THE DREAMING

A controvercial album, full of experimentation, barroque arrangements, luxury of lirycs, poetry about keys that passed by a kiss. Is the more "avant garde" album of KT, summing australian instrument, all kinds of chorus , like the " hee haa" as a donkey at the end of the album, is like to enter trough the ivy until the source of her imagination, the search of the holy places, rape, the dream, all is posible in this recording, incluying mr Gilmour in the voices in some songs, here KT show all her skills that she use after in her conceptual album "hounds of love". You can't missed it

'The Dreaming' is undoubtedly the strangest and most adventurous album of KB's career.

Utilising treated ethnic rhythms (a strong Celtic and Australian influence) and, then, cutting-edge Fairlight technology, in some ways, the album is a more extreme and emotionally edgy companion to Gabriel's '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 subject matter it deals with.

In conclusion, 'The Dreaming' is an astonishingly fresh and genuinely Progressive statement from 1982 that not only still surprises today, but alongside the likes of Gabriel, Sylvian, Eno, Talking Heads, Talk Talk, The Blue Nile and the reformed King Crimson, suggests that the 'decade of evil' was just as creative in its own way as the 1960s and 1970s.

Kate's fourth album is her most interesting by far.Gaining in confidence she explores all kinds of weird ideas,some bordering on the perverse! It took me a lot of plays to get to like this but eventually I fell in love with it.However I still believe that an album like this which is primarily 'song based' can't really be regarded a masterpeice.Harshly I award only 4 stars but I respect different views and many will give this 5 stars.I also expect there will be a few 2 star reviews as well because this kind of experimental approach will not go down well with everyone.

As Kate Bush has always been one of my favourite artists, the wait for her inclusion in the Archives has been quite long. Now she's here at last, and I can review all her back catalogue to my heart's delight while I wait to get hold of "Aerial".

"The Dreaming" is considered inferior to its follow-up, "Hounds of Love", by those people who find it way too adventurous for its own good. Multilayered vocals, all kinds of exotic instruments, eerie sound effects, lyrics dealing with intense, somewhat disturbing subject matters, .... It's probably Kate's most 'progressive' album in the true sense of the word, and as such not too everyone's taste. It can be be compared to Peter Gabriel's production of the same period, especially as concerns the liberal use of ethnic beats and the presence of topics such as the plight of indigenous populations. In both artists' '80s output the influence of 'new wave' is quite evident, but at the same time it is only one of the flavours added to an intensely personal mixture. There's very little filler on "The Dreaming", although the lighter-hearted "There Goes a Tenner" and "Suspended in Gaffa" are not on a par with the other tracks. Among the highlights I would mention the heavily percussive title-track, echoing with the voices and sounds of the Australian outback, and the hauntingly beautiful "Houdini", with plaintive violins in the background. However, the real gem here is the wonderful "Pull Out the Pin", with David Gilmour providing backing vocals to a tale from the Vietnam war told from the point of view of a Vietcong: "Just one thing in it, me or him/And I love life..." The lyrics are pure poetry, starkly reflecting the absurdity of war and bearing once again witness to Kate's deep insight into human nature.

"The Dreaming" is arguably not as easy to get into as either its predecessor, "Never For Ever", or the highly praised "Hounds of Love", as it is admittedly less melodic and its lyrics can be downright impenetrable at times. However, neither of these factors stop it from being an excellent album. Four and a half stars, perhaps?

This record mainly consists in female vocals explorations through scattered, repetitive, clinical & brief sound effects. The ensemble is very original, yes, but if you want to relax, do not listen to this record. The compositions are not really simple and not accessible at all: the music can be seen a bit as a progressive mix of Yello & Art of Noise! There are many piano bits with very good fretless bass, provided by Eberhard Weber, the king of the fretless instrument. Everything is nervous, restless, unequal, and at the same time there are many ambient & subtle arrangements: it gives original textures, but it definitely lacks elegance & fluidity. Kate's emotive & often aggressive voice does not help at all. I rate this record 3.5 stars: I think half the album is very good but the other part is unlistenable, and this does not corresponds to any track in particular: most of the tracks share very good and awful moments. There are too many irritating bits: I cannot uninterruptedly listen to the whole album! This record is definitely her worst one!

Rating: 3.5 stars

Absolutely her finest work. A controversial album because others will say this is her least appealing work which also divided her fanbase. It is highly recommended that one use headphones whilst listening to this masterpiece and let the profound music and that hauntingly sublime voice embrace the mind and soul. This album is among the very best of my music collection and I give it and Bush the highest compliments for quality music, voice, lyrics, and imagery (listen to "There Goes A Tenner" , "Houdini", or the title track "The Dreaming" and one can fathom what I mean). Do you like music that makes you happy, sad, scared, humored, intrigued, intense, confused, freaked-out, contemplative, or even warm? One gets all of this and more with The Dreaming. This outstanding recommendation can be viewed as impartial and unbiased as I have some disagreements with Bush's socio/political stances--but quality work is quality work and The Dreaming is among the finest you'll hear. All other KB albums recommended as well.

I hate to be a pain in the a**, but this is a mediocre album. It's not bad, but it's so weird and personal, than I can be fascinated from it. The first sid eof the vinyl is full of nice pop-oriented songs, with 'Suspended in Gaffa' being the best one. It's not difficult to see that's she's lost it somewhere: the production is full of weird and bizarre noises, voices, samples etc. But the second side is definitely worse. It can't be heard. Try the 'Kick Inside', 'Lionheart', 'Never For Ever', 'Hounds Of Love' or 'The Sensual World'. Avoid this one. A 'dark masterpiece'? I don't think so! Overrated, without a doubt.

Highly overrated, I don't think so. The Dreaming was Kate's most underrated album. Dismissed by her fans as "to weird", this album didn't do so well with singles or sales. Most of Kate's fans preferred her more eclectic pop sound. As time passed more people began to appreciate this album for the Kate Bush masterpiece it is. This is her most adventurous and progressive album, and now it is deserving the appreciation it should of deserved in 1982.

Kate's fourth album goes deeper into experimental strangeness. Whereas even the spell- binding and many-sided Never For Ever was safely rooted in romantic, ethearal charm of a siren-like young woman singing about passion crimes, love-making, summer nights and other delights, and was capable of taking the listener at once into its beauty, The Dreaming is much harder work of art to digest completely. There would be ideas enough for ten albums, wrote Fred Vermorel in his book 'The Secret Life of Kate Bush'. I don't know if that statement is accurate in practice, but there's some truth in it. In short, The Dreaming has some fantastic dark-toned tracks and some oddities that are for rare listening only. And something in between, such as 'Get Out of My House' which is a hair- raising song full of crazy power. "This house is full of m-m-my mess, this house is full of m- m-ma-ma-madness!!"

