Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Scream

Original Release Date

1978

Release Information

UK LP 1978 (Polydor - POLD 5009)
UK CD 2005 (Polydor/Universal Music Catalogue - 983 238-8)

1 Pure 1:51
2 Jigsaw Feeling 4:38
3 Overground 3:47
4 Carcass 3:49
5 Helter Skelter 3:47
6 Mirage 2:50
7 Metal Postcard (Mittageisen) 4:14
8 Nicotine Stain 2:57
9 Suburban Relapse 4:13
10 Switch 6:53

CD Bonus Tracks (Disc Two)
Rarities, Sessions & Singles
Riverside Session
11 Make Up To Break Up 4:34
John Peel Session
12 Love In A Void 2:40
13 Mirage 2:41
14 Metal Postcard 3:35
15 Suburban Relapse 3:07
John Peel Session 2
16 Hong Kong Garden 2:42
17 Overground 3:14
18 Carcass 3:44
19 Helter Skelter 3:35
Pathway Demos
20 Metal Postcard 4:05
21 Suburban Relapse 3:55
22 The Staircase (Mystery) 3:08
23 Mirage 2:55
24 Nicotine Stain 3:13
Single A-Sides
25 Hong Kong Garden 2:55
26 The Staircase (Mystery) 3:14

___________________________________________________

US LP 1978 (Polydor - PD-1-6207)

1 Hong Kong Garden 2:55
2 Pure 1:51
3 Jigsaw Feeling 4:38
4 Overground 3:47
5 Carcass 3:49
6 Helter Skelter 3:47
7 Mirage 2:50
8 Metal Postcard (Mittageisen) 4:14
9 Nicotine Stain 2:57
10 Suburban Relapse 4:13
11 Switch 6:53

Chart Placings

UK Chart Hit: 12, 11 wks

Credits

LP:

Siouxsie Sioux - voice
John McKay - guitar, saxophone
Steven Severin - bass guitar
Kenny Morris - drums, percussion

Produced by Steve Lillywhite and Siouxsie & The Banshees
Mixed by Steve Lillywhite
Recorded at RAK
Mixed at De Lane Lea August 1978

___________________________________________________

Additional CD Credits:

11, 20-24: produced by Siouxsie & the Banshees
12-15: produced by Malcolm Brown
16-19: produced by Tony Wilson [Punky Gibbon: CD wrongly states tracks 16-18 only]
25: produced by Steve Lillywhite and Siouxsie & the Banshees
26: produced by Mike Stavrou

Digitally remastered by Gary Moore at Universal Digital Mastering, London

Additional Credits

Pete Fenton - guitar on 'Make Up To Break Up'

Reviews & Opinions

PUNKY GIBBON: The Scream followed an almost chipper piece of art-punk ('Hong Kong Garden', appended to the US version) and introduced them to the whole wide world in all their proto-Goth glory, Siouxsie hanging up and then sandblasting her own vocal cobwebs on Ballard-esque songs like 'Nicotine Stain', 'Carcass' and 'Suburban Relapse' over lashings of sheet metal guitar and pounding drums. A stunning debut, and for my money still their best record, it boasts three bona fide masterpieces: the clockwork anarchy that is 'Metal Postcard', a demented run through of the Beatles' 'Helter Skelter', and 'Switch', the one song on the LP that gives early warning that Siouxsie was capable of making some very beautiful noises. Awesome.

RED STARR, SMASH HITS, FEBRUARY 1979: Well, well. The strong lyrics on this album suggest that despite her irresponsible flaunting of Nazi war sickeners, the silly biddy may be worth something after all. A cold and distant but strangely compelling album of modern music that I keep going back to. Check this one out too. Best trax: 'Jigsaw Feelings' [sic], 'Mirage'. (7 out of 10).

RECORD MIRROR, 1978: The Scream points to the future, real music for the new age. It is vital, it's moving. It's a ... landmark.

KRIS NEEDS, ZIGZAG, 1978: I can't think of another group who could have made an LP so uncompromising, powerful and disturbing, yet so captivating and enjoyable. It is certainly a special classic to join milestones like Diamond Dogs, Roxy's first and Berlin. This is music of such strength and vision that you just can't not be moved by the time they swing into the final climactic passage of 'Switch', the closing track.

JULIE BURCHILL, NME, 1978: ...a self-important threshing machine thrashing all stringed instruments down onto the same low level alongside that draggy sub-voice as it attempts futile eagle and dove swoops around the mono-beat. Their sound is certainly different from the normal guitar-bass-drums-voice consequence. But it’s radically stodgy [...] loud, heavy and levelling.

THE NEW MUSIC RECORD & TAPE GUIDE, 1987: The Scream capsulized the first-generation sound of the Banshees: Siouxsie 's icy, sometimes tuneless wail swooping over the metal-shard roar of John McKay's guitar and the brutish rhythms of bassist Severin and drummer Kenny Morris. The songs are relentlessly grim, albeit often sardonic (as in 'Carcass' and their version of the Beatles' 'Helter Skelter'). In a bit of artistic tampering, the American label included the almost upbeat 'Hong Kong Garden' (a pre-LP 45 that punched its way into the UK Top 10), beginning the album with an unintended stylistic departure.

SIMON REYNOLDS, RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN: POSTPUNK 1978-1984, 2005: ...stark and serrated - a mortification of rock: a new, cruel geometry achieved within and against the orthodox guitar/bass/drums format.

SUZY WEST, RECORD COLLECTOR, 2005: Digitally re-mastered Deluxe edition of the Banshees classic debut [read full review here]

Additional Notes

The Deluxe Edition was reissued in a jewel case (cat no 0600753268032) in 2012.

Images

UK LP 1978 (Polydor - POLD 5009). Click here for more


US LP 1978 (Polydor - PD-1-6207). Click here for more

UK CD 2018 (Polydor/Universal Music Catalogue - 983 238-8). Click here for more

 

You can add stuff and make comments/corrections by emailing me at:

[email protected]

COMMENTS

Back To Top