No one could accuse everyone’s favourite aunt Kate Bush of complacency. Whilst her latest album is ostensibly a reissue of eleven tracks taken from two previous albums (1989’s The Sensual World and 1993’s The Red Shoes), it amounts to a full on reimagining of songs that Kate (first name terms) has expressed some dissatisfaction with. Some tracks have been merely remastered, some have been completely rerecorded.
The problem with albums like this is that they often amount to no more than a vanity exercise; an excuse for an artist to revisit their glory days. The most they can generally hope to achieve would be reminding the listener of how good (or bad) the originals were. Director’s Cut mostly avoids this trap through the extensive reimagining the songs undergo. Those who know her best will know that Kate has learned a lot since 1993 – for one, she has discovered autotune, and mercilessly beats us over the head with it on ‘Deeper Understanding’.
But sometimes the polish Director’s Cut gives its source material feels unnecessary and in places uncomfortable. One of the reasons Kate is so great is because she’s kind of endearingly crap (watch the video for ‘Wuthering Heights’ and disagree with me – 4 minutes of karate-inspired mime in the middle of a field). For example, the warm sound of the electric piano on the new version of ‘This Woman’s Work’, whilst nice, pales in comparison to the much more raw and tender acoustic in the original recording. Ultimately, Director’s Cut is an interesting exercise in original artistic intentions, but personally I felt better served by the originals. Sorry Kate.
