Released 16 January 1995 Genre Alternative rock Label Polydor
Geffen (US) | Recorded 1993–1994 Length 54:13 | |
Studio Studio Du Manoir (Léon, France) & Wessex (London) | ||
The Rapture is the eleventh and final studio album by English alternative rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. The songs with cello arrangements, including the title track as well as "Fall from Grace" and "Not Forgotten", were produced by the band on their own in 1993. John Cale later produced the remaining songs in mid-1994.
Contents
This album was reissued in 2014 in a remastered version with three bonus tracks, including a previously unreleased song called "FGM", and "New Skin", a song recorded for the motion picture soundtrack of Showgirls.
Recording and release
After composing songs in Siouxsie and Budgie's house near Toulouse, France, in March and April 1993, the band went to Léon near Biarritz. They produced the first part of the album at Studio de Manoir in May. At the beginning of 1994, they recorded the final songs in London, this time with producer and former Velvet Underground member John Cale, who had previously produced albums that the band liked such as Patti Smith's Horses and the first Modern Lovers album. Cale also mixed one track, "Fall from Grace", from the previous recording session.
In the UK, Polydor only released the album on both CD and cassette, whereas in the US, Geffen also released it on vinyl LP. For the 2014 reissue, an unreleased and slightly different longer version of "New Skin" was included as a bonus track (the original version had been released in 1995 on the soundtrack for the Paul Verhoeven film Showgirls).
Critical reception
The Rapture was well received by critics. Melody Maker hailed the record at its release and wrote: "The Rapture is a fascinating, transcontinental journey through danger and exotica". Describing the arrangements, they added, "it's a vivid cornucopia of lush instrumentation, mandolins vying with cellos and bells, sweeping strings describing starlit oceans and sirens calling from jagged rocks, and attics that hide secret worlds". Steve Malins of Vox also liked the album. He said, "The title-track is a sublime melodrama recalling the experimentation of Peepshow and 1982's Kiss in the Dreamhouse", before concluding with this sentence, "The Rapture represents an intelligent twist on familiar Banshees obsessions". Liz Buckley of Sun Zoom Spark also praised it, writing, "How is a band that first formed almost two decades ago able to remain both vital and celebrated? Answer: Metamorphosis". Buckley also declared that "the album is able to excite the hairs on the back of your neck". Select gave it a 4-star rating, hailing the band as "purveyors of scary pop par excellence". Matt Hall noted the ability of the group for "trotting out jolly tunes about mental breakdown, love bordering on obsession and severely dislocated relationships." The reviewer characterized The Rapture as a "fine little Russian doll of a record", and said, "Under the keyboard lines, swelling strings and OTT percussion, at the centre of every song is a nugget of disquiet that keeps you listening again and again".
Track listing
All tracks produced by Siouxsie and the Banshees except tracks 1-2 and 7-8-9 produced by John Cale. Track 4 produced by Siouxsie and the Banshees and mixed by John Cale.
All music composed by Siouxsie and the Banshees, except bonus tracks "FGM" by Siouxsie/Jon Klein and "New Skin" by Siouxsie.
All lyrics written by Siouxsie Sioux, except where noted.
Personnel
Charts
Album
Singles