Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 223
Release Date: December 1981
Highlights
On the surface, I immediately have a problem with Siouxsie and the Banshees' Through The Looking Glass. That being that it's a collection of covers performed by the band. Sorry, but much like Van Halen was panned for Diver Down, and Guns N' Roses for The Spaghetti Incident, there's no reason, or excuse, for an established band to record a cover album. The fans expect, and deserve better.
I won't pan it from the starting gate, but I will stress that it's lazy.
As I was greeted by the opener, This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us, I would have sworn I was listening to a hard rock iteration of the band ABBA, despite being a Sparks song. It had that distinct sound, albeit with a heavy rock overtone layered in. Point being, it resonated, and I dug it a lot.
The Disney Jungle Book covered Trust In Me, is somewhat out of place when the album is based on the Lewis Carroll Alice In Wonderland novel. Why not choose any of the number of songs from that Disney film? It would have better fit. Though as I sit here and think about it, I can't exactly think of one which wouldn't have been silly.
Knowing nothing about the original, I will say that I enjoyed their cover of the Bob Dylan song, This Wheel's On Fire, as well as Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit. But again, I have to take a step back. These versions, while good to me, have the benefit of me not knowing how the originals sound. Further, had I not read that this album was all covers, I would easily have been mistaken to think that Siouxsie and the Banshees brought their "A" game to the writing table.
Look, I'm not going to pan something for being good, even if it is a cover, but again, stress that it's lazy. Which makes me all the more annoyed at how much I enjoyed Through The Looking Glass. If this were my first Siouxsie and the Banshees album, I would almost feel duped if I then went and bought something else from them only to be greeted by a completely different sound.
Iggy Pop would even praise Siouxsie for her rendition of his song, The Passenger. However, I wouldn't go as far as he did by saying she improved it. It's a decent rendition, but in terms of this one, I'd rather hear Iggy's.
In comparison to The Cure's Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, which I've reviewed already in a prior post, and which Through The Looking Glass is contending with today, the Banshees will get the victory. As I said in my original review of Kiss Me, and again in my retrospective review yesterday, it's just not that good. It has its hit, which is cool, but in the sheer volume of songs I grabbed for my shuffle from Looking Glass, it has to be crowned the winner. I'm going to go back to this one far more often than The Cure's '87 entry.
Our final round starts tomorrow when the Banshees' 1988 released Peepshow will go head to head with The Cure's 1989 released Disintegration. From there, we'll get our final winner across all that went on to the last round.
First, we have to deal with the business of who the winner is between The Cure's The Head On The Door, and Through The Looking Glass. Despite my ranting about the latter being a cover album, I really did like this one. Which is why it was really difficult for me to choose between the two. But, someone's gotta win, and that was The Cure.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 25, 1981 |
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 25, 1987 |
Title: Captain America
Issue Number: 266
Release Date: February 1982
Highlights
Despite his sudden departure from the band, bassist Simon Gallup and Robert Smith were able to reconcile their relationship, prompting his return to The Cure in 1984. Smith would be so elated by this that he would comment how the group was a band again. Additional members Port Thompson, and Boris Williams would also join the lineup.
1985's The Head On The Door would become the band's first international success, entering the top seventy-five in the USA, and top twenty in several other countries. It would become their best selling album to date, being certified gold on the BPI and RIAA.
For its recording, Smith took inspiration from Siouxsie and the Banshees' Kaleidoscope, and The Human League's Dare, with a goal of having an eclectic array of sounds and moods in the final production. A sound which critics immediately favored, praising the album for Smith's ability to take The Cure's gloom and doom sound, and make it danceable.
When I read the album title, The Head On The Door, it invoked a dark image. So, it caught me rather off guard when it starts with the peppy strumming of an acoustic guitar, and the upbeat In Between Days. This level of pep is present through the whole album, and can definitely fool you into thinking you're hearing a happy go lucky pop album. That is, until you actually focus in and listen to the words.
For me, The Head On The Door is pure deliciousness. It would be difficult for me to tell you what songs I love versus those I passed on, because I grabbed pretty much all of them. This also excites me all the more for their forthcoming 1989 Disintegration. The bliss has been building and building since The Top, and getting all the more enjoyable with today's Retro Spin.
