Customer Reviews

Nocturne

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Banshees were a great band, and at their peak (perhaps between 1978 and 1984: _The Scream_ to _Hyaena_) they burned the brightest of them all. They had the best songs and the best singer, one of the most interesting band sounds, especially with Budgie on drums, and John McGeogh (rest in peace) or Robert Smith on guitar, and in an era where the New Puritanism of the post-punk era still required rock stars to scowl glumly for all photos, and ruled out "dressing like a rock star" or "putting on a show" on-stage, the Banshees were as theatrical as Queen or Bowie.

Sure, the Banshees were in at the birth of punk, they were the band Sid Vicious was in before he joined the Sex Pistols, but in their secret heart of hearts Siouxsie and the Banshees were always romantics, and they were all the better for it.

In spite of their excellence they were in some ways an inconsistent band. Every Banshees album except for _Join Hands_ has enough great tracks to win four to five stars from me, but it's also true that every album holds its share of filler. It's all good filler, except on _Join Hands_, but each album contains moments of ecstatic brilliance and some minutes that are well short of that. Which is why these days I more often find myself listening to the two superb singles collections, _Once Upon a Time_ and _Twice Upon a Time_, rather than any one of the albums. If you've heard a Banshees track on the radio and you want to explore further, or if you're a moderate fan who doesn't want to invest in the complete set of 12 or so albums, then I'd suggest that those two collections are your starting point.

But once you've owned and digested those two CDs, and you want more, I'd be inclined to recommend hearing the band at their live best. And that means _Nocturne_, which captures the Banshees on their 1983 tour with Robert Smith at the fretboard.

Don't waste your money on the live _Seven Year Itch_ DVD from 2003; sadly, it's an off-hand run-through of some old hits by a singer who can't sing any more and a band that's forgotten what that music was about, and doesn't seem to care. _Nocturne_ is 20 years better, with a singer with 20 times the voice leading a band with 20 times the energy.

So Nocturne starts with Stravinsky at his primitive best, the rhythms of _Rite of Spring_ merging neatly into a driving, superpowered performance of "Israel". This is followed by a gorgeous maroon-velvet version of Lennon's "Dear Prudence", another clue that the skeleton in the Banshees' closet was never a punk, nor a Goth, either. "Paradise Place" falls fractionally below the high standards established to that point, but things recover with a suitably liquid, and beautiful, version of "Melt".

Other highlights include lush versions of "Cascade" and "Painted Bird", the psychodrama of "Eve White/Eve Black", "Night Shift" and "Voodoo Dolly", and the wild horse gallops of "Happy House", "Helter Skelter" and "Spellbound", highlighting Budgie's drumming and Robert Smith's driving/droning guitar sound.

It's a great concert; most of the songs sound better than on their studio versions, and enough energy is generated to pull some of the weaker songs along. I could quibble with the selection: I'd like to have heard "Christine", and for that matter "Hong Kong Garden" as encores, or even instead of "Paradise Place" and "Switch", but you can't have everything. But if you've got the singles collections then you already have those tracks, and this concert complements those collections by featuring the Banshees in their slightly darker, more intense and less poppy aspect.

This is a great concert by a band burning bright, and you should have it.

Cheers!

Laon

This album catches Siouxsie and the Banshees in concert in 1983 London just before "Hyaena" came out. It's amazing to think that they at one time played in such large music halls. Don't expect to get to know Siouxsie at a concert since she really never talked to the audience. They were there simply to perform. The concert starts with a recorded intro of the violent classical piece "Rite of Spring" before the band comes out to play live favorites "Israel" and "Dear Prudence". Her voice is very unflexible and harsh at times but very effective - almost hypnotic. She pretty much makes any other female singer sound too girly. You almost wonder if her throat hurts. This show was recorded during the brief time that Robert Smith was guitarist. He was probably anxious to get back to fronting the Cure since his guitar playing was very accurate but could have been anybody playing. "Cascade" is excellent in it's urgency and "Nightshift" is droning blackness. After an earshattering "Eve white/Eve black" the band ends on the building climax of their most evil song ever "Voodoo Dolly". Budgies drumming is so intricate and the rhythm becomes so angst inducing that it has no choice but to all go up in a vortex. Which it does. And then the band leaves the stage without a goodbye.

