Before the Dawn (Kate Bush album)

Summary

Before the Dawn is the second live album by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush, credited to The KT Fellowship. The album was released on 25 November 2016[12] by Bush's label Fish People, and is distributed in the United States by Concord Records. It was recorded in 2014 during Bush's sell-out 22-date residency, Before the Dawn, at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, which saw her return to the stage following a 35-year absence.

Before the Dawn
Live album by
Released25 November 2016 (2016-11-25)
RecordedAugust–October 2014
VenueHammersmith Apollo (London)
Genre
Length155:07
Label
ProducerKate Bush
Kate Bush chronology
50 Words for Snow
(2011)
Before the Dawn
(2016)
The Other Sides
(2019)
Singles from Before the Dawn
  1. "King of the Mountain (Live)"
    Released: 21 October 2016
  2. "And Dream of Sheep (Live)"
    Released: 18 November 2016
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
The A.V. ClubA−[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Independent[5]
Mojo[6]
The Observer[7]
Pitchfork8.5/10[8]
Q[9]
The Times[10]
Uncut[11]

The album has been certified Gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry.

Overview edit

As with the residency, the album is split into three parts, comprising seven miscellaneous songs, the complete Ninth Wave suite from Hounds of Love, and A Sky of Honey from Bush's 2005 release Aerial. Presented in the same order as the original show, the album's performances are culled from various shows throughout the residency.

Before the Dawn contains the song "Tawny Moon" performed by Bush's son, Albert McIntosh. It also includes the track "Never Be Mine", which did not feature on the Before the Dawn residency, but was recorded when the show was performed without an audience for the purposes of filming the production.

Following two years of speculation, the album, released as three-CD and four-record pressings, was officially announced on 29 September 2016; the track "Prologue" was also shared. Bush commented:

It was an extraordinary experience putting the show together. It was a huge amount of work, a lot of fun and an enormous privilege to work with such an incredibly talented team. This is the audio document. I hope that this can stand alone as a piece of music in its own right and that it can be enjoyed by people who knew nothing about the shows as well as those who were there. I never expected the overwhelming response of the audiences, every night filling the show with life and excitement. They are there in every beat of the recorded music. Even when you can't hear them, you can feel them.[13][14][15][16][17]

The track "Prologue (Live)" was made available for streaming on 28 September, before "King of the Mountain (Live)" was released as a promotional single on 21 October, and "And Dream of Sheep (Live)", along with an accompanying piece of film used during the concerts, was made available as the album's official single on 18 November 2016.[18][19]

In November 2018, Bush released box sets of remasters of her studio albums. Before the Dawn was included in the second box set, but was not remastered.

Track listing edit

All songs written by Kate Bush, except "Astronomer's Call", "Waking the Witch", and "Watching Them Without Her", written with David Mitchell, and "Jig of Life" written with Bill Whelan and John Carder Bush.

Disc one: Act I

  1. "Lily" – 4:50
  2. "Hounds of Love" – 3:29
  3. "Joanni" – 6:09
  4. "Top of the City" – 5:13
  5. "Never Be Mine" – 5:57
  6. "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" – 5:39
  7. "King of the Mountain" – 8:08

Disc two: Act II – The Ninth Wave

  1. "Astronomer's Call" – 2:38
  2. "And Dream of Sheep" – 3:35
  3. "Under Ice" – 2:59
  4. "Waking the Witch" – 6:35
  5. "Watching Them Without Her" – 2:01
  6. "Watching You Without Me" – 4:25
  7. "Little Light" – 2:04
  8. "Jig of Life" – 4:09
  9. "Hello Earth" – 8:00
  10. "The Morning Fog" – 5:19

Disc three: Act III – A Sky of Honey

  1. "Prelude" – 1:53
  2. "Prologue" – 10:12
  3. "An Architect's Dream" – 5:19
  4. "The Painter's Link" – 1:33
  5. "Sunset" – 7:59
  6. "Aerial Tal" – 1:29
  7. "Somewhere in Between" – 7:01
  8. "Tawny Moon" – 6:10
  9. "Nocturn" – 8:48
  10. "Aerial" – 9:45
  11. "Among Angels" – 5:50
  12. "Cloudbusting" – 7:16

