Superstition | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 10 June 1991 | |||
Recorded | December 1990 – April 1991 | |||
Studio | RAK, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:21 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Stephen Hague | |||
Siouxsie and the Banshees chronology | ||||
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Siouxsie Sioux chronology | ||||
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Singles from Superstition | ||||
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Superstition is the tenth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees,released on 10 June 1991 by Polydor Records. The lead single,"Kiss Them for Me",gave the band its first top 40 Billboard Hot 100 entry in the United States,peaking at No. 23,with the album peaking at No. 65 on the Billboard 200 chart. [1] The band widened its musical influences with the arrival of musician Talvin Singh,who played tablas on the songs "Kiss Them for Me" and "Silver Waterfalls".
The band wrote the songs in a residential studio in Wales. The album was then recorded with producer Stephen Hague in London at RAK Studios. Hague used techniques that Siouxsie Sioux did not approve of later,such as computer-based production. She stated:"There are still songs I like on it,like 'Kiss Them for Me' and 'Drifter',but we were trying a different kind of working style,a different kind of discipline,during which I really built a strong case against computers." [2] Steven Severin had a different perspective as he liked Hague's way of working,which was "all about honing and honing until you have something great". [3]
In 1991,the band spent two months on the road,from July until August,in the United States as second headliners of the inaugural Lollapalooza tour. The last date took place in Seattle on 31 August. Two weeks later,the album reached its highest position at number 65 in the Billboard 200 for the week of 14 September; [4] it spent 21 weeks total on that chart. [5] It remained their best selling album in the US,with 358,000 sold copies as of 2004,according to Nielsen SoundScan. [6]
Superstition was reissued in a remastered CD version with bonus tracks in October 2014. [7] A 180 gram double-vinyl reissue of the original edition,with the fourth side etched,was half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios and released in September 2018.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
Melody Maker | very favourable [9] |
Q | [10] |
Select | 4/5 [11] |
Upon release,Q rated the album four out of five stars,saying:"They pop it up with sweet string textures on the single 'Kiss Them for Me',bear down on the maritime metaphor of 'Drifter' with doomy foghorn and bells effects,give it the all but Twin Peaks dreamscape for 'Softly'." [10] Melody Maker described "Kiss Them for Me" as "gorgeous,wicked and glamorous." [12] In the same paper,reviewer Jon Wilde described Superstition as "a giant record about obsession,phobia,perspective and emotional tyranny." Wilde said that the song "The Ghost in You" was "a furiously pretty six note refrain that haunts long after the needle has returned to safety." [9] In a four out of five review,Select said that "Kiss Them for Me" was a "passionately laidback" single,"exotic" and "funky",with "an underlying hush of electro pulsebeat" making it dancefloor friendly. In the same review,"Drifter" was compared to the soundtrack of a Sergio Leone film with a touch of "ethereal sensuality",and "Silver Waterfalls" was qualified as "gorgeous". The reviewer commented that the album ends with the "delicate" "Softly",with lyrics bare and tender enough to be almost like Scott Walker. Glyn Brown concluded:[It is] "ambitious". [11]
Writing in the 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide ,Mark Coleman and Mac Randall said that Superstition shares Peepshow 's integration of "synthesizers and a lighter pop touch with the Banshees' trademark howl." Unlike its predecessor,however,they added that the album benefits from the inclusion of a "great single",as "'Kiss Them for Me' weaves a bewitching electronic stitch through Siouxsie's familiar cloth." [13]
St. Vincent selected "Kiss Them for Me" in the episode 32 of her own radio show Mixtape Delivery Service,on Beats 1 Radio Apple Music. [14] Karin Dreijer of the Knife included and presented "Kiss Them for Me" in a 60 minute program they produced for Sveriges Radio in 2004. [15] Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio was inspired by the song "Kiss Them for Me". Sitek stated:"I've always tried to make a song that begins like 'Kiss Them for Me'. I think songs like 'I Was a Lover' or 'Wash the Day Away' came from that element of surprise mode where all of a sudden this giant drum comes in and you're like,what the fuck?! That record was the first one where I was like,okay,even my friends're going to fall for this. I feel like that transition into that record was a relief for me. Really beautiful music was always considered too weird by the normal kids and that was the first example where I thought,we've got them,they're hooked! I watched people dance to that song,people who had never heard of any of the music that I listened to,they heard that music in a club and went crazy." [16] Girlpool included "Kiss Them for Me" in a playlist they did for The Fader magazine titled "Fantasie",among songs that "transcend time". [17]
All music composed by Siouxsie and the Banshees.
