FEATURE:
I Get My Machine to Let Them In
The Vocal Changes on Kate Bush’s The Dreaming
___________
I have quite a run of Kate Bush features next month…
PHOTO CREDIT: Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy
as a few of her studio albums were released in September. She tended to release her studio albums between September and November. I am not sure why, though I do like the fact we have the chance to reinspect these great albums. The Dreaming arrived in September 1982. It is an album that marked a huge shift for Bush. A lot of the reviews for the album were quite mixed. Many felt that there were so many sounds clashing and it was a very busy and crowded album. I think one aspect that critics latched onto was the vocals. There are a lot of overdubs, accents and layers through The Dreaming. Although Bush had always put in vocal layers and a cast of characters, there is a distinct leap from 1980’s Never for Ever and The Dreaming. As the sole producer on the album, Bush could take her music exactly where it needed to go. She has looked at The Dreaming as an album where she maybe went a bit mad; like she was making a statement as An Artist. It is a stunning album with ten tracks that are so fascinating and accomplished. The lyrics throughout are astonishing and so impressive! Bush has this knack of being able to twist words and phrases. She offers up these unique and inspiring thoughts and lines that make you think. The Dreaming is full of that. It is the vocal work throughout that, to me, is the standout.
Maybe critics were expecting an album that was a bit lighter and less overloaded. The fact the album got to three in the U.K. meant there was a lot of love from the fans. It was two years since Bush released Never for Ever, so this sense of anticipation surrounded The Dreaming. One of the issues Bush had with her earlier albums was the vocals. Feeling they were a bit high-pitched, young-sounding and limited, The Dreaming contains greater vocal dexterity, these different accents and a rawer, deeper sound. That said, Bush mixes graceful beauty together with something intense and, at times, frightening. I have written about Kate Bush’s voice and how she changed between albums. Now, I specifically want to look at the transition and notable difference between her 1982-released album and her vocals on the first three albums, The Kick Inside (1978), Lionheart (1978) and Never for Ever (1980). Maybe not as pronounced but, consider The Beatles in 1963 and 1967. In four years, they had embraced the studio more. They had tired of touring and had chance to focus on pushing their sound forward. Bush, in the four years between 1978 and 1982, had also changed radically. Not that she tired of touring, though it is clear that she wanted to concentrate more on making albums. I will explore the vocal side more.
Before then, the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia provides a few interview snippets where Bush talked about The Dreaming. I have selected a couple:
“Yes, it's very important for me to change. In fact, as soon as the songs began to be written, I knew that the album was going to be quite different. I'd hate it, especially now, if my albums became similar, because so much happens to me between each album - my views change quite drastically. What's nice about this album is that it's what I've always wanted to do. For instance, the Australian thing: well, I wanted to do that on the last album, but there was no time. There are quite a few ideas and things that I've had whizzing around in my head that just haven't been put down. I've always wanted to use more traditional influences and instruments, especially the Irish ones. I suppose subconsciously I've wanted to do all this for quite some time, but I've never really had the time until now. ('The Dreaming'. Poppix (UK), Summer 1982)”.
“I have no doubt that those who buy singles because they like my hits, are completely mystified upon hearing the albums. But if it comes to that, they should listen to it loudly! If a single theme linked The Dreaming, which is quite varied, it would be human relationships and emotional problems. Every being responds principally to emotions. Some people are very cool, but they are silenced by their emotions, whatever they might be. To write a song, it's necessary that I be completely steeped in my environment, in my subject. Sometimes the original idea is maintained, but as it takes form, it possesses me.
One of the best examples would be this song that I wrote on 'Houdini': I knew every one of the things that I wanted to say, and it was necessary that I find new ways that would allow me to say them; the hardest thing, is when you have so many things to fit into so short a space of time. You have to be concise and at the same time not remain vague, or obscure. The Dreaming was a decisive album for me. I hadn't recorded in a very long time until I undertook it, and that was the first time that I'd had such liberty. It was intoxicating and frightening at the same time. I could fail at everything and ruin my career at one fell swoop. All this energy, my frustrations, my fears, my wish to succeed, all that went into the record. That's the principle of music: to liberate all the tensions that exist inside you. I tried to give free rein to all my fantasies. Although all of the songs do not talk about me, they represent all the facets of my personality, all my different attitudes in relation to the world. In growing older, I see more and more clearly that I am crippled in facing the things that really count, and that I can do nothing about it, just as most people can do nothing. Making an album is insignificant in comparison with that, but it's my only defense. (Yves Bigot, 'Englishwoman is crossing the continents'. Guitares et Claviers (France), February 1986)”.
