The Sensual World

Kate Bush suffers from what I like to call "Björkism." Björkism is a disease that causes vocalists to wander aimlessly; rarely, if ever, approaching anything resembling a melody, let alone a legitimate hook. In fact, vocalists who suffer from Björkism often seem downright phobic when it comes to hooks. Instead, they choose to warble endlessly and leave the listener exhausted from trying to follow along. I call this syndrome Björkism, not because I believe that Kate Bush bit the style from the eponymous Björk, but because Björk is the ultimate example of this disease. Accordingly, "The Sensual World" by Kate Bush receives a slightly better score than your average Björk album because, as annoying as it is, at least it's not Björk.

Right... I'm guessing this is going to be a bit of a theme but here we go: I know this album is great, but spending one day with it isn't enought. I feel bad rating the album anything without giving it its due diligence... So, I'll give it 5 stars in the hopes that I'm not wrong once I've dedicated the time to the album that it deserves. Again, Kate Bush is a fascinating and revolutionary artist, one that is worth studying and appreciating.

DAMN… maybe all those stranger things nerds were on to something…

With all Kate Bush albums there is an element of intrigue and mystery. This is proved sonically with this album. The power and range of her voice is constant throughout with layers of atmospheric instrumentation. All mixed to never interfere with the vocals at centre stage but instead to enhance even more as the tracks build. Highlights are The Fog, Reaching Out, Deeper Understanding and the incredible finale This Woman’s Work. I personally prefer The Hounds Of Love slightly but this is still a valiant effort as a follow up to the album that has defined her career.

Beautiful, lyrical, ethereal. The opening and closing tracks are exquisite. Kate Bush is in a class of her own.

Hard to find something to enjoy about this record. Weird 80s beats and all the songs sound the same.

it doesn't quite give me the feels hounds of love does, but i'll be goddamned if i wasn't getting verklempt at "this woman's work."

La légende raconte que Kate Bush a écrit cet album quelques heures seulement après s'être acheté deux sweatshirts dans un magasin GAP. Et on a envie d'y croire tant le projet est une réussite.

Not a good album by Kate Bush. Her style is already very controversial (in my opinion), and when the music is as boring as on this record, then there is nothing redeemable about it. Whole album was a perfect example of music for human tortures, probably it's number 1 in Guantanamo. I think I'm a bit too harsh, but definitely it is not a record for me.

This kind of discovery is exactly why I was excited about the prospect of this project. I would never have given it a chance. Wikipedia says "Art Pop?" Gag. But I listened once and felt a spark. Then again and started digging it. Now a third time in four days and it keeps growing on me. I love the theme (of most tracks) of yearning for human connection in various types. It's human and earnest and totally disarmed my assumptions about being pretentious. It's a little weird, but just a little, so it seems like it's in a sweet spot for me. So like, Tori Amos and Robyn and Portishead in a stew, not Bjork salad.

Yes. This clicked Kate Bush for me. I always appreciated she had an amazing voice and style, but I never enjoyed her music and always found it a bit too soft and airy. This album packs a punch, it's daring and out there, and her voice cuts through that brilliantly. It's fantastic

Bonerific

Excellent album, en revanche j'ai pas trop apprécié sa décla comme quoi "tout le monde préfère sa propre race à celle des autres"

Kate Bush is incredible. In looking at previous work in this project, Hounds of Love is one of my favorite albums ever. This album didn't quite show the variety of voices and styles that I appreciated so much in that one, but I still very much love so much of it. The title track has always been a sensual favorite, and "This Woman's Work" will always be emotionally connected to the scene from "She's Having a Baby," which it was written for. I did notice the influence from the very popular in the late 80s "Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares" keep creeping in, and then saw that it had an actual Bulgarian women's choir join in. "Deeper Understanding" is strangely prescient of our times for 1989! "Love and Anger" continues to be the sort of engaging song that made it on the US charts.

I'm pretty sure Kate Bush is from the Feywild.

Who knew that something that begins with a Ulysses-inspired tune would turn out to be so lush? Layered, dense, and beautiful.

