It has a number of thrilling moments (that one vocal that sounds like it is playing in digital fast-forwards but it's in time with the rest of the song - damn!) and "Jig Of Life" is an album highlight. I think the overarching idea is great but the parts never interlock for me. I swear that I'm the only Kate Bush fan that isn't particularly hyped on The Ninth Wave. I have no strong opinions over whether or not an artist necessarily needs to be accurate about conveying information in its music - what I care most about is whether or not a song resonates with me. And because of this it succeeds more than it would have if it were a song that tried to accurately cover the thoughts of an esoteric philosopher. In fact, the absence of almost anything about Reich's life during the song means he merely serves as a jumping off point for the true emotional core of the song - a child's love for their father. In any case "Cloudbusting" doesn't really fulfill these needs at all - most people don't know what Orgone is and likely wouldn't know anything else about it after hearing the song. This is partly why we don't see many songs like " The Wreck Of The Old 97" anymore - we don't necessarily need to convey important events to listeners through song. Because of this, there is little need for song lyrics that merely recite accurate versions of events anymore. We live in a moment where the great majority of real life events (at least the ones reported by news or featured in books) can be easily researched. Per your question on "Cloudbusting," I think it's important to ask what the function of lyrics about real life events are in a song. The two sides fulfill completely different goals artistically, and succeed at both admirably. I mean, shit, how many people crave the sound of Georgian choirs in their music? I guarantee you their numbers are far fewer than those who feed off of the wide-eyed emotions of the majority of the A-side. "The Ninth Wave" has some absolutely incredible tracks on it, like the proto-Current 93 "Jig Of Life" (which, by the way, is probably my favorite Kate Bush track at the moment), but it also isn't exactly something you can put on when you're at a party or getting ready for a date. I think that asking what the greatest side of Hounds of Love is may as well be the equivalent of asking if someone prefers pop music or not. I kind of treat her singing as sort of an instrument in the way I do with liz frazer from the cocteau twins. When it comes to Bush's lyrics i've actually never really read into them personally, but I'm sure they're good. just that instead of it being applied to rock music it's with dreamy experimental pop music. I've also really gotten the sense that kate bush was maybe inspired by brian eno's production work with artists like bowie, devo and the talking heads, etc. I guess one other thing that I really like not just about kate bush but also about a lot of other widely loved, but also somewhat experimental artists and bands from like the 60s to maybe the late 80s is how widespread the practice of having all the hits and more immediate songs on the first side of a vinyl album was, and using the second side for the weirder or more out there shit, I could name a ton of albums that did this, but to me hounds of love was always paced/structured kind of similarly to the brian eno produced era david bowie albums, most specifically heroes in that sense.
I think The dreaming, the sensual world and hounds of love are all incredible masterpieces, but it makes sense that hounds of love gets most of it since it's probably Kate Bush's most carefully curated album in a songwriting and production sense, I like the dreaming the most personally but I think it still deserves all the credit it gets. The second half is obviously still pop music to me in a melodic sense, but it's structurally very out there. Side 1 on hounds of love is basically a bunch of incredible art/dream pop songs and I love it obviously, but side 2 is really what blows me away about the album, the second part of hello earth is one of the few songs that consistently gives me tingles along my spine and the closing track is one of my favorite songs ever.