Charting Kate Bush's 'Compass' tune

A late and unexpected entry in the race for the Best Original Song Oscar comes from New Line Cinema's "The Golden Compass," which ends with a new tune from esteemed British singer Kate Bush.

The Chris Weitz-directed fantasy film opens Dec. 7 and stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Yet the centerpiece of the film is Dakota Blue Richards, who plays Lyra, a young academic rebel-type who's about to discover she's been chosen to fulfill a prophecy.

And unlike Luke and Frodo, Lyra gets a Kate Bush song in her name.

"Lyra" is an odd, sparse little number, putting the emphasis almost entirely on Bush's vocals. It's not all that out of step with some of the quieter, voice-and-piano songs of her 2005 effort "Aerial," and Bush is certainly an appropriate choice for a fantasy film with some abstract -- perhaps theological -- concerns, since there are plenty of examples of her lyrics tending toward the mystical.

If there's any noticeable effect used in the song, it's primarily the sound of wind, which adds a coldness to Bush's usually warm vocal styling. Indeed, it serves to bring a sort of distance between Bush and the soft hymn provided by the Magdalen College Choir of Oxford, England, making Bush feel a little more like an orator than a singer. 

Lyrically, Bush sticks pretty close to the source material, which is the song's main weakness. Not only named after the main character in the film, "Lyra" recounts the mystery that surrounds the heroine of the trilogy-to-be. By so literally interpreting the film, the song likely won't have much of a life outside the movie.

Yet Bush loyalists will surely appreciate new music from the idiosyncratic artist. While not her among her strongest work, "Lyra" still shows Bush is a vocalist like few others. For instance, she's able to gently unfurl the song's main lyrical refrain -- "And her soul walks beside / an army stands behind her" -- a weighty, "Dungeons & Dragons"-like line that a lesser lyricist would trip over.

The song's course mirrors the film, which is designed to be the first of three. Rather than provide answers, Bush offers a question: "Who knows what's in the future?"

Ultimately, however, this makes the song (like the film, perhaps) feel a bit unfinished. It's a small, brief choral prelude to something more bombastic to come. Whether you're along for the ride will likely depend on your previous affection for Bush.

Photo courtesy www.katebush.co.uk

Comments

[Eric Potruch]

Once again, a writer can't get through a review of a song by an intelligent songwriter/composer without tossing in "bombastic" somewhere, even if the reference was an indirect one. Kate's pedigree as the inspiration for a whole generation of women performers (Tori Amos being only the most obvious) is untarnished, and she outdoes practically any performer at the piano of any age during any period.

[richard hanna]

Lets keep in mind Kate had hardlly any time ,10 days to write arrange and record this song .Yes the song" is" musiically inferior to her major work ,we can only speculate as to how awesome the song would have been if she had been given the required amount of time .