Siouxsie & the Banshees - The Scream [Deluxe Edition]

[Rae]

Man, I had no idea that this existed until I stumbled across it last week. The Scream has long been one of my favorite albums... I was turned on to it by a friend who also gave me Richard Hell and it was one of the first "postpunk" records in my collection. I have to admit, I was initially unprepared for the sounds that were contained within... anybody my age is probably more familiar with Siouxsie in a soft-focus new wave sort of way, but here she's in completely different form. Her commanding vocals are front & center, but she's got an absolutely crackerjack band, too-- searing guitars, tough basslines, propulsive drumming... that first crash into "Jigsaw Feeling" ("send me forward, say my feelings/ but all these signals send me reeling...") is devastating, but the whole record is littered with moments like that. The band makes great use of dynamics and space to sharpen their attack; I'm not sure I heard that employed in the same way in earlier punk records (although maybe someone can correct me on that). Now the bonus disc that comes with this Deluxe Edition is equally as revelatory; it's like discovering the album all over again. Early rare tracks like "Make Up to Break Up" and "Love in a Void", two excellent John Peel sessions, single versions of "Hong Kong Garden" and "The Staircase (Mystery)"... between these two discs, I think I have all the Siouxsie I'll ever need to own. Anybody else hip to this?

~Rae

[nobody]

Yeah, great album. I haven't played it in ages. Usually if I'm listening to them, I either toss on JuJu or the first Singles collection, Once Upon A Time, which includes great stuff like Hong Kong Garden, Spellbound and more.

If you like Scream, have you gaven a listen to the follow-up, Kaleidoscope?

I like a few of the later singles, stuff like Cities in Dust that got lots of play in dance clubs and all, but the early albums are the best of their stuff for me. And, I still think Siouxise's hot.

[Jim Clark]

I have virtually all Siouxsie/The Creatures albums/bootlegs that I can lay my hands on but I don't have the deluxe/remastered versions but looks that must be corrected soon. Thanks for the shove there Rae. As much as I adore Scream it isn't my personal fave but it's up there.

Worst is without a doubt The Seven Year Itch.

& Stone is correct as per always - she's hot.

jc

[bobsticks]

Man, I had no idea that this existed until I stumbled across it last week. The Scream has long been one of my favorite albums... I was turned on to it by a friend who also gave me Richard Hell and it was one of the first "postpunk" records in my collection. I have to admit, I was initially unprepared for the sounds that were contained within... anybody my age is probably more familiar with Siouxsie in a soft-focus new wave sort of way, but here she's in completely different form. Her commanding vocals are front & center, but she's got an absolutely crackerjack band, too-- searing guitars, tough basslines, propulsive drumming... that first crash into "Jigsaw Feeling" ("send me forward, say my feelings/ but all these signals send me reeling...") is devastating, but the whole record is littered with moments like that. The band makes great use of dynamics and space to sharpen their attack; I'm not sure I heard that employed in the same way in earlier punk records (although maybe someone can correct me on that). Now the bonus disc that comes with this Deluxe Edition is equally as revelatory; it's like discovering the album all over again. Early rare tracks like "Make Up to Break Up" and "Love in a Void", two excellent John Peel sessions, single versions of "Hong Kong Garden" and "The Staircase (Mystery)"... between these two discs, I think I have all the Siouxsie I'll ever need to own. Anybody else hip to this?

~Rae

...good to meet ya.

I would imagine that those Peel tracks simply rock. John Peel has a way of arranging and capturing a moment that is second to none. The Peel Sessions for New Order and Joy Division were top notch...Cocteau Twins as well.

As for Souixsie herself, she's always been the gal that the Goth girls wanted to be and the guys wanted to be with. That notwithstanding I've always enjoyed "Once Upon A Time" myself.

Peace

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, I keep meaning to get it, but keep moving on to something else. I need to get this though:

[Rae]

If you like Scream, have you gaven a listen to the follow-up, Kaleidoscope?

I'll actually admit that I haven't explored much of her catalog. That's probably partly because I'm a little turned off by the later hits (I'd call it the "VH1 Classic" stuff, but that'd probably annoy you guys), but mostly because I'm just so stuck on the first one. Does anyone else ever have that experience with a band-- that you enjoy whatever album your first exposure was to them so fiercely that you're almost afraid to check out any of their other stuff...? The Violent Femmes leap immediately to mind... I must've spent 10 years listening to the shit out of their self-titled record before ever acknowledging that they had two decades worth of other work (which is hit and miss for me but pretty awesome when it hits). Anyway, I'm getting off track. Part of what had me reticent to move forward in the Siouxsie & the Banshees discography is that I read on AMG that two-thirds of her backing band that I like so much departed not long after The Scream. How different is Kaleidescope, soundwise?

~Rae

[nobody]

I'd say if you like Scream but not the later stuff, you're pretty likely to like Kaleidoscope and JuJu, but probably not much after that, even though neither is quite as raw as Scream. That pretty much covers their more agressive, guitar sounding stuff, along with the excellent Once Upon A Time: The Singles, a ten song collection of all their early singles.

This thread had me playing Once Upon A Time last night. It's one of the few really "essential" compilation albums from a band as it's got some stuff that I'm pretty sure never appeared on any of their albums...unless tacked on as bonus tracks like Hong Kong Garden or re-recorded with different arrangements and instrumentation for later albums.

Really, if I were making suggestions, which it appears I am, I'd suggest picking up Once Upon A Time (make sure you don't accidently grab Twice Upon A Time as it is their later stuff and you would hate it). If you're still digging that go for Kaleidoscope then JuJu. That's probably the path sticking closest to what you already like. After JuJu is when they totally went for their later, more synth-based sound...some of which I still like, but probably not what you're looking for.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

I'm basically with Nobody on this one, though I don't have the Singles compilation; I figured that since I have all the albums, what's the point, but by Nobody's description, I think I'll need to check it out.

My intro to Siouxsie was through Kaleidescope, and it remains my favorite, The Scream and Juju are not too far behind. Neither Juju or Kaleidescope are as raw as The Scream, but I think Kaleidescope shows much more depth in songwriting and much better production, but definitely a more melodic sound. The guitars are still in capable hands with magazine guitarist John McGeogh, and the drums are HUGE as always. If I were you Rae, I'd take a chance on Kaleidescope and follow-up with Juju; assuming it works for you. I even enjoy A Kiss In Dreamhouse, but that's where my fandom stops.

[Rae]

Thanks for the recs, guys. I'll keep an eye out for Kaleidescope or Once Upon a Time when I'm browsing at the record store, although there are a lot of other things on my wish list right now too (not the least of which is the Life Without Buildings album that Davey turned me on to; real cool stuff).

~Rae