'50 Words...' is a remarkable piece of work, and an album that could only have been made by someone with many years of experience behind them. It's a very grown-up record which credits it's listeners with patience, intelligence, and a wonderful sense of adventure. It is also a welcome antidote to the saturated brickwall compression employed in much music these days - Kate knows the power of the space between the sounds - to hell with the pressure of 'radio-play' let's make real album.
In many ways the instrumentation harks right back to '78 ('The Kick Inside', 'Lionheart') - lots of piano, bass, and drums (loose cymbal work, and tom-tom fills) backed up with gorgeous orchestral flourishes. Kates voice though has matured beautifully since those days; her diction is still unmatched but is now suffused with subtlety, soul, and three decades of life lived.
Of the seven long pieces here, I would say four are instant and indisputable classics - 'Snowflake', 'Lake Tahoe', 'Misty', and 'Among Angels' excel and astound with simple, economic sophistication (and these four alone play for longer than Radiohead's entire 'King Of Limbs' fiasco of disappointment!). It's tracks 4, 5, and 6 that will have critics debating. 'Wild Man' the first of these (and the obvious 'stab' at a single)sounded innocuous enough when released prior to the album, but here feels a little thin following the three monumental songs, and 35 minutes preceeding it. The biggest misfire though must be the choice of Elton John to duet on 'Snowed In At Wheeler Street' - a worthy and haunting song made tired and over'egged by his mere presence. Track 6, the title song, whilst sounding Lemon Jelly-esque with Stephen Fry's spoken list of terms for snow, fairs much better. It evokes something strange and slightly dark even though on the face of it is the most sprightly thing here. It will get under your skin in the way only Kate Bush can.
On this release I think Kate has reinforced her 'genius' status more than anyone could have hoped, particularly for someone this far into their career. And just as 'Aerial' was a perfect summer soundtrack, '50 Words...' will warm and enchant those long winter nights.