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Never for Ever

 
Album Review: Never for Ever
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Never for Ever

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  • Artist: Kate Bush
  • Rating: StarStarStar
  • Release Date: September 08, 1980
  • Total Time: 37:16
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

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. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Babooshka (Lyrics) Kate Bush Kate Bush (3:20)
Delius (Song of Summer) Kate Bush Kate Bush (2:51)
Blow Away Kate Bush Kate Bush (3:34)
All We Ever Look For (Lyrics) Kate Bush Kate Bush (3:48)
Egypt (Lyrics) Kate Bush Kate Bush (4:12)
The Wedding List Kate Bush Kate Bush (4:16)
Violin (Lyrics) Kate Bush Kate Bush (3:15)
The Infant Kiss Kate Bush Kate Bush (2:50)
Night Scented Stock Kate Bush Kate Bush (:51)
Army Dreamers (Lyrics) Kate Bush Kate Bush (2:58)
Breathing (Lyrics) Kate Bush Kate Bush (5:30)

Credits

Alan Murphy (Guitar), John Carder Bush (Photography), Alan Murphy (Guitar (Electric)), Del Palmer (Fretless Bass), Paddy Bush (Balalaika), Mike Moran (?), Del Palmer (Bass (Electric)), Kate Bush (Arranger), Jon Jacobs (Assistant Engineer), Paddy Bush (Mando), Jo Sceaping (Lironi), Carolyn Bennett (Lettering), Kate Bush (Vocals), Kate Bush (Keyboards), Larry Fast (Prophet Synthesizer), Kevin Burke (Violin), Preston Heyman (Vocals (Background)), Stuart Elliott (Drums), Kate Bush (Piano), Kate Bush (Art Direction), Morris Pert (Tympani [Timpani]), Adam Sceaping (String Arrangements), Max Middleton (Moog Synthesizer), Jo Sceaping (String Arrangements), Nick Price (Artwork), Roy Harper (Vocals), Larry Fast (Prophet 5), Kate Bush (Harmony), Paddy Bush (Harmonica), Stuart Elliot (Bodhran), Stuart Elliott (Bodhran), Mike Moran (Keyboards), Gary Hurst (Vocals (Background)), Stuart Elliot (Drums), John Giblin (Fretless Bass), Andrew Bryant (Vocals), Roland (Percussion), Morris Pert (Percussion), Del Palmer (Vocals), Paddy Bush (Bass (Vocal)), John Giblin (Bass (Electric)), Paddy Bush (Koto), Larry Fast (Keyboards), Del Palmer (Bass), Paddy Bush (?), John Giblin (Bass), Paddy Bush (Vocals), Kate Bush (Vocal Harmony), Duncan Mackay (Fairlight), John Carder Bush (Back Cover), John Carder Bush (Cover Art Concept), Mike Moran (Prophet 5), Adam Sceaping (Viol), Duncan Mackay (Keyboards), Max Middleton (Fender Rhodes), Brian Bath (Guitar (Electric)), Alan Murphy (Guitar (Acoustic)), Brian Bath (Guitar), Paddy Bush (Mandolin), Ian Bairnson (Guitar), Preston Heyman (Drums), Kate Bush (Producer), Gary Hurst (Vocals), Ian Bairnson (?), Max Middleton (Keyboards), Paddy Bush (Vocals (Background)), Alan Murphy (Bass (Acoustic)), Andrew Bryant (Vocals (Background)), Jon Kelly (Producer), Brian Bath (Vocals (Background)), Brian Bath (Guitar (Acoustic)), Roy Harper (Vocals (Background)), Paddy Bush (Sitar), John L. Walters (?), Ian Bairnson (Bass (Vocal)), Martyn Ford (Orchestra), Alan Murphy (Guitar (Bass)), Nick Price (Cover Art), Preston Heyman (Percussion), Jon Kelly (Engineer), Adam Skeaping (Viola), Max Middleton (String Arrangements), Kate Bush (CS-80), Richard Burgess (?), Alan Murphy (Bass (Electric)), Alan Murphy (Soloist), Joseph Skeaping (Lironi), Paddy Bush (Saw), Ian Bairnson (Vocals), Paddy Bush (Banshee)
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Wikipedia: Never for Ever
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Never for Ever
Studio album by Kate Bush
Released September 8, 1980
Recorded 1979-80
Genre Art rock, Soft rock
Length 37:16
Label EMI
Producer Kate Bush, Jon Kelly
Professional reviews
Kate Bush chronology
Lionheart
(1978)		 Never for Ever
(1980)		 The Dreaming
(1982)

