Customer Reviews

Kiss in the Dreamhouse

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

 

 

People often tend to overlook the fact that Siouxsie & The Banshees sprung from the first generation of English punk rock in 1976. This is easy to do when you listen to an album like Kiss in the Dreamhouse. This is a far cry from "Never Mind The Bollocks". The reason why the Banshees were able to experience the unique kind of success and longevity that they did was because they refused to paint themselves into the "punk corner".

OK, a quick history lesson: The Sex Pistols... crushed under the weight of their own myth after only one album. The Clash... succumbed to the exact rock and roll cliche they initially set out to destroy. The Damned... continued to evolve and experiment with new sounds, and as a result are still together today, recording new albums, albeit with numerous line-up changes and almost no commercial success. The Banshees followed a similar ethos as the Damned, though they actually did break through to the mainstream market... and here's the most amazing part of all... THEY DID IT WITHOUT COMPROMISING THEIR INTEGRITY. This puts them in a very unique standing in the world of rock and roll.

To me, "Dreamhouse" is the perfect example of the Banshees' modus operandi. This is easily their most daring and experimental album. Siouxsie has often been known for not wanting to discuss past glories in her interviews, instead opting to always look forward, and as a result most of the Banshees' output sounds very ahead of it's time. The 2 albums that preceded "Dreamhouse"... "Kaleidoscope" (1980) and "Juju" (1981), broke ground for a new scene that would later come to be known as "Goth", and the Banshees had the foresight to not get trapped by the limitations of their own creation by pushing things to the next level with this album.

"A Kiss In The Dreamhouse" remains to this day virtually uncategorizable. No other album by the Banshees or any other band for that matter sounds even remotely similar. It still sounds fresh and challenging, even in this jaded day and age of "been there, done that". It's not everyone's cup of tea though. Even some of the more die-hard Banshees fans have been known to snub this one. In my humble opinion this is where the Banshees hit their creative peak. They went wild in the studio, using a plethora of effects and unorthodox instruments. The creative energy spent making this album was exhausting enough to purge John McGeoch from the band, and the relatively mellow convention of the following album, 1984's "Hyaena", was almost a perfect backlash to the wild creativity expressed here.

Highly recommended.

A Kiss in the Dreamhouse is definitely one of Siouxsie and the Banshees' most experimental albums. Unfortunately, like some of their other albums or individual songs, the album does not have the best production, leaving some of the potential impact from the final songs. Classic should-have-been single, 'Painted Bird', lacks the punch of various live versions, despite a killer chorus. 'Cascade' and 'Green Fingers' are both great songs, but suffer their own production fate, and buries the drums too low in the mix.

Two singles were released from Dreamhouse; the dull and forgettable 'Slowdive', as well as the sensual slink of 'Melt!' Other noteworthy songs are the experimental 'Obsession' and 'Circle', and the bouncy 'She's A Carnival'.

The extra tracks are spotty as well. The highlight is the amazing demo version of 'Painted Bird'. You'll also get the full length version of 'Fireworks', originally from the 12" single.

The remastering on this reissue is atrocious. The volume has been blown very loud, compressing out some of the original dynamic range, (because it's the in-thing to do, I guess...) Also, since Dreamhouse is notorious for its heavy analog tape hiss, the "engineer" attempted some very shoddy efforts at tape hiss reduction. It looks and sounds like someone's remastering homework project. You get a grade F, mister. Some songs only have tape hiss removed from the quiet sections, while others are treated entirely. By the time of Cocoon, they seemed to give up because the tape hiss is dominant. A little care and skilled settings could have offered a very satisfying result, but what do you expect with the budget treatment. Even 'Fireworks' has a ton of tape hiss. I don't know what the problem was, but with the Siouxsie remastering program currently said to be cancelled, I can't say I'm disappointed considering that only two of the remasters have been satisfying to my ears. When it comes to the Banshees fan camp regarding these reissues, all they need to see is the word "remastered" and out come the steady stream of untrained and unwarranted; "Wow, this sounds better than ever!" nonsense. WRONG! I'm only giving the album three stars because of the bland remastering. The original Polydor CD from 1989 is loads more satisfying than this. I'll take a flat, unaltered transfer any day over someone's hack work.