The title track is about Australian Aboriginals digging gold for white man - and features a didgeridoo. The other song that can be seen in The Whole Story video compilation is 'Sat in Your Lap' and I still can't quite figure out what's it about. 'Pull Out the Pin', featuring Dave Gilmour's backing vocals, is a bit boring musically (the lyrics are full of meaning) and so is 'Suspended in Gaffa'. 'Leave It Open' is extremely strange, even the "singing" in it. She's a plain witch whenever she feels like it.

The other vinyl side has the real goodies. 'Night of the Swallow' could be described as a folk-prog song featuring Uillean pipes. Lovely. 'All The Love' is a moody ballad, very English, very atmospheric; refrain is sung by a choirboy. One of my favourite Kate Bush songs, and so is 'Houdini' too. Eberhard Weber's magnificent bass playing finisihes the perfection of these songs. 'Houdini' is the song behind the cover picture: "With a kiss I'd pass the key...". Musically it comes closer to chamber music than rock.

This highly artistic and original album is very close to being a masterpiece, but some less accessible or monotonously boring (though very innovative) songs make it too uneven for five stars. But its best moments are absolutely highlights of her whole career. A must for fans.

This album was my introduction to Kate Bush, and what a first impression she made!

1982 was a strange year for music. I wasn't really listening to much progressive music because - well, it was dead. Or so said Trouser Press and Rolling Stone. This was the time of more mellow, palatable stuff like Alan Parson's 'Eye in the Sky', Roxy Music's 'Avalon', and Asia's debut. Pretty tame stuff, really. I was going through a phase of collecting albums from female bands and singers, which is the only reason I bought this one. I had no idea who Kate Bush was, and her albums weren't really generally available in the musical wasteland that was the American Midwest. But the cover was unusual, and Ms. Bush was certainly much more interesting to look at than say, Siouxsie Sioux.

When "Sat in Your Lap" blasted out of my stereo's speakers though, I figured this was something akin to the Banshees type of music, or maybe Exene or something. Really strident strings and piano, pulsating aboriginal drums, and shrieking vocals. Totally shocking stuff. But buried in the chaos was this voice that had incredible range, and an uncanny ability to stay the course amidst the bizarre tempo and cacophonic arrangements. Really intriguing.

So when "There Goes a Tenner" rolls around, I'm surprised again with this kind of theatrical composition and those vocals, alternating between some strange brogue and an ultra-soprano child-like lilt that made Clare Grogan sound like an alto. Not the strongest track on the album, but enchanting nonetheless.

I still don't know what "Pull Out the Pin" is supposed to be about, but the throaty, operatic tones Ms. Bush belts out over the top of the odd percussion (is this the synclavier?), great sound effects, and again the chaotic rhythms and harsh strings. This stuff takes a lot of listens, but eventually it gets under your skin and really grows on you.

"Suspended in Gaffa" is another song that starts off sounding like a Julie Andrews theater composition, were it not for Ms. Bush's totally unique voice. The harmonious blending of strings and piano is really catchy, and serves to contrast the shrill vocals even more than on previous tracks.

The vocal treatments on "Leave it Open" are yet another dimension to this album, and the first several times I heard this one I figured it for filler, but as I've come to learn more about Ms. Bush's discography I realize that term isn't really in her vocabulary. The drums and percussion get really intense if you play them very loud on a good stereo, and if you are in a bit of an altered mood her voice is actually kind of scary.

The cover track with its aboriginal percussion and bizarre sound effects is the strangest work on the album. The affected Australian accent is an interesting twist as well, and this kind of story-song is just one more experiment that perhaps played better with those of us who were new to her music than it did with die-hard fans.

The "Night of the Swallow" features the closest thing to what most people consider normal vocals on the album, but even here the occasional shrill refrain doesn't let you relax much. The uillean pipes and penny whistles give this a folksy feel, and the drums are almost hypnotic. This is a great tune even without the vocals, and although it takes a bit of time to really kick into gear, Ms. Bush manages to bring all the various sounds together eventually to a cohesive ending (relatively speaking).

"All the Love" is a strange and very personal reflection by the singer, and the strings and guitars here are quite odd and intriguing. This would have been a better closing track than the harsh "Get Out of My House", but it certainly fits the mood of the album.

More of the odd strings on "Houdini", and the piano and strings here would have made for a great extended instrumental piece. Finally Ms. Bush shows that she can not only shock and defy physical limits with her voice, she can also sound plainly beautiful when it suits her mood. It just doesn't manage to suit her mood for an entire song anywhere on this album.

Finally comes "Get Out of my House", and I'm taken back to memories of some rather unpleasant personal relationships when I hear the shrew-like exhortations in the background as the guitar and keys build up to a nervous ending (is she actually braying like a donkey at the end of this one?).

This is one of the most unusual albums I have ever had the experience of listening to, and back when it came out none of my friends could stand to listen to it more than once. I did, actually repeatedly. The chaos and experimentation are the same things that drew me to a lot of post-punk music, although Kate Bush certainly would never be considered in that category. It's also what I have always found appealing about David Bowie's 'Scary Monsters and Super Creeps', which I would lump with this as a work by an artist where they were simply curious to see how far they could go to stretch the bounds of their own music (Bowie went much further than Ms. Bush, but the comparison is still valid).

This doesn't rise to the level of essential (I don't personally feel anything Kate Bush has done reaches that bar), but it was without a doubt one of the best albums that came out in 1982, and probably one of the best in the first half of that decade. It's a great addition to anyone's collection, and although can be considered an acquired taste, is highly recommended. Four stars.

peace

1982 and another strong release from Kate Bush. The album definitely showed Kate Bush at her most eccentric to date which did not win over too many new legions of fans. But if I had to compare this to The Kick Inside from 1978 The Dreaming would show a much more mature work and there are some of us who perhaps prefer her more eccentric side anyway.There is that strong Celtic feel to the album as one will find on parts of Sensual World.Ian Bairnson on guitar most notable for work on Alan Parson's Project.Eberhard Weber on bass and Stuart Elliot on the drum kit, not to mention Rolf Harris an almost everpresent playing didgeridoo, hence the Australian comparisons. A great concept album again and the major highlights would have to be the unnerving ' Sat In Your Lap', the brilliant ' Suspended In Gaffa' and the scary ' Get Out Of My House' Kate Bush at her mosted experimental to date in the vocalizations. Three and a half stars.

Bush's boldest and most daring work

The Dreaming is a truly remarkable piece of work. This is the first album where Kate did not incorporate songs from her large cache of material written as a teenager on the piano. She changed people she was working with, changed the way they worked, changed her writing style, and wrote brand new material. Rather than beginning on the piano and working with the studio musicians to fill in the flesh, here Bush begins with rhythms and then works from there. Her friendship with Gabriel and her own desire to break her own mold resulted in a work that was as jarring to those around her as it would be to the public. Some of her collaborators did not like the work and insisted it was too noisy, abrasive, and impossible to absorb. Undeterred, Kate moved forward willing to make some mistakes in her quest for reinvention and wonder.

