Boomerang | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 6 November 1989 | |||
Recorded | May 1989 | |||
Genre | Alternative music, exotica | |||
Length | 56:33 (on CD) | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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The Creatures chronology | ||||
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Siouxsie Sioux chronology | ||||
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Singles from Boomerang | ||||
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Boomerang is the second studio album by British duo the Creatures (a.k.a. singer Siouxsie Sioux and musician Budgie). It was recorded in Spain with Mike Hedges,in Jerez de la Frontera,in Andalusia. It features brass arrangements including trumpet,trombone and saxophone.
Boomerang received widespread critical acclaim from music critics,who praised Siouxsie's vocals and the choice of a wide range of musical styles on the album,including blues,jazz and Spanish styles such as flamenco. The album was hailed by Jeff Buckley,who covered the song "Killing Time". [1] In 2024, Uncut magazine rated Boomerang at number 184 in their list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of the 1980s". [2]
The album was recorded in a ranch in the province of Cádiz in Andalusia with producer Mike Hedges,one year after Peepshow . All the instruments and the voices were done in Spain,bar the brass arrangements that were recorded later in London with Peter Thoms on trombone,Gary Barnacle on saxophone and Enrico Tomasso on trumpet. Budgie conceived the brass arrangements with trombonist Peter Thoms and saxophonist Gary Barnacle,they had previously worked with a horns section six years earlier on the "Right Now" single. "Pluto Drive" is the only song entirely recorded at their return in England.
Critics remarked on the musical diversity on the record,saying that it was "a varied collection of fine,if not earth-shaking work. Each of the 14 tracks has something different to offer". [3] "Manchild" features a "flamenco rhythmic inflexion and savannah sunset trumpets", [4] while the trumpet-tinged "Strolling Wolf" is an "Iberian-inspired piece". [5]
Blues and jazz elements are also featured on the album, [5] such as on the bluesy "Killing Time" [3] and "Willow". [6] In a different style,"Pluto Drive" "marries a sassy low R&B base to futuristic ambient sound",with electronic loops. [5] "Pity" is a lullaby, [4] with Budgie playing Jamaican steel drums. [6]
While being in Spain,photographer Anton Corbijn joined the band to shoot several pictures for the CD album booklet and the sleeves of the two singles. It was the first time Corbijn took photographs of musicians in colour,using filters:he then designed the artwork for Boomerang with Area.
Budgie explained the song "Manchild":"It's a story based in Colombia before the drugs cartel,it's about a small child caught up in a feud,this vendetta between his village and another rival village. In a minor way it is all about drug trafficking,but ends with the stronger village wiping out the whole male population of the other village until there was just one boy left called Nelsito. It was understood that he would live till he was at least 18 before he was assassinated,but he was shot on the way to school."
He also commented on "Willow":"It's kind of about how my mother died as it was a black area and I hadn't realised what had happened until I saw my brother. He told me what went on with the family and I never really knew until a year afterwards,and I wrote it down directly after that".
Boomerang was released on CD,vinyl and cassette formats by both Polydor Records and Geffen Records. The album was later released on Spotify. [7]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
NME | 8/10 [4] |
Record Mirror | [8] |
The album was released to critical acclaim. NME's Roger Morton qualified it as "a rich and unsettling landscape of exotica",praising "the pre-eminence of Budgie's Spanish-tribal-jazz drumming". [4] Simon Reynolds of Melody Maker stated that "Boomerang abounds with scarcely anticipated brilliance",qualifying it as "inventive and invigorated music". [6] Boomerang was the album of the month in Best . They wrote:"With a lot of varied percussion and bursts of languorous brass,the Creatures weave a captivating album with baroque breaths. A mixture of strength and grace,moist heat interspersed with refreshing flashes,Latin-tropical emanations tamed by a rigid English phlegm." [9] Libération praised it saying:"the use of space sometimes reaches perfection”on this record in which “we discover in Siouxsie a warmth,a feeling all in curves with a dark suavity,that we didn't suspect". [10]
In a retrospective review,AllMusic hailed Siouxsie's performance,saying:"Sioux's singing is some of her best both in and out of the Banshees,still retaining the shadowed mystery that she makes her own while drawing on an interesting range of styles". [5]
Jeff Buckley covered "Killing Time" several times between 1992 and 1995. He recorded a rendition for radio station WFMU,and also performed it at his first major London concert at the Astoria after the release of Grace . [1]
In 2008,"Standing There" was used by two dancers in the jazz category in the US television show So You Think You Can Dance . [11] In 2012,"You!" was chosen in season 9 of the same TV show. [12]
All songs written and composed by Siouxsie and Budgie.
with:
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They were widely influential,both over their contemporaries and later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
Jeffrey Scott Buckley was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles,Buckley amassed a moderate following in the early 1990s performing at venues in East Village,Manhattan such as Sin-é. After rebuffing interest from record labels and Herb Cohen—the manager of his father,singer Tim Buckley—he signed with Columbia,recruited a band,and released his only studio album,Grace,in 1994.
The Creatures were an English band formed in 1981 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie of the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Creatures released their first EP Wild Things in 1981. They recorded four studio albums:Feast in 1983,Boomerang in 1989,Anima Animus in 1999 and Hái! in 2003.
