KATE BUSH - Never for Ever (1980-2005) Limited Edition / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Never for Ever has Kate Bush sounding vocally stable and more confident, taking what she had put into her debut single "Wuthering Heights" from 1978 and administering those facets into most of the album's content. Never for Ever went to number one in the U.K., on the strength of three singles that made her country's Top 20. Both "Breathing" and "Army Dreamers" went to number 16, while "Babooshka" was her first Top Five single since "Wuthering Heights." Bush's dramatics and theatrical approach to singing begin to solidify on Never for Ever, and her style brandishes avid seriousness without sounding flighty or absurd. "Breathing," about the repercussions of nuclear war, conveys enough passion and vocal curvatures to make her concern sound convincing, while "Army Dreamers" bounces her voice up and down without getting out of hand. "Babooshka"'s motherly charm and flexible chorus make it one of her best tracks, proving that she can make the simplest of lyrics work for her through her tailored vocal acrobatics. The rest of the album isn't quite as firm as her singles, but they all sport a more appeasing and accustomed sound than some of her past works, and she does manage to keep her identity and characteristics intact. She bettered this formula for 1985's Hounds of Love, making that album's "Running Up That Hill" her only Top 40 single in the U.S., peaking at number 30. by Mike DeGagne  
Tracklist :
1    Babooshka 3:20
Written-By – Kate Bush
Backing Vocals – Gary Hurst
Balalaika – Paddy Bush
Drums – Stuart Elliott
Electric Bass – John Giblin
Synthesizer [C.s.80] – Kate Bush
2    Delius (Song Of Summer) 2:51
Written-By – Kate Bush
Percussion – Roland
Percussion [Additional] – Preston Heyman
Sitar, Performer [Delius] – Paddy Bush
Voice [Bass] – Ian Bairnson, Paddy Bush
3    Blow Away (For Bill) 3:33
Written-By – Kate Bush
Arranged By [Strings] – Max Middleton
Fretless Bass – Del Palmer
Strings – The Martin Ford Orchestra
4    All We Ever Look For 3:47
Written-By – Kate Bush
Acoustic Guitar – Brian Bath
Backing Vocals – Andrew Bryant, Gary Hurst, Preston Heyman
Koto – Paddy Bush
Sampler [Fairlight] – Duncan Mackay
Synthesizer [Yamaha Cs80] – Kate Bush
Timpani – Morris Pert
5    Egypt 4:11
Written-By – Kate Bush
Electric Bass – Del Palmer
Psaltery [Strumento De Porco] – Paddy Bush
Synthesizer [Mini-moog] – Max Middleton
Synthesizer [Prophet 5] – Mike Moran
6    The Wedding List 4:16
Written-By – Kate Bush
Arranged By [Strings] – Max Middleton
Backing Vocals – Brian Bath, Preston Heyman
Bass – Del Palmer
Harmonica, Saw [Musical Saw] – Paddy Bush
Strings – Martin Ford Orchestra
7    Violin 3:15
Written-By – Kate Bush
Electric Bass – Del Palmer
Guitar [Solo] – Alan Murphy
Performer [Banshee] – Paddy Bush
Violin – Kevin Burke
8    The Infant Kiss 2:50
Written-By – Kate Bush
Arranged By [Strings] – Adam Sceaping, Jo Sceaping
Strings [Lironi] – Jo Sceaping
Viol – Adam Sceaping
9    Night Scented Stock    0:51
Written-By – Kate Bush
10    Army Dreamers 2:55
Written-By – Kate Bush
Acoustic Bass – Alan Murphy
Backing Vocals – Alan Murphy, Brian Bath
Bodhrán – Stuart Elliott
Mandolin – Paddy Bush
Sampler [Fairlight] – Duncan Mackay
11    Breathing 5:30
Written-By – Kate Bush
Backing Vocals – Roy Harper
Drums – Stuart Elliott
Fretless Bass – John Giblin
Percussion – Morris Pert
Synthesizer [Prophet] – Larry Fast
Credits :
Acoustic Guitar – Brian Bath (pistas: 3, 4, 10)
Arranged By, Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Piano, Written-By, Art Direction – Kate Bush
Backing Vocals – Paddy Bush (pistas: 1, 4 to 6, 10)
Drums – Preston Heyman (pistas: 3, 5 to 7)
Electric Guitar – Alan Murphy (pistas: 1, 2, 6 to 8, 10, 11), Brian Bath (pistas: 1, 6, 7, 11)
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Max Middleton (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 6, 11)
Percussion – Preston Heyman (pistas: 3, 5, 6)

KATE BUSH - The Dreaming (1982-2005) Limited Edition / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Four albums into her burgeoning career, Kate Bush's The Dreaming is a theatrical and abstract piece of work, as well as Bush's first effort in the production seat. She throws herself in head first, incorporating various vocal loops, sometimes campy, but always romantic and inquisitive of emotion. She's angry and pensive throughout the entire album, typically poetic while pushing around the notions of a male-dominated world. However, Kate Bush is a daydreamer. Unfortunately, The Dreaming, with all it's intricate mystical beauty, isn't fully embraced compared to her later work. Album opener "Sat in Your Lap" is a frightening slight on individual intellect, with a booming chorus echoing