Customer Reviews

Long Live the Queens!

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

 

 

WOW! It's all I can about this CD. Saw it on amazon and bought it within the same 10 minutes. My friend Ermanno had mentioned the CD to me that same night too...and highly recommended it to me. He bought it from here on amazon as well. Every track is amazing, fresh & far beyond my expectations. Especially tracks 1, 3, 4, 7, 12, 13 and 16. I've heard "Prehistoric Daze" on the "The Flintstones" soundtrack CD...and totally forgot about this song until now. It's so dark & definitely one of the Highlights of this item. Track #6 (Mr. Wrong) is quite different and hardly sounds like 'SS'. It's more like an 80's b-side of Debbie Gibson. I DON'T like track #10 (I don't care). It's a horrible version with no background bounce. Sounds too much like a bland demo. The "Hormonally Yours" CD version rocks!

Tracklisting & Total Time Per Track:
01- You're History (Maximised Version) - 6:38
02- Pretty Boy - 3:38
03- Break My Heart (You Really)(Extended Version) - 5:36
04- Heroine (Heavenly) - 5:33
05- Run Silent (Revolution Mix) - 6:30
06- MR. Wrong - 3:53
07- Dirty Mind (1990 Version) - 4:08
08- Goodbye Cruel World (BTO Remix) - 5:48
09- Black Sky (The Black Widow Mix) - 5:57
10- I Don't Care (Henley Board Mix) - 4:04
11- Remember My Name - 3:35
12- Stay (Acoustic Version) - 3:42
13- Prehistoric Daze (Shakespeares Sister & The Holy Ghost) - 4:56
14- Suddenly - 3:38
15- Opportunity Knockers - 4:46
16- I Can Drive (Pull Down Your Pants Mix) - 5:39

Album & Design Info:

- You won't find very much "photo-wise" in this package.
- Photo on backside of booklet is of Marcella & Siobhan from behind.
- Front cover image is found on backside of CD case as well
- CD case is a Jewel-case with other "Warner Platinum Series" releases.
- Booklet features credits for each track.
- Disc is white with silver lettering
- Recording Quality is clear, crisp & bass is great
- This Compilation: 2005 Warner Music UK Ltd.
- Executive Producer: Kurt-Pagan Davies
- WWW.SIOBHANFAHEY.COM

Every track will keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting more. The remixing & mastering is excellent & Siobhan has left me satisfied again. I've always been this way when listening to my 'SS' CDs. It all started with "Hormonally Yours". That was suck an easy album to get into. With "Long Live the Queens"...this is no ordinary album and I can't believe it took so long for something this good to reach the music stores. Thank You, Siobhan! You read our minds! ;) ;) wink wink

Definitely worth the money, if you're buying it for yourself or a friend. Regarding the low price...don't consider this a "Bargain Bin" item in the least. It's worth every penny. If you're a Shakespears Sister fan...or if you're only starting out...I highly recommend "Long Live The Queens" as and addition to your SS collection. Hot!!!

Shakespear's Sister is one of the world's most successful UK girl band duos. They were armed with real "girl power", an incredibly dramatic flair for some really quirky, fun theatrical songs and visually stunning videos. They had a knack mixing up electro beats and rock music with flawless ease and a unique sound all of their own. Comprised of dark seductress Siobhan Fahey (fresh from her departure with Bananarama at the time of the band's formation) and the Aretha Franklin-like pipes of Marcella Detroit, they personified "alternative music" complimenting each other very well with their distinct voices.

