Before the Dawn [Live]
by Kate Bush
  • Record Label: Concord
  • Release Date: Dec 2, 2016
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 30
  3. Negative: 3 out of 30
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  1. rabbitwithfangs
    Dec 20, 2016
    6
    Very underwhelming without the visuals to accompany it. The performances are mostly wonderful, although Bush's voice has a strange hooting sound to it, but the spontaneous bouts of applause and the cringeworthy 'narration' pieces just reinforce the fact that you're only getting a small slice of the actual experience. Bush's description of the album as the 'definitive' experience of theVery underwhelming without the visuals to accompany it. The performances are mostly wonderful, although Bush's voice has a strange hooting sound to it, but the spontaneous bouts of applause and the cringeworthy 'narration' pieces just reinforce the fact that you're only getting a small slice of the actual experience. Bush's description of the album as the 'definitive' experience of the show is... well, disingenuous, to put it mildly.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best Album of 2016
95
#95 Most Discussed Album of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. PopMatters
    Dec 6, 2016
    80
    It’s clear that nearly 40 years since her debut single, the creative prowess of one of popular music’s most valuable treasures is undiminished.
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  2. Drowned In Sound
    Dec 6, 2016
    70
    There are moments where the live dynamics allow the songs to hit a few more buttons than the studio recordings did, but ultimately it was an overwhelmingly visual show and it feels like everything here is lacking its USP, no matter how good it is.
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  3. Boston Globe
    Dec 5, 2016
    80
    That feeling of perpetual potential is apparent in even the bleakest of Bush’s years-old songs, which are shot through with clear devotion to constant development of her craft.
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