Personnel edit

Speaking parts and chorus
  • John Carder Bush – writer and narrator ("Jig of Life")
  • Paddy Bush – helicopter pilot ("Waking the Witch"), harmonic vocals, fujare
  • Kevin Doyle – astronomer ("Astronomer's Call")
  • Jo Servi – witchfinder ("Waking the Witch"), chorus
  • Albert McIntosh – Ben ("Watching Them Without Her"), Boy ("Prelude", "The Painter's Link", "Tawny Moon"), chorus
  • Bob Harms – dad ("Watching Them Without Her"), chorus
  • Jacqui DuBois, Sandra Marvin, chorus
Production
  • Kate Bush – writer, producer, mixing
  • David Mitchell – co-writer ("Astronomer's Call", "Watching Them Without Her", and the helicopter pilot)
  • Nick Skilbeck – chorus MD
  • Ben Thompson – puppeteer
  • Robert Allsopp – puppet creation
  • Chris Lawson – guitar and bass technician
  • Morten 'Turbo' Thobro – keyboard (and guitar) technician
  • Steve Grey – drums and percussion technician
  • Ian Newton – monitor engineer, 'water tank' vocals research and recording
  • Baz Tymms – backline technician
  • Greg Walsh – FOH engineer, surround systems supervision, 'water tank' vocals research and recording
  • Davide Lombardi – FOH engineer
  • Davey Williamson – surround systems engineer
  • James Drew – soundscape
  • Jim Jones and Ian Silvester – studio technician, live show recording
  • Stephen W Tayler – live lead vocal engineer, audio post-production sunshine, mixing
  • James Guthrie – sound consultant, mastering
  • Joel Plante – mastering
  • Stuart Crouch Creative - album artwork design
  • Timorous Beasties – Two Worlds illustration
  • Ruth Rowland – hand lettering
  • Tim Walker, Trevor Leighton, Ken McKay, Gavin Bush – photography
  • Tim Walker – cover photography
  • Paul Munro- 'water tank' Vocals Production Sound MIxer

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Certifications for Before the Dawn
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Gold 100,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ "Before The Dawn by Kate Bush Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  2. ^ Deming, Mark (2016). "Kate Bush - Before the Dawn". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  3. ^ Waite, Kelsey J. (2 December 2016). "Kate Bush recasts her post-'85 catalog for the epic, vivid Before The Dawn". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  4. ^ Petridis, Alexis (17 November 2016). "Kate Bush and the K Fellowship: Before the Dawn review – a pop treasure, live and kicking". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  5. ^ Gill, Andy (23 November 2016). "Album reviews: Kate Bush - Before The Dawn, Bruno Mars - 24K Magic, Sun Ra - Singles, and more". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  6. ^ Cameron, Keith (January 2017). "Kate Bush: Before The Dawn". Mojo. p. 96.
  7. ^ Mongrdien, Phil (27 November 2016). "Kate Bush/ The KT Fellowship: Before the Dawn review – highlights abound". The Observer. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  8. ^ Snapes, Laura (28 November 2016). "Kate Bush: Before the Dawn". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  9. ^ Blake, Mark (January 2017). "Living The Dream". Q. p. 110.
  10. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (25 November 2016). "Pop: Kate Bush: Before the Dawn". The Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  11. ^ Thomson, Graeme (9 December 2016). "Kate Bush – Before The Dawn". Uncut. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Before the Dawn (Live) by Kate Bush on iTunes". Apple Music (AU). Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  13. ^ "Liner Notes". Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  14. ^ Geslani, Michelle (29 September 2016). "Kate Bush announces new live album Before the Dawn, shares "Prologue" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  15. ^ Earls. John (29 September 2016). "Kate Bush to release new live album". NME. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  16. ^ Fane Saunders, Tristram (29 September 2016). "Kate Bush to release Before the Dawn triple-album in November". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  17. ^ "Kate to release the live album "Before the Dawn"". katebush.com. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  18. ^ Berman, Taylor (21 November 2016). "Video: Kate Bush – "And Dream Of Sheep (Live)"". Spin. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  19. ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (21 November 2016). "Watch Kate Bush's stunning new video for live version of 'And Dream Of Sheep'". NME. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
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