So this entry for Director’s Cut won’t be a traditional album review, mainly because this record’s concept is not very traditional. One of two Kate Bush projects that came out in the same year, Director’s Cut is an attempt to both make amendments to songs Kate Bush was not happy with, or to do songs from the attitude she feels about a situation now. It’s an interesting idea that I would like to see done by more famous musicians (in a studio setting, not just live versions or acoustics), but means that every track was thought about individually rather than lending itself to the whole.
So what I am going to do here is go through the track listing on Director’s Cut, and compare each song to the original. I was originally going to do a simple “which is better” versus round, but as this progressed some changes were too interesting to give in to that simple dichotomy. With that said:
“Flowers of the Mountain”: As mentioned in The Sensual World review, the title track was originally a piece of music paired with Molly Bloom’s soliloquy from Ulysses, but Kate couldn’t get permission from the Joyce estate. She now has, so finally got to make the track she wanted to, with very little in the way of instrumentals changed. That lack of change though does make one notice how she used the words of the original track to fit in with the music, rather than the music fitting the lyrics here. I was always impressed with “The Sensual World” how Kate cheekily moved Joyce’s words to express her own personality, but with this one I am made more aware that it is someone else’s words. But as they are the words of one of the English language’s most beautiful passages, I’m not complaining.
Verdict: Both great. I’m glad that copyright gave us two versions with different merits. Also a very accessible gateway into one of the literary canon’s more complicated works.
“Song of Solomon”: Not much has changed here in the way of arrangement, but the most noticeable difference is in the way of production. The instruments in the Director’s Cut are not as compressed, giving the individual instruments on the track much more room to breathe (as well as making that synth less cheap sounding). But the vocal performance here is indicative of how personal those songs on The Red Shoes were for the time: this one is much calmer, allowing the “I don’t want your bullshit/I just want your sexuality” line to be less uncomfortable, although I’m not sure how much of a definite positive this is (even considering how I don’t like the line in general).
Verdict: The Red Shoes version is the more emotional performance; Director’s Cut version is the better song.
“Lily”: I prefer the guitar tone of the original, and that really is the only major aspect I have to give to the original. Because the Director’s Cut allows the dynamic changes to reveal themselves so much more, and therefore allow the song writing to reveal itself in a way that the previous version didn’t allow. I also love the bass tone in this one. I would comment on the lack of compression, but now every time that’s true I’m just going to write three stars (***)
Verdict: Much prefer this version.
“Deeper Understanding”: There are really only two major changes to this version of The Sensual World track. The first is that Glados sound Kate Bush gives herself to distinguish the voice of her and the computer, the second is the ninety seconds long outro with its atmospheric organ and voice sounds which sound pretty similar to that on “Waking the Witch” from Hounds of Love. All these changes make sense given the content of the song, but I have to say whilst that collage of the sounds at the end is welcome and beautiful, I really did prefer when her voice was more consistent.
Verdict: Director’s Cut version makes more sense situationally and thematically, but The Sensual World version the one I see myself putting on more often
“The Red Shoes”: ***. Now this is the song I wanted the original to be. The thing I notice most from this version is the pulsating rhythm of that kick drum. Otherwise this is very much a “Director’s Cut” as opposed to a regular cut, as opposed to…
Verdict: Prefer the Director’s Cut. Not much more to say.
“This Woman’s Work”: …this one. This one is very much coming at familiar material with a new outlook and emotional perspective (maybe as Kate Bush was not yet a mother when she wrote the original). This was the track that made me reconsider my versus stance; the original is one of the greatest songs ever written, so to try and make an improvement on it is a fool’s errand. And this doesn’t. It simply compliments Kate Bush’s now older and more motherly voice with an instrumentation suited to it. The chords are spaced both in rhythm and in sound, pianos are replaced with electronic pianos, and everything is give a more dream like feel. I could see this version playing remarkably well in a live setting, like something from an Olafur Arnalds or Nils Frahm concert.
Verdict: You can’t improve on perfection, but you can give it a fresh perspective.
“Moments of Pleasure”: This change is proof of just how much more comfortable Kate Bush is now working in lower ranges of instrumentation and voice (which will be just as apparent on 50 Words for Snow). The key has been changed to accommodate a lower tone, where there were once intense string sections there are now choral voices. This change is appropriate and embraced, but does demonstrate how in The Red Shoe’s version Kate Bush’s emotion was much more on the surface.
Verdict: delicate and nostalgic, but I prefer the immediacy of the original.
“Never Be Mine”: This version has the most obvious change for me when it comes to just changing the instruments. I love how the fluctuating synth chords introduce the song, as well as how expressive Kate Bush is on that piano when combined with the atmospheric guitar chords and high-hats. However, I always thought the original was an underrated song, and part of what gave that original its energy are the uilleann pipes which are sorely missing here.
Verdict: More subdued than its Sensual World counterpart, which will in turn determine which version you want to listen to.
“Top of City”: ***. The only major difference between the Director’s Cut and the original are the swinging, jazzy drums that are there from the very outset. Fortunately, I love myself some Jazzy drums, so it is a definite plus.
Verdict: Will only make a difference if you wished the original had more percussion.
“And So Is Love”: ***. But something is still a little bit off with the mixing with this one. Maybe it’s just me, but the bass is distracting in the introduction, and is more prominent on this track in general. Not much more has changed otherwise, but I’m surprised how much I miss the compressed tone of the pipes of the original; sometime lo-fi is indeed a plus. Plus Kate Bush’s howls in the old version are much more passionate
Verdict: I suppose this version is “better”, but I honestly prefer the original.
“Rubberband Girl”: Who let The Rolling Stones compose a song for Kate Bush? Because, honestly, I love this version for just how different in tone it is to the original. The guitars are more “bouncy”, which indeed is appropriate, as is the percussion. The layering on the synths and harmonica at the end are also a big plus. I still adore the tone of the guitar, bass and Kate Bush’s voice in the original, but I kind of don’t miss the xylophones.
Verdict: The original is more poppy and therefore catchy, but the new approach to the song in Director’s Cut is fantastic.
So this was a very interesting experiment, but just as much as that it is a great collection songs. But even with the greatness on display here, people were still clambering for some new material. And later on that year, they would get it…
What did you think, though?
Kate Bush Album Rankings
- Hounds of Love
- The Dreaming
- Aerial
- The Sensual World
- Never for Ever
- Director’s Cut
- Lionheart
- The Red Shoes (these versions though do prove how much my opinion of this album is derived from its production).