It is an album I'm somewhat torn on. Without doubt it was her most challenging work, her most adventurous, her most "out there", and her strongest lyrically to date. It is groundbreaking and stunning. And yet it is musically speaking colder than its predecessors. For years I believed this made it less preferable to me as a listener but over time it has improved greatly in my eyes. While I once preferred the dreamy romantic vibe of Never For Ever, I've now come to feel that The Dreaming may be her best or second best album, rivaling her debut masterpiece. It also shares the stage with side 2 of Hounds as Bush's most challenging work and is an obvious problem for people who insist Bush was not a progressive artist.

By far the Best Kate Bush album in my opinion. Just reading some of the reviews I notice that people are not aware of what the lyrics in pull out the pin are about ! The lyrics are part of what makes this albums so great. Its about the war in vietnam from the perspective of a vietnamese fighter and pull out the pin refers to a grenade of course. Like others, I really regret not giving this 5 stars and think that the fault almost lies with me. The lyrics are amazing. Her voice is incredible. BUT, in the most beautiful songs she will just make some terrible grating noise which is somehow related to music ? Also the song about the aborgines is just unlistenable to me.

It was one of those happy coincidences. Maybe a year or so before Hounds of Love came out, I was driving home and only had a crappy radio in my car. By that time I had pretty much started staying away from commercial radio. So I was tuned into a college radio station and Suspended In Gaffa came on. I knew Kate by name only, this was my first time hearing her music. There was something about it that gave me the Goosebumps. At the time I had already been well immersed in many of the classic prog groups. I suspect many people in a similar situation might have found the material on the Dreaming a bit grating. But, then again already being a Zappa fan meant that I had already acquired a taste for the weird. I suspect the also fairly weird, Peter Gabriel III, which came out two years before influenced her here.

All of the musical styles here are fairly eclectic. Some of the songs here tell little tales. There Goes A Tenner is about safe robbers in action. Pull Out the Pin is the about a guerilla fighter, most likely Vietnamese fighting Americans. The Dreaming is about the Australian Aborigines and their intersection with the supernatural. Houdini, of course is about Houdini's last performance.

I don't think I've ever heard a song with lyrics quite like Sat In Your Lap, the quirky album opener. It's about the nature of knowledge. "Some say that knowledge is something sat in your lap. Some say that knowledge is something that you never have.". "Some say that heaven is hell. Some say that hell is heaven.". "I must admit, just when I think I'm king, (I just begin.) " I must admit, Kate's absolutely right.

Others are about relationships. Suspended In Gaffa indecisiveness in matters of love. Leave It Open is about closing your mouth and opening your mind. Night of the Swallow is about breaking up and musically has more in common with the material from Never For Ever. Although on all her subsequent albums there's always at least one track with a strong Celtic sound.

The real icing on the cake here for me is Get Out of My House. A spooky ghost story. Excellent heavy prog thing happening here. Chilling!

The Dreaming is not like anything else in Kate's discography. When you compare it to her previous album, Never For Ever, it's almost like you've got a completely different artist. With the following album, Hounds of Love, she returned to a somewhat more accessible sound. She's categorized here as Prog Related, but the Dreaming is surely a masterpiece of Avant-Prog.

Off comes the gloves, the nice and melodic Kate Bush has grown up and become a strange flower. The first three albums from Kate Bush The Kick Inside, Lionheart and Never For Ever are all beautiful slightly progressive pop albums. All three are pretty easily accessible and very melodic. With The Dreaming starts the second phase of Kate Bush career and this period is much more experimental. In fact The Dreaming might be Kate Bush most strange and progressive album. It´s a bit inaccessible and for newcomers I wouldn´t start here. It´s taken me a long time to appreciate The Dreaming and I was sure I wouldn´t give it a very high rating, but when I listened to it again for a couple of times to make this review it was like the years since I listened to it the last time had been good for The Dreaming and I finally solved the mystery and understood the album.

Like the three previous albums the music is build around Kate Bush phenominal vocal melodies and unique voice. This time around the instrumentation is very different from the previous albums pretty basic guitar, bass, drums and piano/ keyboard standard rock formula. The year is 1982 and it´s very clear that we are in the eighties as synths play a big role on The Dreaming. It´s not big synth chords though, the synths are more used to make effects and strange things. Kate Bush vocals are also heavily effect laden in some of the songs especially on the opening song Sat In Your Lap and Leave It Open, which are also some of the most experimental songs on The Dreaming. Another thing Kate Bush uses lots of times on The Dreaming are some brilliant harmony and background vocals which sounds really atmospheric. There are lots on moaning and grunting from Kate Bush on The Dreaming and I know it´s an aquired taste if you think that´s annoying or brilliant. It´s one of the things that took me a while to appreciate, but now I think it´s one of the things that sets The Dreaming apart from any other album Kate Bush ever made and makes it unique. The music is not as beautiful and melodic as on previous albums. It´s like Kate Bush subdues the melodies on purpose and it works well IMO. It´s always nice that you have to dig a bit deeper to find the melodies in music. That way the music last longer. At least for me. I quickly tire of music I understand and appreciate the first time I listen to it.

As always Kate Bush is in good shape vocally on The Dreaming. She never disappoints. She is my favorite female singer. What she does with her voice on The Dreaming borders schizophenia as she can sing both in the high and in the low register, moan, scream, grunt. The Dreaming might be her crowning achivement vocally.

The production is pretty fantastic too. Kate Bush has clearly entered the eighties and all sounds have a harder edged sound than on her previous more seventies sounding albums. The very synth dominated soundscape profits from the hard sound. The production on Kate Bush voice is excellent. It helps bring out every emotion she wants.

The excellence of The Dreaming has come as a complete surprise to me, and a pleasant suprise indeed. The CD had actually collected dust on my shelf for a couple of years, but now I see that was a big mistake. The Dreaming will be played much more from now on in my house. I´ll give this excellent album 4 stars. It comes highly recommended.

Now that's what I call progressive! I cannot think of another album that is as forward-pushing as The Dreaming. Each and every song contained within could have been fleshed out into it's own double LP concept album. Even a quarter century after it's release, nobody else has even come close to releasing anything as utterly uncompromising or, frankly, as brilliant.

'Sat In Your Lap' is a swirling concoction of philosophy and religion with radically unorthodox percussion that's sounds like she has all the moons in the universe on ropes that she is swirling around (sometimes you feel you might need to duck from something exploding from the speakers!) - the planets are being used like tennis balls on the Creator's tympani - every once in a while you even get an unexpected slap from a shooting star. It's extraordinary it it's vision and humbling in it's expression. You've never heard anything like it and never will again. Then, with almost whiplash force, you're thrown into a very British bank job circa 1940 with 'There Goes A Tenner', a very propulsive track frought with excitement and danger, it rolls along so nervously that it makes you feel you're actually an accessory to the crime. It's almost hard to believe an artist can be this imaginative, but the proof is in the waveform.

