What do Kate Bush and Khruangbin have in common? They’ve discovered a secret to creating a successful album: recording in a barn on a farm where time stands still. Mostly recorded in the relaxed, magical environment of a 24-track barn studio on her parents’ farm, Hounds of Love reaped the benefits of time (at least 18 months) paired with Kate Bush’s meticulous perfectionism as the producer to yield what remains her most commercially successful album. Harmoniously mixing mass-appeal pop sensibilities with conceptual experimentation, the album was produced as two complementary suites: side one, called “Hounds of Love,” and side two, a 7-track concept piece entitled “The Ninth Wave,” with esoteric nods to her Irish heritage. An album that both haunts and soothes, equal parts heavy and ethereal, this is a must for every record collector.
– Lauren Fay Levy
Recommended – A1 Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), A4 Mother Stands For Comfort, A5 Cloudbusting, B2 Under Ice, B4 Watching You Without Me
A1 Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
A2 Hounds Of Love
A3 The Big Sky
A4 Mother Stands For Comfort
A5 Cloudbusting
B1 And Dream Of Sheep
B2 Under Ice
B3 Waking The Witch
B4 Watching You Without Me
B5 Jig Of Life
B6 Hello Earth
B7 The Morning Fog
Producer, Piano, Synthesizer [Fairlight], Voice, Written-By – Kate Bush
Guitar – Alan Murphy (tracks: A1, A3, B3)
Arranged By [Irish Arrangements], Fujara – Bill Whelan
Arranged By [Orchestral] – Michael Kaman*
Engineer – Bill Somerville-Large, Brian Tench, Del Palmer, Haydn Bendall, James Guthrie, Nigel Walker, Paul Hardiman
Engineer [Assistant] – Pearse Dunne
Mixed By – Brian Tench (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B1 to B7), Julian Mendelsohn (tracks: A2, A4)
Programmed By [All Linn Programming] – Del Palmer
Design – Bill Smith Studio