One of music's most reclusive and enigmatic figures has re-emerged into what some have seen as a rich era for British female singer-songwriters. Bush's new double album, Aerial, is due out in November, only her eighth after three decades in the business. It will be treated with due reverence.
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Terry Kirby in The Independent (2005-09-02)Kate Bush
It's clear Bush is still a force to be reckoned with. The problem, though, with female genius — for many men at least — is that very frequently it is not like male genius. And with its songs about children, washing machines going 'slooshy sloshy', Joan of Arc, Bush's mother, not to mention the almost pagan sensuality that runs through here like a pulse, Aerial is, arguably, the most female album in the world, ever. ... the artistry here is so dizzying, the ambition and scope so vast, that even the deafest, most inveterate misogynist could not fail to acknowledge it. Genius. End of.
Kate Bush
For me, Kate Bush was always a trump card when the tiresome 'question' of female artistic genius came up. ... Before disgust stopped me getting dragged into these skirmishes, I had a ready arsenal of Girl Greats — Patti Smith, Björk, Nina Simone, Delia Derbyshire, Polly Harvey, and so on. And yet, there would often be some caveat why genius eluded my candidates (ripped off Dylan etc). Until we would get to Kate. Female genius? Kate Bush. End of.
Aerial, the first Kate Bush album in a young lifetime (12 years), re-establishes the fact. It is extraordinary — jaw-dropping, no less.Kate Bush
"Sarah McLachlan's creation of the Lilith fair gave a generation of female singer-songwriters an opportunity to meet, perform together and, quite possibly, create a female-pop revolution, Sarah's dedication to her music and to the promotion of fellow female artists makes her the epitome of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Award."
Sarah McLachlan
"Sarah McLachlan is not only one of today's most gifted singer-songwriters, she is also a visionary in the music industry," Governor Pataki said. "Like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who penned the Declaration of Sentiments and laid the foundation for womens rights, Sarah McLachlan created a stage to showcase female performers and opened the doors for many up and coming female artists."
Sarah McLachlan
But the core of the album, and perhaps the core of Elvis' music itself, are the soulful gospel-flavored ballads. Well, it's often seemed as if Elvis bore more than a passing resemblance to soul singer Salomon Burke. The way in which he uses his voice, his dramatic exploitation of vocal contrast, the alternate intensity and effortless nonchalance of his approach, all put one in mind of a singer who passed this way before, only going the other way. And here he uses these qualities to create a music which, while undeniable country, puts him in touch more directly with the soul singer than with traditional country music. It was his dramatic extravagance, in fact, which set him apart from the beginning, and it is to this perhaps, as much as anything else -- to the very theatrics which Elvis brought to hillbilly music --, that we can trace the emergence of rock & roll.
Elvis Presley
Bush, Kate
Bush, Laura Welch
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