Customer Reviews

The Best of Siouxsie & the Banshees (Deluxe Edition 2 CDs+DVD)

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Having just seen Siouxsie in concert in NY just a few days ago (a fabulous concert where both "Banshees" and "the Creatures" material was played), I was itching to get my hands on this collection. And so, like clockwork, I picked up my copy of this release as soon as it hit the streets yesterday (Sept 07, 2004).

Most of you may already know that a Siouxsie and the Banshees "best of" collection was released earlier this year (there is a single CD and a double CD version to choose from). The second CD is primarily extended versions of the original tracks. I think most of the remixes are from the same time as the original tracks (in other words, most - if not all - of these are not new remixes). And, thankfully, the remixes are very good (some die-hard purists may disagree).

This deluxe edition contains the very same two CDs from the "best of" release so, I will not go in to reviewing the songs most of you are already familiar with. For those who are not, I would suggest you read the reviews of the best of 2 CD set.

What is different here is the inclusion of a DVD disc that contains a career spanning 14 Siouxsie and the Banshees videos. The video and sound quality are great. This is a piece of music history and I strongly recommend you buy this release. ***A WORD OF CAUTION - THIS IS AN IMPORT VERSION FROM ENGLAND AND THE DVD IS REGION 0/PAL*** For those of us in the USA this means we either need to own a "multi-region" DVD player with a PAL/NTSC converter or be content with seeing it on our computer screens (if you have a DVD player installed in your computer).

I am not sure if a US version of this deluxe edition is in the works. As far as I was concerned, since I can play the DVD on my player I did not want to risk there not being a US version and also losing the chance of buying what could end up being a limited release.

Despite being a completist where anything Siouxsie is concerned, I was hesitant about buying this, since I already had the CDs and most of the videos (on the Once Upon a Time and Twice Upon a Time VHS compilations).

I finally had to get it when I heard that "Arabian Knights" was the rarely seen original version, before it was re-edited for the official video. It's horribly/wonderfully kitsch, and I can see why the band kept it buried for two decades, but I'm glad to have it. Grab it now, it probably won't be on subsequent DVD releases.

The videos look and sound great after years of watching worn-out tapes. The CDs are unnecessary, and the "best of" title on a lazy selection of singles is still infuriating, but it's a nice little package for collectors.

I love this collection with the dvd! The only thing missing is the video for "The Passenger". Why is that not on here? The song isn't even on the CD's!

This compilation is missing several videos such as "Staircase Mistery", "Redlight", and "The Passenger" (just to name a few).
Video quality is "not bad", considering the age of some of these videos. I own the Laserdiscs of "Once Upon A Time" and "Twice Upon A Time" and did a quick comparison. Both formats have there advantages and disadvantages. The picture on the DVD looks sharper, while it suffers compression problems and slightly faded colors. The Laserdiscs have more vivid colors and better sound quality, while the image tends to be slightly softer.
Hopefully, we will see a complete DVD release of all Siouxsie And The Banshees videos (remasterd and PCM stereo would be nice). We can only hope...

For those who wonder about the contents and quality of the dvd :


14 videoclips of some of the most famous songs from this british after-punk band lifted from the šOnce Upon A Timeš and šTwice Upon A Timeš respective VHS releases. It's a quite short and incomplete dvd at a meagre 57'of total duration and the volume and tonal quality varies dramatically from one clip to the next making for constant adjustments but that was to be expected since the clips span different eras and are quite low-budget affairs.

Picture is just OK 4:3 on most clips and there's a 5.1 option but no extras of any kind which could have rounded up a nicer package.

But what annoyed me the most were the mixes; little bottom end and the voice is irritatingly loud in the mix, so if you want to hear the instruments at realistic levels you'll have to put up with strident, ultra-loud vocals. This is not the case on the studio cd mixes, so can anyone enlighten me on the subject ?

For die-hard fans only.

I am curious about this release. I am not much for music videos, but would be interested in this release if the videos are remixed in surround. Does anyone know if they are?