What I also had to do in retrospect is revisit their 1987 released Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, which upon originally reviewing, I was not kind to. I don't normally take the time to listen to an album twice, because that time simply doesn't exist. However, in this case, I made the exception. Unfortunately, it didn't change my opinion of it. Still not a fan of that one.
As for today, The Head On The Door going up against Siouxsie and the Banshees' Tinderbox, The Cure are the clear winners here, and moving on to round two.
Tomorrow, we reset the board, and start over with the Banshees' Through The Looking Glass, which will be up against The Cure's Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, both from 1987.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 24, 1982 |
Title: Captain America
Issue Number: 265
Release Date: January 1982
Highlights
With the departure of Robert Smith from the band, the Banshees were in need of a new guitarist. John Valentine Carruthers, would make his debut in that role. His first appearance was on the 1984 EP, The Thorn, before heading into the studio for what would become 1986's Tinderbox.
The album has been praised as one of the best from Siouxsie and the Banshees, with verbal accolades going to the fierce drumming of Budgie, and complexe synthesizer work of Steven Severin. Some critics have even gone so far as to call it their all-time favorite album...like ever.
Well, that's quite a high bit of praise, and a high bar. Tinderbox must be amazing, no?
No.
Maybe I missed something. What I heard in the Banshees seventh studio album was nothing worth writing home about. While definitely delivering a straight up rock sound, I also found it to simply be loud. As if the drums were trying to drown out Siouxsie, while she was trying to drown out the guitars, which they were trying to drown out the keyboards. The whole thing resulted in a wall of sound, which frankly made my ears ring, despite not being turned up high.
The songs also felt bloated, over extended in time, and without any sort of hook to really draw you in to any of them. By song seven, I felt like I had been listening to it for hours, and couple with the sheer volume, it wasn't necessarily enjoyable.
There was one standout track among the bunch, that being Cities In Dust. This was actually a song I had heard in prior shuffle sessions of my entire library, and one which has actually been on my shuffle list for a while. However, beyond that, Tinderbox really doesn't offer anything for me. I love Siouxsie's voice, but it doesn't feel utilized here.
What I disliked most about Tinderbox was that it made me think about my music collection as a whole. I contemplated if it was time to go through my thousands of CD's and reassess what was there versus what I actually loved, and therefore needed. Basically, it made me wonder if it was time to consider downsizing, and that's not a feeling I wanted to have.
Tinderbox gets a big fat "F". Not only for being a stinky album, but for making me reassess my life choices. Basically, tomorrow's review, The Cure's The Head On The Door is poised to already be professed as the winner...Unless of course it's all the more worse, and I don't know, burns my house down, or something...
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 23, 1983 |
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 23, 1988 |
Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 112
Release Date: December 1981
Highlights
Their prior album, Pornography (1982), had the band on the cusp of a breaking point. Smith was in a deep depression, purportedly considering suicide, while the rest of the band were heavily abusing drugs. Fighting, drama, and an overall state of exhaustion could have broken the band indefinitely.
That's not to say there weren't casualties during this period. After continuous fighting between bassist Simon Gallup and Robert Smith, one such altercation which almost turned physical (over a bartab no less), Gallup would leave the band.
While Andy Anderson would join the band for 1984's the top, it would be on drums. This was because prior drummer, Lol Tolhurst, would opt to switch his roll to keyboards. This may have been the best decision for The Cure, as the group would enter their more mainstream period as a result, and finally have a commercial breakthrough.
The album would also be notable for its experimentation and different sounds from previous works. In place of the drab doom and gloom were flutes, violins, and more complexe guitar work. There was also an incorporation of different styles, such as those from Spanish, and metal genres.
The Top was recorded in correlation with Siouxsie and the Banshees' Hyæna, which Smith was also the guitarist for. However, unlike the Banshees' album, which in my own personal review, sounded more so like an album from The Cure, The Top took a more psychedelia sound approach. The end result left critics praising not only for what it was, but what they speculated generations to come would appreciate it for.
Right from the starting gate, the sound is definitely different from what the band have brought to the table in the past. It sounds almost as if the core members have been reinvigorated since their last outing. Dare I say, happier? Is that a thing Robert Smith can experience?
Wailing Wall stood out to me for its guitar work. It was reminiscent in retrospect to the sounds that would eventually come with their 1994 song, Burn, from The Crow soundtrack, but ultimately wasn't one I added to my shuffle.
