Kate Bush remasters for those who don’t want the box sets & wish to pick ‘n’ mix

Now that the vinyl box sets are out, can anyone advise if there is anything that makes them worth buying over the individual albums? I’m putting together my Christmas list and would be far more likely to get two £18 albums than an £89 box set.

I’m happy to collect the albums one at a time over the next few years (like hunting for cassettes of Beatles albums in the old days!) but would reconsider if the box sets have added value.

I write as a fan who wants to listen, incidentally, rather than a collector.

Kevin

I should be very happy about this but three months ago I shelled out 300 Australian dollars for a copy of Aerial on vinyl, so this hit me like a bucket of ice.

Paul, what’s your view on the sets? Are you going to buy either format and if so, are you gonna get boxsets or individual releases? Tempting it is, even if one has almost full collection on vinyl and all the cd-albums (in different pressings)..have to think of this one and see how it goes.

Kate, I beg you, surround mixes, please!

I wanted to get hold of KB discography for ages now, so this looks like the right chance for me. More or less like with Bowie’s ongoing campaign I’ll get the CDs, and then my favourites on vinyl too. That means ‘The Kick Inside’ and ‘Hounds of Love’.

On HOL, in theory I don’t mind the single version of Big Sky being slotted in (it’s not that different.) But the sound quality on my Fish People CD from a few years back was like going from FM to AM, as if they’d done a bad needle drop on an old 7″. Hopefully the remastering will have addressed this. And hopefully all the LPs will have been cut from the original tapes where available, though I wouldn’t bet on it.

Any one know of a reason the vinyl box set is more expensive than buying the albums individually? Is there any extras in the box such as booklets etc?

Walk Straight Down the Middle won’t be on the album now?! If so, that’s a damn shame…

Sorry if this has been answered eelsewhere but does anyone know if when buying all 4 vinyl box sets, they will come housed in a slipcase as with the CD’s?

Also, are the boxsets limited edition?
If not then I’ll wait for the prices to come down before purchasing.

(second attempt at posting as the first one seems to have disappeared).

Eagerly awaiting/hoping for a CD Japan alert with some exclusive version. I’m still amazed the Springsteen 2 box has not been released outside Japan.

The “Hounds Of Love” Audo Fidelity Hoffman/Gray remasters of 2010 and 2014 (reissue) are definitely the ones to go for if absolute sound quality is your thing:
https://www.discogs.com/Kate-Bush-Hounds-Of-Love/release/2404695
https://www.discogs.com/Kate-Bush-Hounds-Of-Love/release/6058375

Good to see they are being released individually. I’m still keeping my original sealed copy of Aerial though. I did buy it to play, but got the CD version at the same time so never got around to playing it. I have 50 Words bought for my birthday when it came out. Never expected that to end up being sold for silly money either. Missed the Red Shoes on vinyl so as these are being released individually I’ll save some money cherry picking what I want. Here’s hoping HoL sounds brilliant otherwise I’ll just invest in an original copy.

Hi Paul, when you say that The Dreaming is in need of remastering, are you referring to how previous CDs have sounded, or simply the sound of the original album? I do have this (superb) album on LP and CD but have never really compared the mastering differences, if any. Do you think there really is a possibility that Bush and Guthrie (or Buthrie as no one is likely to be calling them any day soon) could end up going so far as remixing the album? It wouldn’t be the first time, I suppose, given her tinkering with The Red Shoes a few years back…

Good news. Thanks, Paul. All I really want is Hounds Of Love and The Sensual World, anyway.

Paul,

Just to clarify, Hounds Of Love album, song The Big Sky, re-released in 2011 on Fish Label is the singles mix. 4:38

I have the 1997 Hounds Of Love which says “digitally remastered now features 6 bonus tracks”
on EMI label. Running time on The Big Sky is 4:41. Is this the album version, which has been replaced by the one above on the new box set.

If the 1997 album I have got, has the album version of the Big Sky, I’ll be hanging on to it

Although Kate Bush is nowhere near as bad as Morrissey for revising albums I can understand why it might bother some fans that Hounds of Love still has the single mix of The Big Sky and now The Sensual World appears to be without Walk Straight Down The Middle. The latter could easily have stayed on the CD and made more room for another track on the ‘B-sides’ CDs in the second box set. Presumably this was to make the tracklists of the CD and vinyl of TSW identical. I guess if the remastered sound proves to be a decent improvement then this might be less of an issue. I’ll be buying Hounds of Love to find out.

