Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Scream (Vinyl, 1978, Polydor PD-1-6207)
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Description
Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Scream (Vinyl, 1978, Polydor PD-1-6207).
The debut album by Siouxsie and the Banshees, released in 1978. The Scream is considered an important record, as Siouxsie and the Banshees are seen as one of the progenitors of post-punk, heavily influencing bands that followed, like Killing Joke, Joy Division, and others.
According to the Wikipedia article, The Scream is important technically as well: "The album is considered a landmark recording: its innovative combination of bass led rhythm and angular guitar with motorik drums played mostly on toms, would make it a pioneering work of the post-punk genre."
OK. I actually quibble a bit with the recording itself (more on that later), but The Scream is an intruiging, challenging, record, and certain influential. I hear a lot of Public Image here (or I hear Siouxsie there -- the bands were becoming prominent at the same time), but with less of the abject bleakness that can make listening to PIL feel like court-ordered community service at times.
The US release includes "Hong Kong Garden," the band's first UK single. It was a hit, getting to No. 7 on the UK singles chart, and was perhaps the first post-punk hit single. The song itself has a quirky catchiness to it. The title refers to a Chinese takeout place in London, where Siouxsie observed and decried the actions of racist skinhead gangs who used to terrorize the place.
There is also a cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter," which in the hands of Siouxsie and Co. feels more like an up-tempo lament than the libidinous celebration that the original is. The somewhat monotoned vocals really contribute to that feel.
Overall the feeling of The Scream is a little eerie, quite edgy, but very contained at the same time. That latter sense enhances the power of the sound and songs.
(Trivia: The "16" on the label denotes that this was pressed at the Goldisc Recording Products Inc. pressing plant in Holbrook, New York, which was active until 1983.)
The Scream comes in a non-gatefold jacket, but there is a glossy custom inner sleeve with the lyrics printed on one side. The jacket and inner sleeve have held up well. The edges of the round record are visible on the jacket in spots, and there some corner wear. The sides and spine have a little wear and a crease here and there.
You will note that this came from the erstwhile cutout bin -- there is a notch on the lower right. I have included closeup pictures of the notch, both in the jacket and the inner sleeve. The inner sleeve itself, being dark and glossy, shows fingerprints and smudges very readily, as well as the outline of the disc. There is a little splitting along one side of the inner sleeve. In very good shape especially considering the item's age.
The record sounds good, in that there are no skips, and hardly a crackle. I'm not crazy about the recording -- everything feels a bit muted to me, and I'd have liked more bass. But those are quibbles. This is a record worth hearing and appreciating, both on its own and as an important piece of rock history.
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