Customer Reviews

Seven Year Itch

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I used to have Siouxsie's name inscribed on my pencil-case. But after seeing her live in 83 in the Wellington Town Hall, with Robert Smith on guitar, I moved the inscription to my heart. (Mainly for the music, but there was also the way she nearly dented some particularly obnoxious audience members, shaven-headed boot-wearers who admired Hitler, with a deft swing of the microphone stand, which in those primitive days had a base made of concrete. All without missing a note: ahhh, Siouxsie...)

I'm a fan. I still list "Spellbound" somewhere in my top 20 songs, and I still have moods where only the thunder of the Banshees and Siouxsie in full cry will really do. I've even tried to persuade people that the Cure were the second best band that Robert Smith played guitar in. (I usually lose that argument, but win the fall-back position that the Banshees' _Nocturne_ is the best album he ever played on.)

So I bought the "Seven Year Itch" concert DVD the moment I saw it, expecting a nice dark romantic energy transfusion. And I got a serious disappointment instead.

The first five or so songs are performed in a sort of monotone muttering, not only by Siouxsie herself, who seems to have spent the last 10 years smoking and coughing, but also by the Banshees. But those first songs were never my favourites anyway, so my expectations lifted again when Siouxsie announced "Happy House". "Happy House" always had a nice line in obsessive incantatory power. But as performed by the new Siouxsie, it doesn't even have a tune any more, let alone any power. After that, "Christine" came and went without even conjuring up a ghost, a faded wisp, of the glorious song that it ought to be. More muttering from Siouxsie, more off-hand rumbling from the Banshees. And then I took the DVD off, since this was too damn depressing for words.

A few days later I tried "Spellbound", on the theory that the song is damn near indestructible, and surely it would galvanise even this batch of Banshees into some sort of life.
Tester's report: "Spellbound" not indestructible. Banshees still shambolical. Siouxsie still lost her voice.

So. As an irrationally passionate Siouxsie and the Banshees fan, I'm here to warn you that this hideous travesty is not only awful in its own right, but it can have a sort of reverse halo effect, seriously tarnishing the memory of some great music. The cure, after hearing as much of this as you can stand, is to play _Nocturne_, the Banshees' 1983 live album, which is all the proof you need that the Banshees were a brilliant live band with an awe-inspiring catalogue of songs.

Buy _Nocturne_ instead, if you don't already have it; it's virtually a best-of, up to 1983, with versions that often improve on the studio originals. But whatever you do, don't succumb to _the Seven Year Itch_.

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 technicalities of presenting their 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 they presented in 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 expression in the recording studio lends itself to a careful and baroque assemblage of those layers of sound, expression on the stage can offer an immediacy and connection with an audience that more than compensates for any simplification of its form.

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 the bland precision many performers could muster in an entire performance. When technical accuracy fails her, she finds other ways to use her voice and to get where she needs to be. She's a stylist. She has more in common with Marlene Dietrich than with someone like Doris Day who, for all her volume and pitch, is about as affecting as a marching band. Now, think for a moment: to whom would you rather listen?

This album is a look back at the band's twenty-year career and gives us some perspective on how they got to this place. Most of the big hits are conspicuously absent. Instead we hear less familiar B-sides and a good deal of early work.

It's transporting to hear the early tunes refracted through the prism of Sioux's mature voice. The sharp edges of those post-Punk endeavors sound more craggy now; they evoke the worlds of emotion and experience that have passed through her in the years between. Those emotions wait, coiled in each little crack, and unfurl with a half-worn spring action as she slips and drags her voice over the jagged edges.

This is a great collection and would be worth the purchase price for the wonderful "Lullaby" alone. This is one of the most affecting songs the Banshees ever wrote: a heartfelt expression of tenderness for the innocent caught in a world rife with pain and desolation.

And, just by the way, 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 it's a pretty voice you're after, go buy a Sarah McLachlan disc instead.

