The Dreaming (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = The Dreaming
Type = Album
Artist = Kate Bush


Released = September 13 1982
Recorded = 1980 and 1982
Genre = Art rock
Length = 43:25
Label = EMI
Producer = Kate Bush
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:qitxlfhe5cqo link]
*Robert Christgau (B+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Kate+Bush link] |
Last album = "Never for Ever" (1980)
This album = "The Dreaming" (1982)
Next album = "Hounds of Love" (1985)

"The Dreaming" is the fourth album by Kate Bush. Following Bush's production assistance on "Lionheart", and her co-production of "Never for Ever" with Jon Kelly and John L Walters, "The Dreaming" was the first album Bush produced on her own.

Overview

With her newfound freedom, she experimented with production techniques, creating an album that features a very diverse blend of musical styles and that is known for its near-exhaustive usage of the Fairlight CMI.

"The Dreaming" met with a mixed critical reception at first. Many were baffled by the dense soundscapes she had created. The album was not considered to be a financial success, although it still reached number three in the UK album charts.cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Kate Bush | work = | publisher = NNDB | date = | url = http://www.nndb.com/people/504/000025429/ | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-04-03 ] “Sat in Your Lap” was the first track released. It predated the album by nearly a year and peaked at #11. The following singles fared worse. "The Dreaming", the album's title track featuring the talents of Rolf Harris and Percy Edwards, stalled at number 48, whilst the next single, "There Goes a Tenner", failed to chart at all, despite promotion from EMI and Bush.

Bush was in her early twenties when making the album and tended to look outside herself for sources of inspiration. She drew on old crime films ("There Goes A Tenner"), a documentary about the war in Vietnam ("Pull Out The Pin"), the plight of Indigenous Australians ("The Dreaming"), the life of Houdini ("Houdini") and Stanley Kubrick's film of Stephen King's novel "The Shining" ("Get Out Of My House"). There are a few more personal tracks, though: the lead single, "Sat In Your Lap", examines feelings of self-doubt versus burning self-confidence and the search for a balance between the two, while "Leave It Open" speaks of the need to acknowledge and express the darker sides of one's personality (within the greater context of maintaining an open mind).cite web | last = Bush | first = Kate | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Kate's KBC article Issue 12 | work = | publisher = KBC Newsletter | date = | url = http://gaffa.org/garden/kate14.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-04-03 ] Bush herself has called "The Dreaming" her "I've gone mad album". [ [http://gaffa.org/reaching/i85_q1.html Gaffaweb - Kate Bush - REACHING OUT - Q - "Hounds of Love Sleeve Notes" by Phil Sutcliffe ] ]

The album may be seen not so much as an extension of the innovations that could be heard on "Never for Ever", but rather as an experiment in new (and frequently scary) musical sounds and textures.

Many fans have claimed that "The Dreaming" is Bush's best record. It remains her lowest-selling album, despite having reached No. 3 on the UK albums chart and fared worse in other markets where she was already established. However, it was her first album to dent the Billboard Top 200, largely due to the growing influence of college radio.

The iconic album cover depicts a scene described in the lyrics to the song "Houdini". In the picture shown, Bush is acting as Houdini's wife, holding a key in her mouth which she is about to pass on to Houdini.

Track listing

All songs written by Kate Bush

ide one

#"Sat in Your Lap" – 3:29
#"There Goes a Tenner" – 3:24
#"Pull Out the Pin" – 5:26
#"Suspended in Gaffa" – 3:54
#"Leave It Open" – 3:20

ide two

#"The Dreaming" – 4:41
#"Night of the Swallow" – 5:22
#"All the Love" – 4:29
#"Houdini" – 3:48
#"Get Out of My House" – 5:25

Personnel

*Stewart Arnold: vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
*Jimmy Bain: Bass
*Ian Bairnson: Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
*John Barrett: Assistant Engineer
*Brian Bath: Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
*Haydn Bendall: Engineer
*Kate Bush: Piano, strings, Arranger, Keyboards, Vocals, Producer, Fairlight
*Paddy Bush: Harmonica, Mandolin, Strings, Stick, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), Bullroarer
*George Chambers: Assistant Engineer
*Nick Cook: Assistant Engineer
*Ian Cooper: Cutting Engineer
*Danny Dawson: Assistant Engineer
*Geoffrey Downes: Trumpet, Trumpet Arrangement
*Percy Edwards: Sound Effects, Vocals
*Stuart Elliott: Percussion, drums, Stick
*Gordon Farrell: Vocals
*David Gilmour: Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
*Howard Gray: Assistant Engineer
*Paul Hardiman: Vocals, Engineer, Mixing
*Rolf Harris: Didjeridu
*Preston Heyman: Drums, Stick
*Gary Hurst: Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
*Sean Keane: Violin
*Nick Launay: Engineer
*Dave Lawson: Synthesizer, Synclavier, String Arrangements
*Donal Lunny: Bouzouki, Bouz
*Alan Murphy: Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
*Liam O'Flynn: Pipe, Penny Whistle, Uilleann Pipes
*Hugh Padgham: Engineer
*Del Palmer: Bass, Vocals, Fretless Bass
*Teri Reed: Assistant Engineer
*Esmail Sheikh: Drums
*David Taylor: Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
*Danny Thompson: Bass
*Richard Thornton: Vocals, Choir, Chorus
*Eberhard Weber: Bass
*Bill Whelan: Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements
*Pete Wooliscroft: Digital Editing

Chart Performance

ee also

*Kate Bush discography
*Kate Bush's Awards and Nominations

References