I am a huge fan of live abums, because it tells me whether or not the band can really play, or if they're just manufactured by the studio. This live album is absolutely fantastic. It opens with an incredible version of "Israel", with this fabulous 2 minute beginning with drums and horns, then follows to an equally incredible version of The Beatles' "Dear Prudence." It continues on in this fashion until the end. Siouxsie picks you up with her enchanting voice, and doesn't let you down until the end.

This is a great recording of an incredible concert loaded with classic Siouxsie material and some non-album songs as well. I've seen Sioux in concert (with the Creatures) and I can tell you she cuts a striking presence.

All these versions are pulled off perfectly, although I think this live version of "Dear Prudence" suffers in comparison to their lush studio version. Anyone who has every put down the Cure should hear Robert Smith's phenomenal guitar playing. He strangles some downright wicked feedback and plays intricate guitar patterns skillfully. What atmosphere . . . this one's a real treat!

I just got this after owning the LP for a decade and it still holds up after all these years. It was recorded in 1983 mind you! This live recording is extremely energetic and instantly atmospheric. Siouxsie's vocals chant and wail over driving drum beats, otherworldly guitars (with just the right ammount of feedback), and smooth-but-chunky bass lines. In my opinion it's the best thing that the banshees ever released because it collects the best early works without the sterility which was forced upon the studio versions of these same tunes. Although this will appeal to people who like music outside the goth genre it's most likely that you'll only dig this disc if you like a little darkness in your music. What amazes me about it in particular is the fact that it pre-dates grunge and everything since. To put it another way this recording is WAY ahead of its time. To put it yet another way this band could have easily shaken down the doors at Lilith Fair or Ozzfest circa 1999!

While this disc is worthy for just the covers of "Dear Prudence" and "Helter Skelter" it will appeal to anyone who likes a little edge to their rock-and-roll or enjoys listening to dreamy music in the dark. Save the money you were going to use to buy the latest "alternative" hit record from the hip band of the week and BUY THIS DISC!

Wow. Absolutely breathtaking. October 1983 at the Royal Albert Hall was light years from September 1976 at the 100 Club. Siouxsie, Severin, and the passion remained, but now there was Budgie, there was Robert Smith, there were 5 albums and 7 years of evolution, experience, touring, performing, and perfecting that particular brand of intoxicating, vaguely disturbing witchcraft that was Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The word that most readily springs to mind in describing this album is "power". The power of Severin's bass lines, of Budgie's intricate and stirring drum patterns, of the emotional content of the dreamworld lyrics...and the power of a frontwoman who had learned not only to sing in those 7 years, but to enthrall. Siouxsie had evolved from a petulant teenage punk screamer who spat angry, strident monotones into the microphone into a creature of myth and majesty. She now commanded the stage with something more potent than the brazen bravado of punk angst.

The voice was now an instrument of impressive range and subtlety. She could still howl, lament, condemn, and villify (Pulled to Bits, Sin in My Heart, Eve White Eve Black, Voodoo Dolly), but she could also exult (Cascade), hope (Israel), seduce (Slowdive), and bewitch (Melt!, Dear Prudence). She combined that vocal gift with an equally powerful visual image, perfectly manifesting the emotional schizophrenia of the music in a look that combined the romantic with the psychotic. Beautiful yet disturbing, vulnerable yet venomous, and infused with an aura of mystery both enticing and dangerous.

The live versions of the songs on Nocturne in many cases far surpass the studio recordings. Impressively, the music is very tight and true to the recorded versions, but the energy and vigor of live performance is obvious. The musicianship is superb. The Banshees were nothing if not hardworking, and the hard work shows.

If you are a Banshees fan, you must have this album. If you are just discovering the Banshees, Nocturne will make you wish you had "been there" in the 80s. For the full experience, purchase the DVD of Nocturne as well. This was an outstanding and unique band captured at the peak of their power and inventiveness. It just doesn't get any better.

