, strange, complex, expertly played and recorded, and a beautiful piece of work. You should really listen to it. Also a very timely record in terms of subject matter with its Cold War themes. Check it out!!

[@mvellis3863]

50 Words for Snow is a sublime masterpiece. Love the jazz vibe with Kate's piano and Steve Gadd's phenomenal drumming. Title track has a great groove and is very hypnotic, and Kate's other-worldly voice is stunningly beautiful. Very atmospheric guitar playing from Kate's husband Danny McIntosh. Kate's a genius.

[@MichaelFlynn0]

yep - Kate's a genius.

[@janknuckey]

@madsketcher .....you've hit the nail on the head with "filmic". Never has an album of hers been more in need of being pared with film, especially animation.

[@MostlyLoveOfMusic]

@disgracelanduk Kate Bush, Bjork and PJ Harvey are the super female trio of art-rock-pop!

[@jaywilkinson6292]

I wouldn’t call PJ Harvey Pop per say.

[@pawnhearts8785]

MostlyLoveOfMusic I consider Kate bush prog. Not prog rock but prog.

[@IanGettings]

It's an album I have had on in the background while working. It literally sends shivers up my back. It has the wonderful Snowed in at Wheeler Street & Wild Man and the lovely first track. Every song has layers, and I see what you are saying. I considerably rate it as a favourite album. 50 words for Snow is great. The guests are subtly done and that emphasises the contradictory nature of this album. like you I never realised it was Elton & Fry in 50 words. Amazing stuff - way out of its time.

[@TheOrangekittypie]

Love your metaphors, Anthony. :)

[@juju-vl7oj]

I recently became a big Kate Bush fan because for years I had only heard her name occasionally but never really knew what she sang or who she was. I fell in love with her earlier work up to the Red Shoes album and was hesitant to try her post 2000s stuff because I thought she wouldn't have the same magic and originality as in her youth. I was wrong. It's definitely a slower and mature album but it still has magic in it that is fully worthy of being part of her amazing discography and it shouldn't be overlooked .

[@madsketcher]

Interesting. I find Lake Tahoe to be one of the most haunting tracks on the album. Very filmic. It reminds me of something that would be on Scott Walker's "Scott 3".

[@lifeblood086]

I am so in love with this album. Thank you for reviewing it! I wouldn't have it without this review.

[@SuperLalalablablabla]

What a great review. Great insight.

[@angell1970]

Hounds of Love is great, but I love them all. Don't know what you should review next but I'll look out for it. Cheers!

[@Sektion9]

Going to pick up this album based on this well thought out review. Always heard her named dropped here and there but never jumped in feet first. Time to do a cannonball and swim in her discography.

[@Lethe8737]

Good review, good album. How about Blut aus Nord's latest, '777: The Desanctification' for a future review?

[@theperfecttoolmk]

On point as always my good man Mr. miles davis. You probably already have your eyes out for it, but will you check out the weeknd's "echoes of silence" when it drops? Thanks brochacho.

[@jajasmin]

great review. well done

[@SuperSean1970]

Never lump her in with anyone else - she is KATE BUSH! Listen, listen, listen... don't be so quick to judge. The world wouldn't be half of what it is without Kate Bush. Forget Elton and Stephen etc... People - LISTEN....

[@jaxonruns]

I have to say for me one of the most beautiful pieces of work I have heard wow

[@dsch476]

great review as always, hope u don't overread this, fantano. i'm honest and my compliments are precious few.

[@FDFlashDeck]

Loved on first listen, can't wait to listen to it again and check out more of her work.

[@analogasmr]

I know absolutely nothing about Kate Bush, but thanks to you, I'm gonna check this one out. And I have also came across a couple of albums that I feel like I'd appreciate more if I were a little older Lol GREAT REVIEW

[@moonlit6311]

Wild Man is positively gorgeous. It brought me to tears the first time I heard it.

