Search - Siouxsie & Banshees :: 20th Century Masters

Good introduction

Pieter | Johannesburg | 07/02/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

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This collection contains most of the pioneering UK band's hit singles and would serve as a good introduction to the newcomer, but is not comprehensive enough for devoted fans. The album opens with the tuneful and exotic Hong Kong Garden, the 1978 hit that has lost none of its melodic appeal.



Tracks 2 to 5 date from their early period and are mostly moody, atmospheric pieces. Their cover of the Beatles' Dear Prudence is quite good and much less frightening than their version of Helter Skelter on the debut album The Scream. The later songs tend to be more melodious and my favorites include Peek-A-Boo, Killing Jar and the brilliant Kiss Them For Me from the 1991 album Superstition.



Although considered one of the seminal punk bands, Siouxsie and the Banshees never indulged in simple 3-chord punk and their music was more complex from the beginning, blending elements of psychedelia and evocative atmospherics with their visceral rock. Their greatest songs not included here are The Staircase (Mystery) Playground Twist, Israel, The Rapture, The Last Beat Of My Heart and The Ghost In You, but these can be found on the Best Of, or the Once Upon A Time and Twice Upon A Time compilations.

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All hail the Gothmother!

kevin m antonio | rumford, ri United States | 01/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"MCA/Universal/Geffen/Whoever-they-are-this-week's 20th Century Masters series is a fine one... but, as usual, the Canadian imports trump the US releases each time. This is one of them.

Geffen (I think) put out a one-disc Siouxsie best of recently, but it's not as comprehensive as this. Plus, it renders 'Once upon a Time' and 'Twice upon a Time' superfluous. "Heresy!" some of you Banshee fans may cry, but this disc is TIGHT. The song selection, chronology, essay and sound are excellent.

So, if you'd like to know Siouxsie like I know Siuoxsie, oh, oh, oh! This is a great place to start."