release date: Oct. 1992
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: diverse
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK
2nd compilation with Siouxsie & The Banshees (as they are stylised here) is a direct continuation of Once Upon a Time / The Singles from 1981. The band has refrained from releasing actual best of albums, so far sticking to the release of compilations of their singles. And the form also completely follows the thread seen with the first compilation by listing the singles in chronological order. The '81 compilation was released after just four studio albums and therefore it contained only ten tracks with a total running length of just under 33 minutes. Since then, the band has released another six studio albums, and at the same time they have gone from issuing typically two singles per album, to selecting three songs, which means this compiles a total of eighteen tracks starting with "Fireworks" from the album A Kiss in the Dreamhouse from '82 and ending with "Face to Face", a track, which in addition to being released as a single, also is found on the Batman Returns (dir. by Tim Burton) soundtrack from '92. Twice Upon a Time... thus has a total running length of just under 76 minutes. With this, the band quite nicely documents its progression from dark gothic rock, post-punk, and darkwave to a much more danceable and mainstream expression, which nevertheless manages to tie nicely with the sound of their earlier heydays. Siouxsie and the Banshees are and has always been a band who sounds unmistakably original and who has never come to a stand still or simply chosen the easy solutions. Only minor flaw with the album is that they [label management?] chose the remix version of the single "Fear (Of the Unknown)".
The album here is a super-fine introduction to the band's multifaceted progression, but it cannot stand alone - SATB has simply made too many strong songs for that. Only after the band's disbandment an actual best of album was released, which cannot be recommended, and if you (for some reason) don't want to listen to all the band's studio albums, you will get a good picture by listening to Once Upon a Time / The Singles from '81 and this very album.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Select 4 / 5 stars ]
