Siouxsie & the Banshees (feat. Robert Smith)

[BiscuityBoyle]

Okay. Now you go tell the pro-Boris Williams brigade, hahahaaaa (it's the same story).

Once The Cure does a post-Boris Williams album anywhere near as good as Tinderbox, I shall seriously consider this.

The main difference is that when Banshees lost McGeoch, they were at the very peak of their powers. A post-Disintegration Cure was a band struggling for relevance and inspiration, however many album copies they shifted. Boris's departure only precipitated a horrific slide into self-parody the roots of which were in full evidence on Wish.

Personally I'm part of the pro-Boris Williams brigade only in the sense that I feel there's no point in carrying on with someone like Jason, and Robert should belatedly do what a self-aware and self-critical band like the Banshees did in the mid 90s.

[Ulrich]

This is the topic about Siouxsie & the Banshees (with an emphasis on Robert's stint with them). Please remain "on topic" here.
While it's okay to mention The Cure as a sidestep, the discussion should not shift towards specific albums, Jason C. and all that!

[BiscuityBoyle]

Alright.

I'll post what I feel are some of the greatest Banshees tracks that naturally get overlooked in favor of the bigger singles, like HKG, Christine, Spellbound, Peekaboo etc

From the first McGeoch record. The early Roxy-like sax, McGeoch's guitar, the detached vocals... a piece of magic.   

 


Again, a stunning piece of synergy from a newly (re)formed band. Easily my favorite song about female orgasm.

The centerpiece of their psychedelic masterwork, A Kiss in The Dreamhouse

[Ulrich]

My personal Banshees favourite album tends to be Tinderbox.

I like it too. First one I bought (back in 1986).

Saw them live in '95 with the "Rapture" album (which I also liked)!

[piggymirror]

My personal Banshees favourite album tends to be Tinderbox.

I like it too.

It reminds me of a glass of good red wine at a table by the sea, in early autumn.

First one I bought (back in 1986).

My first one was The Scream. I was aware of it being their first, and before that I had watched a live film "about punk" (with other bands - Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, etc), with Metal Postcard and Make Up To Break Up, but even then, I was amazed at how good the album is. Jigsaw Feeling and Switch blew me away. Also Hong Kong Garden, which was on the album I bought (it had a different running order too, it started with Hong Kong Garden, and Pure was the first song on the B side).

Saw them live in '95 with the "Rapture" album (which I also liked)!

Ouch! I missed them! I realised too late they were coming.

[BiscuityBoyle]

This is such a great song

Overall I feel that from today's perspective Tinderbox sounds like a slightly more conventional rock album than either of the first five records, but doesn't mean it's not great.

[piggymirror]

This is such a great song

Yep.

I like it all though, to me it's one of those albums that you listen to from start to end, no track skipping.

Perhaps one of the things that make me compare it to Disintegration is that the best tracks of it, to me are the non-single tracks (Sweetest Chill, This Unrest, 92º, Lands End...). Cities In Dust and Candyman feel a bit like the odd songs, like The Cure's Lullaby, Lovesong or Fascination Street.

Interestingly, the first Tinderbox I owned was a burned cassette of a burned cassette version, which included An Execution, The Quarterdrawing Of The Dog, Lullaby and Umbrella. That made Tinderbox even more magic.

To the point that I miss those four songs from any Tinderbox normal version, particularly Lullaby and Umbrella.   

[piggymirror]

Siouxsie covered this, @piggymirror?  It'd be great if you popped your favourite clip of that on the Banshees thread - should be really interesting. 

That was a tough suggestion.
Beacuse on one hand I prefer the official versions, like this.

But on the other hand, there's this fan-made version, with the (very gloomy) lyrics.
Which are sadly very much present-day stuff.

[piggymirror]

But one does not simply listen to one Through The Looking Glass song.
One listens to the whole album.

And in it, there's this, with (to me, and I'm not alone) Siouxsie's most wonderful vocals ever.
She sounds like a hybrid between Kaa, Marlene Dietrich, and herself.

[piggymirror]

Aaand...
I adore Martin McCarrick's part here. Outstanding.
I was blown away the first time I listened to it.

[SueC]

Thank you for that, @piggymirror!    I am currently growing my tapeworm, but will be able to give it my full attention when I've finished the current segment. 

...OK - that take on Strange Fruit actually really works!  It's interesting to see what they did to the original material.

I've listened a couple of times now and can't tell you which version I prefer - Billie Holiday's or Siouxsie's.  They're both excellent in different ways.  I like that the versions don't compete with each other - they're both very distinct, and special in their own ways.  I like the pared-down quality of the original, but I also like the string arrangements on Siouxsie's.  Brett (Banshees fan) says he prefers the singing on Siouxsie's and the trumpet on Billie Holiday's.  I agree about the trumpet - not that it's bad on the later version, but it's sublime on the original.  I like both voices and can't tell you which I prefer.  I love how Billie Holiday almost seems to play her voice like an instrument, and the resonance with which Siouxsie sings this.  I'm not always a fan of her singing, she often sounds cold to me, and I don't like cold, but she's lovely on this...

And I can see why you like the vocal on Trust In Me.

[piggymirror]

Oh and of course (remembering Florian Schneider).

[Ulrich]

And in it, there's this, with (to me, and I'm not alone) Siouxsie's most wonderful vocals ever.
She sounds like a hybrid between Kaa, Marlene Dietrich, and herself.

Do you happen to know more about the original song? I always liked this one, but back in the 1980s without internet I was unable to find out who sang the original... (the name of the person who wrote it didn't help me much, no).

[Ulrich]

An article about John McGeoch (guitarist, he was the one RS "replaced" when he joined the Banshees back in late 1982):

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/04/post-punk-guitarist-john-mcgeoch-magazine-siouxsie-sioux

McGeoch sent a jolt through the scene with Magazine, Siouxsie Sioux and more. Johnny Marr, James Dean Bradfield and others salute an overlooked musician

there was another band who wanted him: Siouxsie and the Banshees. They had just lost their guitarist and drummer and while still with Magazine he was invited to play on Happy House, immediately making an impact with a shimmering guitar line that snakes through the song. He was eventually convinced to make the switch permanent in 1980.

The albums Kaleidoscope, Juju and A Kiss in the Dreamhouse marked a hugely fertile period for the Banshees with McGeoch-powered tracks such as Spellbound invoking "pure invention, grace and bloodlust ballet" according to Bradfield. Marr adds: "The music he made with the Banshees ... the word imperial was made for that music."

[Ulrich]

Siouxsie announced a rare live performance:

Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees will return to the stage in 2023. Her first show since a 2013 Meltdown performance is set to take place at Latitude Festival in the East of England on July 23. Pulp, Paolo Nutini, and George Ezra are headlining the festival, which begins on July 20.

https://pitchfork.com/news/siouxsie-sioux-announces-return-to-stage-after-10-years/