Customer Reviews

Hai!

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In looking over the other reviews posted here I see mixed opinions. Well, "Hai!" is technically competent. Budgie and Eto certainly prove they are exceptional drummers, and if drumming is what you are seeking, then look no further. I agree with the reviewers who say "Hai!" is a return to form. It reminds me more of 1989's "Boomerang" rather than 1983's "Feast". However, the songs on "Hai!" are longer, less diverse than "Boomerang". This could be interpreted as better or worse. I find it to be somewhere in the middle. I happened to like 1999's departure "Anima Animus" with its electronic influences, so "Hai!" certainly came as another curve ball. The only problem with "Hai!" is that it's not diverse in sound (which other reviewers have termed cohesive and consistent, once again a question of preference, and for me I prefer more diversity). On the upside, "Hai!" has great drumming, Siouxsie's typical transcendental vocals and lyrics and invloving rhythms. In the end, "Hai!" sits right in centerfield between "Feast" and "Boomerang" and "Anima Animus". This cd does get better with each listen, but I don't think it overshadows The Creatures previous works.

This exploration of Japanese themed music on "Hai!" strikes many interesting chords with the powerful drumming that energizes and defines the songs, the chants and shouts, cultural touchstones (e.g., Godzilla, City Island, Tantara). Collaborators Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie manage to harness enough energy for a good ride, but after a couple of listens, the territory appears the same and the result is the auditory equivalent of being snow blind. That is, the songs tend to blend together, melded by the wonderful drumming, and they inhabit a middle space without any soaring moments or any dreadful stumbles save the second half of the final song.

This consistency on "Hai!" yields a CD that is one the one hand unified and level but on the other a bit numbing for listening straight through. I think these tracks works better fragmented and scattered among other music (e.g., compilation, noncommercial radio, DJ) than as a block.

Working in collaboration with Leonard Eto, a remarkable Japanese drummer, this is one of Siouxsie and Budgie's best releases since "Boomerang." The addition of Eto is a natural fit, both with Budgie's throbbing percussion and Siouxsie's ethereal voice. My favorite tracks so far are "Godzilla" (clearly a hit), "Imagoro" (ditto) and the opening percussion-filled "Say Yes" which has Budgie and Eto hammering away gloriously for a few minutes before Siouxsie finally enters, to dramatic effect.

Naysayers may think some of the tracks sound too much alike, and they wouldn't be completely wrong. (I'm not among them.) If this project might be "too much of too little" for some, most Creatures fans will delight in the chemistry between these three outstanding musicians. Sound quality is excellent, with the percussion sounding very "present" but not boomy, and other effects swirling around in great electronic clouds.

I hope these three decide to tour with this so we can hear these tracks live. This recording definitely seems like a new artistic direction for the duo, and more power to them. Meanwhile, crank up your sound system and enjoy.

The Creatures came about in March 1981 when Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a piece called But Not Them for their next album which turned out only to involve Siouxsie and Budgie. This accidental pairing soon turned into a side project and instead of appearing on JuJu, the remixed track turned up in September 1981 on the Wild Things EP by the newly christened offshoot the Creatures. An exotic album recorded in Hawaii called Feast followed in 1983, then in 1989, Boomerang, recorded in Cadiz. Anima Animus came after a ten year gap on their own Sioux label, by which time the pair were married and living in France.
Hai! (meaning 'Yes!') came about because the Creatures had a chance to work with legendary ex-Kodo drummer Leonard Eto in Tokyo. The spontaneous drum-duet improvisations were recorded in one Anglo-Japanese marathon at Gok Sound Studios on 19 August 2002 in a "spiritual symbiosis" between Budgie and Eto's Taiko rhythms. Budgie's contributions include marimba, yueh ch'in, percussion and synthétiques, some of it added back at Maison Néko in France whilst the piece was being edited down to the fifty minutes on the finished album, along with Siouxsie's swooping vocal melodies and words, sometimes ecstatic, sometimes playfully theatrical, as on Godzilla! The result is a minor minimalist triumph: "No more maybe, no more could be, say yes!" - Siouxsie

i think that the siouxsie and the banshees/creatures' fans that have written those stanky reviews are way off. i am obsessed with their music and feel that HAI! shouts back to their origins as a vocal/percussive duo. ANIMA ANIMUS was disappointing in that the songs lyrics were underdeveloped and the electronic effects already sounded stale. it was also disappointing when judged by its predesesor the ERASER CUT ep, a collage of diverse and soundscapes and textures.

