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"Bush - Planning Their Future"

Gavin Rossdale now admits that he was more then a bit surprised by some of the reactions afforded Bush's recent "remix" collection, Deconstructed. In all honesty, the good looking frontman really didn't expect a particularly strong positive or negative response to the disc. In fact, all he and his bandmates Robin Goodridge, Dave Parsons, and Nigel Pulsford wanted was for the group's millions of fans to simply accept the set for what it was - a highly experimental, eminently entertaining reworking of some of Bush's best-known and best-loved tunes by some of today's top "electronica" producers. But when many of those fans started an almost vitriolic campaign to disavow Deconstructed's very existence, it caught nearly everyone - including the somewhat shocked members of Bush - totally off-guard.

What the band's members had apparently failed to understand was the loyalty that their fans held towards the "sanctity" of Bush's music. They didn't want computer-generated bleats to replace the heart-felt guitar rumblings on Everything Zen. And they sure didn't want cold synth blups to usurp the manmade rhythmic tracks on Swallowed. The fans wanted their Bush music to sound like it always had - hard, loud, and passionate. And when they were handed an album's worth of heady remixes thanks to the likes of new-age techno knob-twisters like Goldie, Dub Pistol and Tricky, many of Bush's fans were ready to launch a full-scale revolt.

"We felt it was a good time to try something a little different," said Rossdale just prior to the album's appearance. "Music needs to be flexible, and by presenting our songs to these producers, we found just how elastic they can be. I find that to be very exciting."

While Deconstucted has managed to make a significant chart showing in the months since its release last November, it remains to be seen if any lasting damage has been done to Bush's hard rock reputation. Please keep in mind that combined sales for the band's first two albums, Sixteen Stone and Razorblade Suitcase, have now passed the seven million level, clearly marking Bush as one of the most successful rock acts of the late '90s. With Deconstructed adding another platinum-coated chapter to this British band's amazingly successful track record, one might be hard pressed to present any argument negating their latest disc's accomplishments. But with many of the group's core supporters up in arms over what they perceive to be a "sell out" by their heroes, previously unexpected problems could now loom on the Bush horizon.

"You certainly can't call Deconstructed a miscalculation," said a leading music industry observer. "The collection has sold very well and it's helped expand Bush's audience to include dance and techno fans who previously may have chosen to ignore the band. But it's also true that some of Bush's followers - especially those who veer towards the hard rock side of things - feel the band has left them in the dust. They're a little hurt and a little confused. I can't imagine them walking away from Bush altogether, but I don't see them necessarily buying Deconstructed, either. When the group puts out its next album I imagine they'll be there to support them."

Indeed it should be most interesting to see exactly where Bush's commercial fortunes carry them in the months and years ahead. Admittedly, releasing Deconstructed was a bit of a gamble on the band's part - but in their eyes it was a great gamble certainly worth taking. As our industry source noted, Bush has now managed to break through and reach new audiences in the dance, hip-hop and techno worlds, audiences that clearly wouldn't give Bush the time of day only a year ago. In addition, the group's new found approach has landed them a number of recent big-budget movies, including An American Werewolf in Paris, in which the Bush song mouth is prominently featured. This, of course, is not Bush's first venture into the film biz, with their rendition of Joy Division's In A Lonely Place (which, by the way, pops up in a remixed form on Deconstructed) having appeared in the Crow II a few years back.

"It's wonderful to have an opportunity to present songs that are not necessarily tied to complete album projects," Parsons said. "It allows you a degree of freedom you don't have when you're making an album. We've enjoyed our experiences contributing to movie soundtracks, and we certainly hope doing that in the future."

Despite the mixed reaction afforded their latest release, for Bush the future still appears to be a lush garden filled with ripe commercial possibilities. In fact, just as Deconstructed was being released last year, the band was busy completing their 18-month long Razorblade Suitcase world tour - a road outing that witnessed the band play headlining shows before sold-out auditoriums throughout Europe, North America and the Orient. During that time the group performed in front of over 50,000 fans, and grossed an estimated $10 million. Add that impressive total additional income derived from album sales and merchandizing revenues, and one begins to understand why Rossdale the company felt now was an ideal time to unleash their most experimental and controversial disc yet on the rock-starved masses.

With all that in mind, one might be hard pressed to see any down-side attached to Bush's recent list of accomplishments. Yet the lingering resentments left by the appearance of deconstructed may serve to cloud the band's immediate future - at least until they get around to recording their next album, now scheduled for sometimes late this year. It is then - and only then - that we'll discover if there has been any true and lasting impact associated with Bush's bold step away from their hard rocking roots.

"The great thing about this band is that while everyone tries to figure us out, they can't really do it," Parsons said. "There are so many elements to our music that it allows us a great deal of freedom. Some people want to call us hard rock - and there are elements of that in our music. Others want to call us alternative - and there's probably some of that in there too. But at the same time we're not really any of those things. We're all of that - and more."

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