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