My Top 20 albums for 1980 No 16

This video includes my previous review of the album , my intro about the current series of 1980 albums plus 2 videos featuring 2 songs from the album
Never For Ever Kate Bush
Pop Rock, Art Rock
Year:1980
Tracklist
Babooshka
Delius
Blow Away
All We Ever Look For
Egypt
The Wedding List
Violin
The Infant Kiss
Night Scented Stock
Army Dreamers
Breathing
AllMusic Review by Mike DeGagne
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.

Background

Beginning production after her 1979 tour, Never for Ever was Bush's second foray into production (her first was for the On Stage EP the previous year), aided by the engineer of Lionheart (1978), Jon Kelly.[2] Bush was keen to start producing her work and felt that this was the first album she was happy with, since it was more personal.

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 "Violin" to the wistful waltz of hit single "Army Dreamers". Never for Ever was the first Kate Bush album to feature digital 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.[3] "The Wedding List" drew from François Truffaut's 1968 film The Bride Wore Black.[4] "Delius (Song of Summer)" was inspired by the 1968 Ken Russell TV movie Song of Summer, which portrays the last six years of the life of English composer Frederick Delius, when Eric Fenby acted as his amanuensis. Fenby is mentioned in the lyrics ("in B, Fenby").[5] "Blow Away (for Bill)" commemorates her lighting director Bill Duffield, killed in an accident at Poole Arts Centre during her 1979 tour.[6] The song links his name to those of several music stars who died in the previous decade-Minnie Riperton, Keith Moon, Sandy Denny, Sid Vicious, Marc Bolan-and one earlier icon, Buddy Holly.

Never for Ever is the only studio album by Bush up to Director's Cut (2011) not to have a title track. According to Bush, the title alluded to conflicting emotions, good and bad, which pass, as she stated: "we must tell our hearts that it is 'never for ever', and be happy that it's like that".

The album cover is an illustration (in pencil) by artist Nick Price, who had also designed the cover for the programme for her 1979 tour. Bush was pleased with the results (it depicts a multitude of animals and monsters emerging from under her skirt). Of the concept, Bush said that it reflects the title, depicting good and bad things that emerge from one's self. The album was released on compact disc in Japan in 1987 with the cover art modified. A section of the original cover art was enlarged, creating two different booklet covers: the outer one modified; and underneath the original.[7] The album's cover was voted 'Greatest Album Cover of 1980' by Record Mirror.

With work on the album completed in May, Never for Ever was released on 7 September 1980. Over the following week, Bush undertook a record signing tour of the UK including London, which resulted in lengthy queues down Oxford Street.[11] During October she also undertook promotional appearances for the album throughout Europe, most prominently in Germany and France.[11] In the US, the album was initially unreleased following the failure of her debut. As Bush gained a cult following over the coming years, however, Never for Ever was belatedly released in 1984 following the entry into the charts of her fourth album The Dreaming.

Never for Ever entered the UK Albums Chart on (week-ending) 20 September 1980 at No. 1. It remained there for one week, staying in the top 75 for a total of 23 weeks.[12] The album became Bush's first record to reach the top position on the UK Albums Chart, also making her the first female British solo artist to achieve that status.[13] Technically, Never for Ever is the first studio album (i.e. not a greatest hits compilation) by any solo female artist to reach number 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 number 1 albums by then but these were also compilations and were credited to Diana Ross & The Supremes, and were therefore not solo albums).

Three singles were released from the album-all of which fared well in the charts. The first, "Breathing", reached No. 16 in the UK, as did the third, "Army Dreamers".[14] The second single, "Babooshka", became one of Bush's biggest hits, peaking at No. 5 in the summer of 1980 in the UK and faring even better in Australia, where it reached No. 2 and was the 20th best-selling single of the year.[14][15]

Based largely on this album, Bush was voted "Best female artist of 1980" in polls taken in Melody Maker, Capital Radio, Sounds and the Sunday Telegraph.[11] Bush herself has said that it was her favourite album to date. More recently,
Track listing

All tracks are written by Kate Bush.
Side one
1. "Babooshka" 3:20
2. "Delius (Song of Summer)" 2:51
3. "Blow Away" 3:33
4. "All We Ever Look For" 3:47
5. "Egypt" 4:10
Side two
6. "The Wedding List" 4:15
7. "Violin" 3:15
8. "The Infant Kiss" 2:50
9. "Night Scented Stock" 0:51
10. "Army Dreamers" (LP mix) 2:55
11. "Breathing" 5:29
Personnel