I’m a huge fan of Kate Bush but I think this is one of her weakest albums. There aren’t any bad songs, but no absolute knockouts either. This is probably her most commercially appealing work which is also probably why I’m not as enthusiastic about it. I would give this a 3.5 but round up because I’m not sure if her iconic albums like Never Forever, The Dreaming, Hounds of Love or Aerial will show up on this list

Titellåten gjorde ingenting för mig. Försökte för hårt att vara porrig och sensuell. Bra fart och nice David Gilmour-gitarr i Love And Anger. I The Fog är Kate Bush' röst så fin och skör. Precis tillräckligt stämningsfull och mystisk och experimentell, mycket bra! Reaching Out är kraftfull, kanske lite för powerballadig. Mer poetiskt än melodiskt vacker. Heads We're Dancing visar upp ett kul och innovativt låtskrivande, när berättarjaget blir uppbjuden till dans av Hitler. Deeper Understanding fortsätter understryka vad som verkar vara genomgående i albumet: briljant låtskrivande och sång av Kate Bush, men musikaliska arrangemang som är ganska släta och för mycket 80-tal för mig. Handlar om hur berättarjaget får kärlek och förståelse endast av en dator (före sin tid frågetecken). Between a Man and a Woman och Never Be Mine ljöd i lurarna utan att jag reagerade nämnvärt, varken bra eller dåligt. Rocket's Tail däremot! De första tre verserna är endast Bush' sång ackompanjerad av en bakgrundskör (den bulgariska kören Trio Bulgarka enligt wiki) innan bandet slår som en slägga - gitarrer och bas, trummor och hat - som förvandlar låten till ett fantastiskt rocknummer. David Gilmour med även här. This Woman's Work fantastiskt vacker. Tydligen ska bakgrundssången låta som en kvinna med sammandragningar inför en födsel. Ett bra album, med ett sound som kanske inte åldrats så väl, men som ändå lyckas dra in en i sin meditativa aura. Med en enigmatisk och mystisk Kate Bush blir det en upplevelse! Avslutet, med Rocket's Tail och This Woman's Work (räknar inte med bonusspåret Walk Straight Down the Middle), höjer albumet väldigt mycket! Under lyssningen gick mitt betyg från en 2:a, med hjälp av Kate Bush' mysticism till en 3:a, och tack vare de avslutande låtarna, som hjälpte mig se resten av albumet i ett nytt ljus, till en stabil 4:a! Bästa låt: Den första som stack ut efter en grundligare lyssning var The Fog. Men de två sista låtarna måste också nämnas. Speciellt andra halvan av Rocket's Tail.

Bush finally clicks. A sumptuous record (or should I say sensual) where the artist is able to convey an emotional range above and beyond the mere mortal. Best track: This Woman's Work.

Highlights: The Sensual World, Deeper Understanding, This Woman's Work It's easy (and frankly lazy) to compare Kate Bush to Tori Amos, but there is so much more. Both feature a strong, crystal clear vocal talent, companied with classically-trained piano...Bush's haunting, sweeping melodies intertwined with other-worldly lyrics are easily her own, comparisons be damned. She'll hook you with a pop-like progression and turn on you, shattering your expectations with the unsettling reality that this is her show, she's going to run it her way. It's great. This is a strong album from start to finish.

Yesh. This is bad

This just wasn't for me. I liked the David Gilmour solo towards the end of the album that other than that this was a chore.

Hell yeah

another entry by the fantastic kate bush, this one smooth, dreamy, and... yes, absolutely sensual. this album is majorly centered around the euphoric and ethereal emotions revolving human intimacy. folksy and cathedralesque, this album, like others in kate's discography is unique and all her own. it's softer compared to her more famous tracks and albums.

Some people in music got to the point in the year where they had to write an album and knuckled down and wrote enough songs. Bush from Hounds of Love onwards seems to have just absorbed herself and written symphonies. Whole album of texture and sound, of musical experimentation. One of the finest prog rock artists of all time. I bought this in the autumn it came out and I'm listening to it here in November and it still screams cold, dark days and nights to me. A virtually perfect piece of work. Hell this is good. It even has Mick Karn.

This Woman's Work.

fantastic

It's unusual for an album to sound so '80s, but not be dated. Kate Bush has always been a legend and her music holds up well.

Wow. This album was really powerful and beautiful. So many layers of sound and emotion. I was so-so on her last album, but this one kind of knocked my socks off. I got very immersed in the soul of it. I like how a lot of the tracks built as they went on. The first and last tracks were my faves, but so many great ones in between too.

Amazing! Anytime I thought I wasn’t loving it, the songs managed to come back around and grip me again. With that said, this one definitely needs way more than just one listen.

I'm not familiar with Kate Bush except for that one "Running up that hill" This was a beautiful album.

Lovlwy

Großartig. Kate Bush eben. Tolle Atmosphäre, spannende Stimme. 5/5

Every single song is beautiful and very affecting - a perfect record!

1989 - what a year for albums. This Woman's Work is easily the best song from any album we've listened to so far.