What I did end up grabbing were Shake Dog Shake, Birdmad Girl, Give Me It, The Caterpillar, and Piggy In The Mirror. This is the style of The Cure I like. This is what I want to hear more of. Frankly, if The Top was this good, I can only imagine how blown away I'll be when I finally make it to 1989's Disintegration, touted as their best work ever.
The Top is the clear winner when compared to Siouxsie and the Banshees' Hyæna. In fact, there's simply no competition in this one. Ironic, since Smith was involved with both. A new round kicks off tomorrow with Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1986 released, Tinderbox going up against The Cure's 1985 album, The Head On The Door.
Before we get there, there's something we also need to take care of, and that is to determine who is advance to round two between the Banshees A Kiss In The Dreamhouse, and The Cure's The Top. Now we're in the weeds. How do I choose between these two? Both were pretty solid.
Round three is going to be no easier task, when I have to decide between A Kiss In The Dreamhouse, and The Cure's Faith. I'm going to need to think on that one before revealing the winner.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 22, 1989 |
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Shortly after the release of their 1982, A Kiss In The Dreamhouse, Siouxsie and the Banshees would face a difficult task. Guitarist John McGeoch suffered a nervous breakdown from the stresses of touring and an increasing personal problem with alcohol. The end result was being fired from the band.
With no guitarist, the Banshees turned to Robert Smith of The Cure. Smith would not only fill in on tours, but ultimately join the band for their 1984 Hyæna. However, upon its release and tour, Smith would quit the band, citing it was too much stress to be a full time member in both groups.
Upon its release, critics praised the album, but in doing so honed in on Smith. The presence of his influence and fingerprints were considered very present. However, in doing so, did Robert Smith inadvertently assist in creating a Cure album with the Banshees? Well, only one way to find out.
After hearing the opening track, Dazzle, I have one question. Why weren't Siouxsie and the Banshees ever asked to do a title track to a James Bond movie? I mean, come on. All the elements are there.
With that said, overall, Hyæna didn't honestly have all that much to offer for me. I suppose there was a descent cover of The Beetles Dear Prudence. However, not being very familiar with that song, I couldn't tell you if it was better, worse, or even close enough to be worthy.
For me, coming off of 1982's A Kiss In The Dreamhouse, and then hearing that Robert Smith had joined on guitars, I was expecting this album to be the Banshees' opus. It's not. Far from it.
I can definitely hear the influences of Smith on it, and by that I mean drab, and melancholy. However, this isn't the sound that I equate to Siouxsie Sioux, and I don't necessarily need her to be the mouthpiece for The Cure.
That's not to say it was a total bust. I did, as I mentioned, or perhaps didn't elaborate enough to imply, that I did enjoy the opening track, Dazzle, Take Me Back, and Running Town. I also added Dear Prudence to my shuffle, if for no other reason than just because of what it was - A cover of The Beetles' song. Terrible reason, I know. I will probably endlessly skip it when it comes around.
Hyæna doesn't stand in a promising spotlight right now, but we'll see how it fares in comparison to The Cure's The Top when I fire that one up tomorrow. Who knows. It could end up being the best of the worse.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 21, 1984 |
Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 111
Release Date: November 1981
Highlights
The Cure has a steep slope in front of them today. Their 1982 album is up against yesterday's Siouxsie And The Banshees' A Kiss In The Dreamhouse. That album packed a hard punch.
Things don't start off good for the band. Touring had taken its toll, people were burned out, stressed out, and The Cure were on the brink of collapse, with Smith at a turning point. He was either going to channel all of his energy into an album, and get his feelings out, or commit suicide. The sessions for Pornography's recording were riddled with drug addition, fighting, and lead singer Robert Smith's depression, which only helped fuel the lyrical direction of songs.
Upon its release, Pornography was met with negative reviews from critics, but still managed to peak at number eight. It's an album that in retrospective review has gotten more favorable with people, but remains a blemish for the band as one of their lowest selling of all time since their sophomore release.
Playing through it, it's very obvious cry for help from Smith, with a very harsh tone of depression and self loathing. I can certainly see why the goth crowd would flock to this type of record. If it weren't so tragic, it would be cliché.
That's not to say that there isn't good stuff to be found. Songs such as The Hanging Garden, The Figurehead, and A Strange Day stand out among the rest. They're not commercial by any means, but I suppose they're not intended to be either.
