朱朱 (1981)

Juju is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was recorded at Surrey Sound studio with Nigel Gray as co-producer, and was released on 19 June 1981 by Polydor Records. Two singles were released from Juju: "Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights".

The album was commercially successful in the UK. It was acclaimed by critics upon its release, with praise given particularly to John McGeoch's unconventional guitar playing and Siouxsie's vocal performances. It remains a critical favourite and is seen as a landmark album of post-punk.

Background

After the slightly electronic bent of their previous album, 1980's Kaleidoscope, Siouxsie and the Banshees returned to a guitar-based sound for Juju, due to the presence of now-official guitarist McGeoch. The album also prominently featured the intricate percussion work of band member Budgie. According to Steven Severin: "Juju was the first time we'd made a "concept" album that drew on darker elements. It wasn't pre-planned, but, as we were writing, we saw a definite thread running through the songs; almost a narrative to the album as a whole".

The album was recorded at co-producer Gray's Surrey Sound studio. There, McGeoch experimented with a rarely used guitar effects device called the Gizmo for the album track "Into the Light". Attached to the guitar's bridge, the Gizmo used keyed wheels to press the strings, giving a McGeoch's guitar the sound of a classical string instrument. For "Arabian Knights", McGeoch transformed a tune by Siouxsie, initially in waltz rhythm, that she had composed on a Vox Teardrop guitar. For "Sin in My Heart", McGeoch used an EBow while playing guitar.

The sleeve reproduced a picture of an African statue that the group found at the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill.

Musical style

Juju is a post-punk album, and was listed solely as such by AllMusic. The record was also qualified as "art rock" by The Guardian, which also dubbed the two singles as "pop marvels". However, Juju has also been cited by certain critics as gothic rock, though the band dispute such categorisation. BBC Radio 4 called the album "hugely influential dark wave".

Release

Juju reached No. 7 in the UK Albums Chart, remaining in the chart for 17 weeks.

A 180g vinyl reissue of the album, remastered from the original ¼” tapes and cut half-speed at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell, was released in August 2018.

Critical reception

Sounds praised the album, observing that Siouxsie's voice "seems to have acquired a new fullness of melody" with "a rich, dark smoothness". Assessing the band's music, writer Betty Page commented: "The way this unit operates is impressively cohesive, like one brain the inventive musical talents of [guitarist] McGeoch, [drummer] Budgie and [bassist] Severin mesh perfectly with Siouxsie". She also hailed McGeoch as being "the only man who can make an acoustic guitar sound foreboding". NME considered that "Juju, their fourth LP [might be] their second best", qualifying it as "a peak in entertainment". Critic Paul Morley wrote that Siouxsie "exult[ed] with priceless poise". He concluded, naming all the songs, saying: "Side one's highlights – 'Spellbound', 'Into the Light', 'Arabian Knights', 'Halloween' and 'Monitor'. The most consistent side since The Scream. Side two's highlights – 'Night Shift', 'Sin in My Heart', 'Head Cut' and 'Voodoo Dolly'. Juju is the first integrated and sparkling-complete Banshees since The Scream."

In a retrospective review, AllMusic wrote, "The upfront intensity of Juju probably isn't matched anywhere else in the catalog of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Thanks to its killer singles, unrelenting force and invigorating dynamics, Juju is a post-punk classic." The 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide, gave a 3 ouf 5 rating while pairing Juju with Kaleidoscope as albums that, refined "the Banshees' attack, diversifying the sound without losing its swirling impact". Rating the album three out of five in the MusicHound album guide book, Doug Pullen described Juju as "a dark sensual record that combined Sioux's pained lyrics with smartly evocative grooves". Music critic Garry Mulholland included Juju in his list of the 261 greatest albums since punk and disco in the book Fear of Music (2006).

In 2007, The Guardian placed Juju on its "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list, writing, "Perennial masters of brooding suspense, the Banshees honed their trademark aloof art rock to its hardest and darkest pitch on Juju." Juju was also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Legacy

In 1995, Melody Maker writer Cathi Unsworth described Juju as "one of the most influential British albums ever".