This Woman’s Work: ‘Hounds of Love’ by Kate Bush

This Woman’s Work is a series of stories from Classic Album Sundays and Studio 360 highlighting classic albums by female artists who have made a lasting impact on music and pop culture.

This time we’re looking at the artist who inspired the name of this series: the singer-songwriter, dancer and producer Kate Bush. “This Woman’s Work” was the name of a single on Kate Bush’s sixth album, “The Sensual World.” But this time, we’re backing up one album in Kate Bush’s catalog, to her fifth studio album, “Hounds of Love.” Released in September 1985, “Hounds of Love” was produced as two distinct sets of songs: “Hounds of Love,” which contained the album’s four smash singles, and a narrative suite called “Ninth Wave.”

On this record, Kate Bush applied her ethereal voice to dramatic songs about childhood, relationships and nature. With its sophisticated arrangements and embrace of technology, her self-produced album pushed the boundaries of musical structure and personal expression. In this edition of This Woman’s Work, Classic Albums host Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy discusses Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love” with singer Julia Holter and Outkast’s Big Boi.

For more stories about the records that shaped our culture and our lives, or to find out about the new book, “Classic Albums by Women,” visit Classic Album Sundays. You can listen to a playlist with essential tracks from many of the albums featured in the book.

What are YOUR favorite classic albums featuring female artists, and why? Tell us at incoming@studio360.org.