over throbbing percussion and a butchered brass section. "Leave It Open" is goth-like with Bush's dark brooding, which is a suspending scale of vocalic laments, but it's the vivacious and moody "Get Out of My House" that truly brings Bush's many talents for art and music to the forefront. It prances with dripping piano drops and gritty guitar, and the violent rage felt as she screams "Slamming," sparking a fury similar to what Tori Amos later ignited during her inception throughout the '90s. Not one to be in fear of fear, The Dreaming is one of Kate Bush's underrated achievements in depicting her own visions of love, relationships, and role play, not to mention a brilliant predecessor to the charming beauty of 1985's Hounds of Love. by MacKenzie Wilson  
Tracklist :
1    Sat In Your Lap 3:29
Backing Vocals – Gary Hurst, Ian Bairnson, Paddy Bush, Stewart Arnold
Bass – Jimmy Bain
Drums – Preston Heyman
Percussion [Sticks] – Paddy Bush, Preston Heyman
Synthesizer [Cmi Trumpet Section] – Geoff Downes
Synthesizer [Fairlight], Piano – Kate Bush
2    There Goes A Tenner 3:25
Bass – Del Palmer
Drums – Stuart Elliott
Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight, Cs 80] – Kate Bush
Synthesizer [Synclavier] – Dave Lawson
3    Pull Out The Pin 5:26
Backing Vocals – Dave Gilmour
Bass [String Bass] – Danny Thompson
Drums – Preston Heyman
Electric Guitar – Brian Bath
Piano – Kate Bush
4    Suspended In Gaffa 3:55
Bass – Del Palmer
Drums, Percussion [Sticks] – Stuart Elliott
Mandolin – Paddy Bush
Piano – Kate Bush
Strings – Kate Bush, Paddy Bush
Synthesizer [Synclavier] – Dave Lawson
5    Leave It Open 3:20
Acoustic Guitar – Ian Bairnson
Bass – Jimmy Bain
Drums – Preston Heyman
Electric Guitar – Alan Murphy
Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight] – Kate Bush
6    The Dreaming 4:41
Backing Vocals, Bullroarer – Paddy Bush
Didgeridoo [Digeridu] – Rolf Harris
Drums – Stuart Elliott
Performer [Animals] – Percy Edwards
Performer [Crowd] – Gosfield Goers
Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight] – Kate Bush
7    Night Of The Swallow 5:22
Arranged By [Pipes & Strings], Written-By [Pipes & Strings] – Bill Whelan
Bouzouki – Donnal Lunny
Drums – Stuart Elliott
Fiddle – Sean Keane
Fretless Bass, Bass [8 String Bass] – Del Palmer
Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight] – Kate Bush
Tin Whistle [Penny Whistle], Uilleann Pipes – Liam O'Flynn
8    All The Love 4:30
Bass – Del Palmer
Drums, Percussion – Stuart Elliott
Performer [Choirboy] – Richard Thornton
Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight] – Kate Bush
9    Houdini 3:49
Arranged By [Strings], Written-By [Strings] – Andrew Powell, Dave Lawson
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Drums – Stuart Elliott
Performer [Houdini] – Gordon Farrell
Performer [Rosabel Believe] – Del Palmer
Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight] – Kate Bush
10    Get Out Of My House 5:25
Backing Vocals – Paddy Bush
Bass – Jimmy Bain
Drums – Preston Heyman
Electric Guitar – Alan Murphy
Performer [Eeyore] – Paul Hardiman
Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight] – Kate Bush
Talking Drum [Drum Talk] – Esmail Sheikh

KATE BUSH - Hounds of Love (1985-2005) Mini LP / Limited Edition / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Kate Bush's strongest album to date also marked her breakthrough into the American charts, and yielded a set of dazzling videos as well as an enviable body of hits, spearheaded by "Running Up That Hill," her biggest single since "Wuthering Heights." Strangely enough, Hounds of Love was no less complicated in its structure, imagery, and extra-musical references (even lifting a line of dialogue from Jacques Tourneur's Curse of the Demon for the intro of the title song) than The Dreaming, which had been roundly criticized for being too ambitious and complex. But Hounds of Love was more carefully crafted as a pop record, and it abounded in memorable melodies and arrangements, the latter reflecting idioms ranging from orchestrated progressive pop to high-wattage traditional folk; and at the center of it all was Bush in the best album-length vocal performance of her career, extending her range and also drawing expressiveness from deep inside of herself, so much so that one almost feels as though he's eavesdropping at moments during "Running Up That Hill." Hounds of Love is actually a two-part album (the two sides of the original LP release being the now-lost natural dividing line), consisting of the suites "Hounds of Love" and "The Ninth Wave." The former is steeped in lyrical and sonic sensuality that tends to wash over the listener, while the latter is about the experiences of birth and rebirth. If this sounds like heady stuff, it could be, but Bush never