Skip to main content
  • News
    • MTV News
    • Trending News
    • Videos & Interviews
    • Taylor Swift
    • Kim Kardashian
  • Music
    • Music Highlights
    • Music Videos
    • Charts
    • Playlists
    • EMAs
    • MTV PUSH
    • Artists
  • Shows
    • Latest Shows
    • The Charlotte Show
    • Geordie Shore
    • Ex on the Beach
    • Just Tattoo Of Us
    • Teen Mom UK
    • The Royal World
  • Movies
    • Movies Highlights
    • New Movies Coming Soon
    • Videos & Interviews
    • Trailers
    • Moana
  • Travel
    • Videos
  • Style
  • Life
    • Life
    • MTV Breaks
    • Sex
    • WTF
    • SRS
    • Travel
    • Fitness
    • Generation Change
  • Pictures
  • Win
  • MTV Play
  • TV Guide
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Search
  • Pictures
  • Win
  • MTV Play
  • TV Guide
Home
  • News
    • MTV News
    • Trending News
    • Videos & Interviews
    • Taylor Swift
    • Kim Kardashian
  • Music
    • Music Highlights
    • Music Videos
    • Charts
    • Playlists
    • EMAs
    • MTV PUSH
    • Artists
  • Shows
    • Latest Shows
    • The Charlotte Show
    • Geordie Shore
    • Ex on the Beach
    • Just Tattoo Of Us
    • Teen Mom UK
    • The Royal World
  • Movies
    • Movies Highlights
    • New Movies Coming Soon
    • Videos & Interviews
    • Trailers
    • Moana
  • Travel
    • Videos
  • Style
  • Life
    • Life
    • MTV Breaks
    • Sex
    • WTF
    • SRS
    • Travel
    • Fitness
    • Generation Change
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Search

Kate Bush

  • Main
  • News

Kate Bush - '50 Words For Snow' Album Review

A seasonal masterpiece to warm the coldest heart…

  • Share to Facebook
  • Tweet to Twitter
  • Share to Google plus
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - 18:34

Six years on from Kate Bush's last album Ariel, and 2011 has already seen a relative flurry of activity with the release of Director's Cut, which featured reworkings of earlier material, and now the all-new 50 Words For Snow.

The album's seven tracks, which range in length between seven and fourteen minutes long, are all winter themed, and are, as Bush describes them, "set against a background of falling snow."

The first three tracks - Snowflake, Lake Tahoe and Misty - are sparse, glacial affairs, with a strong emphasis on jazzy piano and Bush's vocals, while the album's second half thaws and warms.

As ever, Bush's voice is a marvellously unique and sensual instrument. She plays the part of many of the characters who inhabit 50 Words' worlds, channelling their words as if performing a seance, yet manages to keep the process gimmick free and entirely natural.

As well as once again confirming Bush's voice and melodic talents, 50 Words reinforces her highly imaginative powers of storytelling - who else could write a track like Misty, whose subject is Bush's sexual relationship with a snowman, and make it seem like a heartfelt tale Raymond Briggs would kill to have dreamt up?

Joining Bush on different tracks are an eclectic mix of guests, including Andy Fairweather Low, Albert McIntosh, Stephen Fry, and Elton John - who gives his most heartfelt vocal performance in years on the decades-spanning story of longing Snowed In At Wheeler Street.

50 Words For Snow is an astounding piece of work unlike anything else.

Initially baffling and at times so sparse and slight it appears to melt away as soon as the notes are struck, over time it reveals itself to be an incredibly fulfilling and enchanting collection, twinkling with magic and frozen beauty.

Gavin Cullen
 

Latest News

Griff - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Griff Talks “Inspirational” Taylor Swift, Lorde & More
Pa Salieu - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Pa Salieu Won't Be Defined By Genre: ‘I Can Do Whatever I Want’
Bree Runway - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Bree Runway: 'Can You Imagine How Crazy I’m About To Go In 2021?'
Inhaler - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Inhaler: ‘We Were A Really Bad Heavy Metal Band For A While’
How To Look After Your Mental Health In 2021
Nathan Dawe - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Nathan Dawe Talks ‘Massive’ Collabs For 2021
Claudia Valentina - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Claudia Valentina: ‘My Dreams Have Never Been Small’
Arlo Parks - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Arlo Parks Has Her Sights On Acting & Directing
AWA - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
AWA Says Her Debut Album Is ‘Very Vulnerable and Open’
220 KID - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
220 KID Tells Us The Heroic Reason Behind His Name
Alfie Templeman - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Alfie Templeman Just Wants To Make You Smile
MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Voting For MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021 Is Open!
Get To Know - Iann Dior
Get To Know: iann dior
Get To Know - J.I the Prince of N.Y
Get To Know: J.I The Prince Of N.Y
Khloé Kardashian Reacts To “Disrespectful” Typo On Throwback Family Christmas Card
Shawn Mendes Reveals How He And Camila Cabello Are Spending Christmas
Selena Gomez Wins An Award From Peta For Her Vegan Rare Beauty Makeup Collection
Get To Know - Holly Humberstone
Get To Know: Holly Humberstone
Addison Rae And Rachael Leigh Cook Recreate She’s All That Scene On TikTok
The Weeknd - Blinding Lights - Music Video
The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Was MTV’s Most Played Video Of 2020

More From Kate Bush

Michael Eavis On Glasto 2015: "We've Got Three Headliners Already"
Sports Stars Lead New Years Honours List
Rita Ora Storms To Top Of Midweek Singles Chart
Adele Leads Nominations For 57th Ivor Novello Awards
Rihanna Goes Double Top In Singles And Albums Chart
Kate Bush - '50 Words For Snow' Album Review

Trending Articles

Griff - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Griff Talks “Inspirational” Taylor Swift, Lorde & More
MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Voting For MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021 Is Open!
Pa Salieu - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Pa Salieu Won't Be Defined By Genre: ‘I Can Do Whatever I Want’
21 Types Of People You'll Find In Every Friendship Group
10 Things Your Heartbroken Friend Needs To Hear
Charli D’Amelio Sets The Record Straight About A Fake “Leaked” Picture Online
Bree Runway - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Bree Runway: 'Can You Imagine How Crazy I’m About To Go In 2021?'
Celebrity
10 Celebrities Who Have Some Seriously Kinky Sex Likes In The Bedroom
Inhaler - MTV PUSH UK & IRE 2021
Inhaler: ‘We Were A Really Bad Heavy Metal Band For A While’
18 Most Naked Of Naked Moments To Have Ever Hit Geordie Shore
How To Look After Your Mental Health In 2021
  • Contact Us
  • Access Services
  • Website Terms
  • Mobile Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • MTV Jobs
  • MTV Press
  • Anti-Slavery
  • Global Tax Policy Statement
Hit us with some keywords!