The Scream (album)
Encyclopedia
The Scream is the debut album by English post-punk
band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released in November 1978 on Polydor Records
. Even before this release, the band already had a strong reputation as a live act, as well as having a Top 10 UK single under their belt with "Hong Kong Garden
" (which did not appear on the original album). The album is acknowledged as a classic: Uncut
magazine rated it at number 43 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Debut Albums".
. Critic Peter Silverton gave the album five stars. The other reviews were also very positive. Melody Maker
described the sound as "strong, abrasive, visceral and constantly inventive, with a thrust that makes the spaces equal partners to the notes" and the critic then made a parallel with Pere Ubu
for the textures.
Several journalists from NME
also praised the record. Nick Kent
first stated that the band sounded "like some unique hybrid of the Velvet Underground mated with much of the ingenuity of Tago Mago
era Can
." He then focused his attention to the opening track and said: "Pure takes the sound to its ultimate juncture, leaving spaces that say as much as the notes being played. Certainly, the traditional three-piece sound has never been used in a more unorthodox fashion with such stunning results." In December 1978, another critic from NME, Paul Morley
, described the music on The Scream as "unlike anything in rock":
Writer Don Watson later pictured it in the NME as "something that whipped the past into a great whirpool of noise, pulling the future down."
The record is today seen as a classic by several critics.
This album placed the group among the pioneers of post-punk
. The razor-sharp, slashing strings of Bernard Herrmann
's score to Alfred Hitchcock
's Psycho
particularly inspired the band for the music of "Suburban Relapse", where the guitars echo to the knife-screeching violins of the famous shower scene.
covered and sampled
"Metal Postcard" on their song "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)" in 1997 for the soundtrack
to the movie The Jackal. Morrissey
played "Mirage" during intermission on his 1991 Kill Uncle
tour. Morrissey's main composer Boz Boorer
also rated The Scream highly, rating it as number two in his "Top Five Desert island album selection" right after T. Rex
's Electric Warrior
. Garbage
lead singer Shirley Manson
told the Melody Maker
that she has a special liking for this record. The Scream was also hailed by the singer of Suede
, Brett Anderson
.
A first single disc edition was edited in 2006 with a noticeable digital distortion, so a flawless remastered version was reissued in 2007.
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released in November 1978 on Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. Even before this release, the band already had a strong reputation as a live act, as well as having a Top 10 UK single under their belt with "Hong Kong Garden
Hong Kong Garden (song)
"Hong Kong Garden" is the debut single released by British band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was produced by their manager Nils Stevenson and sound-engineer Steve Lillywhite. Issued in the UK by Polydor Records in 1978, the single quickly hit number seven in the UK singles chart.The song is now...
" (which did not appear on the original album). The album is acknowledged as a classic: Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
magazine rated it at number 43 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Debut Albums".
Reception
The Scream was hailed as "the best debut album of the year" 1978 by SoundsSounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
. Critic Peter Silverton gave the album five stars. The other reviews were also very positive. Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
described the sound as "strong, abrasive, visceral and constantly inventive, with a thrust that makes the spaces equal partners to the notes" and the critic then made a parallel with Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group from Cleveland, Ohio.Père Ubu may also refer to:* Ubu, the enigmatic central figure of a series of French plays by Alfred Jarry, including Ubu Roi, and subsequent plays Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaîné...
for the textures.
Several journalists from NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
also praised the record. Nick Kent
Nick Kent
Nick Kent is a British rock critic and musician.-Career:Along with writers including Paul Morley, Charles Shaar Murray and Danny Baker, Nick Kent is seen as one of the most important and influential UK music journalists of the 1970s. He wrote for the British music publication New Musical Express,...
first stated that the band sounded "like some unique hybrid of the Velvet Underground mated with much of the ingenuity of Tago Mago
Tago Mago
Tago Mago is the third studio album by the German experimental rock band Can, and was originally released as a double LP in 1971 by United Artists...
era Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
." He then focused his attention to the opening track and said: "Pure takes the sound to its ultimate juncture, leaving spaces that say as much as the notes being played. Certainly, the traditional three-piece sound has never been used in a more unorthodox fashion with such stunning results." In December 1978, another critic from NME, Paul Morley
Paul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
, described the music on The Scream as "unlike anything in rock":
It is not, as some would say, chaotic - it is controlled. Each instrument operates within its own space, its own time, as if mocking the lines of other instruments. Known rock is inverted, leaving just traces of mimickry of rock's cliches - satire that often bursts with glorious justification into shaking celebration (as on "Helter Skelter"). It is easy to gain attention by doing something which is crudely obviously out of the ordinary, but the Banshees have avoided such futile superficialities; it is innovation, not revolution, not a destruction but new building. It has grown out of rock - Velvets, "Station To StationStation to StationStation to Station is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1976. Commonly regarded as one of his most significant works, Station to Station is also notable as the vehicle for Bowie's last great 'character', The Thin White Duke...
", BolanMarc BolanMarc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
. And Siouxsie's staggering voice is dropped, clipped, snapped prominently above this audacious musical drama, emphasising the dark colours and empty, naked moods.
Writer Don Watson later pictured it in the NME as "something that whipped the past into a great whirpool of noise, pulling the future down."
The record is today seen as a classic by several critics.
This album placed the group among the pioneers of post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
. The razor-sharp, slashing strings of Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
's score to Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
particularly inspired the band for the music of "Suburban Relapse", where the guitars echo to the knife-screeching violins of the famous shower scene.
Legacy
The Scream had a strong impact on other musicians. Massive AttackMassive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
covered and sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
"Metal Postcard" on their song "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)" in 1997 for the soundtrack
The Jackal (soundtrack)
The Jackal soundtrack features music from and inspired by the 1997 remake of the film of the same name. It was released in 1997 on MCA Records.-Track listing:# "Going Out of My Head" - Fatboy Slim# "Poison" - The Prodigy...
to the movie The Jackal. Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
played "Mirage" during intermission on his 1991 Kill Uncle
Kill Uncle
Kill Uncle is Morrissey's second solo album, released on 4 March 1991 by EMI and HMV Records...
tour. Morrissey's main composer Boz Boorer
Boz Boorer
Boz Boorer is a British guitarist and producer most known for his work founding the new wave rockabilly group, The Polecats, and later for his work as a co-writer, guitarist and musical director with Morrissey.-The Polecats:The band "Cult Heroes" was formed in 1977 by Tim Worman , Boz...
also rated The Scream highly, rating it as number two in his "Top Five Desert island album selection" right after T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
's Electric Warrior
Electric Warrior
Electric Warrior is the sixth album by British rock group T. Rex, and is widely considered to be one of the quintessential glam rock releases. Electric Warrior reached number thirty-two in the US; it went to number one for several weeks in the UK, becoming the biggest album of 1971...
. Garbage
Garbage (band)
Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
lead singer Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
told the Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
that she has a special liking for this record. The Scream was also hailed by the singer of Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
, Brett Anderson
Brett Anderson
Brett Lewis Anderson is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he briefly fronted The Tears, and has released four solo albums...
.
Reissues
The Scream was reissued in the UK on 27 October 2005 (28 October in the USA) as part of Universal's Deluxe Edition series. The new edition featured a remastered version of the album on the first disc, while the second disc contained demo and live tracks together with the singles from that period.A first single disc edition was edited in 2006 with a noticeable digital distortion, so a flawless remastered version was reissued in 2007.
Track listing
Personnel
- Siouxsie SiouxSiouxsie SiouxSiouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...
– vocals - John McKayJohn McKay (musician)John McKay was the first studio guitarist of Siouxsie and the Banshees.He was member of the band from July 1977 until September 1979. He played on the albums The Scream and Join Hands...
– guitars, saxophone - Steven SeverinSteven SeverinSteven Severin , is an English musician, composer, bassist and co-founding member of Siouxsie and the Banshees....
– bass guitar - Kenny MorrisKenny Morris (musician)Kenny Morris was the first studio drummer of Siouxsie and the Banshees.He was a member of the band from January 1977 until September 1979. He played on the albums The Scream and Join Hands...
– drums, percussion - Steve LillywhiteSteve LillywhiteSteve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...
– producer, mixer - Siouxsie and the Banshees – producers