Next we're thrown into the Viet Cong for 'Pull Out The Pin', it's a do or die situation, kill or be killed and David Gilmour keeps suggesting that you pull the pin from the grenade. This track also contains an interesting early example of sampling from other works of art, in this case Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' and the helicopter sound (this would not be the last inventive use of this particular Wall sample in her work either). Musically, like every song on this album, it's about painting with sound, nothing is conventional, there are no rules or limits. 'Suspended In Gaffa' has a unique intimacy that draws me into it's sticky web - I cannot put my finger on why this track fascinates me the way it does, and on an album full of mystery and intrigue, it may be the most mysterious. The first side closes with 'Leave It Open' which features one of the coolest mixes ever put on tape - from an engineering aspect, it's amazing, I doubt it could be replicated with 'pro-tools'. Side two opens with the title track, 'The Dreaming', from the point of view of an indigenous Australian, really taking the listener to the other side of the world. This segues into what I think is the best song on the album, 'Night Of The Swallow', this time with a very Celtic sound, and with a melody that is one of the most captivating and moving pieces of music I've ever heard. I cannot say enough about how beautiful and powerful this song is, there are times when I put this on repeat and listen to just this one song for hours on end. It also contains a drum fill that's utterly unbelievable, truly breathtaking. Kate is obviously an amazing vocalist with skill and prowess that is unequaled, but her vocals on this track in particular are so deeply passionate and sincere that I sometimes have trouble containing myself when I hear them.

All The Love explores themes of isolation and depression, and the tone of the song is appropriately somber yet still full of the tension and danger that flows throughout this whole album. This song also contains a guest vocal appearance from choirboy Richard Thornton which colors the song with just the right stroke of sadness as do the many voices that stream from an answering machine. From this morose starkness we're thrown into a spooky seance situation, trying to summon the spirit of 'Houdini' - Eberhard Weber's fretless bass is sublime, and the pain and torment Kate imbues into certain lines will knock you off your feet. I cannot think of a vocalist that has been this free and truly treats her voice as another instrument. All too soon, the album closes with an incredibly heavy piece of horror, 'Get Out Of My House', and it's way scarier than both the book and movie of 'The Shining' put together.

I'll go ahead and say it, this is my favorite album of all-time, bar none. A lot of people feel it's a very disjointed album, a bunch of very unique and different songs thrown together in a haphazard manner, as an experiment - I beg to differ - there is a common thread that ties this whole album together and that thread is called discomfort. Every song deals with this emotion of being uncomfortable, unsettled and disturbed - so in that sense, it is indeed a 'concept album' in my opinion. It is progressive in every sense of the word.

I've listened to this 8 times in the last 3 days and i'm still trying to sort it all out. Haha. Finnforest warned me that this was an experimental album but I don't think anything would have prepared me for this ! Kate really pushes the boundries here and you really could place this album in the Avant-garde section it's that unusual. She really pulled out all the stops though, from the Celtic instruments, to the strings, to the effects and samples, to the bizarre vocals, it's all here folks. All I have to compare this to is her debut which was so passionate and emotional. At this point in her career she's wanting to progress and try new things and I think overall it's a success.

"Sat In Your Lap" opens with drums and piano as vocals come in. Horns come and go.The vocals are pretty wild at times and male vocals help out. "There Goes A Tenner" is kind of silly with piano and drums as horns come and go. I like the mellow passages a lot. It's a funny tale about robbing a bank of all things. "Pull Out The Pin" is a good track where Kate gets theatrical at times and male vocals sing "Pull out the pin". Some interesting sounds in this one. It gets dissonant before 3 1/2 minutes. "Suspended In Gaffa" has that silly vibe when the piano and vocals open the proceedings. Check out her high pitched backup vocals. Some strings in this one. "Leave It Open" features more outlandish vocals from Kate as male vocals help out. A fuller sound comes in before 2 1/2 minutes. It gets even more powerful late.

"The Dreaming" starts the second half of this record and it's my favourite half at that. This is a catchy tune that for some reason reminds me of that song "Fast & Furious" haha. I like the Celtic instruments used on this one. Very cool track. "Night Of The Swallow" is another excellent track (my favourite) that reminds me of the debut because of the emotion. Her vocals are heart-breaking early. Love when the tempo picks up 2 minutes in and the uillean pipes arrive.Themes are repeated. "All The Love" is a relaxing tune with some great atmosphere. Another favourite. "Houdini" is where Ms Bush gives us her Peter Hammill impression. Haha ! Very theatrical at times. Strings in this one too. "Get Out Of My House" is spooky to open (about a haunted house) as drums and vocal melodies come in. Kate follows quickly. This one is pretty out there vocally at times. I like the guitar that comes and goes.

It's only been the last couple of listens that i've started to appreciate what she's doing here. New things keep popping up I didn't hear before. 3.5 stars.

In my not so humble opinion, The Dreaming is Kate Bush's finest and most progressive album. Her amazing voice is put to it's greatest use here, and her songwriting is better than ever.

Right from the start, Bush kicks it into high gear, with the compound time signatures in the exciting "Sat In Your Lap", then continues with the first of her character pieces on this album, "There Goes A Tenner", with Kate portraying a bank robber over a deceptively quirky music track. "Pull Out The Pin", with Kate as a soldier struggling over the killing of an enemy is another deep track with lush music behind it. "Suspended In Gaffa" lightens the mood a bit, and "Leave It Open" ends the first half on a darker note.

"The Dreaming" opens the second half (originally side 2 of the record), an Australian flavored tune about driving through the outback. This is another lush sounding song that includes some screams that sound like they were pulled from Pink Floyd's "The Wall", and features a digeridu performance from the one and only Rolf Harris (music buffs remember him primarily for the 50s hit "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport". The digeridu continues playing into the next song, "Night Of The Swallow", where it creates an interesting mixture of sounds along with Irish pipes, strings and pennywhistle.

"All The Love" is a nice, deep love song. "Houdini" has Bush playing the wife of magician Harry Houdini, watching her husband die in his final escape attempt. Her strained vocals perfectly portray the tragedy of the event. And "Get Out Of My House" is the perfect ending to this masterpiece, with Kate primal-screaming the title as Paddy attempts to get in.

I'm glad I pulled this out out to listen to it. I had forgotten just how great it is.

I still remember when KATE BUSH was added to Prog Archives, I felt it was an odd decision,because there's no reason to include her in a Progressive Rock database, except maybe because she released a song with PETER GABRIEL, but she's here and the only thing left to do is review one of her albums.

Lets be honest, she's beautiful, has a great voice, a strong personality and charisma, but I can't find the slightest connection between her weird POP music and the genre we're here for, and believe me, I tried to find any relation, but no, it's not possible for me.

So started with "The Dreaming", considered by many as her most progressive release, I will accept it's weird for a POP artist, her multi layered vocals and use of exotic instruments makes the music richer, but this is nothing more than unusual melodic POP, of high quality but out of place in our beloved site.