Following a string of top 10 hits worldwide in the early nineties the band unfortunately disbanded and Siobhan went on to record a solo glam rock record under the name of Shakespear's Sister titled 3, that unfortunately hadn't seen the light of day from the record company until extensive legal wrangling and exhaustive efforts on Siobhan's part to get the record released after she got the rights to fully do so in 2005 (after her long hiatus from the music business) - "Opportunity Knockers" a track from that album is featured here as a little extra. Siobhan has also been hard at work preparing a solo electro-clash/rock/alternative album and released 3 singles with remixes under her own name and SF record label, plus a Shakespear's Sister Best Of CD/ DVD combo. From all these releases seeing the light of day, we finally now get a Platinum Edition by Warner, a Best of album of sorts, remixed, with B-sides & extras titled cheekily enough Long Live the Queens.

The collection starts off with extended remixes of the band's early big hits, as well as hard to find early B-sides. B-side "Pretty Boy" is a typical 80s ditty, "Mr. Wrong" has a distinct Mexican-pop-meets-wild-west feel to it and "Remember My Name" is a very smooth pop number with a cabaret flair. The early songs match well the dance sounds of late 80s and are nicely re-mastered for this collection. "Suddenly" is an excellent B-side from Siobhan's sessions in 1996, with a slight dark industrial marching rock sound and a fun catchy sing-along chorus (the music resembling a watered down rock version of Goldfrapp's "Train"), it would make a great single even if it was released today.

We get many more varied songs as well thanks to the band's later songs, starting with the very sunny and laid back "Prehistoric Daze", a surprising reggae/rap track, a successfully humorous collaboration with The Holy Ghost band for The Flinstones movie soundtrack that suits Siobhan's voice and gives newly rastafarian Sinead O'Connor a run for her money. The acoustic version of "Stay" is stunning to hear in its ballad entirety and "Black Sky" just floats away only with epic instrumentals and loose melodies. The 1990 version of "Dirty Mind" is now more complex, dramatic and full of chaotic energy that makes you want to get up and start dancing with its party mood, similarly the BTO remix of "Goodbye Cruel World" is transformed by from the epic rock song we know to a rave version with hypnotic techno beats.

This is not your typical "best of" collection but then again Shakespear's Sister was never a typical pop band. If you are fans of the original songs and if you do or don't own the Best Of CD, I think you'd still be interested to hear these alternative versions and satisfy your ears with this eclectic collection before we finally get the new anticipated full solo album by Siobhan Fahey.

That's Right, if you're not a fan, this may not be the best way to introduce yourself to the music of Shakespear's Sister. This is more of a sum up of the "Everything Else" from Shakespear's Sister, whether you swing more for Marcella Detroit or for Siobhan Fahey, the remixes are a satisfying alternate from some of their best 12" singles.

The B-sides, including the rare "Pretty Boy", the forgettable "Remember My Name," and fun "Mr. Wrong" are b-sides for a reason, but have sentimental value to us fans, particularly those who bought the Run Silent 7" or 12" when it first came out in the late 80s. The only B-side which I always thought was almost as superior as some of the singles, "Suddenly", is also represented here.
One thing missing is the supurbe alternate and more glamorized version of "Do I Scare You," This is a trip down memory lane for fans of one of the best duos of the 90s.

I've never been to a show. I've not even made it through this entire album in one sitting. Generally speaking, I'm not a Shakespeare's Sister fan,

That said, I purchased this album for one song: The acoustic version of "Stay." Having listen to just about every genre of music for these last 30+ years, I can honestly say that this tune haunts me more than almost any other song I've heard.

I can't tell you what it is about it. The emotion just feels so real. The sentiment so beautiful, while at the same time dark and morbid. I must have listened to it thousands of times by now, after stumbling upon it over a decade ago on college radio.

It's been said that the power of music is in its ability to move a person. Well, if you want to be moved, then buy this album. That one song alone was worth the price for me. It's rare and hard to find anywhere else. I highly recommend it.

If you like their album "Hormonally Yours" you have about a 50/50 chance of finding this album enjoyable. I wasn't very impressed overall, but it did have a few catchy beats.

If you like Shakespears Sister, you need this album. Its as good as any other album, and probably better. Filled with great re-mixes, and some songs I hadn't heard before, you'll love it!