Kate Bush – THE
DREAMING
For me, The Dreaming is the Mulholland Drive of music. It triggers and challenges the senses
that most other art, however good it is, simply doesn’t. The Dreaming is sexual and disturbing while remaining tasteful all
the way through. The Dreaming makes
“Army Dreamers” and “Breathing” sound like conventional pop songs. And that
should say a lot.
I guess for most
people who don’t know much about Kate Bush (or know her for “Wuthering Heights”
or, Heavens forbid, that appallingly bland duet with Peter Gabriel) this album
will sound deeply uncomfortable. Maybe odd. Maybe scary. Maybe completely out
of this world. And it is. There are hooks and there are melodies (“Suspended In
Gaffa” is, in fact, almost a waltz), but those are no ordinary hooks and melodies.
But if anything – they hit even harder. Her vocals are seductive, overwhelming,
gentle, primordial. Vocally, there’s little she doesn’t do here.
To this day, listening to this
album is a lot like having sex with a person who knows every trick. It’s a constant
thrill. The powerful growling of “Houdini”, the bizarre neighing of “Get Out Of My House”, the sheer range of “Leave It Open”. The whispers. The goddamn
whispers. Phenomenal album. Maybe the greatest of all time.