The real problem is that in the attempt to sound experimental, she looses her strongest attribute, and that's her soft and beautiful voice, the strange sounds, the Cabaret like music, hardly reaches the climax and gets lost in the search for an original sound that never finds.

But extreme weirdness is not the only problem, there's a point in which all the songs sound absolutely predictable and repetitive, after two tracks I find nothing new or fresh, just sounds, shouts and dissonances without coherence, and that's sad, because she's a fantastic artist, but she goes way over the fence with the cacophonic excesses.

But not everything is boring, the closing section of "The Dreaming" and the instrumentation in "The Night of the Swallow" are exquisite, but not enough to save the album, she should stay with simple music for her pristine voice, because that's what she does best in my opinion.

Sorry, but I don't like the album at all, if it wasn't for her fantastic voice, I would go with one star, but that would be unfair, so I stay with 2.

The Dreaming is Kate's most experimental album and used to be my favourite back in the days. I was around 12 years old and the fact alone that my pop-loving sister didn't like it was reason enough to prefer it to anything else Kate had released till then. The charming quibbles of childhood :) A few years after, I gradually lost interest and stopped listening to it, putting it on the turntable for the first time in 20 years turned out to be a nice reunion.

The album doesn't start strong though, the first two songs are too far-fetched, trying too hard to be special and experimental; they sound forced and lack Kate's usual song writing qualities. Pull Out The Pin is the first moment on the album where the adventurous arrangements are carried by strong enough song material. Also Leave It Open is interesting. The title track is the album's highpoint, Peter Gabriel's influence is clearly felt in the tribal percussion and theatrical vocals. 5 star material this one.

Night of the Swallow is more melodic and announces the style that would be continued on the next album. All The Love continues the momentum. It's a gentle and brooding ballad with a great atmosphere and Kate's typical dreamy-magic charm. The album ends with the powerful Get Out of My House.

The Dreaming is overwhelming and impressive, but it has less of the emotion and charm that graced Kate's earlier work and it is slightly uneven in song quality, 3.5 stars.

My favorite Kate Bush album, along with THE DREAMING and HOUNDS OF LOVE. Highlights are "There Goes a Tenner", "Suspended in Gaffa", "The Dreaming", "Houdini", and "Get out of my House". There is some WILD stuff here- with all the Kate screams and moans included. Great time changes and always interesting and well-played musicianship with some great Celtic-feeling tunes and sounds. Some Kate Bush tires me and seems dated but not here. This may be Kate at her finest. I highly recommend this to any people looking to check out why Kate is thought of so highly in the prog community. About the only poor album she put out was THE RED SHOES. Anything else is lovely. 4 stars (so close to 5!!)

This was probably Kate's most daring album as well as her most experimental. Released in 1982 it did of course get quite a mixed reception. There's a blend of styles and her voice often sounds different too. Kate Bush herself also describes "The Dreaming" as the "I've gone mad album".

Not all of the songs here are as accessible as before but on repeated listens you're sure to pick out a few real gems. The arrangements are often unusual and the songwriting is also very interesting. I particularly like "There Goes A Tenner" which was inspired by an old crime film. "Pull Out The Pin" is also a strong piece which was wriiten about the Vietnam war. It has some nice percussion, bass and piano touches.

The biggest diamond for me is "Suspended In Gaffa". It's a very chirpy, uplifing song and I bet there's no other song with such a name. "The Dreaming" (with Rolf Harris on digeridu!) is a strange number indeed about the plight of the indigenous Australians. I've also come to quite love "Night Of The Swallow" and "Houdini" a lot.

"Get Out Of My House", apparently an inspiration from the horror movie "The Shining", provides a most eccentric ending to the album. There's some screaming backing vocals here which brings the haunting mood from the last couple of tracks into something quite warped and scary.

Overall, it's a very good album, for sure one of Bush's most progressive (and not a lot of albums were prog in the early 80's). It took me a while to get into it over the years but it is an enjoyable part of my collection. For now I'll give it 3.5 stars. Worth checking out if you want to hear something different.

My first listen to this album was an electric experience, one of those rare moments where you are caught breathless by this new interpretation of what music can be. It wasn't that I'd never listened to 80s music before, nor that I was unfamiliar with music that could be categorised as extremely odd. But I had never, in my life, heard someone sing in the way Kate does on this album. I was immediately entranced.

On this album, it's like Kate wanted to stretch her vocal cords into every conceivable orientation. There are of course the songs where she sings normally (such as "All the Love") but for the most she experiments with her voice on the songs to create interesting contrasts. The most common ingredient is a really high pitched, harsh yet not sharp singing. Just listen to the first 30 seconds of the opening track (Sat in Your Lap) and you will hear exactly what I'm talking about.

Other vocal styles include deep, donkey-like ee-hawing (no joke) and tribal style vocals on the title track.

And it all works, because Kate not only has a superb voice, she has great control and is able to do all of these things with skill. The studio is also used to allow her to layer her voice, or have two of her different "voices" singing at the same time.

Weird singing doesn't a good album make, but Kate has a strong sense of songwriting as well. There isn't really a song in here that isn't memorable. The least attractive one to me is "All The Love", which isn't particularly a bad song - in fact, it's quite emotional - it just sounds less "new" to me than anything else on here. It's the ballad of the album.

Each track on this album is carefully crafted and has a great depth of sound (I read that Kate has said she made this album to be played loud, so you could hear all the details). Yet at the same time, they almost all have a memorable melody that will get them stuck in your head, so you will want to spend enough time to listening to discover all these great details.

My favorite track is Suspended in Gaffa, which is incredibly catchy and has interesting lyrical content (it's about seeing God and then never being able to again) (and if you youtube it, you can find Kate doing some crazy interpretive dance to it). Get Out of My House is the darkest thing here, and this is the one where the aforementioned donkey braying is from. This one is based on Stephen Kings "The Shining".

Definitely a very strong album, and one that I have been unable to stop listening to since I first heard it. Very strong, very memorable and creative, and a lot of emotion.

Kate Bush's growth as a musician continued with the Dreaming, which saw both a diverge range of musical styles coming to the fore - including wonderful Irish folk influences on Night of the Swallow to traditional Australian music on the title track - and Kate herself continuing to develop her range as a theatrical vocalist, taking on roles as diverse as a bank robber, a smuggler (and his wife), an Australian aborigine dispossessed by uraniam miners, a soldier in Vietnam and (as depicted on the cover) the glamourous assistant of a Houdini-like escape artist. In fact, I'd say with this album Kate staked a claim to being one of the best of the theatrical art rock singers, her command of her different personas ranking alongside the likes of David Bowie and Peter Gabriel.

First off let me quickly point out that I'm no big fan of Kate Bush. 'The Kick Inside' was ok, 'Lionheart - entirely forgettable. 'Never for Ever' - patchy with good moments and. 'Hounds of Love' - too polished and over produced.

