THE DREAMING

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...