Customer Reviews

Scream (Dlx)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

October 4th, 2005 marked the re-release of Siouxsie and the Banshees' release of their debut album, The Scream. Over the next year, their entire catalog will be re-released, each containing a second bonus CD with material that didn't make it onto the album, plus other delicious goodies. Don't look for accompanying b-sides, as "Downside Up" delivered every b-side they produced. The bonus material contained on the extra CD is as follows:

# Make Up To Break Up (Riverside Session)

# Love In A Void (Peel Session)

# Mirage (Peel Session)

# Metal Postcard (Peel Session)

# Suburban Relapse (Peel Session)

# Hong Kong Garden (Peel Session)

# Overground (Peel Session)

# Carcass (Peel Session)

# Helter Skelter (Peel Session)

# Metal Postcard (Pathway Session)

# Suburban Relapse' (Pathway Session)

# Staircase (Mystery) (Pathway Session)

# Mirage (Pathway Session)

# Nicotine Stain (Pathway Session)

# Hong Kong Garden (7" Single Version)

# Staircase (Mystery) (7" Single Version)

For those of you that are hardcore Siouxsie fans, you probably already own the Peel Sessions. The Pathway Sessions follow the same pattern as the Peel Sessions, but this doesn't mean they're not worth having.

A note on the packaging. "The Scream" comes in a double-gatefold format, inside a transparent/translucent slipcover. This may cause some wear and tear over time, so handle with care. The double-gatefold format presents additional artwork from the album, previously unseen, which is a dream for any Siouxsie fan. Liner notes are extensive, including several rare photos, and of course full lyrics (with the exception of "Helter Skelter", and still the last line from "Carcass" has been omitted, curiously). Upon first glance, the tracklisting on the back appears to be actually printed on the sleeve, but in reality it is simply printed on a loose sheet of onion-skin-like paper, which, unfortunately does not fit into the liner notes sleeve. My solution was to just place the tracklisting over the second disc and carefully close the package, letting the plastic slipcover hold everything in place.

Reviews of the import tend to dwell on the album proper and not the added disc. I had both the original and the (long out of print now) Peel sessions CDs for years, so I was hesitant to purchase this pricy double version. I finally did for the added demos and the single "Make Up to Break Up" about which I had heard so much since finding it mentioned in Jon Savage's excellent discography appended to his classic punk analysis, "England's Dreaming." The packaging is sumptuous, although the pics in the booklet are too small to make out easily--a failing common to the Downside Up odds-and-ends package also on import. Liner notes document well the history of the band and the recordings--it would've been intriguing if their original choice of producer, Marc Bolan, could have been at the helm of this ghost ship...

The original disc does not sound radically improved; I suppose this is testament to how well the production was prepared by 1978 standards. There is a bit more separation of detail behind the generally intense sound assault, of course, that digitized masters bring out, but I would not purchase this new version if you're satisfied with the Geffen 1992 CD 10-tracks.

It is amazing how much is packed into just under 40 minutes in terms of range, intelligence, and energy of four musicians bursting out of the London suburbs with what they could add to an already frantic, overhyped, and nearly legendary punk scene that they helped create but were relatively late to bring a full album to, far after most of their generally less talented peers.

The improvement the band made in a short period, honed by rehearsals and live shows, can be charted in the previously unreleased Pathway sessions. These feature a punkier, but sometimes more plodding group getting a feel for its material but not quite controlling its dynamic propulsion. The "Make Up" song sounds wobbly, and seems longer than its short running time. Siouxsie's voice shows its raw amateurism, and it's impressive how she learns, if you compare the Pathways with the Peels, to channel her intensity to direct the music forward. The range is still largely lacking that she attains by the early 80s, but you can hear the band improve its grating, drilling, pounding energy into tighter, more pummelling forms.

I admit, although this album and these songs have lived with me since 1978, that they do wear a bit as the near-hour of the second disc goes on. This disc, then, is for completists and those who, like myself, want to hear the songs being built and streamlined and deepened, but for more casual fans, the single disc should prove sufficient. It does leave me wondering what ever happened to McKay & Morris, but perhaps whatever salvaging is made on the impending reissue of "Join Hands" will reveal the answers. Previews, as in Staircase here, show the band starting to enter what was labelled, if not by SATB, a proto-gothic sound, but more metallic and harsh at this early stage.

Siouxsie and the Banshees are best known for being the inspiration behind the goth movement, yet Susan Dallion and crew began with the punk scene in the late 70's, and their debut album Scream is the proof of the pudding that the Banshees could rock as hard as their punk peers.

The opening "Pure" is a haunting instrumental number, with Siouxsie and company vocalizing. A prelude to their later goth efforts.

The snarling guitars and quick-paced drums of the alienation song "Jigsaw Feeling" demonstrate that Siouxsie hasn't left her punk roots.

The mid-paced "Overground" as opposed to underground, contains the punk irony and distaste of the modern age and "a life of pleasantries." Yes, overground is a place free from "abnormality" and "normality" but at the cost of "identity."