Susan Janet Ballion,known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux,is an English singer,songwriter,musician and record producer. She came to prominence as the leader and main lyricist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees,who were active from 1976 to 1996. They released 11 studio albums,and had several UK Top 20 singles including "Hong Kong Garden","Happy House" and "Peek-a-Boo",plus a US Top 25 single in the Billboard Hot 100,with "Kiss Them for Me".
Peter Edward Clarke,known professionally as Budgie,is an English drummer best known for his work in Siouxsie and the Banshees. He is also the co-founder of the Creatures.
Kaleidoscope is the third studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees,released on 1 August 1980 by Polydor Records. With the departure of John McKay and Kenny Morris and their replacement by two new musicians,Budgie on drums and John McGeoch on guitars,the band changed their musical direction and offered an album containing a wide variety of colors. "It was almost a different band",said Siouxsie.
Juju is the fourth studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was recorded at Surrey Sound studio with Nigel Gray as co-producer,and was released on 19 June 1981 by Polydor Records. Two singles were released from Juju:"Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights".
Hyæna is the sixth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees,released on 8 June 1984 by Polydor Records. The opening track,"Dazzle",featured strings played by musicians of the London Symphonic Orchestra (LSO),a 27-piece orchestra called the "Chandos Players";it was scored from a tune that Siouxsie Sioux had composed on piano. Hyæna is the only studio album that guitarist Robert Smith of the Cure composed and recorded with Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Through the Looking Glass is the eighth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. The album is a collection of cover versions. It was co-produced with Mike Hedges and released in March 1987 on Polydor. Through the Looking Glass included two singles;"This Wheel's on Fire" and "The Passenger". It was the second and final album recorded with guitarist John Valentine Carruthers. Some of their cover songs were praised by the original artists themselves.
Peepshow is the ninth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees,released in the United Kingdom on 5 September 1988 by Polydor Records and in the United States the following day by Geffen Records. It was their first record as a quintet. With the arrival of multi-instrumentalist Martin McCarrick and guitarist Jon Klein,the group recorded a multifaceted album with a variety of influences. Peepshow included the singles "Peek-a-Boo","The Killing Jar" and "The Last Beat of My Heart".
The Rapture is the eleventh and final studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees,released in January 1995. The songs with cello arrangements,including the title track as well as "Fall from Grace" and "Not Forgotten",were produced by the band on their own in 1993. John Cale later produced the remaining songs in mid-1994.
"Right Now" is an uptempo 1962 jazz/pop song with music by Herbie Mann and lyrics by Carl Sigman. As a jazz instrumental,it was the title track of Right Now,a 1962 bossa nova-style album by Mann. Later that same year,with lyrics by Sigman,the song was popularized by jazz singer Mel Torméon his album Comin' Home Baby!,and was the B-side of the single featuring the title track.
Anima Animus is the third studio album by British duo the Creatures,consisting of Siouxsie Sioux and musician Budgie,released in 1999. The title of the album was inspired by Carl Jung's concept of anima and animus.
Hái! is the fourth and final studio album released in 2003 by British duo the Creatures,composed of Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie. The album was recorded in two parts:the drums were recorded by Budgie and Kodo drummer Leonard Eto in Tokyo in August 2002 and the rest of the recording was done in Europe. During their stay in Japan,the band was inspired and "touched by the delicate snowfall imagery of Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru (1952),absorbing the vibrancy of Tokyo's Roppongi district,and spiritualised by the ancient Shinto shrines and tranquil shores of Lake Ashi."
Wild Things is the first release by British duo the Creatures. It was issued on 25 September 1981 by Polydor Records as two 7" single records in a "double-album" style card cover,and is usually referred to as an EP. It peaked on the UK Singles Chart at No. 24,and the pair performed "Mad Eyed Screamer" on Top of the Pops. The EP was entirely remastered in 1997 and reissued as part of the A Bestiary Of CD compilation –which was also released on Spotify.
U.S. Retrace is a compilation album by British act the Creatures,consisting of Siouxsie Sioux and musician Budgie formerly of Siouxsie and the Banshees. It collected out-of-print material from several CD singles as well as the 1998 Eraser Cut EP. The title is an anagram of the group's name.
"Standing There" is a song recorded by English band the Creatures. It was co-produced by Mike Hedges and featured Gary Barnacle on saxophone and Peter Thoms on trombone.
"Fury Eyes" is a song recorded by English band the Creatures. The song was co-produced by Mike Hedges. It was remixed by Pascal Gabriel for release as the second single of the critically acclaimed Boomerang album.
Gary Barnacle is an English saxophonist,flautist,brass instrument arranger,composer,and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work,including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wembley Arena,the Royal Albert Hall and the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. He performed at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium in 1988,and appeared on television and in music videos during the 1980s and 1990s with many popular music acts. He was also in an electropop duo called Leisure Process from 1982 to 1983 with ex-Positive Noise singer Ross Middleton.
This is the discography for English musician Gary Barnacle.
Jeff Buckley covered "Killing Time" at the radio station WFMU in its studio in East Orange, NJ, 10.11.92. "Killing Time" is a Siouxsie's song from the Creatures' Boomerang album. Buckley also performed it for his first major gig in London at the Astoria in January 1995.