Customer Reviews

Through the Looking Glass

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I did a little homework and found out who originally did what song on Through the Looking Glass (a truly astounding CD). Siouxsie didn't exactly choose from Top 40 selections, so a bit of sleuthing was in order.
1. Sparks
2. Kraftwerk
3. Jungle Book soundtrack
4. The Band (the original is unbearable, in my opinion)
5. Billie Holiday
6. Doors
7. Iggy Pop
8. John Cale
9. Roxy Music (when Brian Eno was still with them)
10. Television

The song choices are really surprising for Siouxsie and the Banshees and they all turned out fantastic. What makes them so good, aside from the talented musicians involved, is the creative way these songs are reimagined. In my view, Siouxsie and the Banshees have never gotten the credit they deserved. Even though they were basically an alternative rock band, they made some of the best pop singles ever IMHO. Nearly every song on THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS has been trimmed and polished into a perfect pop gem.

My impressions:

"This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" (The Sparks) - a propulsive, runaway rollercoaster of a song augmented with fantastic orchestral accompaniment.

"Hall of Mirrors" (Kraftwerk) - bubbling, mechanical, yet infused with soul courtesy of Siouxsie. Great lyrics.

"Trust in Me" (Richard and Robert Sherman - from the JUNGLEBOOK movie) - one of the most sensuous, slow-burning recordings ever. Adorned with heavenly harps and a purring, sexy delivery from Siouxsie. Absolutely hypnotic.

"This Wheel's On Fire" (Bob Dylan) - shocking reinvention of the last track of Bob Dylan's BASEMENT TAPES album recorded with the Band. A much more upbeat version than the original featuring wild orchestral accompaniment. A complicated version, this must have been challenging to record, but it's positively dazzling.

"Strange Fruit" (Lewis Allen - sung by Billie Holliday) - you gotta admit, it took guts for Siouxsie to cover a song sung by one of the most acclaimed vocalists of all time. This is a hauntingly disturbing protest song against the lynching of blacks in the old South. Predictably, Siouxsie's voice doesn't compare to the lush, creepy delivery found on Lady Day's version but she holds her own with a valiant effort. The song is fleshed out with windy atmospherics and a melancholy violin.

"You're Lost Little Girl" (The Doors) - becomes almost a celebratory march in the hands of S&B augmented by orchestra and chiming bells.

"The Passenger" (Iggy Pop) - great rhythm, great horn section, great attitude from Siouxsie. In some more just alternate reality, this song is a huge hit.

"Gun" (John Cale) - a really fun song, the original is long and meandering with winding guitar passages. S&B generally tighten it up adding life and color. I've seen Siouxsie cover this with John Cale when he toured with the Creatures (Siouxsie and Budgie with a touring band) and you can find them doing a great version on Youtube. The song is a blast!

"Sea Breezes" (Roxy Music) - one of my absolute favorites from Siouxsie and co. despite being a cover. The original version is strange and experimental. S&B turn it into a dreamy, mysterious wonderland with an intense climax courtesy of some powerful drum rolling from Budgie.

"Little Johnny Jewel" (Television) - another favorite. The original is quirky and loaded with prickly guitars. By comparison, S&B turn it into a killer pop song that is totally infectious. I never heard the original until the MARQUEE MOON re-release which featured bonus tracks including this single, Television's first ever release. "Little Johnny Jewel" was originally a strange affair, stretched out over two sides of a single, heard in its entirety on the expanded album. MARQUE MOON is a classic record, very highly recommended.

This is my favorite Banshees album by far, I flipped it over and over on the turntable ( yes, I had the vinyl version! ). Not only are the covers stylisticly different, the sources are just as diverse. As other reviewers have noted here, some of the original versions are less than well known. I had to see the Jungle Book again and read an article on Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit" to familiarize myself. Iggy and Roxy Music were less surprising, as Siouxsie and Steve Severin were digging these people in the early seventies. It's upbeat, it's melancholy, it's pure Banshees. Probably the most accessible Banshees album after "Rapture".

