50 Words for Snow - Kate Bush
User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 56 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 56
  3. Negative: 8 out of 56

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  1. Apart
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    Among the best releases this year. Kate Bush is a legend, so no one was expecting something bad, but this album goes beyond expectations, it's not just beautiful music, it's art, it's winter, it's love.
  2. Thor
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    This is a fantastic album. Gorgeously layered and filled with nuance. My vote for album of the year, unless something great comes out in the next month.
  3. curdey
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    Hands-down, 50 Words For Snow is THE album of 2011 - not your typical album by any standards, each song tells a story with the linking theme of snow. This is not pop, this is art, and Kate Bush has created another masterpiece on par with her other masterpieces Aerial, Hounds Of Love, The Sensual World and The Kick Inside. If you haven't started listening to music's true genius now, I strongly suggest starting now with the magic that is 50 Words For Snow.… Expand
  4. bartolozzi
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    Absolutely wonderful! Brilliant music and great storytelling! This is the best album of the year and I dare to say that it is also kate bush's best work. Well done!
  5. madpawn
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    I was expecting something good, but not THIS good. Quietly ambitious and incredibly beautifulâ
  6. jimmypowder
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    Wow, a gorgeously layered ode to winter that is the best album I've heard this year. She doesn't over do the vocals which is key here. A pompous vocal performance would
    have ruined this record.
  7. ridmaur
    Nov 22, 2011
    10
    Gee man.... No words for Kate Bush other than brilliant! Only the two first songs already take your breath away. This is the ultimate winter/snow/season whatever album.
  8. listener
    Nov 26, 2011
    10
    Easily the best album I heard this year-the only thing I don't like is somehow bombastic and over dramatic Elton John's guest performance but everything else is pure art of the highest quality possible.
  9. hydrawithears
    Dec 1, 2011
    10
    Kate Bush is the greatest musician among Brits and 50 Words for Snow is her latest masterpiece. With this sentence I should end this review but I cannot wait with expressing my joy. The album feels like a natural follow-up to Aerial but whereas the latter was a sunny, occasionally extravagant spring midday, 50 Words is a quiet winter night. And it is not all about snow. The three opening tracks are all minimal piano ballads with an average length of each of more than 10 minutes but I assure you there is no time to yawn. For instance, Misty is about what it would be like to have sex with a snowmanâ… Collapse
  10. JRSnell
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    this is without doubt one of the best releases this year, alongside the achievement as best christmas/winter album ever released. kate bush once again fails to disappoint with this album, with seven mesmerizing songs that have the clever ability to paint a variety of settings, which transport to a scene of winter beauty. the metaphorical and literal implications are well executed, with stories telling of the indomnitable spirit of the search for a snowflake, a ghostly lake spirit in search of a dog, an eeire, yet evocative relationship with a snowman, the humanizing of a yeti, a timeless partnership spanning hundreds of years and lastly a religious portrayal of life surrounded by angels. its hard to tell of an album that accomplishes so much, as well as alongside a central theme to link the stories. this definitely requires multiple listens for maximum appreciation, as each time, you'll find new aspects to the music as well as a deeper understanding of the meaning. the idea that the album is set against a backdrop of falling snow sums the story perfectly. it is essential.… Expand
  11. Groogas
    Nov 21, 2011
    10
    Kate's latest features everything we love about her. Lush arrangements, quirky changes in voice, spoken words, melodrama, lovely piano melodies. The best part, it all sound so fabulously dated. It's like uncovering a missing CD recorded between The Dreaming and Hounds of Love. This new collection of songs reflects that fertile period in such an outstanding way. She's as kooky and groundbreaking as ever, and as a long-time Kate fan I could not be more pleased. I'm in a trance listening to this.… Expand
  12. Mortimus
    Nov 22, 2011
    10
    This is the best Kate Bush album since Hounds of Love. It is mesmerizing and emotional - it took me to that tranquil place where she hasn't gone for awhile. Reminiscent of the 2nd half of The Dreaming (All the Love), but more connected. Only slight weak spot IMO is "snowed in" duet with EJ which breaks the flow slightly. Standouts are Snowflake and Among Angels. I can guarantee this will be one of my most played albums of 2011-2012 and beyond. Is Kate the only one who has the balls to release something that is actually "art" in the industry anymore? This album needs to get some serious attention so people not familiar with her can understand what music can be and where it can take you. Thank you for this album Kate!… Expand
  13. relayer
    Dec 7, 2011
    10
    Quelle fraicheur et sensualité dans ce disque. Superbes compositions, un touché simpliste au piano, une voix au timbre si particulier. Une Å
  14. ctripathy
    Jan 5, 2012
    10
    Maybe it is not her most accessible work, but still easy to praise. In other words: you like it or you hate.
    I am still in love with the album and her mastery of her genre and her ability to create something that arouses great emotion and imagery, which to the extent that her music creates is rare. Amazing.
  15. Zebedeez
    Feb 21, 2012
    10
    Kate Bush's second album of 2011, this selection of languid and seemingly meandering tracks seem at first very subtle and pleasant... but further listens reveal startling brilliant structures and wonderful nuances which reward the patience required. The highlights? Depending on one's taste, any of the seven songs could singled out for this, but perhaps Misty which is at once preposterous and poignant story of a night with a snowman, or Lake Tahoe with its haunting themes and even more haunting piano lines make amongst the strongest candidates. Wild Man is the closest to a "pop song" while the charming and somewhat tongue-in-cheek (at least until the end) title track has one of the best rhythm tracks of any Kate song. While each song has its merits, this album is an example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, so each song truly shines most in its album setting. This means that the listener must devote more than an hour of serious headphone time to absorb Bush's work but the end of effect is transporting like no other.

    Yes, 50 Words for Snow is the album of 2011 and one of the two or three greatest pinnacles of Kate Bush's remarkable career.    … Expand
  16. tampr
    Apr 4, 2012
    10
    What an amazing album! Mysterious and enchanting, melancholy tunes that seem straight out of a 1960's movie soundtrack. The best album of the year, a true CinemaScope gem.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. Mojo
    Jan 10, 2012
    80
    Sounds miraculously unburdened by its conceptual weight.[Dec. 2011 p. 90]
  2. Q Magazine
    Dec 15, 2011
    80
    There is only one real slip - Stephen Fry's mood shattering appearance on the title track. [Dec. 2001 p. 123]
  3. PopMatters
    Dec 8, 2011
    80
    A remarkably delicate, often meandering (though never purposeless) song cycle revolving around snow, imagination and longing, set to rich, spiraling piano compositions and deep open spaces.
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