For Kate Bush, and indeed many in her strong fanbase, The Kick Inside is the album that started it all. Her 1978 debut was certainly attention grabbing; it propelled her to fame and got the ball rolling for a phenomenal career as a much appreciated musician and admired female talent. With the iconic ‘Wuthering Heights’, the young Kate had captured people’s imagination with her original song writing style and of course, her unique voice.
In this book, music author Laura Shenton MA LLCM DipRSL offers an in-depth perspective on The Kick Inside from a range of angles including how the album came to be, how it was presented and received at the time (live as well as on record), and what it means in terms of Kate Bush's legacy today.
As the author explains: “Basically, the book covers how the album was made, what was going on with the music in terms of the artist's intentions, how it did musically and commercially and what happened next.”
The narrative is essentially driven by contemporary interviews with the artists with small bits of music theory where relevant... in some cases they delve into the structure / key signatures / time signatures, based on the original sheet music without straying away from being an engaging read for non-musicians.
“By going so in-depth into The Kick Inside, Laura Shenton’s book can perhaps go some way to delving into what makes the album as a whole one that connected so deeply to people. Shenton’s style is one of fine-tuned precision.”
Amy Britton, Louder Than War
Paperback: 216 x 138 mm, 184pp including, 8 page colour plate section.