The next track reverts to punk, and "Carcass" about a cannibal, but of a metaphorical kind, where the "butcher" is "craving for a raw love" or should that be "carving?" And using the butcher analogy, love will leave one impaled, put in cold storage, and a victim of the cleaver. The end result of an encounter is being "in love with your stumps/in love with the bleeding/in love with the pain that you once felt."

Their cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" pre-dates those of Motley Crue and U2. There are a few bass notes, then some guitar riffs, and when Siouxsie sings the first words, the drums sound in time with her words, then the drums speed up, as does her singing, and it turns into a frenetic punk exercise. This is later done on their live Nocturne CD. Like that album, in one line, Siouxsie adds a word, singing "you may be a lover but you ain't no f----ng dancer!" The best cover of the Beatles song I've heard.

"Mirage" seems a commentary on TV, sung from the POV of a character on the screen, described as "a photo-fit of loose ends, framed in 3D."

"Nicotine Stain" depicts the horrors of smoking down to the physiological and psychological craving. The chorus goes "Wallow in that ash bath/soaking up the fumes/and see the nicotine stain/start to spread." The number of people who will die from cancer is predicted from the POV of the cigarette, who says spread me in every country.

The dulling and meaningless of living in a suburban drudgery comes in the punk "Suburban Relapse" where the character might go postal, or is that suburban, "when [her] string snapped." The character then wonders "Should I throw things at the neighbours/expose myself to strangers/kill myself or...you?" My string may snap soon myself.

"Switch" begins quietly, but the tempo goes up with the second verse. How trying to get a novel stimulation in life to make things better, seeking out a new paradigm, is given a rewiring analogy: "watch the muscles twitch/for a brand new switch." There are verses linking scientists testing out new drugs, and religious figures trying to be more progressive. This song too ended up on Nocturne.

This features the original lineup of the Banshees, before drummer Kenny Morris and John McKay left to be later replaced by Budgie and for a brief spell, Robert Smith of the Cure. An impressive debut produced by Steve Lillywhite, with Siouxsie and friends still clearly in the punk scene.

The songs on this remastered edition are actually clipping (Distorting). This is especially apparent on the 2 bonus tracks "Hong Kong Garden" and "Staircase Mystery" which are in fact 2dB louder than the 10 other tracks. I want to ask the mastering engineer - What were you thinking? I ripped the CD and opened up "Staircase Mystery" with Sony Soundforge and you can see the damage. All the peaks have been trimmed off. Terrible. If you are going to re-master an album, the sound on the newer edition should be as good, or better than the original. I suggest getting the older 1992 CD edition.

The "remastering" job for this wonderful record is an absolute joke. Distortion runs rampant throughout it, and the label should be offering replacements, or out and out refunds. Avoid this reissue at all costs, but one of the other versions. A crying shame, really.

"The Scream" by Siouxsie and the Banshees is a great album from 1978. This was their first album, and the unique sound of Siouxsie's vocals and upbeat sound make this album special.

Of the ten songs on this album, every single one I enjoyed, two were my favorite ("Carcass" and "Nicotine Stain"). Both these songs have a punk sound to them, yet the rest of the album is hard to classify. They are very catchy, upbeat songs. The lyrics for "Carcass" are a bit gruesome, but because it is sung in a chipper manner and has an upbeat tempo, it does not seem so. There is a cover of "Helter Skelter" on this album, which is great because Siouxie's powerful voice brings new life to the song.

This album is very original and unlike anything I ever heard before. In some ways, it is hard to categorize, and furthermore, it is hard to believe that it is from the 70s. As this album marked the band's debut, it also foretold of their future, as the unique sound of Siouxie and the Banshees was just beginning.

This is without a doubt one of the greatest debut albums ever released by a rock band. They were called "punks" I think mostly because of their look, but their sound was so far ahead of, and so much more adventurous, than their punk peers, that the label "punk" doesn't do them justice. Sonically raw and brutal, and lyrically biting, this ain't your basic three cord thrash. This is far more considered and polished ( featuring production work by the legendary Steve Lillywhite ) than anything that was coming out at the time, and is a landmark in every sense of the word.

Brutal, raw and dissonant. The Scream was the first of its kind and fundamental for the development of the goth era. Pushing punk music into the darkest realms that the genre could allow, The Scream roars furiously on the surface while it seethes uncomfortably just below. The lyrics set the blueprint for the dark subject matter Siousxie would continue to dabble in, perhaps it's just the stylistic limitations of punk music that keeps this album just a foot away from perfection.
Best Tracks: Carcass, Suburban Relapse, Helter Skelter

this is really awesome for a first release! i love carcass and nicotine stain! if you like "join hands" you will love this!

ONE OF Siouxsie & The Banshees BEST ALBUMS, EVERY TRACK IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AWESOME SHM AUDIO FORMAT. MUST HAVE FOR ANY CD COLLECTION, BUT DON'T PAY THESE RIDICULOUS OVER-INFLATED PRICES, I BOUGHT MINE FROM THE MUSIC SPECIALIST ON E BAY, THEY ALSO HAVE A STORE IN GEMM, ANTEATERMUSIC. SAVE YOURSELF A TON OF CASH.

CHEERS!