I hold up my hands and admit that I have very little knowledge of Kate Bush and her oeuvre and (I’m guessing) nor do you. I’ve been reliably informed, though, that one of her better songs is ‘King Of The Mountain’ which has just been given a soulful make over by Ms GIZELLE SMITH.
Gizelle you will remember rose to prominence as the lead voice in the Hamburg based funk band, The Mighty Mocambos. But it seems that Ms S’s musical tastes are far wider than soul and funk. She’s long been a fan of Kate Bush… she says it’s because of Ms Bush’s freedom of expression and seeming lack of desire to be strictly categorised in any one genre.
Now, it seems that in 2019 Gizelle was doing preparatory work on a new album when sadly her father died. Dad was Detroiter, Joe Smith – sometime guitarist and MD for the Four Tops. The news sapped Gizelle’s musical energies, and she eventually realised that she needed to shed the funk and soul nostalgia attached to dad; to work, if you would, like the artists she so admired. And as there was no one more admired than Kate Bush, it became logical to record one of her songs; thus ‘King of the Mountain’.
Gizelle’s interpretation doesn’t eschew soul altogether though. Her cover is moody and shifting with a hint of the Norman Whitfield’s about it…. file it under “intriguing”. It’s out now on Jalapeno Records and we’re told it’s taken from the singer’s upcoming ‘Revealing’ long player.