[@Warp75]

Great review

[@nicolaupt]

Hey I'd really like for you to review Blueprint - Adventures in counter-culture. I'm not sure how I feel about the album and I'd really like to hear your opinion.

[@elgatojrr]

Why U no review Mr oizo's Stade 2??? just sayin. loved this review btw

[@eduardoalegriarampante639]

I'm a huge Bush fan, but I'm still cracking up at the 99 Bottles of Beer comparison. lol. I enjoy this album a lot...when I'm in the mood to dive into it. Gotta say, I disagree about Lake Tahoe. I feel is the song where the long slow storytelling format really comes to life for me. I love following it. Among Angels, i see what you say about it as a closer, but I can't resist it. The Nymann strings are a killer.

[@ShpoopTV]

Anthony, I love you. I really do. Go listen to The Dreaming. You don't even have to review it. Just listen to it. You won't be sorry.

[@bournebeats]

@theperfecttoolmk I personally started with The Whole Story. It's a small collection of some of her best tracks. And then from there I started listening to individual albums. If you want an actual album, then maybe Hounds Of Love.

[@fubar50cat]

really, I liked yourr review, did you review Let England Shake?

[@rain73ful]

This is a album is worth listening to, if for no other reason than the magnificent closer "Among Angels". This song is the reason why Kate Bush is the tremendous talent that she is!

[@arabiansanchez]

@07087joenj For me, this album wasn't NOT immediate but I found the latter half more accessible than the former. However, having given it time and patience I find Snowflake-Lake Tahoe-Misty extremely rewarding: probably more so over all.

[@orangerichard56]

Kate is a godess

[@tommyvi77]

I didn't listen to the album yet, but I really think you should review Death in Vegas "Trans Love Energies" and Ladytron "Gravity the seducer". Thanks. Keep up the good work, you're doing a good job.

[@theperfecttoolmk]

@bournebeats thanks! hounds of love it is!

[@kingprune]

fair review. loving this album more and more

[@angell1970]

I actually don't have a problem with your review! I'd never heard of you before, but I like you! For a non-massive Kate fan to give this 7, it's pretty good! I AM a massive Kate fan, I was 7 when Wuthering Heights came out in 1978 and have been hooked since then. I felt The Red Shoes was her weakest album, however, with Director's Cut she transformed tracks from it I'd disliked to tracks I now love! Kate inspired me to start composing, and I play piano best of all the instruments I play, and si

[@ZachJohnsonMusicReviews]

Only 3 albums I bought in 2011 were Fly From Here by Yes, Lulu by Lou Reed/Metallica, and 50 Words For Snow by Kate Bush :) The year of the return of art-rock!

[@retinueofmoons]

and i love kate bush but this album is quite hard to diggest....i mean, i really like this kind of freezing feeling (what you can feel in the album vespertine by bjork) but here is like...too much. during christmas i'll try to listen to it carefuly (in the right season, probably)

[@bolder2009]

If you want a career parallel, I'd suggest the late work of Scott Walker. The maverick nature of their music catalogues, particularly their late work, is way beyond the parameters of pop music formating. They left that game a long time ago. This music is not for the distracted generation to pick and mix in their ipods. Its not as accessible as her mid 80's masterpiece 'Hounds Of Love', but its more ambitious and daring than anything else in popular music since....kate Bush. Its pure inspiration!

[@soaribb32]

I love this album, it's imaginative and relaxing.

[@MrSpookyLover]

Looking forward to having a good listen, cheers

[@Tensaiharu]

This would sound extremely boring if one listened to it only for the sake of "listening to the new Kate Bush album". But it's really a brilliant (long) piece of music, you just need to feel it.

[@bobsnel]

1 of 2... I loved the review. I think he did it very well. However he was reviewing it as if it was a normal album and not an event, which is what a new Kate Bush album is. Always eagerly anticipated. The album will already be seen as a classic and will outlive albums by currently famous people that have not yet been released. It is also unecessary to compare it to previous albums. She does what she feels like at the time, once waiting 12 years.