Perhaps the biggest benefit Pornography has (for me) in 2025, is that it's not the follow up at this point to 1981's Faith. Rather, it's just another album in a storied discography that I'm making my way through. Basically, at this point it has the benefit of the history associated with The Cure.
It's not terrible, it's not good. It's pretty much just okay. However, just okay is certainly not what's going to help it in comparison to Siouxsie And The Banshees' A Kiss In The Dreamhouse. The truth of the matter is that it simply doesn't hold a candle to the latter. Pornography is more of the same from The Cure, whereas A Kiss In The Dreamhouse is the Banshees coming to the party with experimental, and ever evolving sound.
The Banshees win this round. Tomorrow we'll start off the next bout with their 1984 released Hyæna, up against The Cure's The Top (also released in 1984). It's pretty much been back and forth so far, but will a clear winner start to emerge? I guess we'll see.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution. |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 20, 1985 |
Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 222
Release Date: November 1981
Highlights
Fresh off their 1982 tour, Siouxsie And The Banshees returned to the studio with a new vision. Strings. Unlike many bands which were heavily leaning into the synthesizer, Siouxsie Sioux wanted to go full orchestration.
This inspiration came from their prior released single, Fireworks, which Sioux said about it, "Fireworks" indicated the direction we wanted for the album. We wanted strings ... John [McGeoch] wanted a machine but Steven [Severin] and I said it had to be real strings. They give a real, earthy, rich sound. You could hear the strings spitting and breathing and wheezing. Me and Steve have always wanted our music to be performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. We've always thought our songs would suit orchestration. Real strings have a very physical sound".
The album gave the Banshees the opportunity to go over the top with their sound, exploring and exploiting everything. If they came up with something big, engineer Mike Hedges would figure out how to make it bigger. He encouraged the group to fiddle with effects, and experiment with everything.
This was very reminiscent of the sounds I would later hear in their 1990 released Face To Face for Batman Returns, and what initially drew me to the Banshees. Oh my gosh, yes please, more of this!
Tracks one through three, Cascade, Green Fingers, and Obsession are so tightly woven that they feel like one long track that would be remiss without the other. Unfortunately, track four does a full 180, going back to the punchy punk sound for which Siouxsie And The Banshees carved their initial fame from. It's not bad, per se, but this sudden shift leaves the latter track not really feeling like it fits with what came before it.
Or perhaps it's the first three songs which don't fit with the rest of the album. The reason being that things didn't necessarily shift back to the stringy and deep sounds of Dreamhouse's openers for the remainder of what would be called, side A. It did, however, still continue to have that experimental sound aspect to it, which helped it to stay intriguing to hear.
Things picked back up with the side B opener, Melt!, which once again incorporated the strings with a deep rich sound. Painted Bird picked up the speed, and I really dug the fading echoes, and drum work which the track felt built around.
A Kiss In The Dreamhouse wraps up with Coccoon and Slowdive, which is like a nice layer of icing on the cake. While Cocoon has a jaunty almost doowop sound to it, albeit in a darker way which only Siouxsie Sioux could deliver, Slowdive slickly incorporates strings back into the psychedelic punk mix, giving you one last fist pump before departing.
I won't call the album perfect, but man, it could have been. It was right on the cusp for me, had it not been for the second half of the first side. Still, this puts The Cure in a tough spot. Their 1982 released Pornography, which I'll listen to tomorrow, needs to deliver hard to even be a contender.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 19, 1980 |
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 19, 1986 |
Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 60
Release Date: November 1981
Highlights
Today we continue the contest, which I have officially dubbed, The Cure For Siouxsie And The Banshees. We skip over the latter's Juju, because I had already heard it prior to kicking off this rotating listening session of albums, and instead move on to The Cure's 1981 released, Faith.
Though the band were no strangers to the studio at this point, the album proved difficult for them to record. Despite jumping from studio to studio, lead singer, Robert Smith wasn't happy with the end results of tracks being recorded. Smith points out the example of how he was going for a funeral sound on tracks Primary and All Cats Are Grey, but the end result were songs that just sounded dull. As a result, neither original recordings were ultimately utilized.
Despite the challenges, The Cure released Faith on April 17, 1981, which divided critics. While some praised it for its new sounds, others panned it for that same reason, comparing it to 60's Pink Floyd and The Doors, essentially calling it "dated".
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 18, 1981 |
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 18, 1987 |