Customer Reviews

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Seven Year Itch

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Man, I was excited to see this DVD. The band is great, the filming is superb, and the performance is brilliant. However, even though it pains me to admit it, Siouxsie's voice almost makes this DVD unwatchable. I spent a great portion watching this DVD with a cringe on my face, as it was obvious that live, Siouxsie is completely tone deaf. I can't believe she could be that far off after singing for so long. This is definately for fans only, I would never show this to someone if I was trying to turn them on to the Banshees.

The question I have is WHY? Was it a desperate need for money? A longing for the attention of her fans? Sheer boredom? Why would someone who is so out of voice agree to do a live DVD? From the opening number to the very last painful note, it should be quite obvious to anyone who isn't completely tone deaf that this performance was a sad display of a once cutting edge talent. I am a fan of Siouxsie & the Banshees and that is what made it so much more difficult to watch this. At first I thought it was the guitar that was just out of tune but as Siouxsie began to sing it was pretty clear that not only couldn't she hit the high notes, she couldn't hit Any Notes! I hoped that she would find herself as the show progressed but that was not the case. Every single song was mangled. It was so unpleasent I had to stop the DVD and come back the next day to watch the rest. Unfortunately it was still the same performance as the day before. What bothers me the most is now every time I hear a S&TB song I think of that horrible show. This is one very good example of why bands should never reunite after so many years unless they are still on top of their game.

I saw every U.S. show except D.C.
Siouxsie sounded powerful clear and on key during most of the U.S. shows, Ney York & Chicago being the best. ( she even beat up a security guard in Chicago!)
The performance they used for the DVD sounded worse than any of the shows that I saw. Although some shows were better than others
the U.S. leg of the tour was great!
I have also seen a bootleg from the sonic festival in Japan. It is a better show as well!

The DVD version of this concert is far superior to the CD. The sound quality is better and it's still fascinating to watch Siouxsie perform. The concert is shot in beautiful color and it's pace becomes almost hyper sometimes because of the multiple camera angles. The band appear after a 7 year hiatus from their break up in 1995. This time around the Banshees get back to being a four piece. Gone are all of the keyboards, cellos and accordians of previous tours. The band shys away from playing a greatest hits show. They stick to mostly early songs, the ones that made them famous in the first place. B-sides like "Lullaby" and "I could be again" and album tracks like the brilliant "Land's End" and "Nightshift" are represented. Just for good measure they throw in crowd pleasers like "Happy House", "Christine" and "Cities in Dust".

Siouxsie's hair is a spiky verson of Janets from "Three's Company". She's still the coolest looking woman around and seems to be thrilled to be back on stage. She periodically jokes with the audience and band members. She does start the show off a little stiff and slowly loosens up as time goes by. By the time "Voodoo Dolly" ends Siouxsie has removed her top to reveal a black glittery bra and rolls around the stage like a madwoman. By the end of "Monitor" she's crawling off the stage in sweat soaked exhaustion. Yes, her voice is very hoarse but her cheering fans don't seem to notice or care.

Drummer Budgie nearly steals the spotlight from Sioux on several occasions. His drumming is so intricate and he wears gloves since he hits so hard.

Althought some of these songs are nearly 25 years old they still hold up and sound refreshing to hear again. This is a must see for anybody interested in a trip down memory lane or someone just discovering the band.

I think people who defend the off-key vocals by saying "they're punks, after all" are missing the point.
Siouxsie and the Banshees transcended the musical limitations of punk early in their career - which means most of these songs demand note-for-note accuracy from the singer (where Clash songs, for instance, don't), and unfortunately Siouxsie was far from able to do them justice.
Fans will know that her voice has been deteriorating since 1991 -use of steroids and other dubious quick-fixes being a major factor in this (the biography confirms this). On this evidence, she hit rock-bottom on the Seven Year Itch tour. I found this to be a deeply depressing viewing experience.
Yes, she still looks fantastic, but she sounds like a burnt-out fuse (so to speak!). Morbid curiosity will be the only reason anyone buys this - who really needs to hear songs as great as `Land's End', `Nightshift' and `Cities In Dust' being murdered?

I've been a fan since Hong Kong Garden and I have to say the band does sound great on this dvd,but too many late nights and cigarettes have pretty much killed the vocal range of Siouxsie Sioux unfortunately.She just can't hit the high notes she once could. But it was great to hear the opening of the Scream LP (cd) once more as the opening of the show. I think this is worth buying just to see them in a recent light. I'd buy a new CD if they're gonna put new stuff out doing songs in a lower vocal range for S.S.,she can still pull it off with her voice as it is.It's just rough to do what she did 20 - 25 yrs ago now.

