The Dreaming (album) - Overview

Overview

With her newfound freedom, Bush experimented with production techniques, creating an album that features a diverse blend of musical styles. The album was also one of the first to utilise the Fairlight CMI.

Upon its release, The Dreaming met with a mixed critical reception. Many were baffled by the dense soundscapes Bush had created. The first single, "Sat in Your Lap", predated the album by a year and peaked at #11. The following singles, however, failed to make the UK top 40. "The Dreaming", the album's title track featuring the talents of Rolf Harris and Percy Edwards, stalled at no. 48, while the next single, "There Goes a Tenner", failed to chart at all, despite promotion from Bush. Another single, "Suspended in Gaffa", was released in certain European territories but not in the UK (though a video was made for the release). The B-side on the "Suspended in Gaffa" 12-inch release, "Ne t'enfuis pas", which did not appear on the album, was released as a single in France and Canada in 1983.

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 Stephen King's novel The Shining ("Get Out Of My House"). Other tracks explore more personal issues; "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). Bush herself has called The Dreaming her "I've gone mad album".

Despite the album's relatively lacklustre sales elsewhere, The Dreaming was Bush's first album to dent the US Billboard Top 200, largely due to the growing influence of college radio.

The 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.

Pink Floyd's singer and guitarist David Gilmour sang the chorus on the song "Pull Out the Pin."

Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk cited The Dreaming as one of her favourite albums.