Customer Reviews

Sweet Little Witches

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

 

 

I haven't been a fan of Switchblade Symphony for too long. I discovered them when I bought a used copy of "Serpentine Gallery". Susan Wallace and Tina Root eerily reminded me of Siouxsie & The Banshees with their haunting vocals. Today on my afternoon (unexpected) off from work, I came upon the influential goth duo's live album "Sweet Little Witches". As good as the group's studio albums are, they really don't capture the magic of the group's live performances. Personally I don't think their studio albums were mixed properly. Unfortunately I never got to see them live because they were already broken up when I discovered them. "Sweet Little Witches" does a nice job of capturing what the group was like live. "Sweet Little Witches" is definitely one of the best live albums I have ever heard, and that is saying a lot. The mixing is excellent since all the songs were taken from different performances. The songs all flowed well together. I particularly loved "Into the Sky" which included a sample of the theme song to the old classic "The Munsters". The live version of "Invisible" sounds a lot better than on "The Three Calamities". Switchblade Symphony's music really does translate well live which a lot of bands nowadays (that uses synthesizers and drum machines) can't say. Overall I think this is a must have for SS fans.

I love this band! I am a collector, so even if this was just a best of (which it isn't) I would still recommend getting this album. This is a live performance, and the girls sound heavenly. I never had the opportunity to see them when they were together, so this is as close as I can get (unless they release the concert on DVD!!!) I am not sure how the other person reviewing this album missed the fact that this is a LIVE album....my recommendation BUY!

This album is exactly what is is: A glimpse into the wonderful "live" Switchblade Symphony. The studio albums are of course spectacular...but this is a nice spin - to hear Tina & Susan in a live setting- with Tina's soaring vocals and Susans driving synths. It makes you realize what a great band they were. A must but for any Switchblade fan.

Wow!!! This is an awesome live CD. Now, I am not normally a fan of live albums. To me they usually sound either just like studio albums (but with poorer production) or just really awful altogether. So, out of hundreds of CD's, off the top of my head I think I only own 2 live albums - one is Therion's "Live in Midgard" (also excellent) and the other is now this very sweet Switchblade Symphony CD right here!

I was thinking about getting this when it first came out, but due to my lack of faith in live stuff I put it off. Finally, I decided that as a fan since 1995 I really need to round out this collection so I got it, and now I wonder why I waited so long... :)

There are 2 things that really make this record stand out:

1) The recording quality is possibly the best I've ever heard on a live CD! Very full, clean sound!

2) Many of the songs are really quite different from the album versions! Perhaps even better! Well, hard to say if they're better, perhaps it is because I've been listening to them for so long that I've just grown used to the album versions and they're a bit 'played out'. So in a way this CD is like hearing re-vamped versions of familiar songs.. but they are even better than the Sinister Nostalgia remix CD put out a few years ago! Tina Root really did amazing things with her voice here, it's as if she lets go in a live setting even more than in the studio! Really fantastic! The real stand-out in terms of a different and amazing version of a familiar song is Wrecking Yard, which sounds very jazzy here!

So, anyway, if you are a Switchblade Symphony fan and you haven't thought this CD was worth it... it IS WORTH IT.... :)

For those who are fans and those who have yet to hear anything by this excellent female fronted darkwave group are recommended to pick this album up. The songs featured on this album from their most popular albums. And for this reason, it is a great introduction. It contains some of their more well known tracks and leaves the listener yearning for more. And this live experience is very nice. It's somewhat nice to hear the girls talking to the audience and thanking them. One thing I don't understand is the "meowing" but it's not that bad. It does nothing more than to add to the experience.

Highly recommended LIVE album from a classic within the Darkwave genre.

I love switchblade symphony, so don't get me wrong... I just want to make it known that this is a sort of "best of" cd. The songs come from their 3 cds which are all still available, and have far better recordings than this one. Nothing new or spectacular here, and it would be a pity to pass up any of the earlier cds for this one.