The vocals throughout The Dreaming are immense. I feel Kate Bush is one of the most technical and finest vocalists ever. Each song is sung differently. The opening track, Sat in Your Lap, is frantic, physical and acrobatic. There Goes a Tenner is Bush taking on a cockney accent; Pull Out the Pin, Suspended in Gaffa and Leave It Open all have their own vocal sound. The Dreaming’s title track is Bush with an Australian accent, whilst Night of the Swallow and All the Love cannot prepare us for the epic closing one-two of Houdini and Get Out of My House. If one could see a vocal thread and type through The Kick Inside, there is nothing really that connects the songs on The Dreaming. Such is the wide array of vocal tones; this is a very different artist to the one of her debut. Alongside the vocal changes was the fact the compositions were a lot different. The proliferation of the Fairlight CMI, I feel, gave her greater confidence to experiment with her vocals and broaden her palette. The lack of commercial and conventional tracks was something that took many critics aback. It is clear Bush wanted a more adult and grown-up vocal sound for The Dreaming. Something more masculine, perhaps. One example of her astonishing vocal firepower comes from the album closer, Get Out of My House. In this Medium feature from 2019, some interesting observations about the song were made:
“The song is inspired by the Stephen King novel (famously adapted for film by Stanley Kubrick) The Shining. According to Kate, it is “the only book I’ve read that has frightened me.” (1982, KBC Issue 12) The influence is apparent in the song’s subject matter: a human as a house boarding itself up from demonic outside forces trying to get in. Eventually when these demonic forces or spirits do get in and start chasing the narrator, the narrator shapeshifts and eventually turns around to scare away what is chasing them down.
Like the transforming narrator, Kate shifts into different characters (the house’s inhabitant, the concierge, a literal mule) and disembodied backing vocals while featuring other people to sing as well (engineer Phil Hardiman, brother Paddy Bush and guest Esmail Sheikh.) The song is also overflowing with symbols — dirty window panes, keys (carried over from Houdini), cats and mules, and of course the House. The mule we hear at the end is a courageous departure for Kate. In the song, the mule turns to scare away the undesirable guest, perhaps a fearful noise and animal, but also symbolic for how stubborn mules are. It is Kate turning in the faces of those who doubt her or make fun of her and standing up for herself.
After the narrator becomes the mule, “Hee-haw”-ing away, we hear Esmail Sheikh reciting rhythmic Indian syllables (Dha Dhin Dha Dha…) in a performance style known as Konnakkol (Bol refers to the specific syllables themselves.) This is yet another international element in found in the album, and Konnakkol is heard again later on in a Fruitopia jingle Kate composed in 1994, known as “Skin”.
This song stands as a testimony of Kate’s creativity. It strikes fear in those who listen, yet stands courageous as a strange and innovative piece of music.
In the album’s liner notes there’s a note that reads “This album was made to be played loud.” And if this song is any indication, Kate is right”.
As it turns forty next year, I do think that the balance of opinion has changed regarding The Dreaming. It is more respected…and many have changed their minds. It has found a wider audience. Following the stress and endless work of putting together The Dreaming, Bush refreshed and reset for 1985’s Hounds of Love. One thing she did take with her is that vocal width and breadth. Tonally and stylistically different, one can hear many layers and vocal sounds through Hounds of Love. The Dreaming is remarkable for a number of reasons. With a notably different vocal sound at the forefront through the album, this was Kate Bush breaking away from her first few albums and almost starting over. It is no surprise that one of the greatest singers ever would flourish and fly on an album as broad and fascinating as The Dreaming, The vocals through the 1982 album is Bush at…
HER very best.