9 Kate Bush Songs to Add to Your Spotify Playlist

Singer/songwriter Kate Bush has influenced everyone from Tori Amos to Maxwell. She's also collaborated with such artists as David Gilmour of Pink Floyd (who also discovered her), Peter Gabriel, and Prince. And though she hasn't recorded new material since 2011, she gained a generation of new fans after her song, "Running Up That Hill," was used in the popular Netflix drama Stranger Things. Bush began her musical career in the late '70s, so her discography can seem daunting to new fans. However, with this list of nine of her greatest recordings, fans can not build a playlist of her work but gain a greater appreciation for her artistry as a singer and song stylist.

1. "Cloudbusting" - One of the things that makes Bush so distinctive is her ability to tell a story within her songs, and "Cloudbusting" is just one such example. With its synthesized strings, marching drums, and chorus, "Cloudbusting" paints pictures in your mind of English hillsides and rain-making machines. Based on a memoir by Peter Reich, the song tells the story of the close relationship between a young boy and his father.

2. "This Woman's Work" - This song originally appeared in the John Hughes film "She's Having a Baby," and was later covered by R&B singer Maxwell. A haunting study of love and regret, Bush delivers a beautiful and emotionally satisfying performance on this song.

3. "Hounds of Love" - Released on her influential album of the same title, "Hounds of Love" is a wildly romantic song that builds on layers of synthesized strings and pounding rhythms. As the song progresses, Bush's singing gets more and more ecstatic, capturing the wild abandonment of unrestrained passion. One of her best performances on record!

4. "Wuthering Heights" - released on her first album "The Kick Inside" and later re-released with a new vocal for "The Whole Story" album, "Wuthering Heights" showed Bush at the early stages of her career (she wrote the song when she was a teen) and established her distinctive style. Based on the novel by Emily Bronte, "Wuthering Heights" is as lush and romantic as its inspiration and features some of Bush's best musical performances.

5. "Moments of Pleasure" - Released on "The Red Shoes" album, "Moments of Pleasure" is a lovely ballad that features Bush's piano playing with strings to fill out the lushness of her performance. It also reveals some of the artist Prince's influence on her music (she collaborated with Prince on several songs on this album).

6. "The Sensual World" - From the album of the same title, "The Sensual World" was inspired by James Joyce's Molly Bloom's final speech (Bush had originally written the song for this speech until Joyce's estate turned down her copyright request). This a wonderful example of Bush's poetic and literate sensibilities, as well as her inventive side in studio recording.

7. "Jig of Life" - Also released on her "Hounds of Love" album, "Jig of Life" is a study of Bush's brilliance not only as a songwriter but her use of the studio to bring her songs to life. An Irish jig on her relationship with a maternal/grandmother figure, "Jig of Life" is one of her more soulful and poetic tunes.

8. "Suspended in Gaffa" - A balletic waltz, "Suspended in Gaffa," like her earlier song "Room for the Life" on "Kick Inside" album, has a decidedly feminist bent. Catchy and memorable, "Suspended in Gaffa" is one of her best.

9. "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" - Released on "The Kick Inside" album, this song is the story of a young girl's complicated love for her father. Bush's lyrics and singing capture that feeling with the same child-like awe. Spare and haunting, "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" is a great song to experience Bush's work for the first time.