Great album. All the quirkiness and splendor one expects from Kate Bush.

Favorite Kate Bush CD.

Third Kate Bush album on the list. I remember this was a highly anticipated release at the time. Not as strong as Hounds of Love but this was not to be expected, still an easy 5 stars. my score in 1989: 10/10 my score in 2024: 10/10

Perhaps not as special as The Dreaming and Hounds of Love, but still a very beautiful album. The Trio Bulgarka sounds amazing, especially on my favourite track Deeper Understanding.

Great album!

As with any of Kate Bush's greatest work there's just so much to listen to here - chopped up drum machine bits, ethereal fiddles, unexpected guitar solos, and, uh, per Wikipedia, a cracked fishing rod? Of course, where else could it lead but one of the most powerfully sparse songs in Bush's catalogue with "This Woman's Work" - (mostly) just voice and piano, building and building to its haunting coda of "Make it go away". I wanted to not give it a 5 as a human being who's listened to Hounds of Love before, but come on, you always gotta give props to maybe the most classic auteur pop music ever gave us.

-YES another toe-curling five star number from Kate bush. It’s a lot more conventional and mature than The Dreaming but almost as good. I went through a period just about a year ago where I was absolutely obsessed with this album so it’s nice to revisit it -Favorites are The Sensual World, Love and Anger, The Fog, Heads We’re Dancing, and Rocket’s Tail

yes

So good! Very emotive. I like the lyrics, vocals, and sax parts the most..especially those deep cuts

Favorite Track: This Woman’s Work The Sensual World

If there is a problem in loving and appreciating an artists work so much, it is you are sometimes so familiar with a particular album you seldom listen to it in full. This is one of the great things about following this list in that you are sometimes ‘forced’ to listen to an album you thought it was impossible not to find anything new in. I realised that a few days ago when I was dealt Tarkus by ELP and reinforced today with this massive album. I knew it was bloody good but if you asked me yesterday where I would have put it in the complete Kate Bush catalogue it would have been near the bottom. But how the passage of time sometimes distorts your view or memories. Just one listen through again and I had to reassess to conclude it is impossible to grade any Kate Bush album as they are all masterpieces in their own way and completely different from one album to the next. That’s the magic of Kate Bush and why I and billions of others love her music. Because of the passage of time it was like hearing one or two of the lesser known tracks for the first time and since I have upgraded my listening equipment over the years discovered new sounds within the tracks. “This Woman’s Work” is a track which has never slipped my mind and one of my all time favourite Kate Bush songs. What a beauty it is. When Kate Bush sits behind a piano and sings a song with little accompaniment there is no-one like her to produce such emotion and sadness which always invariably brings me to tears. 5+/5 10/4/24

I’m at a 5. This is my first Kate Bush album – obviously, Running Up That Hill was huge a few years ago, but I never really took a deeper dive into her music. What’s here is one hell of a look at the idea of the human condition and the need for relevancy, comfort, and connection, bedazzled and supplemented with fantastic production work that seems to be the absolute pinnacle of the mid-80s style, refined all the way to this point in 1989. Her vocals are incredible throughout this album, and the lyricism is pretty damn good throughout. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a more effective beat drop in my life than the launch of “Rocket’s Tail” – just a masterclass of how to do that sort of thing and have it work perfectly. It’s one of the many examples of great production work blending with Kate’s vision that are scattered throughout the album, but it hits brilliantly on that track in particular. This Woman’s Work might be one of the most emotional album closers that I’ve ever heard. Seeing the scene it’s paired with adds an incredible layer of depth. Really, I could keep glowing with praise, but I just felt really touched by this album. It hits a few snags of repetition or empty spots at points, but those get immediately washed away by some great line or a great vocal hit or something crazy in the soundscape. It’s just a really fucking strong album, and a very easy 5 for me.

I would have never have thought of pairing jaunty folk instuments with, well, the sensual world. But I'm not Kate Bush Better than I expected even from her tbh! Heads We're Dancing was a revelation. I didn't think we'd get such a BEAT! Rocket's Tail was bloody gorgeous. She's just a real visionary and it shows here, throughout. She seems more purposeful this album than the one I had to study But I did in fact get called out by the spending my evenings with the computer like a friend line...

the queen of my heart

One of the small number of people for me who need their own scale.

109% brilliant

Listened to it many times. She’s awesome. Wife loves it too. 😘

based

Love a bit of the Bush….

Progressive pop perfection.

