Kate Bush - The Red Shoes (1993)

The Red Shoes is the seventh studio album by the British singer Kate Bush. Released in November 1993, it was accompanied by Bush's short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve, and was her last album before taking a 12-year hiatus. The album peaked at no.2 in the UK album chart and has been certified Platinum by the BPI for over 300,000 copies sold. In the US, the album reached #28, her highest chart position there to date. The album has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.

The Red Shoes was inspired by the 1948 film of the same name by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, which itself was inspired by the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. It concerns a dancer, possessed by her art, who cannot take off the eponymous shoes and find peace.

Bush had suggested she would tour for The Red Shoes and deliberately aimed for a "live band" feel, with less of the studio trickery that had typified her last three albums (which would be difficult to recreate on stage). However the tour never materialised.

This was a troubled time for Bush, who had suffered a series of bereavements including the loss of her favoured guitarist, Alan Murphy, and, most painfully, her mother, Hannah. Bush's long-term relationship with bassist Del Palmer had also ended, although the pair continued to work together. Many of the people she lost are honoured on the ballad, "Moments Of Pleasure", as well as director Michael Powell, with whom she had discussed working with shortly before his death in 1990. Composer and conductor Michael Kamen contributed a score for the song.

Most notably, The Red Shoes featured many more high-profile cameo appearances than her previous efforts. Comedian Lenny Henry provided guest vocals on "Why Should I Love You?", a track that also featured significant contributions from Prince. "And So Is Love" features guitar work by Eric Clapton, and Gary Brooker (from the band Procol Harum), Trevor Whittaker, and Jeff Beck also collaborated.

A short film, The Line, the Cross & the Curve, written and directed by Bush, and starring herself and English actress Miranda Richardson was released the same year. It featured six songs from the album: "Rubberband Girl", "And So Is Love", "The Red Shoes", "Moments of Pleasure", "Eat The Music", and "Lily". The first five were used as promo videos for the singles, though Bush recorded a separate video for the American release of "Rubberband Girl" (though this video is intercut with clips from The Line, the Cross and the Curve). ~ from Wikipedia.

Tracklist:

1. Rubberband Girl 4:44
2. And So Is Love 4:18
3. Eat The Music 5:11
4. Moments Of Pleasure 5:19
5. The Song Of Salomon 4:28
6. Lily 3:52
7. The Red Shoes 4:01
8. Top Of The City 4:17
9. Constellation Of The Heart 4:46
10. Big Stripey Lie 3:32
11. Why Should I Love You? 5:01
12. You're The One 5:53

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