I’ll get The Dreaming on vinyl & cd but gutted no Dreamtime b-side and Red Shoes era 12’/remixes.

Currently the Red Shoes, Director’s Cut and 50 Words For Snow are priced as double CDs which reportedly is due to an error with the dealer price from the record company – only the vinyl versions of these titles are two discs. Hopefully these CDs will drop in price soon.

In response to Chris Squires (who doesn’t have a reply button?) it is pretty clear what the song is about and its deeper meanings, it’s just that it’s hard to forgive this:

Slooshy sloshy slooshy sloshy
Get that dirty shirty clean
Slooshy sloshy slooshy sloshy
Make those cuffs and collars gleam

:-D

a nice idea, badly executed for me.

Sorry. It’s a fail. The rarities is where it’s at. Without them, I’ll stick with the originals.

I would like to know the following, but I gather we’ll get the information later:
-What kind of case these cd’s will be housed in, jewel case, digipack or what?
-What is there inside the case? Just the booklet with lyrics and same pictures as the original releases or is there any additional info, essay or images in it?
-Does the Kick inside have the full album version of Wuthering heights or is it the abridged one (fade out before the guitar solo) that is currently the only version available on Spotify?

I would be most interested in the remaster of the first three albums, as they are my favourites. I kind of lost track after Red Shoes. Althoug everyone keeps praising Aerial as her second masterpiece, I’ve never grasped the genius in it though i’ve tried. Sensual world and even the Red shoes have better songs in them in my opinion. 50 word of show has never opened to me either.

Commentators about the value of original copies of Aerial going down in value should consider, that it is the first press engineered and pressed as Kate bush envisaged it in 2005
In vinyl terms first press will always command a premium as these remasters are also reissues
one is assuming they will be better than the originals. That is not always the case.

i wonder if she is keeping rolf harris contribution on ariel or with some clever jiggery pokery use the same person who featured on the live cut

Umm if the albums are cheaper individually what else is in the box(es) to justify the extra 10-12 quid? Seems like a McCartney-esque faux pas to me. I would expect people to go for the individual albums, leaving presumably a lot of cut price boxes for someone to hoover up, especially the last one….

This is the way it always oughtta be done.

I think Snow is one of her best and one I listen to almost more than the others, never been a fan of the pre Hounds Of Love material, too squeaky!
Annoying that the rarities aren’t available separately since don’t see much need for remastering for the Hounds and onwards material.

Anyone knows if the single remix of “The Man With The Child In His Eyes” is included on “The Kick Inside” album, as the single remix of “The Big Sky” seems to have replaced the album version on the new remaster of “Hounds Of Love”

Paul, is there any news of any album getting a HQ 24 bit / 96 kHz release ? The download of 50 Words For Snow on Kate’s official website is the only album to get this treatment – and it sounds amazing :-)

Interesting. I just received an email from Amazon that the first box set (the only one i can order at the moment) is delayed. Arrival to the US is expected late November. No other info. Was provided about the delay, including, the new release day. Wonder if this was to announce the single editions…..any Use as to why the single discs were not announced at the same time as the box sets? Could there be another product announced in the next couple of days?

Will the hi-res audio files (24/96 or 24/192) be also available for purchase?

I consider The Red Shoes her weakest album but with Aerial the rarest so its a must buy

Sensual World doesn’t get other other masterpiece status?

As I only have vinyl copies of the contents of the first box set, I’ll happily go for the ‘early’ period CD box set. Never expected this when I woke up this morning! Yay!!!

Hey Paul, is there a reason why The Red Shoes is not included in the widget list? Or am I just blind? That would be one titel I am very intersted im buying seperately.
Regards
Chris

I guess this means the material in box set 4 is exclusive to that particular set?

Are these going to be available in the US? I don’t see them on Amazon yet?

I love 50 Words for Snow, actually. I thought it intriguing. Gorgeous pianoscapes and her singing was fine to my ear. Don’t get the hate.

Can I just say, Lionheart is a fantastic album and doesn’t get the credit it deserves? Thank you very much

Well, Paul
In my opinion they are all essentials except Snow and Director…
Hope the remastered cds sound great !