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Before the Dawn [Live]
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Before the Dawn [Live] Image
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 30 Ratings

  • Summary: The second live release for the British singer-songwriter is a three-disc album featuring songs from her her month-long residency at London's Hammersmith Apollo.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  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.
  4. 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]
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Bioshock312
    Mar 30, 2023
    10
    Un'album spettacolare , fondamentale direi , da ascoltare insieme alle versione studio delle canzoni. La maggior parte degli arrangiamentiUn'album spettacolare , fondamentale direi , da ascoltare insieme alle versione studio delle canzoni. La maggior parte degli arrangiamenti sono anche più incisivi rispetto alla versione in studio :"Running up that hill , Hounds of love, Under ice/Waking the witch(incredibili) Cloudbusting" per l'Hounds of Love , fantastica anche l'introduzione con Lily . King of Mauntain molto meglio della versione studio cosi anche per tutte le canzoni dell'Aerial. Avrei tanto voluto sentire qualche pezzo in più del suo vecchio catalago specie del The Dreaming che insieme alI'Hounds of Love rappresentano l'apice della sua creatività e sono considerati dei capolavori assoluti... Qualche pezzo del Never for ever e avrei voluto sentire anche Misty (un capolavoro) del 50 Words for Snow. Peccato spero tanto che faccia un nuovo tour comunque un disco assolutamente imprescindibile e nonostante non abbia più le capacità vocali che aveva un tempo , la voce resta perfetta e potente. Magico. Arte Rock allo stato puro.… Expand
  2. katebush
    Aug 31, 2019
    10
    kinda iconic kinda iconickinda iconic kinda iconickinda iconic kinda iconickinda iconic kinda iconickinda iconic kinda iconic
  4. 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!… Expand
  5. kbsite
    Dec 3, 2016
    10
    Magnificent. BTD is hands down my Album of the Year and one of the best live album ever. It's an "agape" kind of work. Epic really. TheMagnificent. BTD is hands down my Album of the Year and one of the best live album ever. It's an "agape" kind of work. Epic really. The mastering is superb... and the pressing is almost flawless. Chapeau… Expand
  6. Bodacious
    Dec 27, 2016
    10
    Really a wonderful, well-organized, retrospective of Kate Bush's work. But where is the Blu-Ray of the show? How could anyone mount a showReally a wonderful, well-organized, retrospective of Kate Bush's work. But where is the Blu-Ray of the show? How could anyone mount a show such as this, with someone who rarely performs, and not create a visual record of it?!! I just hope its in the works. It will complete the astounding picture of Kate Bush's creative genius.… Expand
  7. 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'… Expand
  8. 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 hootingVery 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

See all 9 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

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

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