Untitled - A Compilation

This is the track listing from the very first time I sat down to make a real mixtape.  I was probably 18 or 19, and had dabbled with taping my favorite songs off of the radio or other tapes.  But those other tapes were cobbled together with no rhyme or reason, just a hodge podge of miscellaneous tracks that I had put onto tape so I could listen to them in my Walkman when I was out.  I mean, you can't very well take a record player out with you.

At the time I made this tape, you can look at the track listing and see that a lot of fantastic material had been released pretty much all at once.  I had my favorite tracks from every album release by these artists, and I wanted to listen to them all, without having to haul 10-12 tapes/CDs around with me, trading them out as each track ended.  So, I pulled my favorites, and sat listening to them, then arranging them in a way that sounded good.  Back then, you didn't have any music on your computer (if you even had a computer), so it wasn't like you could load the tracks in your WinAmp and hit shuffle.  No, this was a very careful and deliberate process that took a while for me to come up with the right arrangement.

I made the tape, though, and used it in my car, listened to it while I mowed the yard, and played it when I went to friends' houses.  It was pretty good.

I've rearranged some of the tracks as years have gone by - only added the Ian McCulloch about 1998 and traded the Cocteau Twins track from Heaven Or Las Vegas to Dials (and then plugged it on the end of the mix).  But, as for the rest, this is the same setup I made back in 1990-91.  And, I still listen to it about every other month or so, to this day.  To me, this comp represents the best these groups had to offer, at the peak of their popularity.  Every song is quintessential to what these groups/artists are.  They are all lush, romantic, and full of emotion.  They are perfectly written, and perfectly performed.

To this day, I still don't have a name for this collection.  It's still, to this very moment, Untitled.  But, to me, that might be the best way of describing it, too.

Untitled

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Superstition - 1991

This one came out my Freshman year in college, shortly after I got back from Basic Training for the Air Force.  I had never been a huge fan of the Banshees (and I'm still not, to this day), but this album did have a few pop songs on it that attracted me.  I thought, after the glorious releases of Disintegration, Violator, Technique, Bona Drag and Wild!, that I'd get another group to add to the list of excellence that were my idols.

 Meh. 

This album is good, I'll give you that.  I really enjoy the singles, and the b-sides, and there are a couple of album tracks that stand out as examples of some superior craftsmanship.  Albeit, I think Hague's production also had a direct influence on what was released.  I think this album helped bring the Banshees more into the mainstream pop music of the time, right on the cusp of the Alternative Boom in the 90s.

But, to this day, as I've said before, I can't stand Siouxsie's voice.  It drives me fucking bananas.  Musically, the band is superb.  I'm sure that if there was another vocalist, they would've been much more successful.  I just think her voice is an acquired taste.  You either love it, or you hate it.  Obviously, a lot of people like it, or they wouldn't have made it as far as they did.

So, although I'm not horribly fond of her, this album (and the rest of the band for that matter) are pretty fucking good.  My mix tapes of that era always include one or two of their tracks. 

I didn't want to fuck with a Van Gogh, so I left the cover exactly as it appeared.  But, I couldn't find a good scan of it on the internet, so my version looks a little shitty.  If anyone has a better scan, please send it my way...

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Superstition - 1991

The Glove - Blue Sunshine - 1983

This was the post I originally intended for yesterday.  Sorry it's late, but what can I say?  It was beyond my control.

As I grew ever more and more fond of the Cure in the late 80s and early 90s, I started to accumulate as much material as I could lay my hands on.  I didn't find The Glove until 1992, and even then it was only on cassette.  I hate to say it, but I thought it sucked.  Sucked HARD.  The two Robert songs were great, but I couldn't stand their vocalist.  Still to this day she really turns me off.

So, when they released the deluxe set with the RS Demos on the bonus disc, I was ecstatic.  Overjoyed.  Thrilled.  I listened to it like it was a lost Cure album.  Well, essentially, that's what it was, to be honest.  Yeah, Severin was good in his own right, but IMO, nothing compares to Fat Bob.  If that makes some Banshee lovers out there mad, I'm unapologetic about it.

In a comparison side-by-side playing of the original album, and the RS vocal album, it's surprising how different they sound.  It's amazing what a difference can be made just by switching up the vocalists.

So, on my version, I kept all the Smith vocal tracks.  I cut out all the original release tracks and remixes.  I left the b-sides, and anything on which Robert sang.  I used a single sleeve as the cover, and here you have a beautiful "New Wave" looking album with all of the goodness, and none of the bad.

I wish I could've been Robert, he was so cool back then.  Now, though, eew!  Sorry, Bob, but you is fat and scary looking.  You look like Aughra from the Dark Crystal.  Time to retire.  It's best to have burnt out than to fade away...

The Glove - Blue Sunshine - 1983

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Hyaena - 1984

I know the biggest debate on this one is where to put Dear Prudence.  Does it belong with Hyaena or does it belong with Dreamhouse?  Where does it go?  I sway back and forth.  I like it at the front end of Hyaena, but you will also find it at the back end of my Dreamhouse.  I don't know where to put it.  It makes more sense with this album, due to the sound, but the sleeve logo matches Dreamhouse.  It also came out closer to Dreamhouse than it did Hyaena.

Some of you may say, "Who the Hell cares?!"  But, to me, and those like me, it makes a big difference.  It shows growth, it's a chapter or verse in a larger, all-encompassing story of their life work.  It matters very much how it's portrayed....

Anyway, I do have all of the Banshees albums.  Notice how I said Banshees.  I love their music.  Love It.  But, I HATE Siouxsie's voice.  I can't stand it.  I find it somewhat tolerable on Hong Kong Garden, Israel, Kiss Them For Me, and Face to Face.  It goes to show how little I think of her voice, when I prefer a soundtrack one-off sell-out to a second-rate Batman movie, over the rest of her work...  Says something dramatic, if you ask me.  What's weird, is I don't really mind her so much on the Creatures albums, though....

I got into the Banshees, though, because I was told it was a "female Cure", and that Bob had played guitars on a couple albums.  The music is great, and I still love looking at the picture sleeves....

But, here it is...  If you don't want Dear Prudence on it, then knock off the first 3 tracks, and cross them off the cover.  Your choice.

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Hyaena - 1984