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| 2005 cover |
The Scream [debut]
release date: Oct. 1978
format: 2 cd (2005 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Steve Lillywhite, Siouxsie and the Banshees
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights, disc 1: 2. "Jigsaw Feeling" - 4. "Carcass" - 5. "Helter Skelter" - 6. "Mirage" (4 / 5) - 7. "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" - 8. "Nicotine Stain" - - disc 2': *15. "Hong Kong Garden (single A-side)" - *16. "The Staircase (Mystery) (single A-side)"
*Bonus tracks on 2005 remaster
Studio album debut by Siouxsie and the Banshees formed in London 1976. The 'original' / initial spontaneous line-up - the brain-child of Siouxsie Sioux (aka Susan Janet Ballion) and Steve Havoc (later: 'Steve Severin', aka Steven Bailey) - for a one-off live-concert included Marco Pirroni (who should later join Adam & The Ants) on guitar and with Sid Vicious (aka John Beverly) of Sex Pistols on drums; however, the two founding and only long-time lasting members were Siouxsie on vocals and Severin on bass, and after the concert they teamed up with Peter Fenton on guitar and Kenny Morris on drums. After a short period of '77, Fenton was replaced by John McKay and this was the quartet who recorded The Scream in just one week in the Summer of '78. Most songs are credited the band except track #4, composed while Fenton was still a member, and track #5, a cover-song by The Beatles credited Lennon / McCartney.
Style-wise, it's quite evidently post-punk with both dark, electrifying outbursts and gloomy melancholy drawing on the rawness of The Velvet Underground and The Stooges, the more art rock and complexity of David Bowie and Can. Most original appears the vocal of Sioux and the drumming technique (and sound) of Morris, but altogether the soundscape is highly original with Severin demonstrating a vigorous bass technique and McKay excelling with a flanged distortion-sound that inspired many others.
The Scream was met by quite positive reviews and in retrospect its legacy remains intact if not even more legendary as the album is put alongside the very best debut albums of modern rock. The album may also have inspired contemporary acts like Joy Division, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Southern Death Cult, and the likes, and longer up the temporary stream, artists like Cocteau Twins, Jesus and Mary Chain, Garbage and Massive Attack may likely all have listened to this very album.
The 2005 remastered Deluxe Edition is a fine bargain comprising two discs with disc 1 reserved the 10-track original album and disc 2, subtitled 'Rarities, Sessions & Singles' divided into tracks from 'Riverside session' (track #1), 'John Peel Session 1' (tracks #2-5), 'John Peel Session 2' (tracks #6-9), 'Pathway Demoes' (tracks #10-14), and 'Single A-sides' (tracks #15 & 16).
The album is a must-have if you're interested in early post-punk and / or the origins of gothic rock.
[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Record Mirror, Sounds, Uncut 5 / 5 stars ]
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| original cover |