[@dustycutmusic]

Thanks for reviewing :)

[@gnawtheirfaces]

I'd like to see your reaction either Entheogenic's Gaia Sophia, Intronaut's Valley of Smoke, or Prefuse 73's The Only She Chapters. They'd all at least provide you with something new and interesting. Thanks

[@johndennehy44]

First heard it in when I was 19 and I coudn't get into it- listened again at 24 and felt all the magic in HD!

[@bobsnel]

2 of 2. There is nothing commercial about the album. Nothing to suggest that the thought of money was involved in its creation. By the record company maybe, but not by Kate. It is a blessing to have that in these commercial times. It is music that creeps up on you when you are only half listening. It will also be timeless. I have been a Kate fan since I received Lionheart for my 11th birthday and she is a musical genius. Thank you Kate.

[@MichaelFlynn0]

good for U 4 listening to it so many times ... to get it. I sing it to myself whilst riding my motorbike.

[@Grotomode]

Personally I liked the album as a whole and I think it's perhaps a tad better than Aerial (even though I was kinda faulting Aerial for being anti-commercial (sort of) and this one is definitely surpassing Aerial on that element). The thing I didnt like was that you dont get to listen to Kate "show off" her voice many times; at least in ways that I liked. Like the ending of the track "Snowed in at Wheeler Street". That's what I love about her: her crazy yelling vocals.

[@nikokaapa]

Absolutley good review

[@Narawk]

Evolving music eh? Please review Dub Trio's latest, IV. Noise, dub, metal, punk, ..., pure awesome!

[@jeymz361]

my god man WHERE the hell did you find an Eraserhead t shirt??? so badass

[@theperfecttoolmk]

P.S. anyone know a good point to jump into her albums? Kind of intruiged and would like to know where to start...as it were... plus googling it just doesn't sound as much fun as asking all of you intelligent folk.

[@TyphoidBryan]

Please tell me there are no songs about Pi or washing machines on this album. Aerial was a letdown to me, considering she took over a decade to follow-up the underwhelming The Red Shoes.

[@GregariousMedia]

Please review Doomtree's No Kings Or Spose's Happy Medium Please?

[@bastardfingers]

Maybe it's because I do have the extra decade but I just don't find any of this album slow. In fact, I feel like Misty is an emotional whoosh and I'm left quite breathless like my horse bolted.

[@JohnnyWrong]

@dgmcl3284 I no longer include Bjork, she disappeared up her own arse long ago. Let's stick Anna Calvi or Chelsea Wolfe in her place...

[@r4mmsteinnn]

Please review the new King's Daughters & Sons album If Then Not When.

[@poparena]

I have had the biggest musical crush on Kate Bush since the late 80s. :)

[@MrVictiln]

YESYESYES THANK YOU FOR THIS REVIEW

[@amen4ramen]

it is a slow album.. of course it isn't like the other albums she made. Lake Tahoe turned out to be my favorite song, i love the piano..

[@GuilhermeRobles]

7? What a joke Anthony Fantano! This is one of the best 2010's records (my personal favorite of the decade)

[@lichtfilme]

alright man, kool thingy, very respectful review. thanks :)

[@SqueeLumkins]

I love Kate, she's definitely my favorite artist, but I agree with all of the negatives people are saying about this album. Musically, I think its fantastic, and I have enjoyed listening through it, but It's just so incredibly slow, that it almost feels like it's tripping over its own pace at times.

[@aids514]

Laura Stevenson and the Cans - Sit Resist. best album of 2011 (my favourite anyway)

[@mtravis82]

Sólstafir - Svartir Sandar C'mon Fantano, I know you're busy, but do me this solid. Please and Thank you. Love you too

[@DonegalPALL]

Need to review The Fall's Ersatz GB

[@joaon99]

@maddymo5 NICE, BUT CAN YOU TURN CAPS OFF?