lets the material get too far from its pop trappings and purpose. In some respects, this was also Bush's first fully realized album, done completely on her own terms, made entirely at her own 48-track home studio, to her schedule and preferences, and delivered whole to EMI as a finished work; that history is important, helping to explain the sheer presence of the album's most striking element -- the spirit of experimentation at every turn, in the little details of the sound. That vastly divergent grasp, from the minutiae of each song to the broad sweeping arc of the two suites, all heavily ornamented with layered instrumentation, makes this record wonderfully overpowering as a piece of pop music. Indeed, this reviewer hadn't had so much fun and such a challenge listening to a new album from the U.K. since Abbey Road, and it's pretty plain that Bush listened to (and learned from) a lot of the Beatles' output in her youth. by Bruce Eder 
Tracklist :
Hounds Of Love    
1    Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) 5:00
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Balalaika – Paddy Bush
2    Hounds Of Love 3:02
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Cello – Johnathan Williams
3    The Big Sky 4:41
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Bass – Youth
Didgeridoo – Paddy Bush
Percussion – Morris Pert
4    Mother Stands For Comfort 3:07
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Bass – Eberhard Weber
5    Cloudbusting 5:10
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Strings – The Medicci Sextet
The Ninth Wave    
6    And Dream Of Sheep 2:46
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Whistle – John Sheahan
7    Under Ice 2:21
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Harmony Vocals [Harmonic Vocals] – Paddy Bush
8    Waking The Witch 4:18
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Synthesizer [Synthesiser Sequences] – Kevin McAlea
9    Watching You Without Me 4:06
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Double Bass – Danny Thompson
10    Jig Of Life 4:04
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Fiddle – John Sheahan
Uilleann Pipes – Liam O'Flynn
Vocals – John Carder Bush
11    Hello Earth 6:13
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Guitar – Brian Bath
Uilleann Pipes – Liam O'Flynn
Vocals – The Richard Hickox Singers
12    The Morning Fog 2:34
Written-By, Producer – Kate Bush
Guitar – John Williams
Synthesizer – Kevin McAlea
Violin [Violins], Fujara [Fujare] – Paddy Bush
Credits :
Arranged By [Irish Arrangements] – Bill Whelan
Bass – Del Palmer (pistas: 1, 8, 12)
Bouzouki – Donal Lunny (pistas: 6, 10, 11)
Drums – Charlie Morgan (pistas: 2, 3, 5, 8, 10), Stuart Elliot (pistas: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 to 11)
Guitar – Alan Murphy (pistas: 1, 3, 8)
Orchestrated By – Michael Kamen
Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight], Voice – Kate Bush

KATE BUSH - The Whole Story (1986-2005) Limited Edition / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The first compilation of highlights from Kate Bush's work is still one of the better ways of getting introduced to her music, even 20-plus years after its original release. Bush made a special effort on behalf of this collection -- originally an LP -- by re-recording and remixing her debut hit "Wuthering Heights"; she felt that her teenaged vocal didn't properly represent the song and, in fact, at one point thought to re-do the vocals on several other of the early numbers included. The collection is an excellent overview, presenting the many sides of her music, and bookending her whole career through 1984, from her debut to her then newest single, "Experiment IV"; nor is it confined exclusively to major hits, as important lesser-charting entries are also featured. As with Bush's other LP-era releases, American listeners thinking of buying this collection should be aware that the British CD edition was mastered from tapes that were at least one generation up on their American counterparts and, thus, sounds distinctly better than the U.S. version. by Bruce Eder
Tracklist :
1    Wuthering Heights (New Vocal)    4:57
Written-By – Kate Bush
2    Cloudbusting    5:09
Written-By – Kate Bush
3    The Man With The Child In His Eyes    2:39
Written-By – Kate Bush
4    Breathing    5:28
Written-By – Kate Bush
5    Wow    3:46
Written-By – Kate Bush
6    Hounds Of Love    3:02
Written-By – Kate Bush
7    Running Up That Hill    5:00
Written-By – Kate Bush
8    Army Dreamers    3:13
Written-By – Kate Bush
9    Sat In Your Lap    3:29
Written-By – Kate Bush
10    Experiment IV    4:22
Written-By – Kate Bush
11    The Dreaming    4:13
Written-By – Kate Bush
12        Babooshka    3:28
Written-By – Kate Bush