...the murder of "Cities in Dust". I won this DVD and I started loving it from the beginning, until the "Tinderbox" set of the show (Lullaby, Lands End and Cities In Dust). It's ok that they chose to not use any keyboards or sound effects in the concert, maybe because they focused on the early SATB days' songs, when they didn't use keyboards at all and they were rather punkier than goth. But I believe people like me, that are used to listen to SATB (I listen to them since I was 16), it's like something's missing; they did a good job with "Red Light" without the kbds, but they just assassinated "Cities...": Siouxsie's singing is TERRIBLE in this one, the guitars just doesn't make up thru the song, the efforts of Budgie and Severin are just useless.
However, the other songs are just great! "Lullaby", "Christine", "Metal Postcard" and "Voodoo Dolly" are superb, in this last one she really freaks out as you do together with her and the audience!! Recommended (just skip Cities in Dust and rock on!!!)!!

Overall, I was estatic when I heard about a DVD being released for a live version of the 'Seven Year Itch," so naturally I purchased it and then waited impatiently for it's arrival. I was extremely pleased with the inner workings of this DVD, even if I have never seen them live. I feel awful for saying this, but the "voice" thing really made me feel sad. I love all the songs that were offered, but i felt that it didn't get a kick start until it reached the song, "VooDoo Dolly." Only then did I start to feel the chills that were meant to be there from the start. I do admit to not blinking throughout the songs, "Metal Postcard" and "Redlight." The camera work is amazing and it adds a lot of umph to the songs. Siouxsie is great, from her ad lib conversations with the audience, to her usual provocative dance moves, and stage persona. This is why I love them so much. I recommend this DVD, and I think that the fans shouldn't be so shallow and just sit back and enjoy it, sour notes or not!!!

This is the DVD version of the audio CD 'Seven Year Itch'(see my review)that more or less adds three(3)songs that weren't on the audio disc,which are "Happy House","Chistine" and "Spellbound"(one of my all time new wave/goth favorites).Guess the record company wanted fans that bought the CD at first to have a good reason to get the DVD later.I don't really blame them.This seventeen song set shows just why Siouxsie&The Banshees had become a long-time staple in alternative rock.I've seen the group play live twice now,as this reunion gig took place at London's Bush Empire on July 10,2002.Overall,I thought the DVD performance could've maybe used a bit more lighting.But,that's okay.The band seems to be in top form as the rather dark lighting projects them to be mysterious,intense and at the same time charismatic.The rekindled line-up is:Siouxsie Sioux-vocals/fashion plate,Steven Severin-bass,Budgie-drums and Knox Chandler-guitar.Would make a great gift for any fan of this genre.

I have to admit -- the dvd version of the concert is better than the cd version, which was disappointing to me. In order to experience the "Seven Year Itch", you need to SEE it. Having said that, it is a marvel, a gem, a darkly glittering wave of euphoria for S&tB fans the world over. They are in fine form, and are having a lot of fun, which is nice, and good to see, for in the past, and having seen them perform live many times, it seemed like they took their shtick too seriously. This is a bevy of Banshees that is not so concerened with the seeming bitterness that constantly exiled them from the respect that they deserved. They know that their greatest fans are loyal, a cult, and not to be undermined. This show is for them. They are not trying to win anyone over, for they no longer exist as a band anyway.

Siouxsie looks amazing. She has always had her own, stunning, irrefutable sense of fashion. In this concert, she looks like the old Hollywood glam that the title refers to -- she looks like Marlene Dietrich. Her voice is strong, deep, powerful, but often off-key. This may be because she cannot hear herself? Don't know. But then again, the fact that she goes off-key is what is so awesome about it -- they are PUNKS, after all!!!! And that punk spirit is alive and kicking and wailing when she goes off-key, because it shirks down your spine and makes you feel awful. That's the point.

Highlights: Metal Postcard, Red Light, Lands End, I Could Be Again, Nightshift, Voo-Doo Dolly. These songs, in particular, really stood out. The set list, overall, is very impressive. You would have thought this reunion concert was meant to coincide with the release of the Greatest Hits -- but actually, it pays homage to some of the old classics that defined their energy, passion, mission, and sense of majestic rebellion from the get-go. Many of the songs on the Greatest Hits are more about commercialism, radio play, more accessible to a wider audience. So, if you're a fan, you'll be very happy with the choice of songs.

Overall, the look of it is great -- sleek and bright and colorful and dark. The sound, too, sounds amazing. Musically, Budgie and Steve and Knox are fantastic. It is always a wonder to watch Budgie behind those drums -- he is amazing, he is so passionate.

This dvd is a must-have for any fan.