Customer Reviews

Seven Year Itch

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

 

 

Amazon has unfortunately have substituted the "Album Details" for a single-track tour souvenir booklet for this electrifying live recording by one of the most enduring, prolific, and continually inspired bands to come out of the 1977 UK punk scene. ("Dizzy" isn't even on this CD.) In a welcome remedy to last year's hit-oriented "Best of" CDs, this live set, recorded at Shepherds Bush, July 2002, includes the B-side "I Could Be Again," an obscure Beatles cover, and fantastic early songs. Essential for fans, and a superb introduction to a great band.

The big controversy concerning this CD is the quality of Siouxsie Sioux's voice. It sounds different to say the least. It's deeper and she seems to struggle to hit the notes. Was she sick or what?

On the other hand, why would she release this recording if she wasn't happy with the results? I think you can make the case that her voice sounds creepy and compliments the dark subject matter of most of these songs. Rock n' Roll isn't always about being pretty, after all.

The band sounds AWESOME and former Psychedelic Fur Knox Chandler fits right in, providing a gorgeously gothic guitar. But in all HONESTY, I'll be sticking with the original recordings that feature the Siouxsie voice I know and love.

Let me first say that I am a MAJOR Siouxsie & The Banshees fan, and have been for many, many years. I didn't add this uncharacteristically awful album to my iTunes collection of the entire Siouxsie & the Banshees catalog, because the out-of-tune singing is unbearable. I can only wonder what Siouxsie herself thinks of this album. Maybe the monitors on stage were not supporting her the way she needed, but she very rarely comes close to hitting a note during the entire show. The band sounds a bit thin, with only Budgie turning in a performance that could be considered memorable. But the singing... ugh.

Well maybe you've missed what's most wonderful about her.

Remember first that the Banshees happened in the years of do-it-yourself music-making of the late 1970s. The point then wasn't to craft a polished presentation, but to figure out a few chords on the guitar and say what was on your mind. When it worked best, it was because a band had a point of view that resonated with the rest of us.

Over time, the Banshees' experiments with the technical requirements for presenting that point of view began to describe a truly new style. The rich layers of sound they created in the studio grew naturally out of the world view of their music and lyrics. But different media allow - or require - different means to communicate the thought and emotion at the heart of a work. If the recording studio lends itself to a careful assemblage of those baroque layers of sound, the stage offers an immediacy and connection with an audience that more than compensates for any lack of technical expertise.

Sioux doesn't sing pretty. She often can't hit a note with one strike. So she slides around it, sometimes missing it completely. But each pass of her voice conveys more art than all of Broadway's bland precision could muster in an entire season. Like other great chanteuses, when the technical accuracy of her voice fails her, she finds other ways to get to where she needs to be. She's a stylist and, in that regard, has more in common with Marlene Dietrich than with Doris Day. Now, would you rather listen to a personal and emotional expression in song or a marching band?

This album is noticeably devoid of most of the band's hits. It's a look back at their twenty-year career and gives us some perspective on how they got to this place.

Hearing the early tunes refracted through the prism of Sioux's more mature voice, we are transported. The sharp edges of those post-Punk endeavors sound more chipped and craggy now; they evoke the whole world of emotion and experience that has passed through her in the years between, waiting tightly coiled in the spaces and unfurling like a sea anemone as she slips her voice over each rough spot.

It's a great collection and includes the wonderful "Lullaby." This expression of tenderness for the innocent caught in a world rife with pain and desolation brings tears to my eyes each time I hear it.

Oh yeah, and the band sounds wonderful, too.

If you're a fan or you just want to know what all the fuss is about, buy this album. It's an important piece of performance. If you want a pretty voice, get a Sarah McLachlan disc.

Seven years apart has had little effect on Siouxsie and the Banshees. Her followers were out in full force on last years 7 year itch tour and judging from her cheering fans Siouxsie still has the ability to thrill. Their music seems even more relevant today considering most of the garbage on the radio these days. Siouxsie's voice is as icy and hoarse as ever from years of touring but we wouldn't have it any other way - her voice has always been part of their appeal. Listening to old screamfests like "Pure", "Voodoo Dolly" and "Monitor" sounds just as good as they did 20 years ago. Budgies drumming is excellent especially on "Land's End". Strangely enough, some of their biggest hits from the concerts like "Christine", "Happy House" and "Cities in Dust" are not included on this CD.

I have followed this band from my teens to my adulthood, and have seen them at least a dozen times-they are my heros! Unfortunately, I have to give this one star-I am sorry but Siouxsies' voice is absolutely cringe-inducing, I saw this tour 3 times in 2002, and her voice was the same too. I kept hopeing it would get better-but it didn't. I am really surprised they put this out. Sioux is so off key, her range is shot-and the band isn't that great either. It's a shame; but hey-they do have some AMAZING studio albums!