top 75. In Europe, "Suspended in Gaffa" was released instead, which performed better chartwise. Belatedly, another single, "Night of the Swallow" was released in Ireland in November 1983. 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. Following this, an EP was released in 1983, which also charted. In 1984, her second album, Lionheart, and Never for Ever, her third album, were belatedly released in the US. With the lengthy and expensive studio time used to complete the album, EMI Records were concerned at the relatively low yield of the album. Following this, Bush decided to build her own studio where she could be free to spend as much time as she liked. Although her next album, Hounds of Love (1985), was another long-gestating project, it returned Bush to the top of the charts. The album cover depicts a scene described in the lyrics to the song "Houdini". In the picture shown, Bush is acting as Harry Houdini's wife Bess, holding a key in her mouth, which she is about to pass on to him. The photograph is rendered in sepia, with just the gold key and Bush's eye make-up showing any colour. The man with her on the cover photograph was her bass player, engineer and then-partner Del Palmer. The scene refers to the story of Bess Houdini and her attempts to communicate with her deceased husband Harry with a code that only Harry and Bessie knew about, to be sure that the spirit medium was not a fraud. The code was: Rosabelle – answer – tell – pray – answer – look – tell – answer – answer – tell. Critical reception Initial response Upon its release, The Dreaming met with a mixed critical reception. Many were baffled by the unconventional techniques and dense soundscapes Bush had employed. Writing for Smash Hits, Neil Tennant described the album as "very weird. She's obviously trying to become less commercial." Colin Irwin of Melody Maker wrote that "initially it is bewildering and not a little preposterous, but try to hang on through the twisted overkill and the historic fits and there's much reward." He labelled "Suspended in Gaffa" the only "vaguely conventional track" and predicted the album failing in the charts. American critic Robert Christgau wrote that "the revelation is the