Kate Bush - vocals, piano, keyboards, harmony vocals, Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer, Yamaha CS-80 polyphonic synthesizer (1, 4), arranger
John L. Walters and Richard James Burgess - Fairlight CMI programming
Max Middleton - Fender Rhodes (1, 3, 5, 6, 11), Minimoog (5), string arrangements (3, 6)
Duncan Mackay - Fairlight CMI (4, 10)
Michael Moran - Prophet 5 synthesizer (5)
Larry Fast - Prophet synthesizer (11)
Alan Murphy - electric guitar (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 11), electric guitar solo (7), acoustic guitar (4, 10), bass (10)
Brian Bath - electric guitar (1, 6, 7, 11), acoustic guitar (3, 4, 10), backing vocals (6, 10)
Paddy Bush - backing vocals (1, 4, 5, 6, 10), balalaika (1), sitar, bass vocals and voice of "Delius" (2), koto (4), strumento de porco (psaltery) (5), harmonica and musical saw (6), banshee (7), mandolin (10)
Kevin Burke - violin (7)
Adam Skeaping - viola (8), string arrangements (8)
Joseph Skeaping - lironi (8), string arrangements (8)
John Giblin - bass (1), fretless bass (11)
Del Palmer - fretless bass (3), bass guitar (5, 6, 7)
Stuart Elliott - drums (1, 11), bodhran (10)
Preston Heyman - percussion (2, 3, 5), drums (3, 5, 6, 7), backing vocals (4, 6)
Roland - percussion (2)
Morris Pert - timpani (4), percussion (11)
Ian Bairnson - bass vocals (2)
Gary Hurst - backing vocals (1, 4)
Andrew Bryant - backing vocals (4)
Roy Harper - backing vocals (11)
The Martyn Ford Orchestra - strings (3, 6)

Production

Kate Bush - producer
Jon Kelly - co-producer, recording engineer
Jon Jacobs - assistant engineer

Babooshka"
[Intro]
Babooshka
Babooshka

[Verse 1]
She wanted to test her husband
She knew exactly what to do:
A pseudonym to fool him
She couldn't have made a worse move
She sent him scented letters
And he received them with a strange delight
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears
And how she was before the years flew by
And how she was when she was beautiful
She signed the letter

[Chorus]
"All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya"

[Post-Chorus]
Babooshka

Delius (Song of Summer)"
[Verse 1]
Delius
Ooh, he's a moody old man
Delius
Song of summer in his hand
Delius
Ooh, he's a moody old man
Delius
In his hand
Delius
In his hand

[Interlude]
"Ta, ta-ta!
Hmm
Ta, ta-ta!"

[Chorus]
Delius
Delius amat
Syphilis
Deus
Genius, ooh

[Verse 2]
Delius
To be sung of a summer
Delius
Night on the water
Delius
Ooh, on the water
Delius

Blow Away (For Bill)"
[Verse 1]
One of the band told me last night
That music is all that he's got in his life
And where will it go?
Surely not with his soul
Will all of his licks and his R'n'B blow away?

[Hook]
Blow away
Blow away
Blow away
Blow away
Blow away
Blow away

[Verse 2]
Our engineer had a different idea
From people who nearly died but survived
Feeling no fear of leaving their bodies here
And went to a room that was soon full of visitors

[Chorus]
Hello Minnie, Moony, Vicious
Vicious, Buddy Holly, Sandy Denny

[Post-Chorus]
Please don't thump me
Don't bump me
Don't dump me back there
Please don't thump me
Don't bump me
Don't dump me back there
Please don't thump me
Don't bump me
I want to stay here

All We Ever Look For"
[Verse 1]
Just look at your father and you'll see how you took after him
Me, I'm just another like my brothers of my mother's genes

[Chorus 1]
All they really want for you
Are the things they didn't do
All they ever wanted, a little clue
All they ever wanted, the truth
All they ever wanted, a little bit of you
All they ever wanted
But they never did get

[Interlude]

[Verse 2]
The whims that we're weeping for our parents would be beaten for
Leave the breast and then the nest and then regret you ever left