I have a slight distrust in anyone who calls Kate Bush 'too weird'. I do kind of understand though. Her vocal style is unique, her music refuses to be complacent, and she's routinely compared to Bjork (not a bad thing in my opinion). The last point is slightly unfair as Bjork was still aimlessly jumping around Icelandic punk bands when Kate Bush was already established. If anything, it's Bjork who sounds like Kate Bush. I've always been intrigued by her music though it didn't immediately make complete sense to me. Repeated listens and multiple albums really help to connect the pieces though. There's something different and truthful about Kate Bush that's sitting there waiting for new generations to discover. Thanks to 'Stranger Things' that's exactly what has been happening. If you didn't like this one or found it 'too weird', I'd encourage another listen. Like a good wine, sometimes you need to let it sit for a short while before drinking it.

I just listen to this album a few weeks ago. I love this album and Kate Bush in general. I love the mixture of traditional and contemporary music. Great story telling and very emotional.

Excellent album that is much more than just a collection of songs. The songs and soundscape are written to be part of a whole without the too obvious need to produce them for single release. Dua Lippa eat your heart out.

The 80s was a dark period in pop music, especially the latter half of the decade. Things were so commercialised and overproduced, and everything just sounded the same and was painfully cheesy. For my whole life I have only ever been able to describe it as this "annoying 80s sound", without knowing what it actually was. But anyway, you get the point. I'm just going off on a tangent now. Kate Bush was a beacon of hope in the 80s. In such a commercial era of pop music, her progressive lyrics and forward thinking approach to art pop is so refreshing, and has aged absolutely beautifully. She did what she wanted and never sold out and became just another 80s pop star that faded into irrelevance in the early 90s. She kept making genuinely good music and I couldn't be more thankful for it, as fantastic albums like this show how there still was great pop music in the late 80s.

Eerie vocals over some well written and produced instrumentation. It’s witchcraft in the best way.

Well, it’s Kate Bush. For me this one flags at the start of side 2. Still gets a 5 though. This Woman’s Work has the ability to reduce me to tears

Absolutely excellent. I will never not give Kate Bush anything less than 5 stars. While The Sensual World isn't Kate Bush's best or, dare I say, flawless (see The Dreaming or Hounds of Love), it does have my favourite KB song; Never for Ever.

5/5. I don't know how she does it, every album feels so expressive and experienced. There is a passion and world-building that exists through your voice but also through great choices in instrumentation. This album, and most of her albums, spawned a generation of art pop that allowed female artists to explore the experimental without commercial or executive pushback. Just an awesome album, just like most of her stuff, great harmonies and backing vocals as well. Best Song: Love And Anger, Rocket's Tail, This Woman's Work

Gorgeous, Sensual, unique, wonderful.

brilliant

So apparently Kate Bush releasing The Dreaming, Hounds of Love, and The Sensual World in order might be one of my favourite three-album streaks ever. And I had absolutely no idea before going through this list.

Kate Bush utilizes the bouzouki, uilleann pipes and a damn fishing rod on the first track - and I'm all aboard. It's a bit less dreamy and more grounded (if any Kate Bush album from this era can be called that) and it suits the songwriting, production and her vocals immensely. The Sensual World ends an insane trio of albums by Kate Bush, with this, the last of her 80's-albums, being slightly better than The Dreaming and almost as good as Hounds of Love.

Love it.

Beautiful voice. Amazing lyrics.

Blows me over each time I listen - which has been many times.

This Woman’s Work always gives me chills when I hear it. It is profoundly moving. I’m not familiar with Kate’s full catalogue of work, but I think this might be the most accessible and enthralling she has ever been. Hounds of Love was giving me life too, but this album is an ethereal ghostly beauty that captivates and arrests my attention. The soundscape created here is lush, emotional, and airy; I love this side of Kate, she’s brilliant at creating fully realized sonic worlds where listeners can luxuriate in the splendour of it all. Top marks!

Amazing!

Perfect beauty.

Fantastic album. Must buy on vinyl.

I'm familiar with a lot of Kate Bush's work; I was a big fan of her throughout her catalog up to and including Hounds Of Love and for whatever reason, she fell off my radar. This album rivals HOL and The Dreaming for what she's known for best: excellent songwriting, top-tier musicianship and arrangements, and state-of-the-art production quality. Fabulous album. Mick Karn's bass on Deeper Understanding is a real standout treat.

After Wuthering Heights, I thought I'd heard all I needed to hear from Kate Bush. Turns out this album has everything I loved about that song but without the almost shrill edge that made me avoid the rest of her catalog. I'm glad this album was on the list. Time to give her a deeper listen

Love, love, love Kate Bush since the early 80's. Favorite all time female vocalist. But I didn't ever buy this album! I have several others.

