Before the Dawn [Live]
by Kate Bush
  • Record Label: Concord
  • Release Date: Dec 2, 2016
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
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Dec 2, 2016
    91
    Because the main suites were written with a blind listen in mind and because it is so well-executed, the audio makes for an epic, vivid two-and-a-half-hour event that will enchant anyone new to Bush’s music.
  2. Pitchfork
    Nov 28, 2016
    85
    Before the Dawn demystifies what we’ve fetishized in her absence. Without draining her magic, it lets Bush exist back down on Earth.
  3. Consequence
    Nov 21, 2016
    83
    Before the Dawn is living, breathing proof that Bush still has the creative prowess and unique sensibilities that made her a superstar in the first place.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Record Collector
    Dec 2, 2016
    80
    Produced by Kate herself, this live set sounds incredible.
  8. AllMusic
    Dec 2, 2016
    80
    Before the Dawn is an album just as special as she is, a remarkable and expansive creative statement full of wonder and magic that rivals the best of her LPs.
  9. The Guardian
    Nov 28, 2016
    80
    Before the Dawn provides a memento for those who were there and a vague indication of what went on for those who weren’t, without compromising the shows’ appealingly mysterious air: a quality you suspect the woman behind it realises is in very short supply in rock music these days.
  10. The Independent (UK)
    Nov 23, 2016
    80
    What comes across perhaps more strongly in this audio version of Before The Dawn is the subtly contrasting nature of the two suites, their disparate characters--entrapment versus liberation, petrifying terror versus exultant joy--reflected in the music.
  11. Uncut
    Nov 22, 2016
    80
    An exhaustive audio souvenir of a momentous event, simply to remind us--and perhaps Bush, too-- that it really happen after all. [Jan 2017, p.16]
  12. Mojo
    Nov 22, 2016
    80
    Before The Dawn is glorious and confounding--in other words, pure Kate. [Jan 2017, p.96]
  13. Q Magazine
    Nov 21, 2016
    80
    Before The Dawn snubs modern-day convention and is a throwback to live albums from the last century. [Jan 2017, p.110]
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  14. The Observer (UK)
    Nov 21, 2016
    80
    Highlights abound, but a thrilling Aerial and a sumptuous Top of the City deserve particular acclaim.
  15. 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.
  16. Classic Rock Magazine
    Nov 21, 2016
    60
    Divorced from the visual spectacle--puppets, illusionists, avian transformations, ticker-tape poetry--and the thrill of watching actual Kate Bush actually singing, this audio recording is akin to John Lennon being resurrected to perform the Wedding Album--i.e. only mildly amazing.

Awards & Rankings

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

User Reviews

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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
  1. listener
    Dec 14, 2016
    8
    Music itself is great but to put out something like this without visual accompanion doesn't make much sense. Whole affair was theater as muchMusic itself is great but to put out something like this without visual accompanion doesn't make much sense. Whole affair was theater as much as rock concert. Whenever you hear applause in the middle of the song you're actually out of experience because you're aware there's something going on the stage that you're missing. Also I seriously dislike quality of the sound. Lots of people are satisfied with the it but to my ears this official release sounds almost like a bootleg (situation is somehow better at really high volume but c'mon lady some of us are living in buildings surrounded by other people...and give us a freakin' DVD already for god sake).… Full Review »
  2. TomekMichal
    Dec 3, 2016
    10
    Epic. Magnificent. Magic. And beyond all this, still ENIGMATIC. Kate Bush happen to release one of the best live albums ever. One importantEpic. Magnificent. Magic. And beyond all this, still ENIGMATIC. Kate Bush happen to release one of the best live albums ever. One important information is one cannot really appreciate it if nit by good loudspeakers. This mudic needs air!… Full Review »
  3. CharlieGray
    Dec 2, 2016
    10
    One of the best live albums ever released, it's simply magical, it gives every song an unique turn, like the second parts of 'Hounds of Love'One of the best live albums ever released, it's simply magical, it gives every song an unique turn, like the second parts of 'Hounds of Love' and 'Aerial', titled 'The Ninth Wave' and 'A(n Endless) Sky of Honey'… Full Review »
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