| Peepshow | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 September 1988 | |||
| Recorded | January–June 1988,Early 1987 (initial recording for "Peek-a-Boo") | |||
| Studio | Marcus,London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:41 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Siouxsie and the Banshees chronology | ||||
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| Siouxsie Sioux chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Peepshow | ||||
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Peepshow is the ninth studio album by the Englishrock bandSiouxsie and the Banshees, released in the United Kingdom on 5 September 1988 byPolydor Records. It was their first record as a quintet. With the arrival of multi-instrumentalistMartin McCarrick and guitaristJon Klein, the group recorded a multifaceted album with a variety of influences.Peepshow included three singles "Peek-a-Boo", "The Killing Jar" and "The Last Beat of My Heart".
Upon release, the album was critically acclaimed: praise centred around the unpredictability of the orchestrations and new nuances inSiouxsie Sioux's voice. The record was a commercial success, peaking at No. 20 in the UK, and No. 68 on the USBillboard 200 chart in the week of 3 December 1988.[1] It spent a total of 20 weeks on that chart.[2] "Peek-a-Boo" became the band's first American hit and reached number 53 on theBillboardHot 100 chart. "Peek-a-Boo" also reached number one on theBillboardAlternative Songs chart and "the Killing Jar" got the number two spot.
It is the subject of the 2018 bookPeepshow by Samantha Bennett, part of the33⅓ series.[3]
Music journalist Parke Puterbaugh described "Peek-a-Boo" as a "collage of sound that incorporates a backward percussion track" with the voice bouncing from channel to channel. "The Killing Jar" opens with "a faint splash ofreggae" and then the music dissolves into atrancelike drone in the style ofBrian Eno. "Scarecrow" has a "Middle-Eastern feel" and the first side rushes to a climax in "Burn-Up", withcello and drums "simulating a train's mounting momentum".[4] On "Turn to Stone" and "Rhapsody",Siouxsie Sioux sang in highfalsetto.[5]
The record was a commercial success, peaking at No. 20 in the UK, and No. 68 on the USBillboard 200 chart in the week of 3 December 1988.[1] It spent a total of 20 weeks on that chart.[2]
The lead single "Peek-a-Boo" reached number one on theBillboardAlternative Songs chart and "the Killing Jar" got the number two spot.
The album was remastered and reissued on CD with bonus tracks in October 2014.[6] A 180g vinyl reissue, remastered from the original ¼” tapes and cut half-speed at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell, was released in December 2018.[7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Q | [9] |
| Record Mirror | [10] |
Upon release, the album was critically acclaimed: praise centred around the unpredictability of the orchestrations and new nuances inSiouxsie Sioux's voice.
Q wrote in its 5 out of 5 star review: "Peepshow takes place in some distorted fairground of the mind where weird and wonderful shapes loom." Reviewer Mark Cooper hailed "Martin McCarrick's accordion that pokes its way into Peek A Boo ... a carny piece of musical imagination". He noted that "the rest of the record bursts with similar acts of imagination", saying: "full honours go to the aforementioned McCarrick for all manner of shrewd decorations and drummer Budgie for endlessly inventive rhythm work that manages to pinpoint the tension inherent in each song without ever lapsing into an obvious beat".[9]
Melody Maker highly praised its first single, "Peek-a-Boo", and called it "quite the most astounding British record" of 1988, and "a brightly unexpected mixture of black steel and pop disturbance."[11] The paper also praised the band for the ballad "The Last Beat of My Heart". Chris Roberts said: "The infinite pinnacle is their one joint effort, the bravura hymn "The Last Beat of My Heart"". As Martin McCarrick's accordion and Budgie's directly intelligent rhythms underlie its pathos, this elegy is translated by Sioux with capitalbeatitude. It's the Banshees' most courageousarabesque in some time."[12]
Record Mirror also particularly enjoyed that song when reviewing the album: "The highlight is the restrained 'The Last Beat of My Heart', where Siouxsie's voice explores new ground as she caresses a haunting melody." Reviewer Kevin Murphy concluded by saying: "Brimming with confidence ...,Peepshow is the Banshees' finest hour."[10]NME noted a change of approach in the musical direction: "Peepshow is the best Banshees record sinceA Kiss in the Dreamhouse because it's the Banshees deciding to be apop band rather than arock group".[13]
