Nocturne (live)release date: Nov. 1983
format: digital (2009 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Mike Hedges, Siouxsie and the Banshees
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK
*It's a splendid album without a dull moment and where all songs could be listed here, so here's a few songs that simply shine more than the original studio versions.
Live album by Siouxsie and the Banshees released one year after A Kiss in the Dreamhouse is featuring new guitarist Robert Smith (also The Cure) replacing John McGeoch, who was dismissed by the band in late '82. Smith jumped in as substitute for the upcoming tour promoting the '82-album in November that year and was then asked to join the band. The 16 tracks selected for this album were all recorded over two nights at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on Sep. 30 and Oct. 1, 1983. Most of the songs are taken from the two albums Juju (1981) and A Kiss in the Dreamhouse with the addition of a couple of B-side singles and the most recent single hit "Dear Prudence". The album was also released in VHS-format as a 12-track issue and in 2006 on DVD including an extensive TV performance 'Play at Home TV Special' and two live tracks from a live performance from The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Despite just playing songs from two albums Nocturne is a spectacular and quite successful performance at the height of this band's remarkable career. The sound is not perfect but it justifies the skilled instrumentalists and reveals what a sublime unit they are. The addition of Robert Smith works so smoothly because he had played with the band for a couple of live concerts in '79 and then he has collaborated and recorded together with bassist Steve Severin on their common project, The Glove - a fascinating music-project releasing just one album, Blue Sunshine (Aug. '83).
Nocturne is a must-have for fans of Siouxsie and the Banshees, but it's also a quite successful live album for anyone interested in post-punk and / or early gothic rock.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]
