The Dreaming

The Dreaming is the fourth studio album by English art rock singer Kate Bush, released on 13 September 1982 by EMI Records. Recorded over two years, the album was produced entirely by Bush and is often characterised as her most uncommercial and experimental release. The Dreaming peaked at on the UK album chart and has been certified Silver by the BPI, but initially sold less than its predecessors and was met with mixed critical reception. Five singles from the album were released, including the UK "Sat in Your Lap" and the title track. The critical standing of the album has improved significantly in recent decades. A public poll conducted by NPR ranked The Dreaming as the 24th greatest album ever made by a female artist. Slant Magazine listed the album at on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s". It is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, the Mojo "Top 50 Eccentric Albums of All Time" list and The Word magazine's "Great Underrated Albums of Our Time" list. Musicians such as Björk and Big Boi have cited The Dreaming as one of their favourite albums. Recording and composition Bush's third album Never for Ever had been a co-production between her and Jon Kelly. For her fourth album, she elected to produce the work entirely herself. With her newfound freedom, Bush experimented with production techniques, employing a diverse blend of musical styles. She made extensive use of the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer, which she had first used on Never for Ever. She also collaborated with a variety of engineers, including Nick Launay, who had previously worked with artists such as Public Image Ltd and Phil Collins. Recording began around the release of Never for Ever, with the first demo for "Sat in Your Lap" being laid down in September 1980, inspired after Bush attended a Stevie Wonder concert.