Daringly and commendably she went anti-commercial on 'The Dreaming'. The results in 1982 weren't too well received, but with the passage of time this album has transformed from an oddity in her discography into to something of a masterpiece.

She's armed with that most inaccessible of instruments - the Fairlight - a digital sampling synthesiser - which cost an arm and a leg back then, which only the ultra-rich like Godley and Creme and Peter Gabriel could afford.

The tunes are pretty much all idiosyncratic with very confusing and non sensical lyrics. It flows beautifully and sounds unlike anything she has recorded before or since. It's all very catchy and hummable with a multitude of instruments all over the place - probably mainly due to some 'Fairlight' tweakery. Not a duffer is to be found on this astonishingly original album which clocks in at 43 minutes, no matter which version you buy.

On the aboriginal influenced title track she's managed to steal some Dr Who 'Cyberman' outfits as she sings the infuriatingly catchy lines "Banga goes another kanga on the vana' - where she seems quite happy to be counting up some road kill on her travels in Australia. Oh - and check out the video for this one - Grrrrr!!!

There's a good powerful ending to this album with 'Get out of my House' which culminates in some fantastic donkey braying impressions that should send a shiver up the spine of most.

'The Dreaming' was a commercial failure but an artistic triumph and the only Kate Bush LP I can listen to repeatedly.

She was fodder for the funny farm at this point - which is probably why I like it so much...

Kate Bush is my favourite female composer in rock/pop and this is in my opinion her strongest work. But it is indeed a matter of opinion. This album can be seriously polarizing as Bush pushes the eccentric side of her music to an extreme that can initially be disorienting. You are either going to find it annoying and cheesy or simply a thoroughly entertaining ride.

It seems to be difficult to find some middle ground with this album. If you buy into the basic idea, you will like just about every track of the album. If you don't, you'd be hard pressed to find a silver lining. The music is conceptualized in a very consistent way without necessarily relying too much on a narrow and repetitive formula. The sheer eccentricity, delivered largely via Bush's vocal capabilities, seems to tightly bind the album together.

So what does the music comprise of? Bush takes the theatre rock of her previous albums and follows Peter Gabriel's lead in assimilating world music influences. All We Ever Look For on the predecessor Never for Ever broadly anticipates the style adopted on The Dreaming. A song like Night of the Swallow further establishes connections to previous material.

But as I described earlier, Bush really pushes the envelope in terms of eccentricity here. It is not even just kinda weird as songs like Fullhouse might be described. Parts of these album are so eccentric it is in your face and grabs your attention. Now whether you embrace such an extreme dose of weirdness is up to your preferences.

For me, it works better this way at many levels. I must admit while I love many of Bush's compositions, I find her singing strictly an acquired taste. On The Dreaming, the sheer eccentricity provides a suitable context for her over the top and often overwrought style of singing. As I said before, this album can be very in your face which does require bold and over the top singing as more restrained delivery might dampen the mood.

In this regard, the production also works specifically for the music on this album. I may not otherwise care for such a saturated and synthesized approach, but it works superbly on The Dreaming. Andrew Powell's lush production was great for her previous work while this calls for a different approach...radically different, as it turns out.

One possible pitfall with this approach could have been the album could have become a rather breathless and repetitive affair. Opener Sat In Your Lap hints that this might be the case, moving at breakneck speed. But Bush effectively adapts the pacing of the songs and there are some that seem to crawl next to the aforesaid song, like All The Love. Overall, she keeps you eagerly anticipating what she's going to come up with on the next track. If you are as in thrall of this album as I am, it's edge of the seat stuff even.

Time for the rating now. I have already underlined the consistency and strength of the material and it all depends on what you make of it. But what are you supposed to make of it? I think the artist has taken pains to give us a very good idea with the artwork. I don't think you need a bigger hint than that to know this is going to be a mad, mad ride. Yes, it may not be for everyone but it's a winner for those whose tastes it is suitable for. Five stars.

Whenever I'm listening to some female vocalist with a high range without blatant R&B inflections like Kimbra or whatnot, others in hearing distance have this tendency to say "She sounds kinda like Bjork". Bjork, Bjork, Bjork. Granted, I dig her a lot, especially her Vespertine stuff, but Kate Bush was hitting unbelievable high notes without reverting to falsettos long before Bjork, and Kate wasn't exactly an 'under the radar artist'. She was big. And man did she have a voice!

She's also prog...in fact, proggy as hell during The Dreaming. It has all the credentials you could want, except for perhaps epic length tunes. Whatever, since this also boasts better lyrics than most of what the prog competition was dishing out at this time.

So, is this album a masterpiece? Yes. It's her most adventurous uncompromising vision, alternately challenging and difficult to deal with as it is beautiful and atmospheric, The Dreaming is an emotional roller coaster with her pipes providing a multitude of characters their unique voices. She coos, howls, screams, whispers and sometimes just sings really damn GOOD, often varying her styles within the same song. She never gets boring because there's just no way to tell where she's going next during the initial listen.

Then there's the tunes. Lots of interesting buggers here. Some, such as the opener, utilize seriously booming tribalistic drums, and time signatures are occasionally almost as adventurous as her voice. Musically there's a slew of various instruments popping up, but the songs never get to the point where anything is muddled. This stuff can be pretty weird, but it's always listenable, never overblown, noisy or simply irritating. There's some cool jazziness in "All The Love" and rock guitars in "Get Out Of My House", but what you won't find within this album is anything pandering to the early 80s style of commercial pop music. Her label managers must have collectively soiled their trousers when she co-produced and brought this wild collection of songs to their attention. And they're fantastic, even offering a bit of David Gilmour on the haunting "Pull Out The Pin". If I have any slightly negative thing to say about this recording, it would have to be that silly chapman stick usage. Yeah, they looked cool at the time, but wow do those things sound dated for this sort of music. It's alright though, since everything else is such a winner, and Kate is out of her mind at times on this thing...not something most singers could remotely get away with...but she does 'feral' and makes it cool.

To those who don't consider Kate Bush prog, check this album out. It may not be easy listening, but it's one interesting ride that never strays too far into weirdness. If you're not convinced after listening to its entirety, then I don't know what to say. Considering what much of the 70s greats were pumping out in the early 80s, with only a handful of those artists doing anything remotely progressive such as King Crimson, she should always be revered for keeping the creativity flag alive during those days. Nowadays she seems more acknowledged by the prog crowd than the alternative crowd, but man during her prime it was like she had hordes of various music geeks at her feet. Even if this didn't hit the popularity heights that the surrounding albums achieved, this puppy has aged well enough to become this bizarre classic that never gets old.