When I was 14 years old, this was one of my favorite LPs. If early Lps of the Cure (Faith, 17 seconds, Pornography) had been my gateway drug to darker, grimier sounds as a teenager, this record by Siouxsie & the Banshees was my next step up the ladder. Budgie and Steve Severin were a tight rhythm section in those days, with booming drums and loud, clear, distinct bass lines that dominate the songs. Robert Smith, fresh off of the post-Pornography breakup of the Cure, plays a mangled, dark, out-of-tune monster guitar on this record. All for brilliant effect. Siouxsie even complains at one point during the concert to Smith "Can't we get out of tune any quicker?"

Looking back on this record 2 1/5 decades later, it still sounds fresh and takes me back to my teenage years in the early 80s. When people talk about the British post-punk goth rock sound, this is the sound they are referring to. Tough. Dark. Shocking. But strangely delightful at the same time. I don't own any other Siouxsie and the Banshees records other than this one any more. And I don't see why I would need to. This is the defining performance at the defining moment with the defining collection of musicians backing her up. This is what Siouxsie and the Banshees was all about. Their reputation as an early 1980s British post-punk band was built on concerts like this one. I don't doubt that even in another 26 years, it will still sound as tight and amazing as ever.

If my own children were to ask me "Who were Siouxsie and the Banshees and what were they all about?" this is the disc I would recommend to them. Nothing else. This says it all.

The only live album of this inventive group. Many of their great hits are represented. Most of all I like „Dear Prudence", „Melt!", „Cascade", „Happy House" and „Spellbound". The end is quite beyond the threshold of pain and reminds me of certain Lou Reed songs. There is also a video of this concert. Siouxsie behaves as a magician, and her dance seems to be an ongoing incantation ritual. Fascinating.

As good as all the Banshees' records are -- and I love them all more than anything -- this really is a good place to start, despite the other singles'/greatest hits collections and the reason is simple: The Banshees are one of the greatest live bands ever. Ever. Before I even heard "Israel" or "Painted Bird" as presented on their originally studio tracks (and this being almost 15-16 years ago, gosh, I feel old), I heard the live versions on "Nocturne" and they simply blew me away, and still do -- the studio versions just don't compare. I just dragged out my videocassette of Nocturne too, and it just is incredible. A bit dated maybe, but still packs quite a punch and reminds me why I love SATB so much. Make this CD part of your collection, you will not be sorry!

though the fans of siouxsie andthe banshees are legion...i liketo think myself the biggest fan.well...ok...one of the biggest.i remember the original releaseof this record and the excitementi felt bringing the vinyl home forthe very first time. what could bemore thrilling than hearing thecrowd roar as the band takes thestage near the end of the amazingRite of Spring to burst into a bassdriven, forceful rendition of Israel? I dont think there is anything more thrilling than that.The collection of songs here arestellar. Though SATB have proven tobe prolific song writers over theyears nothing encapsulates whatthis band is truly about at theircore more than this recording. ipersonally feel they produced theirbest work between 1978 and 1983.that is to say music that is quintessential. groundbreaking. theymade their blistering mark duringthis period of time that has forever changed the face of rock music. for this reason one MUSThave this cd! Now...technicallythe recording values of the daycombined with possible budgetaryconstraints have a negative impacton the overall recording quality.their are times i want for fuller,crisper, deeper more well definedsounds. oh well. i still time andtime again swoon from one end ofthis disc to the other. the versions of 'sin in my heart,' 'nightshift,' 'pulled to bits,' to namea few are wonders. if i had to pickone fave song from their entirecatalog it would have to be 'voodoodolly.' the version here at the end of the disc is completelyhaunting and hypnotic. it is filledwith echoes which im a sucker for. times i wish it would be remasteredto add more echoey flourishes onthe original 'juju,' version.Siouxsie is a goddess and has avoice that one knows instantly andis unrepeatable. having said that,i know she partied hard back thenand toured hard. consequently herbeautiful, steeley alto could become fatigued when pushed too hardas it shows here at times. mostnotably i think on 'switch,' another one of my faves. it is anexcellent rendition even with anexhausted sounding sioux. i wouldgive this cd 5 stars if it werentfor the few drawbacks ive mentioned. its hard to be honest aboutaspects that are troublesome forme regarding a band that is sogood as to be in a category alltheir own. live albumbs can begreat as they can catch the palpable excitement in the auditorium.unfortunately they can also capturemoments that could easily be corrected in a studio setting. i givethis cd 4 1/2 stars though thereisnt an entry for that. revel in this music with me!