At the BBC (3CD + DVD Set) (PAL/Region 0) Review

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(More customer reviews)So, if you're a Banshees fan, just buy this. If you've bought the brand new, beautiful-looking (and more importantly, BEAUTIFULLY-SOUNDING -- YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THESE ALBUMS TRULY UNTIL YOU HEAR THEM IN 21ST CENTURY SOUND) crop of Siouxsie remasters (1982-1986), buy this excellent collection. This is a great companion to DOWNSIDE UP, because this prodigious collection has its own quirky mannerisms about it, just like that 2004 B-sides collection does. In fact, there is a goodly amount of B-side renditions on this BBC box set; some of the best being, "Red Over White" (this must be the precursor to their now-Classic THE THORN version, and just as good), "Head Cut" (I might like this version over the album version...Siouxsie completely loses her vocal mind on this one), and their version of "Supernatural Thing" puts their B-side version in a premature grave...the band gets very funky and R&B-ish on this one at BBC; "Coal Mind", "Shooting Sun", "Something Blue" ...there really isn't a bad rendition of any of the classic A or B or Album tracks on the whole thing. And the John Peel stuff (especially from the JOIN HANDS period onwards) is CLASSIC, as is the Skinner, Jensen, and Long sessions in the 1980s.
For those fans who purchased THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH in 2003 and thought there was something defective w/ their CD (I think you know what I mean), Discs 2 and 3 of this box set make up for that loss: Siouxsie has the CLASSIC Siouxsie range here, and, for the most part (you have to keep in mind, folks, that throughout these two concert performances, she's dancing and gesticulating her soul out), HITS THE FAMILIAR NOTES we all know and love. For you Gen-Y or 3rd generation Siouxsie fans, who never got to hear them live, this is a great 24 song collection to comfort yourselves w/ and really get the gist of what their live material sounded like in the hey day (old and new Banshees fans alike, this live concert collection rivals, and, perhaps, even bests the NOCTURNE concert of 1983; and for proof, listen to "Preacher Man", "Sweetest Chill", "Melt!", "Night Shift" (whoa! this version may be better than the JUJU version), "Pulled to Bits" and "Switch") -- 1985 - 1988, especially the selection of songs from the PEEPSHOW TOUR in '88, which was the tour to see them in if you were ever going to see them in concert. I was at the mid-October concert in NYC at Radio City Music Hall in 1988, at the tender age of 14 (my Mom had to take me), watching the skinheads, bondage freaks, Hardcores, and Punks up close in my conservative clothes...quite an experience. That was the 1st time I ever saw a female rocker singing and dancing at the same time (Tina Turner was the only other one I'd seen on TV doing that, and it amazed me), while able to hit and hold notes, doing ballet splits and high kicks, spinning from one side of the stage to the other. Even my Mother was impressed by this cool, 31 year old lady, who had more than meets the eye going for her. When I heard the recorded tracks from Disc 3 of their Peepshow tour at The Royal Albert Hall (they never seemed to have bad gigs there, did they?...NOCTURNE just gave them forever good juju at that venue, pun intended), just one month before they came over to America and NYC, it gave me vivid soundtrack memories of a show that I still remember...I still remember the lighting effects, set design, the set list (though I never got a tour program, I looked at one), which is very much the same here on this box set. So, young fans, don't despair that you couldn't hear them then; it's here in a very good sampling (wait 'til you hear the triple attack that is "Skin" / "Spellbound" / and "Hong Kong Garden" -- CLASSIC!).
Disc 4 is a compilation of their live TV performances from 1978 to 1991. For those of you who've seen ragged, jagged pieces of these performances on YOUTUBE, these versions are clean, remastered, and pretty clear for TV shows. People, this DVD doesn't seem to play on American DVD players, but it does on PC DVD players and/or CD-ROMS, so keep that in mind. Anyone who doubts Siouxsie's natural singing ability, give a listen and an eye to the early live versions of "Metal Postcard" (virtually the same as her version from THE SCREAM), "Jigsaw Feeling", "Playground Twist" (yes, she's singing that one live...a rarity on "Top of the Pops"; just like it was a rarity for Debbie Harry and Stevie Nicks to be allowed to perform live on "Solid Gold" over here in America), and the truly haunting Alt. Jazz song that is "Tenant". If you could show only one performance to give example of what The Group was about, this might be it.
Also, the Essay and Liner Notes by Long Time Siouxsie Critic and Fan, Paul Morley are excellent. He seems the best scholar of the band, and writes in the most poetic, eloquent manner that it reads like literary Nonfiction. He could write poetry, short fiction, novels, whatever. And, the mastering and remastering is mind-blowing. It's like you're sitting inside the BBC studios w/ them, or right next to the console at their concerts.

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Siouxsie and the Banshees at the BBC is a stunning 84-track, all digitally-remastered, 4 disc hard-back book set of exclusive BBC sessions, live concert tracks and TV performances recorded between 1977 2001 split across 3CDs and a DVD. All tracks hand picked by the band and featuring Siouxsie s introduction to the liner notes.Includes alternative versions of 18 classic hit singles Hong Kong Garden, Playground Twist, Arabian Nights, Candy Man, Happy House, Cities In Dust, The Last Beat of My Heart, The Killing Jar, Christine, Melt!, Wheels on Fire, Spellbound, Israel, Fireworks, Dear Prudence, Peek-a-Boo and Kiss Them For Me, Swimming Horses,Discs 1 and 2 feature key session tracks from 1977 1987 and a concert recording from the Apollo Theatre in Oxford in 1985. Includes the complete John Peel sessions alongside sessions recorded for Kid Jensen, Richard Skinner and Janice Long. Features 21 unreleased versions.Disc 3 contains highlights from their BBC concert recordings at the Apollo Theatre in Oxford and the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1988, where the band performed a storming set 3 nights in a row to a sold out crowd. Highlights include a breathtaking Last Beat of My Heart , Christine and a rip roaring crowd pleasing end of show version of Hong Kong Garden.Disc 4 is the real gem; a 29 track DVD of the band s BBC TV performances. Features the complete Old Grey Whistle Test broadcasts from 1978, 1982 and 1985, the Something Else performances from 1979 and 1980, the Rock Goes to College broadcast from 1981 and the band s complete Top of the Pops performances, complete, in places, with cheesy intros. This is a fantastic visual documentary of the band, starting with the OGWT performance of tracks from their debut album in1978; Metal Postcard and Jigsaw Feeling through the dark years of Juju, performed for the Rock Goes to College show and culminating with the beautifully pure pop bliss of Kiss Them For Me from Superstition.Includes a fantastic 30 page booklet with extensive sleeve notes by Paul Morley. Features interviews with all the band members and a unique and insightful introduction written by Siouxsie.

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