Spin published a glowing review of the album in their November issue. Discussing "Peek-a-Boo", criticTony Fletcher said that its "mood fell in perfectly with their beloved London's summer fascination with the sparsity and confusion that callAcid House,Psychedelic and how!" He described the music of "Peek-a-Boo" as "a crazed assortment of fairground accordions, abrupt horns, distant to-and-fro vocals-exotic, erotic, a dancefloor winner for sure and all of three minutes short."[14] Fletcher also hailed the other tracks, noting "an almost liltingreggae feel to the beginning of "Killing Jar", a fragile, waif-like Siouxsie backed only bytranslucent guitar and a keyboard bass on the brief "Rawhead and Bloodybones", and a delightful, majestic ballad the likes of which it had been a safe assumption was beyond their reach on "The Last Beat of My Heart". [...] AsPeepshow ends with the drawn-out "Rhapsody", Siouxsie's operatic flings seem to be a celebration of her reawakened capacity to thrill."[14] Fletcher concluded: "She and the band sound as confident, abandoned and excited as when they started".[14]
InStereo Review, the album was published in the column "Best of the Month". Reviewer Parke Puterbaugh wrote that the record was "a fascinating plunge into thesubconscious" and was "Dream-like" and "hypnotic", further emphasizing, "Peepshow brims with nonlinearlogic, compulsive rhythms, and icy,crystalline textures." The critic concluded his review, qualifying it as an "utterlyunconventional and thoroughly intoxicating album" ... "a transcendent feat: They are not playing music, the music is playing them".[4]
Peepshow was listed byQ magazine as one of the top 50 albums of 1988.[15]The readers ofBest music magazine rated it the 6th best album of the year.[16]
AllMusic published a four-and-a-half -out-of-five-star review writing: "showcasing the band's [...] ability to always provide an accomplished variety of sound and approach while still recognizably maintaining a uniquely Banshees style --Peepshow is the sound of a band reenergized".[8] The 2004 edition ofThe Rolling Stone Album Guide gavePeepshow a rating of 2.5 stars out of five, saying that the album mixes "synthesizers and a lighter pop touch with the Banshees' trademark howl", but the combination "lacks spark".[17] In contrast a 2014 review inThe Daily Telegraph praised the record, saying that "lush,folk-rock orchestration produced perfect pop".[18]
Bloc Party later praised "Peek-a-Boo", which their singerKele Okereke described: "It sounded like nothing else on this planet. This is just a pop song [...], but to me it sounded like the most current but mostfuturistic bit of guitar-pop music I've heard."[19]DeVotchKa latercovered "The Last Beat of My Heart" at the suggestion ofArcade Fire singerWin Butler.[20]Colin Meloy ofThe Decemberists also mentioned "The Last Beat of My Heart" as one of his favorite Siouxsie and the Banshees songs.[21]Peepshow was also one of the albums Nic Offer of the band!!! ("Chk Chk Chk"), listened to the most during his formative years.[22]Emel Mathlouthi recorded a rendition of "Rhapsody" as a one-off for French Television, saying that the lyrics were close to her.[5]
All music is composed by Siouxsie and the Banshees.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Peek-a-Boo" | Siouxsie Sioux | 3:12 |
| 2. | "The Killing Jar" | Steven Severin | 4:04 |
| 3. | "Scarecrow" | Severin | 5:06 |
| 4. | "Carousel" | Siouxsie | 4:26 |
| 5. | "Burn-Up" | Siouxsie | 4:32 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Ornaments of Gold" | Siouxsie | 3:50 |
| 7. | "Turn to Stone" | Severin | 4:05 |
| 8. | "Rawhead and Bloodybones" | Siouxsie | 2:29 |
| 9. | "The Last Beat of My Heart" | Severin/Siouxsie | 4:30 |
| 10. | "Rhapsody" | Severin | 6:23 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "El Dia De Los Muertos" (Espiritu Mix) | Siouxsie | 5:36 |
| 12. | "The Killing Jar" (Lepidopteristic Mix) | 8:06 | |
| 13. | "The Last Beat of My Heart" (Live Seattle Lollapalooza, 1991) | 5:32 |
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[23] | 74 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] | 98 |
| European Albums (Music & Media)[25] | 64 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] | 64 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[27] | 20 |
| USBillboard 200[28] | 68 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[29] | Silver | 60,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
With the new record, he said he was inspired by a song written years ago by Siouxsie and the Banshees called Peek-a-boo. "I heard it for the first time, and it sounded like nothing else on this planet. This is just a pop song that they put out in the middle of their career that nobody knows about, but to me it sounded like the most current but most futuristic bit of guitar-pop music I've heard. I thought, that'd be cool, to make music that people might not get at the time, but in ten years' time, people would revisit it."
