Kate Bush - Under The Ivy (1986)

There's a new Kate Bush box set on the horizon, which remasters some of her later albums on vinyl, and also includes two bonus LP's of rare b-sides, but once again they've missed a trick by omitting a number of essential songs, including a couple from the Comic Strip's 'GLC' film, and some lovely instrumental takes of her A-sides, making it a less than definitive collection. It's therefore time for me to post my series of Kate Bush b-sides and rarities, where I've filled three albums with every non-album song that this talented songstress recorded during her career, with two albums of b-sides, and one album of cover versions and exclusive film soundtrack songs. The first volume starts with the b-side to 1980's 'Breathing', which was the first time that Bush recorded a new song for the flip to a single (really just an extended instrumental version of 'The Dreaming', but it paved the way for brand new songs later), and from that point on she offered new pieces on nearly all of her subsequent 7" releases. You can hear her songwriting progressing just from the first half of this album, starting with low-key acoustic tracks, and then gradually building up to 'Dreamtime', and it's from this point on that I became a massive fan, preferring the more intricate and experimental approach of 'The Dreaming' and 'Hounds Of Love' to the earlier singer/songwriter style, although that's not to say that some of the early work wasn't ground-breaking for its time.    

Track listing

01 The Empty Bullring (b-side of 'Breathing' 1980)
02 Ran Tan Waltz (b-side of 'Babooshka' 1980)
03 Passing Through Air (b-side of 'Army Dreamers' 1980) 
04 December Will Be Magic Again (single 1980)
05 Warm And Soothing (b-side of 'December Will Be Magic Again')
06 Dreamtime (b-side of 'The Dreaming' 1982)
07 Ne T'En Fui Pas (b-side of 'There Goes A Tenner' 1983)
08 Under The Ivy (b-side of 'Running Up That Hill' 1985) 
09 Burning Bridge (b-side of 'Cloudbusting' 1985)
10 Not This Time (b-side of 'The Big Sky' 1986)
11 Experiment IV (single 1986)
12 Wuthering Heights (b-side of 'Experiment IV', with new vocal)