Kate Bush - The Dreaming (1982/2018) [Hi-Res]

Fourth album by Kate Bush, released by EMI Records on 13 September 1982. Almost two years in the making, it was the first album Bush produced entirely by herself.

The Dreaming was the breakthrough album for 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.

Upon its release, 'The Dreaming' met with a mixed critical reception. Many were baffled by the dense soundscapes Bush had created. Record Mirror wrote: "Quaint, admirable, unclassified, Kate Bush goes her own sweet way... production hard to fault... ranges from the ethereal to the frankly unlistenable." Sounds added: "I'm drowning in a sea of vocal overdubs". Melody Maker said in a favourable review that the album was indeed baffling but also interesting, labelling 'Suspended in Gaffa' the only "vaguely conventional track", adding: "It's the sort of album that makes me want to kidnap the artist and demand the explanation behind each track".

Bush later described The Dreaming as, “my ‘She’s gone mad’ album.” That was more about public perception than hers, though musically she went for broke, having discovered the Fairlight’s sampling technology and upping the synth element to create vibrant new landscapes. While The Dreaming itself referred to Aboriginal culture, ‘Pull Out The Pin’ was inspired by a documentary about the Vietnam war, but from the Viet Cong perspective: it wasn’t Bush that had gone mad, but the world.

Oriental textures are underplayed rather than gratuitous; maybe she’d enjoyed Japan’s Gentlemen Take Polaroids album (1980), though the spare, haunted mood is probably more indebted to Peter Gabriel, whose third album (also 1980) featured Bush on backing vocals (six years before their duet on Gabriel’s ‘Don’t Give Up’). There was still room for ‘rock’, with angular guitar stabs a much sharper presence than among Bush’s previous work, with flurries of helicopter blades toward the end following Bush’s despairing mantra of “I love life!”

Kate Bush, vocals, piano, Fairlight synth (1,2,5-10), Yamaha CS80 (2), strings (4)
Brian Bath, guitar (3)
Ian Bairnson, acoustic guitar (5), backing vocals (1)
Alan Murphy, guitar (5,10)
Paddy Bush, mandolin (4), strings (4), percussion (1), backing vocals (1,6,10), bullroarer (6)
Geoff Downes, synth (1)
Dave Lawson, synclavier (2,4), string co-arranger (9)
Liam O'Flynn, uillean pipes & penny whistle (7)
Sean Keane, fiddle (7)
Donal Lunny, bouzouki (7)
Rolf Harris, didgeridoo (6)
Del Palmer, bass (2,4,8), fretless & 8-string basses (7), voice "Rosabel Believe" (9)
Eberhard Weber, bass (9)
Jimmy Bain, bass (1,5,10)
Danny Thompson, double bass (3)
Preston Heyman, drums (1,3,5,10), percussion (1)
Stuart Elliot, drums (2,4,6-9), percussion (4,8)
Esmail Sheikh, talking drum (10)
Stewart Arnold, backing vocals (1)
Gary Hurst, backing vocals (1)
David Gilmour, backing vocals (3)
Percy Edwards, voices (6)
Gosfield Goers, voices (6)
Richard Thornton, choirboy vocals (8)
Gordon Farrell, voice "Houdini" (9)
Paul Hardiman, voice "Eeyore" (10)

Produced by Kate Bush

Digitally remastered