Juju (Siouxsie and the Banshees album)
| Juju | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||
| Studio album by Siouxsie and the Banshees | ||||||||||
| Released | 6 June 1981 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||||||||
| Genre | Post-punk Gothic rock |
|||||||||
| Length | 41:06 | |||||||||
| Label | Polydor | |||||||||
| Producer | Nigel Gray, Siouxsie & the Banshees | |||||||||
| Siouxsie and the Banshees chronology | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
Juju is the fourth studio album by Siouxsie and the Banshees and was released in June 1981 through Polydor Records. After a slightly electronic bent made on a few tracks of their last album, the Banshees returned to a guitar-based sound for Juju, due to the now-official guitarist, John McGeoch. The album also featured prominently, for the first time, the intricate percussion work of band member Budgie. Juju was remastered as a single-disc digipack in May 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Reception
The album was hailed by both critics and musicians. In 1995, Melody Maker placed Juju as "one of the most influential British albums of all time".[1] In 2006, Mojo honoured John McGeoch by rating him in their list of 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time for his work on "Spellbound".[2] In 2007, The Guardian put Juju in its list of 1000 albums to hear before you die. Journalist Alexis Petridis wrote. "Perennial masters of brooding suspense, the Banshees honed their trademark aloof art-rock to its hardest and darkest pitch on Juju. With their musical alchemy at its peak and Siouxsie at her most imperious, pop marvels such as Spellbound and Arabian Knights were poised, peerless exercises in magic realism that you could dance to."[3]
[edit] Legacy
Morrissey selected the first single of Juju, "Spellbound" during an interview for the US Kroq radio in 1997 and said
| “ | another great single, a hit in England, certainly not here, I don’t think. But they were one of the great groups of the late 70s, early 80s and very underrated, I think. Siouxsie and the Banshees were excellent".[4] | ” |
The ex-leader of The Smiths also later stated to GQ in 2005 that Juju is to him the second best Siouxsie and the Banshees album[5], while his previous guitarist Johnny Marr said on the BBC radio 2 in February 2008 that he rated guitarist John McGeoch highly for his work on the first song of this album, "Spellbound". Marr qualified it as "clever" with "really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll".[6] In Uncut, Marr also rated McGeoch at number ten in his all time favourite guitarists for Juju and Real Life by Magazine.[7][8]
[edit] Track listing
All tracks by Sioux, McGeoch, Severin, and Budgie.
- "Spellbound" – 3:17
- "Into the Light" – 4:13
- "Arabian Knights" – 3:07
- "Halloween" – 3:42
- "Monitor" – 5:35
- "Night Shift" – 6:06
- "Sin in My Heart" – 3:38
- "Head Cut" – 4:24
- "Voodoo Dolly" – 7:04
- "Spellbound (12" Extended Mix)" - 4:41 (2006 reissue)
- "Arabian Knights (12" Vocoder Mix)" - 3:09 (2006 reissue)
- "Fireworks (Nigel Gray Version)" - 4:13 (2006 reissue)
[edit] Personnel
- Siouxsie Sioux: vocals; guitar on "Sin in My Heart"
- Steven Severin: bass guitar
- Budgie: drums, percussion
- John McGeoch: guitar
- Nigel Gray and Siouxsie and the Banshees: producer
[edit] References
- ^ Price, Simon. "Kisses in the dreamhouse: a subjective history". Melody Maker. 28 August 1993
- ^ "Mojo - 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time" June 1996 Issue 89. John McGeogh - Spellbound (Siouxsie & the Banshees, Juju) - 1981 - Yamaha
- ^ Petridis, Alexis. "The Guardian, 1000 albums to hear before you die". Guardian.co.uk.21 November 2007.
- ^ Blade, Richard. "KROQ interview" Morrissey-solo. air date: 6 July 1997.
- ^ Deevoy, Adrian. "Men Of The Year" GQ. October 2005.
- ^ Mitchell, Pete. "Spellbound : The Story Of John McGeoch" BBC Radio 2’s Pete Mitchell talks to Howard Devoto, Siouxsie Sioux and Johnny Marr among others, as he shines a light on the life of this unsung guitar hero. February 2008. About McGeoch's contribution of the single "Spellbound", Marr states : "It's so clever. He's got this really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll and this actual tune he's playing is really quite mysterious."
- ^ "Johnny Marr Top Ten Guitarists". Uncut. November 2004 issue with U2 on the cover.
- ^ "Johnny Marr Top Ten Guitarists". Morrissey-solo.com. November 2004.
