Once Upon A Time: The Singles [Clear LP]

by Siouxsie and the Banshees

Overview

Once Upon a Time: The Singles collects all ten of Siouxsie and the Banshees' A-sides spanning the years 1978-1981, with four songs otherwise unavailable on LP. It's a neat and accessible encapsulation of the group's early guitar-driven sound -- a frosty, dissonant art punk that had a tremendous impact on the emerging goth rock scene. Unlike similarly forbidding work by such proto-goth contemporaries as Joy Division or the Cure, the early Banshees were tense and visceral; the darkness of the Once Upon a Time singles doesn't come from a sense of downcast gloom so much as it does from a jittery angst. Yet as challenging as the music is, it's also accessible enough for eight of these singles to have charted in the British Top 50. The melodies are angular and almost alien, yes, but oddly memorable once the listener has assimilated them. Starting shortly after the period covered by this collection, Siouxsie Sioux's icy detachment would be fused with an elegant romanticism and lusher, smoother arrangements. Which means that Once Upon a Time isn't the one, definitive Banshees compilation, but it is a cohesive and essential overview of the band's edgy, influential peak. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	12/10/2021
Label:	Geffen
UPC:	0602557372229
Rank:	4604

Tracks

1. Hong Kong Garden
2. Mirage
3. The Staircase (Mystery)
4. Playground Twist
5. Love In A Void
6. Happy House
7. Christine
8. Israel
9. Spellbound
10. Arabian Knights

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Siouxsie and the Banshees   Primary Artist,Vocals
Steven Severin   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards,Synthesizer

Technical Credits

Paul Morley   Liner Notes
Steve Lillywhite   Producer
Nigel Gray   Producer
Mike Stavrou   Producer
Siouxsie Sioux   Composer
Siouxsie and the Banshees   Composer,Producer
Steven Severin   Composer
John McGeoch   Composer
Nils Stevenson   Producer
Peter Fenton   Composer
John McKay   Composer
Clive Richardson   Coordination,Video Producer
Budgie   Composer
Kenny Morris   Composer