“I played it to death”: Kate Bush’s favourite album by the Eagles
Kate Bush is the reigning queen of art-pop. Weaving literary and cinematic influences into swirling synths and pulsing percussion, topping it all off with her fluttering vocal delivery, she created worlds and wonder with her music. They were strange and surreal but addictive all the same. Audiences flocked to her from the moment she released her debut single, as she paved the way for more women to top the charts.
Between the emotive ‘Running Up That Hill’ and the soaring ‘Wuthering Heights’, Bush found her success by infusing the rock and pop realms with more theatrical, avant-garde influences. Expectedly, her own listening habits are equally wide-spanning and limitless, as she proved while picking out her favourite albums of all time upon the release of Never For Ever.
Bush’s list included nods to art rock icons like David Bowie and Pink Floyd, but she also demonstrated her love for more traditional guitar bands. One of her picks came from classic rockers the Eagles, as she shared her love for their 1975 album, One of These Nights.
Considering Bush’s penchant for innovation and the avant-garde in her own artistry, it may seem like an odd choice. One of These Nights is a real rock album, but it doesn’t add too much to the genre. The guitar riffs are pleasant, bringing in influences from country and folk, but they’re not particularly inventive or inspired.
The titular track would mark the album’s biggest hit, which paired disco influences with those dependable guitar parts. There are some gorgeous harmonies and a slight groove to the track, but it’s not hugely catchy or inventive. The lyrics do the job, but they aren’t particularly interesting either. It’s characteristic of the record – a solid song, but nothing new.
On the whole, it’s a decent album, one that illustrated Eagles’ place within the rock genre and produced one of their biggest hits in the titular track, but it’s not particularly revolutionary – so why does it feature on Bush’s list of her favourite albums?
It may seem strange that such a forward-thinking artist would name a fairly understated rock record as one of her favourites, but Bush had a more personal connection to One of Those Nights. “I played it to death when studying with Lindsay Kemp,” she remembered, “and it reminds me of him.”
Kemp was a formative figure in Bush’s early career, a dance teacher she spent time with after signing with EMI. He was clearly well-placed in forging art-rock legends, as he also worked with Ziggy Stardust himself, David Bowie. While it’s difficult to imagine dancing to Eagles tracks like ‘Journey of the Sorcerer’, it makes sense that Bush loves the record for its association with Kemp.
Our tendency to associate music with memories, with people and places, is a powerful one. It can turn the most mediocre song into a dependable comfort or a guaranteed tear-jerker. While One of Those Nights may not have been particularly spectacular in its own right, it seems to remain in Bush’s heart for Kemp’s attachment to it.
Music isn’t always about innovation or invention, drama and theatricality, artistic merit or acclaim. Sometimes, the beauty of it sits entirely in its subjectivity.
Listen to One of Those Nights, Kate Bush’s favourite album by The Eagles, below.