Never for Ever is the third album by the British singer Kate Bush. Released in 1980, it was Bush's first no.1 album and was also the first ever album by a British female solo artist to top the UK album chart as well as being the first album by any female solo artist to enter the chart at no.1.[1] It has since been certified Gold by the BPI. Bush co-produced the album herself with Jon Kelly.

Contents

Production and style

Never for Ever was Bush's second foray into production (her first was for the Live On Stage EP earlier in the year), aided by the engineer of Lionheart, Jon Kelly.[2] The first two albums had resulted in a particular sound which was evident in every track, with lush orchestral arrangements supporting the live band sound. The range of styles on Never for Ever is much more diverse, veering from the straightforward rocker "The Wedding List" to the wistful waltz of hit single "Army Dreamers". Never for Ever was the first Kate Bush album to feature synthesizers and drum machines, in particular the Fairlight CMI,[2] which was programmed by Richard James Burgess and John L. Walters. Like her previous two albums, it was initially composed on piano.

Bush's literary and cinematic influences were again to the fore. "The Infant Kiss", the story of a governess who is frightened by the adult feelings she has for her young male charge (who is possessed by the spirit of a grown man), was inspired by the 1961 film The Innocents, which in turn had been inspired by The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. "The Wedding List" drew from François Truffaut's 1968 film The Bride Wore Black. Never for Ever is the only album to date by Bush not to have a title track.

Release and impact

The album became Bush's first record to reach the top position in the UK album charts, also making her the first female British solo artist to achieve that status.[3][4] Technically, Never For Ever is the first studio album (i.e. - not a greatest hits compilation) by any solo female artist to reach no.1 in the UK as only Barbra Streisand and Connie Francis had achieved the feat prior to 1980 but with compilation albums (Diana Ross had also achieved three UK no.1 albums by then but these were also compilations and were credited to Diana Ross & The Supremes and were therefore not solo albums).

In Japan, the CD booklet cover art was modified, as EMI-Toshiba execs decided that the illustration of various animals emerging from beneath Bush's skirt was too risque, and chose to enlarge a section of the original cover art, creating two different booklet covers: the outer one modified; and underneath the original.[citation needed]

The album's cover was voted 'Greatest Album Cover of 1980' by Record Mirror.

Track listing

All songs written by Kate Bush.

Side one

  1. "Babooshka" – 3:20
  2. "Delius (Song of Summer)" – 2:51 (A song referring to Frederick Delius)
  3. "Blow Away (For Bill)" – 3:33
  4. "All We Ever Look For" – 3:47
  5. "Egypt" – 4:10

Side two

  1. "The Wedding List" – 4:15
  2. "Violin" – 3:15
  3. "The Infant Kiss" – 2:50
  4. "Night Scented Stock" – 0:51
  5. "Army Dreamers" – 2:55
  6. "Breathing" – 5:29

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1980) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 1
Germany 17
Japan Oricon 40
France 7
Australia 3
Norway's album chart 2
Sweden's album chart 16

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=5079 Kate Bush Never for Ever chart history
  2. ^ a b "Kate Bush". NNDB. http://www.nndb.com/people/504/000025429/. Retrieved 2007-04-03. 
  3. ^ Williamson, Nigel (2005-10-02), The Mighty Bush, Scotland on Sunday, http://gaffaweb.org/reaching/rev_aer_UK1.html, retrieved 2009-05-05 
  4. ^[dead link]Williamson, Nigel. "The Mighty Bush". Scotland on Sunday. http://gaffa.org/reaching/rev_aer_UK1.html. Retrieved 2007-04-03. 
Preceded by
Telekon by Gary Numan		 UK Albums Chart number one album
September 20, 1980 – September 26, 1980		 Succeeded by
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
by David Bowie
v • d • e
Kate Bush
Studio albums
Extended plays
Live albums
and compilations
Videos
Singles
Related articles

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