They had been one in every of rock’s most startlingly unique acts, but Siouxsie & The Banshees additionally had a penchant for overlaying different peoples’ songs. Famously, the band carried out a Velvet Underground-esque adaptation of “The Lord’s Prayer” for his or her first gig in September 1976 earlier than they deconstructed The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” for his or her debut album, The Scream. A notably extra trustworthy cowl of one other Fab 4 basic, “Dear Prudence,” although, yielded a UK Prime 5 hit in 1983 – and its success impressed the Banshees to report a full-length covers album, Via The Trying Glass.
Siouxsie and firm envisaged the report as an homage of types to Pin Ups, David Bowie’s 1973 covers album whereby he paid tribute to his early influences resembling Pink Floyd, Van Morrison’s Them, and Scott Walker. Nonetheless, as they’d additionally compiled a glut of high-quality self-penned materials, the Banshees ended up releasing two additional studio albums, Hyaena and the wonderful Tinderbox earlier than they had been capable of totally decide to their covers challenge within the fall of 1986.
Take heed to Siouxsie & The Banshees’ Via The Trying Glass now.
The title Via The Trying Glass derived from one in every of Siouxsie’s favourite books, Lewis Carroll’s much-loved, youngsters’s fantasy novel, Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland. It feels acceptable, for the album options a few of the most playful – and otherworldly – music the Banshees ever dedicated to tape. To appreciate it, the band was – as ever – totally ready to embrace change. On this case, they did so by reconvening with versatile Hyaena producer Mike Hedges, embracing a wider vary of instrumentation and enlisting multi-instrumental alumnus Martin McCarrick, whose string preparations proved integral to a number of of the album’s most important tracks.
The album
Via The Trying Glass was recorded at London’s Abbey Highway Studios, and for probably the most half the band stayed true to their Pin Ups perfect by selecting songs by different distinctive artists who immediately influenced them, amongst them Roxy Music, John Cale, Sparks, Iggy Pop, Tv, and The Doorways. In some circumstances, the Banshees remained true to the originals. Actually, their strong takes of Sparks’ “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us,” Bob Dylan and Rick Danko’s “This Wheel’s On Fire” (later a UK Prime 5 hit for Julie Driscoll With Brian Auger & The Trinity), and Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life basic “The Passenger” barely deviated from the blueprints, although in different circumstances, the band took enjoyment of deconstruction.
For instance, in its preliminary guise, Tv’s “Little Johnny Jewel” sounded lo-fi, but it surely took off on Via The Trying Glass, with McCarrick’s staccato strings and the band’s highly effective efficiency imbuing it with depth and drama. Kraftwerk’s “Hall Of Mirrors” was additionally remodeled, with John Valentine Carruthers’ baritone guitar including a cinematic, John Barry-esque high quality, whereas The Doorways’ “You’re Lost Little Girl” was reimagined as a queasy fairground waltz.
The band struck gold, nevertheless, once they wandered even additional off the crushed observe. Most individuals could properly have recalled Robert and Richard Sherman’s “Trust In Me” because the tune sung by Kaa the snake (voiced by Sterling Holloway) from the basic Walt Disney movie, The Jungle E-book, but within the Banshees’ arms, the observe transitioned right into a lush, harp-led lullaby, arguably solely bettered right here by their string-kissed, sorrow-soaked model of Lewis Allan’s 1939 protest tune “Strange Fruit.” Unquestionably the album’s apogee, the Banshees’ estimable model even moved US music critic Terry Atkinson to declare that “only someone as brash as Siouxsie Sioux would re-record a song so strongly identified with Billie Holiday – and only someone as serious and sensitive could bring it off like this.”
Launch and reception
Via The Trying Glass additionally drew reward from a few of the pioneering artists it heralded. Discussing Siouxsie and firm’s model of “The Passenger” in an MTV interview, Iggy Pop mentioned “[Siouxsie] threw in a little note when she sings it that I wish I’d thought of – it kind of improves it.” Elsewhere, Kraftwerk’s Ralf Hütter recommended the Banshees’ model of “Hall Of Mirrors” in an interview with Italy’s La Stampa, calling it “extraordinary.”
First launched on March 2, 1987, by way of Polydor within the UK and Geffen within the US, Via The Trying Glass rapidly established itself as a compulsory addition to Siouxsie & The Banshees’ already enviable catalog. It additionally carried out properly on the charts, peaking at No. 13 at house (the place it was additionally licensed silver). It was particularly well-received overseas, with a few of its most constructive notices coming from US critics – lots of whom acknowledged that the report was vastly superior to most “covers” information and would obtain longevity by itself phrases. “These songs are superbly arranged,” mentioned the Los Angeles Instances. “They retain enough of what was special about the originals, while adding just the right new twists.”
Take heed to Siouxsie & The Banshees’ Via The Trying Glass now.