For several years I thought this might be the greatest album ever created/recorded. As time has passed, it's freshness and innovations have staled a bit, but upon donning my headphones and re-immersing myself into The Dreaming, I can recall my lust and enthusiasm for this music as I heard it first in 1982. While I never cared much for "Sat in Your Lap" or "Suspended in Gaffa," I always find the rest of the album spell-binding. The ironic humour and quirkiness of "The Dreaming" (10/10), the raw power of one of my favorite songs of all-time, "Get Out of My House" (10/10), the eerie/sexy mysteriousness of "Houdini" (9/10), "The Night of The Swallow" (9/10), "All The Love" (9/10), "Pull Out the Pin" (8/10), and even the teenie-popper, "There Goes a Tenner" (7/10), the raw power and inventiveness of the vocals on "Leave It Open" (8/10), the awesome drumming of Stuart Elliott, the Fairlight CMI, the wonderful incorporation of traditional Irish/Celtic instruments, the intricate storytelling, the incredible vocals--it all makes for one heck of a ride! This is by far the most highly rated 1980s album I've ever critiqued--even outshining the Heads, Crimson, Gabriel, Sylvian, U2, The Cocteau Twins and The Cure. This is, in my opinion, Kate's most breathtaking, refreshing, innovative album--a masterpiece. Simply astounding lyrics/storytelling and vocal acrobatics.

Good gravy! I was not expecting this when I decided to check out Kate Bush's music. I guess I was expecting some very 80s synthy pop/rock, but what I got instead was a FEARLESS voice! Kate Bush is like no one else, and I guess that explains why so many people love her.

The music on this album is definitely a foundation and nothing more. There are all kinds of strange instruments used, and they add a feeling of eclecticism to the music. I think this is simply a reflection of Kate's character, though. She doesn't do things "normally".

Her voice, however, is the true star here. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard what I can only describe as "harsh" vox come from her mouth. Wildly diverse uses of her voice are present, from low growls to high-pitched tone variation that doesn't seem like it should be possible. But, she always makes it work. In fact, there are times when I thought I should be repulsed, but in no time at all it simply worked and worked well.

Kate Bush is something of an anomaly. I've seen discussions about getting her out of "prog- related" and into "crossover", and I couldn't agree more. This is progressive music through and through, and I think the character and style that Kate presents is proof enough.

Perhaps the best find David Gilmour ever scored since that case of blotter left behind at a Pink Floyd gig, KATE BUSH spent years crafting a fair number of songs before she was discovered and signed to EMI Records where she was an instant sensation in her native UK at the tender age of 20 when she the very first female who both performed and wrote a song that hit #1. That honor goes to 'Wuthering Heights' and the debut album 'The Kick Inside' launched her into the spotlight right away, however having started writing her material at the age of 11, BUSH had accrued enough material to craft into three whole albums. Given that the tunes were written in her teenage years, 'The Kick Inside, 'Lionheart' and 'Never For Ever' all exhibited the same sort of romantic piano based progressive pop however but when it was time to start work on a fourth album, BUSH had to start from scratch.

After scoring seven top 40 hits with the formula, BUSH boldly embarked on a completely new journey and went all crazy with an album that has been deemed her most outrageous and least commercial of all. My goodness, KATE! What kind of tea were you sipping out there in the English countryside circa 1981? THE DREAMING was a madhouse of ideas thrown together in a blender and then crafted into a new style of progressive pop bliss. With KATE's piano melodies in firm command, she joined forces with an army of guest musicians and vocalists that offered the entire Nonesuch world music catalogue of ethnic instruments as well as a plethora of experiments all twisted into an avant-fantasy married with a touch of seriousness that tackled political issues and global injustice. Quirky and utterly unique, even in the KATE BUSH canon, THE DREAMING was one of those one-of-a-kind miracles of creation that swallowed up two years of recording time and understandably was ahead of its time and left the critics scratching their heads as to what in the world Ms BUSH had unleashed onto un unsuspecting public.

THE DREAMING comes across as if KATE BUSH was coming of age. Having played the good girl pop star with dreamy pop ballads and groovy upbeat rock, on this album she went for the gusto like a rebellious young woman finding her own way and literally exploded into a thousand different directions with no [%*!#]s to give. Quirky like early Sparks with progressive pop hooks to match, BUSH threw down the gauntlet of amalgamating as many ethnic folk styles as possible with her clear admiration for the art rock and prog scene of the 70s married with the zeitgeist of contemporary new wave sensibilities. Despite the album being too weird at the time for radio to latch onto and scoring no hit singles, the album still rocketed to #3 on the UK charts and found a slight dent in the US market due to the interest of college radio stations. Acting somewhat like the ringleader in the circus of BUSH's own making, THE DREAMING found a never-ending stylistic mishmash of cleverly crafted tunes that provided zany pop hooks, labyrinthine constructs and best of all a fiery KATE BUSH pushing the limits of musical expansiveness.

The opening track 'Sat In Your Lap' bursts onto the scene with a caffeinated percussive drive and an energetic drive which finds KATE alternating her more contemplative lyrical style with joyous squeals and at times falls into frantic remiss. The track displays a wealth of vocal tracks serving as playful counterpoints augmented with a touch of jazzy brass sounds. 'There Goes A Tenner' with its crime film theme shifts gears completely with a tango groove and a melody that clearly pinpoints exactly where Bj'rk copped a feel or two on her famous track 'The Hunter.' She has admitted that THE DREAMING was one of her favorite albums and it's interesting how certain aspects of THE DREAMING have clearly lived on in the Icelandic diva's own recordings. 'Pull Out The Pin' only takes things into weirder territories. Piano driven as usual, KATE's vocal range extends into extremities with cool and calm completive passages as well as unhinged screams of uncertainty.

'Suspended In Gaffa' demonstrates on oom-pa-pa sort of polka groove but takes on a Celtic jig sort of vibe sinspired by working with Irish bands like Planxty and The Chieftains. 'Leave It Open' which tackles the darker sides of one's personality finds a bipolar KATE BUSH whispering lyrics while her own call and response offers a creepy comeback. As if the album were her own Broadway play of sorts, there are additional vocalists who have conversations around the shifting time signature nuances of the polyrhythmic grooves and sampled effects. The title track really goes for the avant-garde jugular with a stellar mix of Irish folk instrumentation along with Aboriginal Australian sounds such as uileann pipes and didgeridoos. Some of KATE's vocals are downright frightening on this one. The song rightfully shines a light on the plight of the native Australians and the injustices perpetrated upon them throughout the colonization process. 'Night Of The Swallow' shifts into an almost winey piano ballad that could easily be inserted into any of KATE's earlier albums but after but completely morphs into a folkier Irish jig dominated sound.

'All The Love' is the closest thing to a 'normal' song on the album with the common for other albums piano melodies and a more tamed vocal style however the experiments shine though in vocal samples and loops towards the end. 'Houdini' was inspired by the famous escape artist and who is also depicted on the album cover. The track is on the tamer side for the most part but ultimately comes off as something out of 'Phantom Of The Opera' which dramatic emotional outburst as well as classical sounding string parts. After a rather subdued ending of the album, the frenetic energy picks up again as the closer 'Get Out Of My House' finds extreme variations of vocal outbursts ranging from quiet and subdued to screamed and frantic with many occurring simultaneously. The terror experienced on this track makes more sense once learned that the track is based on Stephen King's novel 'The Shining' which clearly shows that THE DREAMING also tackles the darker aspects of real nightmares. The track is actually funnier than it is scary as the KATE and guest vocalists end with crazed donkey sounds!

