Never for Ever

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Never for Ever
Never for Ever cover
Studio album by Kate Bush
Released September 8, 1980
Recorded 1979
Genre Alternative rock, art 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 (1980) is the third album by Kate Bush. The singer co-produced the album with Jon Kelly; it features a more eclectic production than Bush's previous records, The Kick Inside and Lionheart, which had sounded very similar in their mixture of influences from art rock and classical music. Never for Ever was the first record by a female British artist to top the UK album chart.

Contents

[edit] 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.[1] 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 be composed on synthesizers and drum machines, in particular the Fairlight CMI,[1] which was programmed by Richard James Burgess and John L. Walters; her earlier albums were composed on the 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, while "The Wedding List" drew from François Truffaut's 1968 film The Bride Wore Black. Never for Ever is, to date, the only album by Bush not to share a title with one of its own tracks.

[edit] Release and aftermath

The album became Bush's first record to reach the top position in the UK album charts, also making her the first female Briton ever to achieve that status.[2] 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]

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Kate Bush.

[edit] Side one

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

[edit] 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

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart performance

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

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Kate Bush. NNDB. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  2. ^ Williamson, Nigel. The Mighty Bush. Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.


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