Siouxsie and The Banshees- Join Hands (1979) MP3 & FLAC -For Ol' Foggy-

"You swallow the trail but still arrive in your entrails."

Join Hands is often characterized as an early misfire for Siouxsie and The Banshees, a bleak, impenetrable album containing few if any of the charms found in the band's other albums of the time. When listening to this album, I can't help but wonder what its reputation would be if it had been recorded by another band, instead of being sandwiched in between groundbreaking works such as The Scream  and Kaliedoscope. Don't get me wrong, Join Hands offers few of the Punk theatrics of the former or the powerful vocal performances of the latter, but in their place, The Banshee's sophomore album captures the band (as it was then comprised) at their most unstructured, unpolished, and experimental. This was partly due to the success of The Scream, which prompted Polydor to pressure the band for a timely follow-up; however, The Banshees were already fraying at the edges and heading toward a state of emotional disarray, something that would eventually lead to their disintegration while on tour supporting Join Hands. Undeniably, the album bears the mark of its tumultuous origins, and because of this, it is often written off as an artistic "hiccup" before putting together the classic incarnation of The Banshees that included Budgie and John McGeoch, but such critics overlook the way Join Hands ties Siouxsie's early Punk-influenced sound to her later, more overtly Goth-oriented approach. Simply put, Join Hands may not be as consistent as its predecessor, but it takes bigger chances by pushing Siouxsie's unique take on Punk minimalism to a new level. For example, on "Placebo Effect," the band marries the dark, minor-key attack that characterized the debut album to a slower, more plodding rhythm, as Siouxsie, strangely buried in the mix, contributes one of her better vocals on the album. However, it is John McKay's ominous guitar-work that really brings the song together, thus providing a valuable reminder that this early incarnation of the band was something to behold. While Join Hands is successful in pushing the Punk aesthetic into areas even further afield than the debut, on songs such as "Icon," it also anticipates the more melodic and varied sonic approach Siouxsie would take on future albums after reforming the band. Where the album (and its reputation) falters a bit is the way it ends: the fourteen minute "The Lord's Prayer," which was an integral part of their live set at the time. While impressive in theory, the song just isn't sonically compelling enough to provide a proper finale to what is otherwise one of the more inventive albums in Siouxsie and The Banshees' discography.

Siouxsie and The Banshees- Juju (1981) MP3 & FLAC -For Ana-

"You hear laughter cracking through the walls, it sends you spinning, you have no choice."

If Kaleidoscope  is the album on which Siouxsie and The Banshees began to fashion their signature sound, then Juju is the album on which they perfected it. More or less abandoning the spare arrangements and use of keyboards that helped their previous album to, in effect, re-invent the band, on Juju, The Banshees return to a darker, guitar-based sound, but instead of the abrasive Punk aesthetic of their early work, Juju exhibits a dense, lush, Goth-based sound that, while eventually becoming their trademark, finds its purest expression on this album. Much of the credit for this goes to Ex-Magazine guitarist John McGeoch, who by this time had become a full-fledged member of the band, although Budgie deserves mention as well for his brilliant tribal-like drumming that gives the album its eerie undertow. One of the album's most memorable tracks is "Spellbound," which combines Budgie's aforementioned drumming with McGeoch's dark-lit jangle that sounds as though it might have taught Johnny Marr a thing or two; however, the centerpiece of the song is one of Siouxsie Sioux's most commanding vocal performances. Even darker is "Sin in My Heart," an unsettling, frantic song employing razor sharp guitars and featuring Siouxsie at her manic and theatrical best. Juju is a relentlessly dark album, which is why many refrain from calling it Siouxsie and The Banshees' masterpiece; however, one would hard-pressed to find a purer or more lushly beautiful example of this band's distinctive sound.

Siouxsie and The Banshees- "Spellbound" Video (1981)

Siouxsie and the boys at their absolute peak. Just fucking brilliant...

