I'm too old to be going gaga over artistes. But I'll be damned if this woman doesn't evoke a whole lot of unwholesome thoughts in parts of me I had forgotten that I possessed.

This lady and her music defy description. She's an angel, a seductress, a child, a sage, a siren, a confidant, a poet, and a mystic - all on the same album and sometimes within the same song. Her songs are like distillations of the most vivid moments in one's life. She sings with a soaring purity and an intensity that can only be truly appreciated when heard, yet never, ever shades over into maudlin sentimentality or melodrama. This is a balancing act she pulls off again and again, while never repeating ideas or getting trapped into creative ruts. I give up trying to guess which creative direction she will next take. Whatever it is, it's just bound to be stunning.

Kate is hardly for everyone. She sings for the daring listener. She is the very antithesis of the mass-market plastic bimbettes belting out all those identical tunes threatening to smother the world in pabulum. She is arresting, gothic, quirky and audacious. Consequently, her music takes some getting used to. The listener must train his/her ear to Kate's peculiarities. The payoff comes when the peculiarities reveal themselves as something altogether numinous. In fact, she is one of those rare singer/songwriters who truly deserve the honour of being called an artist.

I could go on fawning over her like this, at the risk of inanity and my self-respect. The only way to understand why her fans have been so consistently devoted to her for over twenty-five years is to listen to her music. And this is my one king-sized beef. How on earth can EMI justify the outrageous sum they are charging for this boxed set? Kate's music has a hard enough time getting out to the general public as it is without having to surmount this Himalayan price. Any dedicated fan already owns most or all of her albums, so must fork over almost $200 for some rarities. This price puts the set out of reach for any but the most well heeled. Existing fans can't justify it, potential fans won't spring for it, so it becomes a self-limiting niche collection.

If you are a discerning listener convinced that rock music can achieve transcendence, don't yet have any of her albums, and can afford this compilation without suffering starvation for the next month, then just bite your lip, haul out your wallet and get this incomparable anthology. I promise you that you will never think of talent, desire, peculiarity or indeed, music, in quite the same way again. The only danger is that Kate may spoil you for just about any songstress who follows.

I first got into Kate Bush when "The Dreaming" was released, and bought all her albums immediately thereafter. I reserved my copy of "Hounds of Love" the day its release was announced. (I think I was the first person in Kansas to own it.) When the boxed set came out, I was living in Dallas, Texas, and I already had most of the singles (and those wonderful, unreleased B-sides) either as British 45s, or on 12-inch US re-mixes. There were only four of the songs in the boxed set that I didn't have on vinyl. Nonetheless, I bought the boxed set with my final paycheck, before I moved back to Kansas City, and never regretted paying nearly 200 bucks for basically four new (unheard before) songs. Sure, I could have used the money for more practical things--food, gas, rent, or some such fleeting nonsense--but, I survived, and had some great music to keep me company--and I still have it, when anything else I could have spent the money on would have been gone long ago. I have almost 700 CDs in my collection now, but if I were stranded on that proverbial deserted/desert island, and could only rescue one of them, it would be "Hounds of Love"; the entire album being the best music ever written and recorded by a human being, in any genre, hands down. 'Course, if I could, I'd grab the whole bloody boxed set! I have yet to hear anything by any other artist that comes close to the power and intensity of Kate's work, or any other artist who consistently has achieved such quality throughout their entire career. Don't take the time to think about it. Just buy this box!

Keith Russell, Synthetic Sky Studios, synthsky@aol.com.

I kind of wish they had waited just a couple of years until "The Red Shoes" to put this out so it would be a more complete CD collection (not to mention the Elton John covers of "Rocket Man" and "Candle in the Wind" would've been on there as well).

Because this is an import and under the EMI label, it also includes "The Sensual World", but doesn't include "The Whole Story" (which really introduced her to US audiences and is a good sampler of her music, even though that one is missing her duet with Peter Gabriel "Don't Give Up")

This would be a good one to get after "The Whole Story" because you do wind up getting most of the CDs minus the ones mentioned above, but that's pretty minor. All of the CDs are worth listening to, each one being different and more complex than the previous, a true artist developing her skills in the studio.

The real reason to own the box set is the 2 CDs that are the "extras", "Vol 1" and "Vol 2".

Vol. 1 contains mostly the b-sides from "Never For Ever", her seasonal "December Will Be Magic", a couple of songs sung in French, one being a French version of "The Infant Kiss", and other "bonus" tracks from "The Sensual World".

Vol. 2 contains a few more b-sides (the instrumental "One Last Look Around the House" is really nice), the songs from "The Whole Story" (a re-recorded (and better) "Wuthering Heights", and "Experiment IV"), 4 cuts from the "Kate Bush on Stage" EP, and 12" remixes from "Hounds of Love". This volume is probably the more popular one than the other.

The collection is a little bit hefty for the price, because it is an import collection, and it would be great if they revamped this one after she finishes her next CD (supposedly in 2005) as well as put out a 2CD set of her classics, so it could include a "Vol 3" consisting of "Red Shoes" b-sides and early demos long bootlegged as well as "Brother and Sister" with Midge Ure, the songs she did with Roy Harper, and "Don't Give Up" with Peter Gabriel. There really isn't much more they could put out as far as rarities go... but a revamped box set should also include a DVD of all her groundbreaking videos and TV appearances, her "Live at the Hammersmith Odeon" concert, and "The Line, The Cross and the Curve" film, all of the studio CDs re-released in Surround sound. Now THAT would justify repackaging what is already a great collection.

I would rate this five stars if it were 1/2 the price. I rate it four only because the two cds of her b-sides are priceless!! I may otherwise suggest starting with something a little more reasonably priced, like simply collecting her individual albums. You might save yourself more than half the asking price of this selection. Start with "The Whole Story" if you are totally clueless, then move on to "The Dreaming" or "The Hounds Of Love"... Then if you are still unsatiated, as I was, consider buying this. You will not regret it, though you may remain eternally broke and unsatiated... (as I am)

After reading through most of these other reviews, I found it hard to add anything more, except for one thing:

As a 29 year old man, I do not feel alienated by Kate's work. In fact, I often find myself entwined and lost in it. I'm a fan of a great many female artists (as well as male, of course) but very few female artists can provide me with such a depth of humanity without trying to come off as "feminist". Many of our "cutting edge" female artists center themselves and commercialy rely upon men as being the target for their misdirected angst. Kate Bush is one of the exceptions (though, I'll admit, not the only).

Most importantly, I find her accepting (if this means anything to you) and magical as well as beautiful. I also find her "out there" in the best of ways. My favorite song is "The Man With The Child In His Eyes".

Sometimes I think she likes me too.

I purchased the box set while on a trip to Japan when it came out. I already owned every album, but this set was a requirement to get TWW1 and TWW2; the B-side disks. It really is a shame that KaTe hasn't been more exposed by her label in the US; I mean; she writes, produces and performs everything. Total control & originality and the music is timeless. Music videos? KaTe truly invented the genre' in '86- have you ever seen the REAL videos for Running Up that Hill or Cloudbusting? How many people can get Donald Sutherland to do a gratis part in a video? Twenty years after hearing Wuthering Heights; I still consider myself a f*cking kate bush maniac; and look forward to every song; every video; and the vain hope of another concert- which i will fly just about anywhere to see. The Box Set is for those that appreciate good music and want to hear where all the pretenders to the throne learned.