I picked up this CD after reading many reviews, many negative, and after purchasing a bootleg VHS of one of the shows (don't worry, I've purchased the "official" DVD as well). I was aware of Sioux's... creative... use of notes and tones, but I was still unprepared when I finally slid that disc into my player and spun it up. This disc is for the true, dyed in the wool, Siouxsie & the Banshees fan-- no question about it-- from her choice of songs to the performance. In general, I'm not a big fan of the "live CD" from any band, preferring the crisp perfection of the studio mix. However, I *am* a fan of the work of Sioux and co., from beginning to end (yes, even their late work) and own all on CD (including bootlegs, b-sides and re-mixes). This disc will join that monumental legacy without apology.

For me, like others, I enjoyed the excellent musicianship from the band from start to finish (from my non-musician point of view), but Sioux doesn't really seem to warm up her voice until Voodoo Dolly. Additionally, often in a live performance, artists introduce variations of the material; in the case of this one, for good or bad, she sticks to the tried and true. I also would have liked to have seen more tracks on this disc, preferably recorded from the last half of several performances, perhaps.

Bottom line: If you are a fan, you owe it to the band to send a message to the label, and bean-counters, that Siouxsie & the Banshees has not been forgotten. Nostalgia will smooth the Goddess' rough edges, and loyalty will forgive the unforgivable aural anguish of the low points of this performance.

If you are only a casual fan, buy Nocturne instead.

First of all,I'd like to say that I'm utterly amazed that the band had actually reunited.'Seven Year...' was recorded live in London on July 9&10,2002 in front of a grateful audience.Most of the classic line-up is here.Siouxsie,Steven Severin on bass,Budgie on drums and new member Knox Chandler on guitar.Tunes that one MIGHT expect to be on 'Seven Year...' like "Spellbound","Kiss Them For Me","Arabian Knights" and "Dear Prudence" are absent.Siouxsie and crew apparently chose to play a set of some obscure tunes that some might not remember right off hand.Don't get me wrong.It's a great CD to own.The tunes that sort of threw me for a loop were "Jigsaw Feeling","Metal Postcard","Lands End","Icon"(possibly the disc's best cut)and "Blue Jay Way".The sound mix is nothing short of the best.TRUE Siouxsie&The Banshees fans will not be let down.

You know those concerts where you go and watch an artist, especially one that's been around for a while, long enough to build up a catalogue of classics, and they go through the motions of playing all their hits by the numbers and not much else, maybe they play some songs from the new album if there is one, and while it's kind of cool to see a classic song played live, a part of you is bored because there aren't any surprises, and you feel like you could have stayed at home and played a greatest hits CD and saved yourself a lot of money?

This CD is pretty much the opposite of that kind of show.

One single. Two b-sides. One previously unrecorded cover song. And a lot of digging deep into the back catalogue for songs you probably haven't heard in a while.

If the recent "best of" compilation gave short shrift to their early work, this album makes up for it. The show opens with three tracks from the band's 1978 debut, then jumps ahead a couple years for the sinister "Red Light." The howling guitars in the background are almost frightening. "Lullaby," one of the Banshees' best b-sides is next, followed by "Lands End," another 'Tinderbox'-era cut. Then it's another jump ahead for the only relatively recent track, the "Fear" b-side "I Could Be Again." 'Juju,' arguably the band's best album, is rightfully represented by three cuts, including the disturbing future visions of "Monitor" and the incredibly creepy "Voodoo Dolly"...listen...LISTEN...

George Harrison's "Blue Jay Way" is given the Banshees treatment. The album finishes with the only song you'd have expected them to play, "Peek-a-Boo." Instead of the boys jumping in with vocals, there is a trio of female backing vocalists for the chorus, while some of the normally overlapping vocals are omitted. It still sounds like fun.

Knox Chandler (The Psychedelic Furs, The Golden Palominos) handles guitar here, as he did for their last regular tour. This show (actually a combination of two consecutive nights in London) has a much rawer sound than I heard when I saw them live for their last two albums, which is appropriate since they are playing mostly older material. Siouxsie's voice does indeed sound a bit off at times, but after I listened to the CD a few times I didn't notice it so much. It's all a part of the more primal nature of these particular performances. If you want to hear a concert album that isn't just a singles record set to audience noise, this is the one to pick up.

Not great from a playing point of view. Sloppy timing, guitar parts are all over the place for the main, god knows what was going on with Christine, the main guitar chord is completely wrong and sounds terrible ruining the entire song. Siouxsie's voice is incredibly flat throughout the whole performance, it grates on the ears after a few songs.

