Jane Siberry

On her first album since The Sensual World, in 1989, Kate Bush continues in the manner of
that album's verbal directness while displaying a melodic sense that's in peak form – there
are more hooks on The Red Shoes, both subtle and obvious, than on any of her releases
since The Dreaming, in 1982. Bush seems content now to dress her songs in simpler –
though still occasionally antic – colors. The result is offbeat pop that refines but... More >

Interesting music is the perfect cover for mediocre literature. Many serious pop fans, especially genteel ones, are so hungry for tokens of intelligence that they'll cut slack for anyone who transcends the quatrain, pondering sung imagery they wouldn't glance at in a slim volume. If you skip "Sweet Incarnadine" ("edited down from a 20 min. improvisation," God help us), this isn't altogether horrible. Siberry has a sense of shape and texture; there are clever glints of informality in her presentation; her passion shows more smarts and decency than most. But her settings are only settings. And her words are only intelligent. (Grade: B-)