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How to improve Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill?"

I just spent about 40 minutes of my time reading about and listening to YouTube covers of Kate Bush’s "Running Up That Hill". The original Kate Bush version from the Hounds of Love album is definitely my favorite. This is a song that was the big hit on that album. Pretty powerful at the time but one that risks being overplayed, therefore contrary to what an audiophile might listen to.

I’ve been hearing one version by a female singer on the radio here a lot and it is no better than the original. None of the nuance or theatricality is preserved. And it is shortened in length for short attention spans. Just awful, and in a way disrespectful of the original. I don't mean to be so cranky, maybe the covers are actually OK. I did understand the lyrics a little clearer on a few of the covers thus absorbed the meaning of the song a bit better.

Which brings me back to the original with Kate Bush singing. I have been listening to the CD version and the sound quality is just OK. I have to use my imagination to ignore the muddy echo and moderate compression that I hear. I have not listened to the LP record in 20+ years. I am addressing that now and hope to be back to listening to my old vinyl records through my old Linn LP12 (which I am looking forward to modernizing this year).

So beside my specific comments about one Kate Bush song, its imitators and how sound quality is not quite where it could be, I would ask - have you encountered any of your favorite recordings that no matter how much you upgrade your system, or however intently you listen - the recording still disappoints in a way? In this instance, it is just that I am unable to cut through some of the over-production to get to the essence. Kind of a shame. I don’t mean to be negative, since I love this music but it is a slippery slope.

masi61
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edcyn
1,876 posts
 
You got me to uncork my domestic LP promo copy of the Kate Bush record, which I undoubtedly got when I labored at Tower Records in the 1980’s. I haven’t listened to it in years. I really liked the woman. I might have even seen her live, but then again I may be remembering her on a late nite live rock-and-roll TV show.

Anyway, sound is very clean if slightly metallic. Lots of reverb and lots of overdubbing, if done skillfully. Pan-potting galore, but the recording still possesses a goodly (if artificial) amount of depth. Kate personally produced the recording. Pressing is fabulous! Thanks for jogging my memory!
steelhead
318 posts
 
I am a dinosaur so never heard Kate's version until recently.  I pretty much stayed with my 70's rock (still do) throughout the 80's with the exception of a few bands (Police, U2, Pretenders).

That said I love Meg Meyer's version and think it kills Ms. Bush's take.  

I am waiting for Meg's cd with her version to order as I was going to buy it immediately but it was only available as a download single.

It's all a matter of taste but I think that young Ms. Meyer is really an amazing young talent.
simao's avatar
simao
1,819 posts
 
It's such a haunting tune. That reverb and overdubbing and echoes everywhere are absolutely effervescent. I can think of very few other late night driving tunes than this one.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Can’t really comment on Megs version of Running up that hill as not heard it yet but I have been following Meg for a few years now.

try her albums Sorry and Panic at the Disco.

Very talented indeed 
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
12" EP 45 rpm version is the way to go. That is about as 'improved' as it will get...

studio mix on one side, instrumental version on the other. (IIRC)
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
Just listened to the Meg version.

it misses the insistent propulsion, the desire to move, the stress of need and desire, the motion of progression, the pull.

The force that drives, the forces, compulsion in one to simply GO, at any price.

The meg version misses this entirely. It is a very subtle sense of timing, in the the beat vs the rest of it all.

It is a key, maybe even ~THE~ key component of the driving power of Kate’s original. The drums and percussion, the subtle timing of the voicing, the instrumentation, all of it, is built into the push of it. At the same time some of it is designed, to calm, to relax, to open the mind and the mood. A purposely torn and stressed mix.

To find this all critical aspect of Kate’s original, you need to find a pitch/speed perfect orignal on youtube, at a high enough data rate, recorded by a smart (or lucky) yootoober. Youtoob is a total s**tshow when it comes to trying to find such.

Or, can the listener even understand and feel the the difference? Can they get it at all, does it mean anything to them, if they actually do ’get it’? What level does the listener live on/in?

eg, at the end of the original song is the relaxation, the relief of being in motion, a fulfillment of sorts...as opposed to unfulfilled unrelenting stressing and longing -of the body of the song. (combined with a existential search) Akin to the unstoppable desire for infinity and immortality, to live.. while feeling like one is being eviscerated. The song is a story, a ’life arc’ - if you will.

This complex mix is intentional and perfectly executed.. and is why Kate’s version will probably never be equaled.
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
Extended HQ mix (45 rpm, LP12, graham slee, etc)
jsd52756
432 posts
 
Just checked out the youtube Meg version.  At the intro it says, "Hand colored  by 2,130 children."  It's one of the coolest things ever!  Thanks for turning us on to the video.
-John
simao's avatar
simao
1,819 posts
 
+1 @teo_audio!Especially considering the song's subject

uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Just listened to Meg's version and it is a pale shadow of Kate's release even on a bad day.
Not recommended.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
+1 Uberwaltz!!  And @teoaudio has said it all.
 Maybe the Meg version will appeal to young people who don't understand what Kate Bush is about. 

masi61 OP
97 posts
 

@teo_audio - thank you! You absolutely nailed the landing! You captured the reasons why the Meg version misses out and how cleverly crafted and Kate Bush's original is.

thanks for posting the link to the Extended HQ mix.

I re-listened to my CD and it has gobs of detail in the recording. My system is able to extract out a lot of it, but not make complete sense out of all of it. My current system is certainly much better but my speakers are rather sensitive and they tend to be revealing enough so as to make you aware of which details you can't quite get to (yet).

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