Some highlights..Lands End is one. Budgie is great as is Severin. I can kind of forgive them seeing as they've come back from a seven year break, it seems age or lack of practise has limited Siouxsies singing range. They certainly look great..and the set list is great..even played badly the songs still stamp over most other bands material.

The Banshees were always great musicians..anyone who has tried to master the guitar parts will know that..and of course budgie is a great drummer..so the argument that they are and art-punk band and therefore the playing doesnt matter is completely false, you only have to listen to the records or have seen other live shows to realise this was a sub-par banshees performance.

The sound quality of the DVD is very good though and well it's still the Banshees, they are still one of the coolest bands to have ever existed on our planet and...I still love them to death..

I will admit, it's obvious that her vocals were not the best that day, and they can be kind of bad. But that doesn't mean it's not good to listen to. It's great. I mainly loved Trust In Me and I Can Be Again (I think that's the name of the song). Monitor was great too. The guitarist is great. Gives it an edge.

I was going to write a review complaining about Sioux's voice and the head scratching decision that they left off my favorite song "Cities In Dust"....ok, well I'll still complain about that! But for the voice, one of the reviewers had written that it wasn't about bland precision of the vocals, but art. And he's right. Early Banshee recordings showcased Siouxs almost tone deaf screeches of an unexperienced punk singer. And it worked! Now, with time and a whole lot of cigarettes, Siouxsie's voice is lower and harsher, but still retains the passion of an up and comer. We were pretty spoiled with her 80s near perfect range, and really that was her best songwriting and singing era. But...it was still different from the melisma "let's sing loud and hold a note for 5 minutes to disguise no talent" like what's been going around now *coughamericanidolcoughcough*. It seems every Disney channel/Nickelodeon pre-teen has magically produced the ability to "sing"(i'll use that term lightly).
But getting back to the album. It's got more older album tracks to satisfy hardcore fans, plus a few well known ones ("Peek-A-Boo", "Spellbound" and the afore mentioned "Cities in Dust", which isn't on the cd for some reason), plus a cover of The Beatles' "Blue Jay Way", which was never heard before. The cd digs deep into the earlier years, opening with "Pure/Jigsaw Feeling" and "Metal Postcard" from 1978's The Scream. Plus, a big treat for myself, "Icon" from their 1979 album Join Hands. Then it goes into a great, sexy rendition of "Red Light", with amazing atmospheric guitars. "Christine" and the crowd jumper "Happy House" follows, all from 1980's Kaleidoscope. There also is one of their great b-sides "Lullaby" and "I could Be Again", and a heart stopping version of "lands end", from 1986's Tinderbox. But the album that gets the most play is Juju, and rightfully so, since many consider it their best work. A great version of "Nightshift" that goes hauntingly into their hypnotic, frenzy "Voodoo Dolly", and you swear that Siouxsie is possessed by this song. She's up there in age, but you'd never know it by watching that performance.Plus for the encore we get "Spellbound" and the upbeat (but not in subject) "Monitor". Once dissapointment though, was "Peek-A-Boo". They got those frog outfitted Japanese girls from their supporting act X-Girl to performe with them, and it all seemed to schlocky (note:if you seen the DVD, notice the "hand jive" from Mr.Severin. Cringe worthy). But overall, this is a priceless cd to have. They were always great live performers, and they never strayed too far away from their attitude by the barrelful live past.

yup, she drops it all an octave and throws in some scratchin'.

gotta love it.

i really agree that sioux voice is not the same like in the past
but that does not means that we have to rated with only one star
that is ridiculous. the sound of this gig is awesome..
incredible perdormance by everybody, knox chandler was incredible, also steve but the monster of mosnter of this concert was budgie..mama miaaaa.

please if you dont own the dvd please buy it.
i had my doubts to buy this cd and the DVD...but after i saw the concert on europa channel on sunday 19 jun at night iwas completely in shock...

please buy this cd..it is awesome, even though the sioux voice is not that bad after 7 years of abscence..please the real fans dont have to be so cruel about siouxsie voice.

please buy this cd...increedible concert ..

you will enjoy it for sure..

regards..Maurice from venezuela