THE KICK INSIDE

I started listening to Kate Bush in the eighties just prior to the release of Hounds Of Love.Her music although on the pop side of things had always seemed full of diverse ideas so I took the plunge and got hold of her albums.The first four albums are without doubt 'song based' albums.By that I mean they do not have a common theme or anything to really bind the songs together into some coherent whole.For that reason I decline from giving any of them a 5 star rating.As much as I like her,none of the the first four albums warrant the masterpeice status in my view. The highlights here are the singles 'Wuthering Heights' and 'The Man With The Child In His Eyes'.There is also the beautifull title track which has a strong feminine theme although is never overbearing.The other songs fall slightly fall short but then the clever arrangements of Andrew Powell and some nice production work keep it interesting.Overall a fine debut.