Absolutely loved it. Definitely among my new favorite albums of its era - have listened to a bunch of Kate Bush before but never this album somehow. Magical. Amazing melodies and arrangements.

Ein Album, dass ich schon lange nicht mehr gehört habe - und es gefällt mir wieder einmal sehr gut.

I adore Kate Bush. She’s an arty, sometimes comical, overly sensitive when she needs to be and tough when she’s not rock singer. Even though I haven’t listened to a lot of her albums (I’ve only listened to some of Lionheart and The Kick Inside and this one today), she makes some really good songs that stand the test of time. Her songwriting on this album is just like the others: Adventurous and not afraid to go the distance. Songs like the title track and “Heads We’re Dancing” are stellar examples of this newfangled sound she seems to have made. All of the songs on this album are pure gold in musical form. This is an album I’d definitely recommend to other people for the adventurous sounds alone. I’ll be sure to keep a look out for Hounds of Love and any other album of hers on this list, and I’ll definitely listen to this one again. 5/5 Favorites: “Deeper Understanding”, “Heads We’re Dancing”, “Between a Man and a Woman”, “This Woman’s Work” Least Favs: None

Didn't get it at first, then I did. Made me cry amazing

This is the kind of thing I want from this project. I've always wanted to dive into Kate Bush beyond Hounds Of Love, but never have made the time. This was absolutely excellent, and I will definitely go all in on her catalogue now. Such a weird, beautiful record.

I’ve heard one Kate Bush album prior to today (Hounds Of Love) and it completely blew me away. I didn’t realise quite how many songs of hers that I already knew until listening to that. Therefore, I’m understandably excited to give this a listen today! Songs I already knew: This Woman’s Work Favourites: This Woman’s Work, The Sensual World Holy hell, this album is phenomenal. I’d heard This Woman’s Work before but hadn’t properly listened to it, and it gave me full body goosebumps and got me quite emotional. Her voice is angelic throughout, and the music is very 80s, but also much more interestingly arranged than I may have expected before listening. Truly, Kate Bush is something else. This might have shot into one of my favourite albums of all time.

This was great. David Gilmore screams on a couple of tracks, neat mix of 80s sounds with traditional Irish instruments, loved it. Will listen to again for sure

Weird in a way I'm not cool enough to appreciate.

Awesome

Listened to it, as soon as it ended I started the album again. This Woman's Work at the end is unreal, just perfect

Beautiful

Loved it!

It's so good. Her voice, the drums, the chorus, everything is beautiful.

At once rapturous and lustrous, Kate Bush follows up her biggest hit with a greeting that evokes the climactic end of a Irish literary classic. From here on, she soars and shines in her own by now lofty standards and she doesn't disappoint in the slightest. The Sensual World thus allows itself to not only make splendid usage of its structure but allow eventual inhabitants to glean inspiration from its environment. Yet another wonderful entry in the Kate Bush Canon.

p620. 1989. 4.5 stars. Brilliant all rounder shows how it should be done - there are more ideas and invention here than most artists manage in an entire career. And This Woman's Work is possibly the best song she's ever written. Half a point docked for getting a little bit saggy around the rear, but its still fabulous. A bit like Kate :)

I'd still consider Hounds Of Love her gratest album, but there is only one word. Genius. ❤️

Great record, love the openness of the sound

Kate kills it again.

Love Kate Bush, certainly unique. Fave tracks, The Sensual World, Deeper Understanding.

This is an incredible album. I don't know why I didn't seek it out earlier given how much I like 'Hounds of Love'. I think I might even enjoy this one more as a whole but that's a tough call. I continued to listen to this one throughout the day on repeat, which is always a surefire sign that an album is 5/5 for me. I think "Love and Anger" and "This Woman's Work" are my two complete standouts from this album. This is just really beautifully written and Kate Bush's voice carries so much emotional. Standout Tracks: The Sensual World, Love and Anger, Reaching Out, Deeper Understanding, Rocket's Tail, This Woman's Work

What can I say? The woman’s a genius and “This Woman’s Work” is brilliant. Best tracks: This Woman’s Work, Between A Man And A Woman, Rocket’s Tail, Deeper Understanding, Love And Anger

Brilliant album.

This album makes me incredibly sad. In an artistic way. It used to, too, when I was younger. Now I know why. It's not any easier now than it was then, but at least I have context for the emotions now. I am less afraid.