The Red Shoes (album)
| The Red Shoes | ||||
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| Studio album by Kate Bush | ||||
| Released | 2 November 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1990-93 | |||
| Genre | Art rock, alternative rock, baroque pop | |||
| Length | 55:30 | |||
| Label |
EMI Columbia (US) |
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| Producer | Kate Bush | |||
| Kate Bush chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Red Shoes | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Chicago Tribune |  |
| Rolling Stone | |
The Red Shoes is the seventh studio album by the English musician Kate Bush. Released in November 1993, it was accompanied by Bush's short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve, and was her last album before taking a 12-year hiatus. The album peaked at number two on the UK album chart and has been certified Platinum by the BPI for over 300,000 copies shipped. In the US, the album reached number 28, her highest chart position there to date.
The Red Shoes was inspired by the 1948 film of the same name by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, which itself was inspired by the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. It concerns a dancer, possessed by her art, who cannot take off the eponymous shoes and find peace.
Bush had suggested she would tour for The Red Shoes and deliberately aimed for a "live band" feel, with less of the studio trickery that had typified her last three albums (which would be difficult to recreate on stage). However, the tour never materialised.
This was a troubled time for Bush, who had suffered a series of bereavements including the loss of her favoured guitarist, Alan Murphy, and, most painfully, her mother, Hannah, who died the year before the album's release. Bush's long-term relationship with bassist Del Palmer had also ended, although the pair continued to work together. "I've been very affected by these last two years," she had remarked in late 1991. "They've been incredibly intense years for me. Maybe not on a work level, but a lot has happened to me. I feel I've learnt a lot – and, yes, I think (my next album) is going to be quite different… I hope the people that are waiting for it feel it's worth the wait."
Many of the people she lost are honoured on the ballad, "Moments of Pleasure", as well as director Michael Powell, with whom she had discussed working shortly before his death in 1990. Composer and conductor Michael Kamen contributed a score for the song.
Most notably, The Red Shoes featured many more high-profile cameo appearances than her previous efforts. The track "Why Should I Love You?" featured prominent instrumental and vocal contributions from Prince as well as guest vocals from comedian Lenny Henry. "And So Is Love" features guitar work by Eric Clapton, and Gary Brooker (from the band Procol Harum), and Jeff Beck also collaborated. Trio Bulgarka (who'd contributed to The Sensual World) appeared on three songs: "You're the One", "The Song of Solomon", and "Why Should I Love You?".
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