The first time i had heard this album I was totally oblivious it was a covers album. It really sounds like all original stuff the band wrote for a particular album. It's not disjointed like some covers albums can be, it sounds like a coherent solid original album. Yea, i heard siouxsie's passenger before iggy pop's which may seem strange to some people but we are all introduced to music at different stages and times. (Was surprised to find the true meaning of the song "Strange Fruit", originally sung by Billie Holliday regarding the lynching of slaves) This album has a unique and haunting sound. I believe it to be one of the best of Siouxsie's.

It's criminal and typical that Siouxie's cover of "Trust in Me" isn't well known. It's one of the all-time great covers. The remainder of this album is excellent and her choice of faves (and these are her faves) is surprising and fun--especially the Sparks tune which she does fabulously. Listen to the samples if you haven't heard her astounding voice and delivery and pray for the day you encounter her perfectly off-pitch creepy-as-heck vocals in the song "Israel" or the glorious tune "Dazzle." One of the great vocal talents in pop and stupidly underappreciated.

A perfect album. Flawless production. Gorrgeous strings. Siouxsies vocals are incredibly dramatic and sexy on every track. The all-covers concept somehow makes it even more of an artistic achievement.

Her first best is The Creatures, "Anima, Animus." This close second is marvelous in it's genre crossings. Billie Holiday to Iggy Pop? Crafty!

Best cut is the Absolutely Fabulous Britcom theme song, "This Wheel's On Fire." Her arrangement is NOTHING like the Britband who covers it for the show. Other incredible cuts are "The Gun" and "The Passenger."

While most people love Siouxsie's slinky, Eastern-tinged "Trust In Me" cover, I think that the song is a glaringly obvious choice for her and she doesn't depart from, so much as magnify, the forboding vocals of the original by Sterling Holloway.

Instead, a stunningly unsual choice is Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," a WAY over-the-top depiction of a lynching! Sure, the subject matter is pure Siouxsie, but she actually makes this dreadfully melodramatic song WORK beautifully and heartbreakingly as a dirge! I know this is heresy, but her version is BETTER than Billie's, which is what several decades, a continent's-away perspective, and another culture can do for a song.

So, anyway, if you're in to edgy covers, you may want to also check out "Porgy" by When People Were Shorter And Lived By the Water. This crazy Canadian band makes short shrift of Gershwin's musical theatre classic, "Porgy and Bess" by ramming thru the ENTIRE score thrash-punk style!

Hey, you gotta give it an "A" for effort and an "S" for the smile factor! It sure takes the wind out of the overblown reverence this musical has accumulated over the years. And the song "Readheaded Woman" rocks!

So check out Siouxsie or When People Were Shorter or even Sinead O'Connor's cover CD "Am I not Your Girl." Because good covers turn mediocre musical pieces on their heads!!!

This album is worth it if only for the hypnotic remake of Trust In Me (Disney's The Jungle Book). Siouxsie's voice coupled with a ethereal musicbox background are dreamlike. Not your kids version of this song.

This album is a must for any true fan of Siouxie and the Banshees and, conversely, it is not for the fan of mainstream, Grammy type material. The selection of songs chosen to be covered by the band is in and of itself intriguing. Once again, Siouxie entertains us with her mesmerizing voice and the band throws their own classic Banshees spin on each selection. Though certainly different from the normal S. & the B. fare, it is worthwhile listening.

When this album first came out, I was really disappointed. I, like most fans, was anxious for a new Banshees album filled with original lyrics and sounds. I remember hearing that every song was a cover and thinking that they had gotten lazy and the end must be near. I bought the album as any loyal fan would and was instantly surprised. I had been a long-time Sparks fan, so from track one, I was interested. By the end of my first listen, I realized that this is a Banshees album. Sure, I miss the chance to hear amazing new lyrics, but the sound is every bit that of Siouxsie. The song selection is great in that for most people they are somewhat obscure, but all songs that had potential to be improved upon, which they did. Iggy's "Passenger" has always been a favorite of mine, but now it is a favorite Siouxsie song as well. This is a very good album and I would have given it 5 stars had there not been other Siouxsie and the Banshees albums that I like better.