I'm so happy this album finally got reissued. The Banshees never lost their edge, but Dreamhouse was the first album that introduced sexuality to their music that was only briefly suggested before, such as on Kaleidoscope. This is a gorgeously playful and darkly sexy record that shows the Banshees, previously called "humorless," having fun in the studio, exhibiting their new found strength as a group from endlessly touring their previous record Juju. It's ironic that their guitarist would be ousted right after it's release.

The recording itself has a very lush, open sound with plenty of reverb and atmospheric sounds added to the mix, such as bells and foot stomping, recorder and strings. I still consider "Slowdive" to be the sexiest song I've ever heard. Finally, we get the 12-inch mix of it! In my opinion, The Banshees would not exhibit such strength as a band again on record until 1988's sublime Peepshow.

Of all the Siouxsie albums that I own (all of them), I listen to this one most often. It is loaded with creatively poetic lyrics and has sounds that had never been heard on an album before or since. "Obsession" is an all-time favorite with a gothic church feel, "Cascade" evokes tremendous visual imagery and I think of it more than any other song, "Melt" is a beautiful ballad full of instrumentation, "Slowdive" has an eerie screeching beat that works, "Circle" is great if you have been on the Underground in London, and "Cocoon" is a jazzy tune that is reminiscent of small jazz clubs of the early 70's. The other tracks are solid al well. This is a "must have" for any music lover. Don't know Siouxsie? Get to know her and the band with this album and you will be a fan for life.

Some listeners might say "A Kiss in the Dreamhouse" is uneven, but taken as a whole, the album is really cohesive. It wouldn't make sense for it to be a string of ecstatic musical high points; you need less vivid tracks interspersed through the album, to create a nuanced, multi-textured listening experience. Odd, difficult, or slow songs like "Circle," "Obsession," and "Cocoon" are perfect when taken as part of this whole. An album that only had tracks as ominous and intense as "Cascade," as lively and hallucinogenic as "Green Fingers," or shimmeringly erotic as "Melt" would actually wind up lessening the effect of these masterpieces, and wouldn't be nearly as interesting to listen to.

I've own the CD version of this album for one year now, but I bought tracks from iTunes and listened to them in youtube, web radio, etc. I found Siouxsie while listening to artists "like" Simple Minds who I've loved since 1991 (through Pandora's internet radio around 2007-08). This was the first Siouxsie album I got and, to be honest; I don't put my money down for junk. I knew "A Kiss In The Dreamhouse" (AKITDH) would have to be the first due to songs like Green Fingers, She's A Carnival, Melt! and Circle which are astonishing (coincidentally the strengths of this album rating 5+). Painted Bird is a good 4.5 stars while Cascade and Slowdive follow for a rating of about 4 stars. Cocoon and Obsession would have to have the weaknesses in this album, about 2 star for me.

Unfortunately Amazon seems to be forgetting to place track listing due to their MP3 listings (missing as well). I have no problem with that, but they have to have the listing in case their license/contract to sell MP3 runs past the due date.

Customers don't know what they're getting but here's what the original album brought:

1. Cascade
2. Green Fingers
3. Obsession
4. She's A Carnival
5. Circle
6. Melt!
7. Painted Bird
8. Cocoon
9. Slowdive

Extra tracks from the re-mastered CD version of this album contain these additional tracks (this is the one I got from Amazon):

10. Fireworks (12" version)
11. Slowdive (12" version)
12. Painted Bird (Workhouse Demo)
13. Cascade (Workhouse Demo)

I hope my review helps those who don't see the track listing above, as well as those who wonder whether they should get this gem from Siouxsie and the Banshees long discography (which could have been longer but then again there are groups that don't survive after their second album). Kudos to the group, they were amazing and will always be remembered.