THE DREAMING proved not to be an ephemeral pop record that was made to sell a lot in a short time but rather was so far reaching that it was the exact opposite. While the critics and many fans didn't understand the sheer genius of this album upon its time of release, the album has nevertheless become one of those timeless classics. While KATE would return to her romantic pop sensibilities that would return her career to the top of the charts with 'Hounds Of Love,' THE DREAMING although an anomaly, is the album to gravitate towards first if like me you seek out the more extreme and adventurous expressions of music. Laced with instantly addictive melodic hooks that are sensual and seductive while intellectually teased and challenged with innovative time signature gymnastics and compositional unorthodoxies, in many ways THE DREAMING was like the more psychedelic and progressive version of 'Graceland' that Paul Simon enjoyed so much success with.

The album is a veritable trip around the world as well as one throughout KATE BUSH's wildest imagination. Having racked up quite a tab and yielding low returns, this was the point where KATE built her own studio so she could take as much time as she needed to craft her art pop albums without the finger-wagging scoffing of the record company. This in my opinion is KATE BUSH's finest moment and one of those albums that i can put on replay in perpetuity and never grow tired of hearing it. Yep, a masterpiece of the ages. I still trip out listening to this one every time i give it a spin.

Putting herself in total control of her 4th studio, full-length album, Kate Bush created her most progressive album, and actually ended up putting herself further into the public eye, although it took some time for it to totally catch on. But, just like the best progressive albums, it started out with a lot of critical panning, but evolved into what many would consider the pinnacle of her career.

It is interesting, however, that it really isn't a concept album, but the songs on it all have deep meaning and Kate wanted to make sure everything was done to perfection, or as close to it as possible. Along with her, she recruited several other musicians to help out and appear throughout the album while, for the most part, she took the lead on all of the vocals, piano and synths, programming and electronic percussion. Everything else was done by other musicians, including her brother Paddy Bush, Geoff Downes, David Gilmour, Del Palmer, and scores of others. Yet, through it all, she kept control. It took two years to get it all right, and Bush had to even take a short break from it at times when she encountered writer's block, which apparently happened often.

Of course, Bush was known for being an experimental musician, but this one was the most experimental of all, and the fans and critics were hesitant to give it the love it deserves. Now, however, it is considered one of her best and has found it's way to many critic's best of lists and also become a favorite and influential of many musicians, including Bjork.

The album starts off with it's first single 'Sat in Your Lap' which was actually released long before the album was close to being done, 15 months before in fact. The song originally had an additional verse that was left off of the finished track, and it was also changed slightly for the album, making the vocals a little higher to fit in with the rest of the album. It is quite an upbeat and percussive track with lyrics that deal with the quest for knowledge through others. Of course, the attention is given to Bush's dynamic vocals as her range and variation of sound is as amazing as usual and the use of unconventional styles and structure definitely goes against the grain of any standard song. All through the song, you can hear Downes contribution of the trumpet effects that back up the track.

'There Goes a Tenner' follows and has an almost reggae beat that hints more towards a ragtime sound. The song deals with amateur burglers and their fears when they try for the big time with a serious crime. This track was also a single, but it failed to chart. 'Pull Out the Pin' features David Gilmour on background vocals and deals with the Vietnam war. Utilizing less drums and more unpredictable percussion and sound effects, this track tends to take on a more symphonic style with plenty of dramatic flair. It is quite the progressive masterpiece. One of the more accessible tracks on the album 'Suspended in Gaffa' was also released as a single and did end up charting. Even being considered more accessible, it still has a nice swinging feeling which Kate accents with her high-counter-melody that whirls around playfully and repetitively over the main lower register vocal melody. All the while, Bush's piano marks the rhythmic passage in place of drums while an assortment of strings support. The first half ends with 'Leave it Open' with Kate's main vocals heavily manipulated giving an eerie sound with contrasting higher and softer vocals with lower male vocals occasionally singing. The electgronic effects contrast with the strings and other traditional instruments. Odd, yet intriguing.

The 2nd half commences with the title track 'The Dreaming' which uses a jig style track mixed with experimental and traditional effects. The subject matter deals with the problems native Australians deal with, and the rhythm reflects a tribal sound, and layers of chanting-style vocals come and go in the background. Again, there is a twisting of electronics and traditional music. The breathing sounds made in this song were later used by Depeche Mode in the song 'Personal Jesus'. It all ends in a Celtic sounding coda that runs into 'Night of the Swallow', which has a mostly Irish style to it, again with the addition of traditional instruments and help from The Chieftains and Planxty. It is mostly slow and quiet, but it builds in intensity as it goes on adding in layers of traditional Irish instrumentation. 'All the Love' is quite atmospheric and complex with heavy bass and Kate's pastiche of vocal textures. 'Houdini' musically tells the attempts of Houdini's wife to talk to her deceased husband. This follows in the same style as the previous track, slow and soft with some dramatic passages, and again featuring Kate's endless vocal tricks while accompanied mostly by bass and piano, and later with lush strings. 'Get Out of My House' is inspired by Stephen King's 'The Shining'. This one has a strong beat in contrast to the last two tracks with guest vocalists taking character parts while a complex melody complete with counter melodies continue. Definitely an eerie and threatening track.

Although this is a perfect progressive album, the one place that it lacks is in its accessibility. It takes some time to get used to it, and, for a while, it may leave the listener struggling to connect with it. Hopefully, the short explanations of some of the tracks will help it to sink in a little better, otherwise, it tends to leave one a bit confused about its strange antics and what not. But even if you don't know the stories behind the tracks, the album does grow on you, and Bush's talent cannot be denied even if it doesn't. This album still easily reaches 5 stars, especially as an influential progressive and experimental album, however, Kate's next album 'Hounds of Love' would even be better, and ended up being a perfect album, combining accessibility, at least in most of the first half, with progressive ingenuity and intelligence. 'The Dreaming' on the other hand, is an album that is definitely worthy of being called its apt predecessor.

Bush continues in creating another record of sophisticated pop with greatest level of experimentation so far and inspiration from Asian world music, mainly Japanese. The most progressive part of the record continues to be advanced and irregular rhythm patterns with progressive rock textures without losing accessibility. Singing is quite good and varied. "Sat in your lap" is a bit symphonic melodic track. "There goes a tenner" is a new-wave inspired song with a bit experimental vocals. "Pull out the pin" explores a bit of Japanese sounds while "Leave it open" has an interesting synth background with quite experimental flow - the most progressive song on the album. The title track offers Japanese electronic beats and little catchiness. "All the love" is a sublime ballad, stripped of layers of keyboards and focusing on bare piano with a delicious bass lines. 3.5 stars