Top 10 Banshees songs:

Swimming Horses
Green Fingers
Partys Fall
Hong Kong Garden
Cities In Dust
The Last Beat Of My Heart
Mirage
The Killing Jar
Fireworks
Christine

Thanks for the lists!

So far, I'd rank the albums I have as follows:

Kaleidoscope
A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
Juju
Superstition
Join Hands

Moonbeam said:

So you've listened to Join Hands? I love the first half. But that second half...

sextonseven said:

I liked "Playground Twist" and "Icon", and that was about it! It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, though!

Moonbeam said:

"Icon" is one of their best songs. It was nice that the band pulled it out and dusted it off for the 7 Year Itch tour a few years ago.

"Playground Twist" might be my least favorite Banshees single. The original side two of Join Hands was that track, "Mother/Oh Mein Papa" and "The Lord's Prayer". No reason for me at all to play that side really.

sextonseven said:

I'm still bummed about your Kaleidoscope hate!

At this point, my top 20 Banshees tracks would probably be as follows:

1. Israel
2. Dazzle
3. Melt!
4. Happy House
5. Red Light
6. Hybrid
7. Kiss Them for Me
8. Cascade
9. Desert Kisses
10. Arabian Knights
11. Christine
12. Cities in Dust
13. Into the Light
14. Swimming Horses
15. She's a Carnival
16. Lunar Camel
17. Spellbound
18. Slowdive
19. Night Shift
20. Clockface

Moonbeam said:

You should get the Nocturne album and DVD if you haven't already. It's most of these songs live.

I don't hate Kaleidoscope. It's just not one of my favorites. I don't even hate Join Hands really.

sextonseven said:

You're comparing Kaleidoscope to the amateur-like Prince, for Goodness' sake!

sextonseven said:

I'm anxious to get Nocturne! Any word on the reissues? I was considering holding out to see if the album would be reissued.

Moonbeam said:

For a second I considered comparing it to Dream Street.

sextonseven said:

I can understand that Kaleidscope may not be representative of the Banshees' career as a whole, but it seems to be well-loved on Rateyourmusic and the singles (including the adopted "Israel") seem to be regarded as Banshee classics. To me, it sounds like an excellent band dabbling in new wave as opposed to a desperate band trying to cling onto what was popular at the time. The melodies, instrumentation, lyrics and delivery are all top-notch, particularly coming after Join Hands!

Moonbeam said:

Things are going incredibly slowly. This was posted on Steven Severin's website back in December 07:



Obviously March/April has passed and still nothing. Perhaps before the year is out maybe? I have no idea, really. Is the Nocturne DVD available where you are? Not every song from the album is on the video, but there's so much extra stuff on there that it's a better purchase than any remastered CD that could be released.

sextonseven said:[quote]

Moonbeam said:

I have seen the Nocturne DVD, but I wondered if it was complete as I noticed that there were some tracks missing.

As for the remasters, I have stumbled upon a great website that posted the following news blurb on June 2nd:

'A Kiss In The Dreamhouse' is on its fourth and hopefully final revision and is waiting for full band approval. Once that is reached it's not yet clear how Universal wish to proceed and whether it will be released on its own or in a batch with others.

Moonbeam said:

Yes, the singles are great! And I think I am in the minority in my opinion of the album. Maybe because that was one of the last Banshees albums I bought (I worked my way backwards) so I was more comfortable with the guitar sound on later albums that I had already played a lot.

Moonbeam said:

That's good to hear! I know that website, but hadn't visited it in awhile. Thanks for updating me!

sextonseven said:

It's interesting to think that the order in which albums are heard can have an impact on their appeal. I started with Juju and A Kiss in the Dreamhouse and enjoyed them well enough, but Kaleidoscope pushed me over the edge into hyper-fandom that I doubt will be a temporary fix. I'm not sure what I should get next and hope that my breakthrough with Kaleidoscope doesn't cloud the experience of hearing the other albums for me because they're different.

I've picked up Hyaena and Peepshow now, as well as the Nocturne DVD! Nobody seems to have Tinderbox, though.

Still in total Sioux mode!

Moonbeam said:

Peepshow was my very first Banshees record! I thought it was wonderfully quirky and different from the house and freestyle music that I was listening to at the time.

Let me know what you think of the Nocturne DVD!