Lionwart

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10

If there's someone you shouldn't rush it's Kate Bush. After the surprise success of her wholly unusual debut album, The Kick Inside, the studio demanded a quick follow-up. Bush had something like three months to write and record these songs. But she ended up using a lot of songs she wrote but didn't use in her previous album. However, Kate Bush being the fantastically magical singer-songwriter she is, manages to sound better than most albums that other people come up with.

Lionheart gets such a horrible rap from music critics (and even Kate Bush herself), that it's really disconcerting only due to the fact that I love Lionheart to pieces. Okay, "Kashka From Baghad" is a horribly atrocious song, but that's only on the standards Kate set for herself on her excellent debut album.

"In Search of Peter Pan" is every bit as engaging as anything in her debut album. Considering that she packs the instrumentation on here strongly, this habit of sounding engaging is accented further. Overall, the way this album starts, I wouldn't actually suspect that Bush was actually in a lull. Sure, these songs aren't as fantastically manical and bold as The Kick Inside, but many of them still have a distinct, unearthly aura, and, as I mentioned, these songs are as engaging as heck.

"Wow" is the second gorgeously fantastic song on the album (with an awe-inspired chorus that draws fond comparisons to Procol Harum). Other songs such as the splendid album opener "Symphony in Blue," the strange rocker "Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake," the minimal but still engaging lounge-song "In the Warm Room," and the wholly unusual pop song "Hammer Horror" is more than enough to make this effort a prized jewel.

Of course, I'm not contending that this album is better than The Kick Inside, but it's nothing at all anybody should skip. Okay, the record company shouldn't have made Kate rush this album out, but don't skip this album! It's fantastic! There's way too much goodness to ignore!!!!!

Track Reviews

Symphony in Blue 9.5/10

This highly pleasant song starts the album in an incredibly good note! The song is lucidly produced (making it very aesthetically pleasant). The melody is also very well written! Plus (and the real reason this song is so great) is Kate Bush's wild, high-pitched vocal performance. This song is both weird and wonderful.

In Search of Peter Pan 10/10

This song is an incredibly pretty and low-key song! For the first minute of it, the song has a calm and quiet atmosphere (with utterly gorgeous instrumentation). Oh, how pretty this part is! And then the song adapts a rhythm section for awhile and turns into something thundrous. This part is breif but it makes an impact. Then the song basically repeats itself. This is such a gorgeous song that few songs ever come close to matching. Kate Bush is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow 10/10

WOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWO is probably the most well-known song of the album. (Well, for some reason, it managed to appear on a soundtrack of 'Grand Theft Auto.') The song starts out with an incredibly enchanting atmosphere. When Kate starts singing, her squeaky voice manages to make it even more enchanting! The chorus reminds me of chorus to Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (which I happen to think is one of the Grand Doodahs of all art-rock songs, so I don't make such comparisons lightly). The instrumentation throughout the song is just perfect. All I can do is utter this song's title! Gorgeoussssss.

Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbreak 9.5/10

Even when she's doing something she probably shouldn't, necessarily, with the glammy chorus of she still manages to rule over all in the fairy kingdom! The chorus puts a lot of glam artists to shame and the song's just gorgeous throughout it. The melody is awesome, and I totally dig those vocals. (Man, so few singers are able to have so much unique personality in a voice than Kate Bush.)

Oh England My Lionheart 9/10

This song is very British sounding with an almost hymnal like quality. (I would want to say Medieval, but that can be misleading!) The instrumentation is very sweet (most notably consisting of recorders, a clavinet and a piano). Clearly, this isn't the best song on here only because it is uncharacteristically straightforward, but it's still fan-bloody-tastic.

Funhouse 8.5/10

More of that unusualness ensues! Oh heck, this song really is crazy (even adopting a reggae groove in the middle of it reminiscent of "Them Heavy People" from her debut). This also isn't one of the strongest songs of the album, because it's not that engaging, but it's really awesome anyway. Kate Bush is like that.

In the Warm Room 9.5/10

Oh, man! Those pixie-queen vocals singing a lounge-jazz song is a sound to behold! It features those irresistably squeaky Kate Bush vocals amidst some relatively straight-forward piano. Less daring and unusual than the stuff that was on her debut album, definitely, but this is still fantastic. It's dramatic and, most importantly, extremely engaging.

Kashka From Baghdad 7/10

I hate to say it, but Kate loses me for the first time here. The song has some nice trinkets of instrumentation in it and, as always, the piano is lovely. But the exclamations throughout it rub me in the wrong direction. They're almost like screeching fingernails on chalkboards. Those moments only consist of about 30 seconds of this four-minute song, but it doesn't accent it. Otherwise, the song is another lovely (but not the greatest) Kate Bush creation.

Coffee Homeground 7.5/10

Ah, Bush makes references to 'Arsenic and Old Lace' with this song, which is one of my favorite films of all time. is an interesting song even though it sounds like an overblown Broadway song! (Oh, the wonders of Kate Bush's overblown Broadway songs!) This is certainly a revisit of her 'drama within the song,' which ran rampant through her debut album, but this truly isn't that effective. It's nicely done overall, though.

Hammer Horror 9.5/10

This song begins with an accented orchestral passage that's rather gorgeous. Everything quiets as they let Kate's vocals take over. Parts of this song is relatively straightforward, but the general upbeatness of this makes it one of the more actually accessible albums on here. But, wow, this is such a strange song! It's fantastic, of course.

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