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Following Tinderbox's success but still not working as well with John Valentine Carruthers as they could have, Siouxsie and the Banshees kept him on for one further album -- a covers collection, much in the vein of band inspiration David Bowie's Pin-Ups. Through the Looking Glass is more than a time killer but less than a total success -- if anything it's seen more now as a chance for the band to refocus before ditching Carruthers and creating the stunning Peepshow. But there have been far worse efforts from other performers in this vein, and there's a cool, giddy fun at work throughout that makes it a fine listen. The inspired range of covers reaches from glam-era landmarks (Roxy Music's "Sea Breezes," John Cale's "Gun") to Billie Holiday's sorrowful touchstone "Strange Fruit" to, in one of the best such efforts ever (and a year before Hal Willner's Stay Awake project), a Disney classic -- namely the slinky "Trust in Me," originally from The Jungle Book and given a spare, mostly-Budgie backing that could almost be a sparkling Creatures outtake. Some takes are more or less direct clones without much to add -- Sparks' "This Town Isn't Big Enough for Both of Us" misses the sheer hysteria that Russell Mael brought to the original, but Iggy Pop's "The Passenger" adds a bit of horn-section punch and lets Siouxsie demonstrate her ability with calm, dismissive cool. Turning Kraftwerk's empty, haunted "Hall of Mirrors" into a much more propulsive, Morricone guitar-tinged number makes for a fine reinvention, though, while Bob Dylan-via-Julie Driscoll's "This Wheel's on Fire" made for an enjoyable, string-touched single from the album. And if anyone needed proof that the Banshees were obsessive fan types when they started, the concluding cover of Television's debut obscurity "Little Johnny Jewel" would provide it.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
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Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ron Mael, ComposerLyricist - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Emil Schult, ComposerLyricist - Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Florian Schneider, ComposerLyricist - Ralf Hutter, ComposerLyricist - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robert B. Sherman, ComposerLyricist - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Richard M. Sherman, ComposerLyricist - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Rick Danko, ComposerLyricist - Bob Dylan, ComposerLyricist - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Lewis Allan, ComposerLyricist - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JOHN DENSMORE, ComposerLyricist - Jim Morrison, ComposerLyricist - Ray Manzarek, ComposerLyricist - Robert Krieger, ComposerLyricist - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ricky Gardiner, ComposerLyricist - Iggy Pop, ComposerLyricist - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Cale, ComposerLyricist - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bryan Ferry, ComposerLyricist - Steven Severin, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Siouxsie Sioux, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
TOM VERLAINE, ComposerLyricist - Michael Hedges, Producer - Mike Hedges, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gini Ball, Viola, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Kevin Metcalfe, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Severin, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Grimble, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Martin McCarrick, Cello, Keyboards, Strings, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Martin Dobson, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Luke Tunney, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Peter Thomas Walsh, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Julie Aliss, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Frau Flump, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer - Jonathan Richman, ComposerLyricist - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Mike Hedges, Producer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gini Ball, Viola, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Kevin Metcalfe, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Severin, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ian Grimble, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Clarke, ComposerLyricist - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Peter Thomas, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Susan Ballion, ComposerLyricist - Martin McCarrick, Cello, Keyboards, Strings, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Martin Dobson, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Luke Tunney, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Julie Aliss, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Frau Flump, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer - Rick Danko, ComposerLyricist - Mike Hedges, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bob Dylan, ComposerLyricist - Gini Ball, Viola, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Kevin Metcalfe, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Severin, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Grimble, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Peter Thomas, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Martin McCarrick, Cello, Keyboards, Strings, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Martin Dobson, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Luke Tunney, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Julie Aliss, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Frau Flump, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Michael Hedges, Producer - Mike Hedges, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Iggy Pop, ComposerLyricist - Gini Ball, Viola, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Kevin Metcalfe, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Severin, Electric Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Grimble, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Producer, MainArtist - Peter Thomas, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Martin McCarrick, Cello, Keyboards, Strings, AssociatedPerformer - Budgie, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Siouxsie, Voices, AssociatedPerformer - Martin Dobson, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Luke Tunney, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Julie Aliss, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Denis Roderick Gardiner, ComposerLyricist - Frau Flump, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Valentine Carruthers, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1987 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
Album review
Following Tinderbox's success but still not working as well with John Valentine Carruthers as they could have, Siouxsie and the Banshees kept him on for one further album -- a covers collection, much in the vein of band inspiration David Bowie's Pin-Ups. Through the Looking Glass is more than a time killer but less than a total success -- if anything it's seen more now as a chance for the band to refocus before ditching Carruthers and creating the stunning Peepshow. But there have been far worse efforts from other performers in this vein, and there's a cool, giddy fun at work throughout that makes it a fine listen. The inspired range of covers reaches from glam-era landmarks (Roxy Music's "Sea Breezes," John Cale's "Gun") to Billie Holiday's sorrowful touchstone "Strange Fruit" to, in one of the best such efforts ever (and a year before Hal Willner's Stay Awake project), a Disney classic -- namely the slinky "Trust in Me," originally from The Jungle Book and given a spare, mostly-Budgie backing that could almost be a sparkling Creatures outtake. Some takes are more or less direct clones without much to add -- Sparks' "This Town Isn't Big Enough for Both of Us" misses the sheer hysteria that Russell Mael brought to the original, but Iggy Pop's "The Passenger" adds a bit of horn-section punch and lets Siouxsie demonstrate her ability with calm, dismissive cool. Turning Kraftwerk's empty, haunted "Hall of Mirrors" into a much more propulsive, Morricone guitar-tinged number makes for a fine reinvention, though, while Bob Dylan-via-Julie Driscoll's "This Wheel's on Fire" made for an enjoyable, string-touched single from the album. And if anyone needed proof that the Banshees were obsessive fan types when they started, the concluding cover of Television's debut obscurity "Little Johnny Jewel" would provide it.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 01:06:13
- Main artists: Siouxsie & The Banshees
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: UMC (Universal Music Catalogue)
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2014 Polydor Ltd. (UK) ℗ 2014 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
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