Aerial
by Kate Bush
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Nov 8, 2005
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 325 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 291 out of 325
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 325
  3. Negative: 26 out of 325

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  1. adrianl
    Feb 6, 2006
    2
    oh dear. i was really looking forward to this, yet i seriously considered throwing it out of the window - that dreadful self indulgent rubbish about her son has the emotional depth of a hallmark greeting card. such a shame.
  2. jr
    Nov 9, 2005
    2
    nice, yes, but considering her prior output this record is rather boring. the beats are reminiscent of cheap keyboard pre-sets. the vocals aren't interesting. the lyrics are atrocious on many of the songs.
  3. StephenC
    Jan 23, 2006
    0
    She is a mental case and is trying to make music. Why do people like it? The words in her songs are so shocking, "King of the mountain" which is apparently about Elvis (he's never been king of the mountain, he probably couldn't have walked to the local shop). Mybe you need to understand the complex lyrics, and quite simply I don't and I don't want to. So Bad.
  4. MariusGreyWolf
    Jan 3, 2006
    1
    I TRULY don't understand why everyone is going ON about this album! It's schlock! Plain & simple! As my best friend who has been totally OBSESSED (really) with Kate since the early 1980's said, "Kate is clearly not the artist she once was." This album is even worse than Red Shoes and that tells you something right there! She's lost her artistic vision altogether, I TRULY don't understand why everyone is going ON about this album! It's schlock! Plain & simple! As my best friend who has been totally OBSESSED (really) with Kate since the early 1980's said, "Kate is clearly not the artist she once was." This album is even worse than Red Shoes and that tells you something right there! She's lost her artistic vision altogether, perhaps truly explaining why she disappeared for 12 years...knowing that she truly had nothing left to sing about! :(… Expand
  5. JacksonB
    Feb 7, 2006
    3
    This sounds like it was made in 1991.
  6. DJones
    Nov 28, 2005
    1
    Pretentious rubbish. Worse than that, it's boring and embarrassing (Mrs Bartolozzi, Bertie). If an unknown had made this, it would never have been released.
  7. DanielTheStoryteller01
    Dec 27, 2005
    3
    At the age of 14 I first heard "The Man with the Child in his Eyes" and for the first time I couldn't stop listening to a song - and couldnt't even explain why. It was pure magic and it made me learn English. When at the age of 16 I got "Never for Ever" it was the first time I wanted to write a book and illustrate it. This album was a piece of art all around and the magic grew At the age of 14 I first heard "The Man with the Child in his Eyes" and for the first time I couldn't stop listening to a song - and couldnt't even explain why. It was pure magic and it made me learn English. When at the age of 16 I got "Never for Ever" it was the first time I wanted to write a book and illustrate it. This album was a piece of art all around and the magic grew stronger. The magic continued and every time I got to listen to a new album it enriched my life and made me daydream the way I used to when I was just a boy. But "Aerial" is as mundane as any other New Age album - and thats exactly what its at best, at worst its a tragic travesty of her work. I wish Kate had never released it. Maybe for those who started knowing Katie with her Best of Album "The Whole Story" there is still some fairy dust in the "Aerial". But for someone like me, who grew up with Kate Bush all along the magic just vanished this year as did her bewitching voice. I am listening to her cover of Elton Johns "Rocket Man" from 1991 right now and it has more Katie in it than the whole of the 16 tracks of "Aerial". At the age of 41 the dream is gone.… Expand
  8. RobExtatic
    Nov 24, 2005
    3
    Yeah it
  9. mh
    Jan 26, 2009
    1
    What a gigantic disappointment. The songs just drag on and on and on without any tension or climax.
  10. BillM.
    Dec 31, 2007
    0
    I can't understand the rave reviews some people gave this, they must be listening to something very different to my copy of the album. This is drivel of the first order. There is not one redeeming song on the entire double album, not one that is actually spending any time listening to (I listened to it several times when I got it as I couldn't believe just how bad it was, I can't understand the rave reviews some people gave this, they must be listening to something very different to my copy of the album. This is drivel of the first order. There is not one redeeming song on the entire double album, not one that is actually spending any time listening to (I listened to it several times when I got it as I couldn't believe just how bad it was, I've just listened again having convinced myself I must be wrong - I'm not).… Expand

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Best Album of 2005
12
#12 Most Discussed Album of 2005
17
#17 Most Shared Album of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. AllMusic
    80
    There's no pushing of the envelope because there doesn't need to be. Aerial is rooted in Kate Bush's oeuvre, with grace, flair, elegance, and an obsessive, stubborn attention to detail.
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  2. Billboard
    80
    Despite her prolonged absence, Bush sounds as vital as ever.
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  3. musicOMH.com
    90
    Like all ambitious double albums, [Aerial] is not without its flaws, but even Bush's moments of failure are much more interesting than those of her contemporaries.
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