Once Upon a Time/The Singles explained

Once Upon a Time/The Singles
Type:greatest
Artist:Siouxsie and the Banshees
Cover:Siouxsie And The Banshees - Once Upon A Time - The Singles album cover.jpg
Released:4 December 1981
Recorded:1978–1981
Genre:Post-punk
Length:32:37
Label:Polydor (UK)
PVC (original US release)
Geffen (1984 US reissue)
Producer:Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nigel Gray, Steve Lillywhite, Nils Stevenson, Mike Stavrou
Chronology:Siouxsie and the Banshees
compilations
Next Title:Twice Upon a Time – The Singles
Next Year:1992

Once Upon a Time/The Singles is Siouxsie and the Banshees's 1981 compilation album featuring the band's UK single releases to date. The album featured several songs that had been released as singles yet had not appeared on any of the Banshees' four albums. Once Upon a Time/The Singles spent twenty six weeks in the UK albums chart.[1] [2] The sleeve was designed by Stylorouge.

Video compilation

A tie-in VHS video was released in the UK the same year on PolyGram's Spectrum label. Running for 30 minutes, it featured the videos to the eight singles, but replaced "Mirage" and "Love in a Void" with "Red Light".[3]

Critical reception

AllMusic's Steve Huey called the compilation "a cohesive and essential overview of the band's edgy, influential peak". He added that despite the group's "challenging" music, "it's also accessible enough for eight of these singles to have charted in the British Top 50." In 1982, Mark Tremblay of the Calgary Herald wrote that "only 'Playground Twist' really excels from the first side", which features the band's singles prior to 1980. Tremblay said "Side two is more polished, less abrasive and generally has better rhythmic drive."[4] In 2002, Q Magazine named Once Upon a Time/The Singles the 7th Greatest Album of All-Time by a Female Artist.[5] In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album 44th on its "Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[6]

Track listing

  1. "Hong Kong Garden" (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, John McKay and Kenny Morris)
  2. "Mirage" (Siouxsie, Severin, McKay and Morris)
  3. "The Staircase (Mystery)" (Siouxsie, Severin, McKay and Morris)
  4. "Playground Twist" (Siouxsie, Severin, McKay and Morris)
  5. "Love in a Void" (Siouxsie, Severin, Peter Fenton and Morris)
  6. "Happy House" (Siouxsie and Severin)
  7. "Christine" (Siouxsie and Severin)
  8. "Israel" (Siouxsie, Severin, Budgie and John McGeoch)
  9. "Spellbound" (Siouxsie, Severin, Budgie and McGeoch)
  10. "Arabian Knights" (Siouxsie, Severin, Budgie and McGeoch)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Siouxsie & the Banshees in the UK charts albums and singles . officialcharts.com . 19 March 2012.
  2. Daniel Blythe The Encyclopaedia of Classic 80s Pop 2002 - Page 377 "Siouxsle and the Banshees ... but the singles compilations Once Upon A Time and Twice Upon A Time are a solid testament to an ..."
  3. Book: Johns, Brian . Entranced: the Siouxsie and the Banshees story . Omnibus Press . 1989 . 0-7119-1773-6.
  4. News: Bill Hughes offers nine excellent renditions. Tremblay. Mark. Calgary Herald. 7 April 1982. A18. 17 March 2013.
  5. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#Women Q - 100 Women Who Rock The World
  6. Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone. 17 March 2013.