“Stepping out of the page,” Bush sings on her sixth studio album, “into the sensual world.” And did she ever. The title-track is the peak of her entire catalogue — balancing the sexy with the scary, bagpipes and bass charging wildly under her orgasmic imagery. Bush has never been immune to filler, but The Sensual World is an all-around knock-out, from the simmering “This Woman’s Work” to the propulsive, positively joyous “Love and Anger.” All of what Bush had been working toward paid off here: Her voice had deepened and matured ; her cast of collaborators had grown more chemistry ; her lyrics more carefully chosen and her melodies sharpened. Building on the expressive Hounds of Love before it, The Sensual World is an bold, colorful masterpiece — the sound of Bush abandoning fairy tales for an even more imaginative real life.