Track Listing

1. Sat In Your Lap
2. There Goes A Tenner
3. Pull Out The Pin
4. Suspended In Gaffa
5. Leave It Open
6. Dreamin'
7. Night Of The Swallow
8. All The Love
9. Houdini
10. Get Out Of My House

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2844 in Music
• Released on: 1987-01-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

CD Description
THE DREAMING is a breakthrough for English singer/songwriter Kate Bush. Recorded after her work on Peter Gabriel's innovative third album, its scope and confidence are breathtaking. The songs range from the title track (a cry of protest against the destruction of Australia's native culture and people) to a contemplative study of "Houdini" and his wife's attempts to contact him after his death.
Her production takes advantage of a new digital synthesizer (the Fairlight), and musicians like Euro-jazz bassist Eberhard Weber and members of the traditional folk group Planxty.

Customer Reviews

HER BEST AND ONE OF THE 80s BEST!
The Dreaming is one of those works that stand out of it's time to remain in the records as a "major". This is Kate Bush's masterpiece. It is completely timeless is a way that very, very few music albums are. It's absolutelly actual today as it was in the nineties or when it came out. It was an inspiration for a whole generation of "weird" songwriters like Bjork or Portishead but it's always more genuine, more visceral, more incredible, more unbelievable. Most people say Kate's best album is Hounds Of Love. Maybe that's true. But there is something about the dreaming that really overpasses Hounds. Hounds has a more POP approach to it, with obvious singles popping out, it's more dated, less free of barriers.
The Dreaming fascinated me as soon as I discoverd it after Sensual World came out. I was never the same person again.

Strange Adventures, 80's Style
For me, 'The Dreaming' is undoubtedly the strangest and most adventurous album of KB's illustrious career.

Uniquely adapting ethnic rhythms (strong Celtic and Australian Aborigine influences pervade) and, then, cutting-edge Fairlight technology, in some ways the album is a more extreme and emotionally edgy companion to Gabriel's contemporaneous classics '3' and '4'.

'All The Love' and 'Houdini' are unnervingly beautiful highlights, while 'Get Out Of My House' (featuring a great Fripp-inspired guitar line) sounds as possessed as the demonic subject matter it deals with.

In conclusion, 'The Dreaming' is an astonishingly fresh and genuinely brave statement from 1982 that still sounds vital and surprising today. Taken alongside the likes of Gabriel, Sylvian, Eno, Talking Heads, Talk Talk and The Blue Nile, this is an album that suggests that the 'decade of evil' was just as creative in its own way as the more celebrated 1960s and 1970s.

Experiment IV
This release signified the point in Kates recording career when, perhaps, she went a slight too far for your average record buying public. As a nod towards the style of this album, Sat in your lap was released a full year before and, by its merits, did fairly well in the singles chart. However, that was certainly not the case for the title track, when released as an album-promoter. Further releases didnt even chart. So, what went wrong? Actually, nothing. She just happened to produce something that, today, would be hailed as a master-stroke, perhaps. In July 1982, this was not so.

Here was a recording artist like no other, simply pushing her art in yet another direction. Experimenting, and offering no compromises. And credit to EMI for allowing her to do so, although it is questioned whether the big cheeses were particularly enamoured with the product or not. It certainly didnt rake in the profits in the same was as her previous three had done. The relative commercial failure of this album forced her to yield perhaps to some extent on her next venture, and we all know the outcome of that (Hounds of Love, for those who dont). But the learning, musically and technologically, from this album certainly made the follow-up the genius that it was.

Here, Kate gives free reign to her musical craftsmanship, resulting in ambitious pieces that were perhaps too far ahead of their time. Admittedly, the album doesnt flow in the same sense that HOL does, but how many albums do? It wasnt a concept album, so discernable thread not necessary. However, observation, subject and life experience are there for all to hear.

Sat in you lap opens the experience with its heavy drums and Kates piano. The many step-changes in this track are bizarre, but somehow it works. Vocally, Kate is very unrestrained, shrieking at times here and throughout the album, but this adds to the feel of the work. As the songs roll by, a sense of musical schizophrenia hits you. There is no natural progression, but therein lies its charm.

There goes a tenner is quirky in sound, but lyrically very astute, and this is true of all the tracks. As with all of her work, it commands attention, more so with this album than others. Pull out the pin was apparently inspired by a documentary seen on TV, and with this in mind, the lyrics are spot-on, and the wailing I love lifes are disconcerting yet, at the same time, familiar Kate territory. Suspended in gaffa is another out there song a fast waltz with vocals swapping several times from low, almost spoken to top-note. Lyrically who knows? Who cares? For me, after the side one (yes Im that old) opener, the high point of the album followed by the low point (yes there is one).

Keep it open shows great vocal range and styles, but is very heavy. The dark lyrics match the mood. Its not a poor number, it just happen to be the weakest on the album.

The title-track is very unusual with faux aussie-accented vocal. This does detract from the serious nature of the lyric, i.e. the new mans desire to claim the land at the expense of the indigenous population. Controversial stuff, indeed. This runs into Night of the swallow which has a distinctly Irish feel, and is a nod towards later outings (Jig of life).

Next up is All the love, which is a fairly simple piece with Kate, a piano, a Fairlight and a choirboy. Very effective wouldnt have been out of place on Never for Ever. The only thing that spoils (and to some extent, dates) the song are the telephone spoken goodbyes. That aside, it is a lush and beautiful composition. Houdini takes its inspiration from obvious sources and, like many of the songs here, is thoughfully written and perfomed. Side-show dramatics and all (you hit the water).

Dramatics abound in the closer Get out of my house, including Kate and BVs offering braying Mule noises. Classic. Lyrically, this song could be construed in many ways. I like to think it was inspired by Kates feelings towards the EMI people, after paying her a visit during the recording of this album. Get out of my house, indeed!

For me, this is Kate hitting her stride, both lyrically and musically. I think the tide of pop music at the time (1982; Duran Duran, Human League, Haircut 100 (jesus), Dexys, etc.) was fairly unforgiving towards a rare breed at the time i.e. the female singer-songwriter with the balls to stick to her creative guns.

Hindsight, however, shows that here is a record that has dated little over 23 years. I admit to being a defector around this period, but vinyl purchase in early 1986 illustrated how errant Id been. As many have indicated it is not an easy ride, aurally, but it does repay the listener given time. Honest. Just stick with it.