back to HAI! it is an album of both immediacy and sensitivity. its the creatures at their best, when the results are spontaneously mad YET somehow fully developed. the songs progress abstractly as a journey to and thru tokyo, both internally and externally, past, present. i think that it would have been too obvious to have the music sound like it should be more 'japanese'. the textures of the city and country are there, as well as in the vocal key range structure of several songs and in subtle and sparse instrumental touches here and there. i don't think that sioux's vocals are mixed incorrectly. they break thru and pierce the wall of drums with either thick heavy deep vocals or sweet and chilling ones.

the highest points of the ice-caped mountain are IMAGORO, an interwoven vocal/chant and AROUND THE WORLD, which perfectly captures the magic and excitement of traveling, like SINATRA"S 'let's get away from it all". really. TOURNIQUET is the moody, jazzy centerpiece and SEVEN TEARS characterizes the album's unconventional song structures. the only song i don't really LOVE is the single GODZILLA!. it just sounds ok and cute but not nearly the most exciting moment on the album.

get the album. sounds absolutely original. i knew they could still really do it, better and differently than the rest of the pack.

I hate the fact that this CD is fading away into obscurity in the horrible world of pop music. It is amazing, inventive, original, beautiful, dark, and majestic like nothing else I have ever heard.This should be hailed as one of the greatest achievements in music in years. But sadly because it is a by-product of Siouxsie and the Banshees it will never be given the credit it deserves. It will be a sad day when Siouxsie turns her back on the music business completely.She is still so necessary. Siouxsie and Budgie should be running record companies, not struggling to get their records made. No one else makes music like this but the Creatures, and no one ever will.

I'd love to go to Tokyo. Especially after listening to The Creatures HAI a few times. We live in a world too focused on instant gratification and pop-culture IS the new politics, so a lot of people will look down their noses at this stunning achievement given us by two masters, Siouxsie & Budgie, who have been in the business over 20 years but are now doing things on their own terms. This album, HAI, is simply stunning. Give it a few listens...let it open to you like a flower...it will cast its spell. I'm not even a huge fan of The Creatures -- I got into them from a friend who worhships them. I'm just a person who really appreciates true artistry in music. And this is brilliant collaboration, all around: the melodies, the lyrics, her voice, his percussion, and the tempo rhythm of the entire album. I highly recommend this if you are looking for something provocative, and profound.

The one thing to remember about The Creatures is to never expect the same album twice. Hai! is intoxicating, refreshing, and absolutely gorgeous. They always surprise me. Siouxsie and Budgie are at their best when they are living and recording in the moment - feeding off each other's energy. Not to mention, Eto. Wow! That's that special "something" their music has. It's what is lacking in a lot of today's music. Spontaneity... as well as, imagination. I always leave a Creatures' album feeling exhilirated - my imagination soaring - my senses stimulated. Hai!

This CD is such a feast of sounds and beats it is nothing short of classic Creatures. Buy it!

The first three Creature records were often a few good songs padded out with some self-indulgent misfires that didn't add anything to the whole. I was expecting more of the same with this new Japanese inspired Hai! But a few tracks in, you can tell this is something else. It's obvious that Siouxsie and Budgie were inspired by the Siouxsie & The Banshees reformation, Siouxsie's recent collaborations with people like Basement Jaxx, or by Taiko drummer Leonard Eto. Most of the playing on this record is the drumming of Eto and Budgie. They later added the vocals and built songs around their drumming sessions. Songs like "Godzilla!" and "Tantara!" are inspired by their recent trip to Japan. It's refreshing to see all that goth and glam nonsense thrown out the window. Whereas in the past, they tried to also make some hit singles as the Creatures, now it seems like they are focused on making good music. This record is their best one in many years. This is a surprising success.