Kate Bush is arguably the most important solo female artist from England in the past 25 years and Hounds of Love is roundly viewed as her most popular and best album.
Released in 1985, Hounds of Love helped break Bush in America and provided her a rebound from disappointing reviews of 1982’s The Dreaming in the UK. The album - the first produced completely by Bush herself - is a masterpiece in the sense that it is both commercially viable and musically experimental. It is an album of two parts, the first half containing a series of singles, including the wildly successful "Running Up that Hill (A Deal With God)", "Cloudbusting" and the album's title track. The album's second half is a series of songs about a woman lost at sea and facing death. The album, quite ingeniously, ends abruptly and unexpectedly; conveying the idea of death’s arrival when it is least expected, but imminent.
Among the great artistic expressions to come from Hounds of Love were Bush’s music videos. She notoriously declined to tour in support of her albums, so from 1979 onward, the main way fans got to see her perform was through her videos. Bush made a small film for "Cloudbusting" featuring actor Donald Sutherland (the modern day equivalent would probably be Cate Blanchette), also attempting what she later told MTV was her first try at acting. The video (and song) are based on Daniel Reich's account of his father’s life, controversial psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich.
Bush also created memorable clips for "Running Up That Hill" (an impeccably choreographed male/female dance routine set to a stark background) and "Hounds of Love" (where a man and woman are handcuffed together in extreme circumstances as a literal interpretation of their love – and btw – it's got better cinematography than most movies of the time) as well as a less memorable clip for "The Big Sky."
Hounds of Love is one of Bush’s most focused and structured works. In a brilliant artistic move, she managed to create both a pop and concept album by splitting the difference and giving each side it's own theme. She also gave the masses accessible art that did not require dumbing down her lyrics or musical content.
Public response to Hounds, plus later acceptance for The Dreaming in America, provided her with greater support than that received from her record label, EMI, who put together a strong marketing push for the album.
Courtney
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