All lyrics are written by Siouxsie Sioux, except where noted
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Kiss Them for Me" | 4:37 | |
2. | "Fear (of the Unknown)" | 4:10 | |
3. | "Cry" | 3:33 | |
4. | "Drifter" | 4:43 | |
5. | "Little Sister" | Steven Severin | 3:21 |
6. | "Shadowtime" | Severin | 4:28 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
7. | "Silly Thing" | 4:41 | |
8. | "Got to Get Up" | 3:17 | |
9. | "Silver Waterfalls" | Budgie | 4:24 |
10. | "Softly" | 6:00 | |
11. | "The Ghost in You" | Severin | 5:01 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Face to Face" | Siouxsie | 4:25 |
13. | "Kiss Them for Me (Snapper Mix)" | 6:24 | |
14. | "Kiss Them for Me (Kathak #1 Mix)" | 8:55 |
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Additional personnel
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] | 55 |
European Albums ( Music & Media ) [19] | 39 |
UK Albums (OCC) [20] | 25 |
US Billboard 200 [21] | 65 |
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
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".
Talvin Singh OBE is an English musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music with drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica subgenre called Asian Underground, and more recently as Indian and/or Asian electronica.
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".
A Kiss in the Dreamhouse is the fifth studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 5 November 1982 by Polydor Records. The record marked a change of musical direction, as the group used strings for the first time and experimented in the studio. Guitarist John McGeoch played more instruments, including recorder and piano. For Julian Marszalek of The Quietus, the release proved the Banshees to be "one of the great British psychedelic bands."
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.
Tinderbox is the seventh studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released on 21 April 1986 by Wonderland and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and by Geffen Records in the United States. It was the band's first full-length effort recorded with then-new guitarist John Valentine Carruthers; Carruthers had previously only added a few parts on the 1984 EP The Thorn. The first recording sessions for the album took place at Hansa by the Wall in Berlin in May 1985.
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 was preceded by the single "This Wheel's on Fire". 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. It included the singles "Peek-a-Boo", "The Killing Jar" and "The Last Beat of My Heart". The record was a commercial success, peaking at No. 20 in the UK, and No. 68 on the US Billboard 200 chart in the week of 3 December 1988. It spent a total of 20 weeks on that chart. "Peek-a-Boo" reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and "the Killing Jar" got the number two spot.
Universal Music Group released The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees in 2002 as the first reissue of the Siouxsie and the Banshees remastered back-catalogue. The most successful singles of the band were presented in a non-chronological order.
The discography of Siouxsie and the Banshees, an English rock band, consists of eleven studio albums, three live albums, four compilation albums, one extended play (EP), and thirty singles. This list does not include material recorded by band members with the Creatures or the Glove, or solo work by Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin.
"Hong Kong Garden" is the debut single of English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released as a single on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records, reaching number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Israel" is a song by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released as a stand-alone single in 1980 by Polydor Records.
"Kiss Them for Me" is a song written and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was produced by Stephen Hague. It was released in 1991 as the first single from the band's 10th studio album, Superstition.
"Shadowtime" is a song written and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and produced by Stephen Hague. It was released in 1991 as the second single from the band's 10th studio album, Superstition.
"Fear (of the Unknown)" is a U.S.-only single written and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and produced by Stephen Hague. It was released in late 1991 as the second U.S. single from the band's 10th studio album, Superstition. It didn't get any domestic release in the UK and was the only Siouxsie and the Banshees single not to be issued in their home country.
"Face to Face" is a song recorded by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was composed by the group along with Danny Elfman and was produced by Stephen Hague. The track was featured in the 1992 film Batman Returns and is included on its soundtrack. Film director Tim Burton asked the band to compose the main song of the movie. The track later appeared on the band 1992's compilation album Twice Upon a Time - The Singles and was remastered in 2002 for The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Upon its release in July 1992, the song entered the singles chart in the UK and in Europe.
Jonathan David Klein known professionally as Jon Klein and sometimes as John Kline, is an English guitarist and producer, best known for being a member of Siouxsie and the Banshees for seven years, from 1987 until 1994. Klein has worked for other artists including Talvin Singh and Sinéad O'Connor. More recently he has worked as a co-producer and guitarist with Fangoria, Space Tribe, ESP, Shriekback, Micko and the Mellotronics and Jah Wobble.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)St. Vincent selected "Kiss Them for Me" by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Girlpool's Current Mood playlist — titled Fantasie deals [...] On the Fantasie playlist, compiled by Tividad, newer songs like Charli XCX and Lizzo's "Blame It On Your Love" [...] rub shoulders with [...] Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Kiss Them For Me."