Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions

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Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
2006 compilation featuring Peel Sessions favorites from the Queen of Goth, Siouxsie Sioux and her band of Banshees. 19 tracks including 'Hong Kong Garden', 'Halloween', 'Candyman', 'Overground' and more. Darkness has never sounded so delightful. Universal.

Album Details
The Peel Sessions Are the Stuff of Legend. They Broke all the Rules and Engaged the Listener with Under-the -gun Mixes of Some of the World's Most Weird, Wonderful and Wired Bands. There was a Mythology to Peel Sessions: Musicians Went Into the Studio to Record their Three Or Four Track Session, Only to Emerge a Few Hours Later Blinking and Dazed, Having Made a Helluva Racket that Would Go Down in History as the Making of the Band.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

Some of the best Peel Sessions SATB ever did January 9, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Just listen to Land's End, and you will hear what a remarkable band and recording came out of some of the Peel sessions. I am so thankful that this collection has come out, and in all of its remastered glory!

5 out of 5 stars

Peel + Banshees = Essential January 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The world is definitely a less interesting place with the recent loss of John Peel. I own numerous "Peel Session" albums of various bands, and every single one of them either stands up evenly with it's artists' "official" recordings... or even surpasses them in quality. One thing they all seem to have in common is that the artists all seem to be enjoying themselves in the studio, and it shows on the recordings.

So here is the first Peel Session album I have purchased since the death of John Peel. It's another great testament to not only the exceptionally unique talents of the Banshees, but to the magic touch of Mr. Peel himself. These were taken from 4 different sessions that included 2 different band lineups between 1977 and 1981. The first two sessions are mostly material from the early singles and "The Scream", and come off as high-quality live versions of the songs.

The third session is from the "Join Hands" era of the Banshees... a very turbulent and troubled time for the band. These versions of the songs from that album, in my opinion, are superior to the original album. They retain their dark, abrasive mood, but with a much more passionate and optimistic energy driving them.

The fourth session is from the "Juju" era, often regarded as when the Banshees were at peak performance. Also included in these '81 sessions are a few songs that didn't make an appearance until 5 years later on "Tinderbox", and here they sound much more fresh and spontaneous. The version of "Land's End" here especially hits the right nerve and closes out this album perfectly.

I've never heard a Peel Session album I didn't like, and this one is even better than most of the others I've heard... not to mention it contains some rarities that any Banshees fan should be rabid to add to their collection. The superior versions of the "Join Hands" and "Tinderbox" songs alone are reason enough to buy this. Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars

SATB Shine at the BBC August 13, 2008
I have to admit that I am biased - I have been a rabid Siouxsie fan for over 20 years. I finally picked up a copy of "Voices on the Air", and I can't believe I didn't lay hands on this earlier!

The different performances of the 19 songs on this disc offer another window into the Banshees' musical ferocity. Hearing a SATB mix that is produced and engineered by different individuals than those who worked on the studio albums reveal exactly how powerful the band was. The "Join Hands" era has never been one of my favorites, but listening to "Placebo Effect" on this disc reminds of how the underlying tensions in the band at this time spawned intense, riveting music.

A slightly different take on these songs allows one to hear another facet of the Banshees rich sound. The version of "Voodoo Dolly" on "Voices on the Air" is my favorite track on this disc. It's not hard to see why the Banshees are credited with the emergence of Goth after listening to this track. Sioux's vocals of full of suspense and danger, while Budgie, Steven, and McGeoch create an eerie sound scape that slithers around the siren's chanting. In my opinion, the production on "Juju" masked some of this effect.

This disc is getting a bit more difficult to find in the US, so if you ever had a hankering for anything Banshees, join hands to find yourself a copy of this now and revel in SATB's glory at the BBC.

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