[Chorus 2]
All we're really looking for, is another open door
All we ever look for, another womb
All we ever look for is our own tomb
All we ever look for, ooh, la lune
All we ever look for, just a little bit of you, too
All we ever look for
But we never do score

"Egypt"
[Verse 1]
Follow the Nile, deep to much deeper
The pyramids sound lonely tonight
The sands run red, in Lands of the Pharaohs
Their symmetry gets right inside me

[Chorus 1]
I cannot stop to comfort them
I'm busy chasing up my demon
I cannot stop to comfort them
I'm busy chasing up my demon
Oh, I'm in love with Egypt

[Verse 2]
My pu**y queen knows all my secrets
I'll never fall in love again
I drift with dunes, I whisper of the tombs
They offer me Egyptian delights

[Chorus 2]
She's got me with that feline 'guise
Got me in those desert eyes
She's got me with that feline 'guise
Got me in those desert eyes
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love with Egypt

The Wedding List"
[Verse 1]
No, I'll never give the hunt up
And I won't muck it up
Somehow this is it, I knew
Maybe fate wants you dead too
We've come together in the very same room
And I'm coming for you

[Verse 2]
Do you think I'd ever let you
Get away with it, huh?
He swooned in warm maroon
There's gas in your barrel, and I'm flooded with doom
You've made a wake of our honeymoon
And I'm coming for you!

[Pre-Chorus]
All of the headlines said "Passion Crime:
Newly Weds, Groom Shot Dead
Mystery Man, God Help the Bride
She's a widow, all in red
With his red still wet"

[Chorus 1]
She said
I'll put him on the wedding list
I'll put him on the wedding list
I'll get him and I will not miss

Violin"
[Verse 1]
Four strings across the bridge
Ready to carry me over
Over the quavers, drunk in the bars
Out of the realm of the orchestra
Out of the realm of the orchestra
[Pre-Chorus 1]
Filling me up with the shivers
Filling me up with the shivers and quivers
Filling me up with the shivers
[Chorus]
Get the bow going
Let it scream to me
Violin, violin, violin
Get the bow going
Let it scream to me
Violin, violin, violin
[Verse 2]
Paganini up on the chimney
Lord of the dance with Nero and old Nicky
Whack that devil into my fiddlestick
Give me the Banshees for B.V.s
Give me the Banshees for B.V.s

The Infant Kiss"
[Verse 1]
I say "Goodnight, night"
I tuck him in tight
But things are not right
What is this? An infant kiss
That sends my body tingling?
I've never fallen for
A little boy before
No control
[Pre-Chorus 1]
Just a kid and just at school
Back home they'd call me dirty
His little hand is on my heart
He's got me where it hurts me
Knock, knock - who's there in this baby?
You know how to work me
[Chorus]
All my barriers are going
It's starting to show
Let go, let go
Let go, let go, let go
[Verse 2]
I cannot sit and let
Something happen I'll regret
Ooh, he scares me
There's a man behind those eyes
I catch him when I'm bending
Ooh, how he frightens me
When they whisper privately
Poor, stupid girl
Windy-wailey blows me

"Army Dreamers"
[Intro]
B.F.P.O
Army dreamers
Mammy's hero
B.F.P.O
Mammy's hero
[Verse 1]
Our little army boy
Is coming home from B.F.P.O
Wave a bunch of purple flowers
To decorate a mammy's hero
Mourning in the aerodrome
The weather warmer, he is colder
Four men in uniform
To carry home my little soldier
[Chorus]
What could he do?
Should have been a rock star
But he didn't have the money for a guitar
What could he do?
Should have been a politician
But he never had a proper education
What could he do?
Should have been a father
But he never even made it to his twenties
What a waste, army dreamers
Oh, what a waste of army dreamers

Breathing"
[Verse 1]
Outside gets inside
Through her skin
I've been out before
But this time it's much safer in
[Verse 2]
Last night in the sky
Such a bright light
My radar send me danger
But my instincts tell me to keep
[Chorus]
Breathing
Out, in, out, in, out, in
Breathing, breathing my mother in
Breathing my beloved in
Breathing, breathing her nicotine
Breathing, breathing the fallout in
Out, in, out, in, out, in, out, in
[Verse 3]
We've lost our chance
We're the first and the last, ooh
After the blast
Chips of Plutonium are twinkling in every lung