Siouxsie and The Banshees- Kaleidoscope (1980) MP3 & FLAC

"Every new problem brings a stranger inside, helplessly forcing one more new disguise."

Siouxsie and The Banshees' debut, Scream, stands as one of the truly essential recordings of the original British Punk scene, but their follow-up, Join Hands, with its unrelenting bleakness, noticeable lack of musical focus, and muddy production, nearly put an end to one of the greatest bands of the Post-Punk era before they had a chance to create their most distinctive work. On the heels of a personnel shake-up that brought a significant influx of talent into the band including a new drummer, Budgie, who had formerly played with The Slits and ex-Magazine guitarist John McGeoch, Siouxsie & co. returned to the studio and proceeded to record, with the help of some fine production work by Nigel Gray, their first indisputably great album, Kaleidoscope. While undoubtedly a transitional record, Kaleidoscope is arguably the band's finest moment, as it manages to retain the unmitigated darkness of the previous albums while pushing the band's sound in a much more experimental and atmospheric direction. A perfect example of this is "Tenant," which features, among other things, acoustic guitar and electric sitar. Instead of abrasiveness, the song demonstrates a lighter, more subtle touch; however Siouxsie Sioux's much-improved vocals lend the song its strange sense of dread. While "Christine," the single, hearkens back to Scream in certain respects, the enhanced sonic palette and stark beauty of the song allow it to transcend anything the band had previously released. Kaleidoscope was not only a huge creative leap forward for the band, but, true to its name, it is one of the most hypnotically beautiful albums of the original Post-Punk era.

Siouxsie and the Banshees- The Scream (1978) Deluxe Edition (Bonus Disc) MP3 & FLAC -For David-

"Got to give up life in this netherworld. Gonna go up where the air is stale."

Having already gained notoriety (and in certain respects, infamy) through their  early BBC sessions with tireless benefactor John Peel and with a hit single ("Hong Kong Garden"), Siouxsie and the Banshees didn't disappoint on their debut, The Scream, which, first and foremost, stands as one of the truly great albums of the British Punk movement of the late-seventies. Those more familiar with the band's later work will be shocked by the abrasive aggression on display here, but the straight ahead production (by Steve Lillywhite no less) does provide the songs plenty of room to breathe. And then, of course, there's Siouxsie, who is in fine voice throughout the album, wailing, shrieking, hiccupping, and generally creating the Goth-vocal template that went on to spawn a thousand imitators and continues to be an influence on contemporary artists such as Bat for Lashes and Zola Jesus. While its penchant for privileging dissonance over melody may conjure the ghost of The Velvet Underground a bit too frequently, The Scream is, nevertheless, essential, as it captures Siouxsie in purest form: hungry and unadorned.

Siouxsie and the Banshees- Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions (2006) MP3 & FLAC -For David-

"With a jaundiced wink, see his cunning slink. Oh, trust in me my pretty one."

If your frame of reference for Siouxsie and the Banshees is their "Peek-a-Boo" era goth-pop, then hearing some of these early Peel Session tracks dating back to 1977 will be a profound ear-opener. In an earlier post, I wrote that Bauhaus' debut album along with their "Bela Lugosi's Dead" single were largely responsible for the rise of the early Goth movement, but based on the evidence of these early Peel Sessions, a strong case can be made for Siouxsie Sioux having played a major role in the development of both Goth in particular and Post-Punk in general. This music is exceedingly dark, beautifully abrasive, and then there's Siouxsie's singular, unmistakable voice, a piercing call-to-arms that Punk would refuse to be easily defined. It also strikes me that this compilation is a perfect tribute to the late John Peel. The earliest of these sessions were recorded at a time when no record company would touch Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Peel was instrumental (and fearless, as he was for many bands) in getting them exposure. This is a vastly underrated chapter of the Siouxsie discography, and in many cases, the songs are often better than the studio counterparts.