15. Kate Bush- Aerial


How the hell did she get away with this? Singing songs about marriage, washing machines, the number pi, her son...Sure, Kate disappeared from the musical stage to lead the domestic life but the way she describes that on the first part of this double album, entitled A Sea Of Honey it's like a spiritual and romantic experience. Admittedly it put me off at first, as for me it was like singing the phonebook but by studying the lyrics it's more than that. The sexuality of clothes turning around in a washing machine in the amazing Mrs. Bertolozzi, the romantic notion of algebra in Pi...it's beyond mundane. Once you get beyond that first impression, listen to the album on a pair of headphones and soak the complete package of music and lyrics in, the album unfolds like a dreamy affair, filled with little notes and images. Strings play a major part in the set up, it's only on the opening King Of The Mountain (about Elvis) and the closing Aerial that Bush comes the closes to a full rock out. In between it is a deeply introverted journey inside the life of this woman, who in her own mind just as easily makes jam sandwiches as dives into the deep blue sea (the beautiful Nocturne on the second, more pastoral side A Sky Of Honey). No Hounds Of Love or Kick Inside-type of accessibility, something more grand, something else beautiful.