The Rapture is the eleventh and final studio album by Siouxsie & the Banshees.

Melody Maker hailed the record at its release : "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.

Sun Zoom Spark wrote. "How is a band that first formed almost two decades ago able to remain both vital and celebrated? Answer: Metamorphosis." The journalist announced : "The album is able to excite the hairs on the back of your neck.

John Cale, known for his experimental work with The Velvet Underground, produced half of the album in mid-1994 : the poppiest songs were recorded during that session. When "The Rapture" came out, people presumed that the songs containing strings were produced by Cale but that was not correct.

In fact, the numbers with cello arrangements, including the title track plus "Fall from Grace" & "Not Forgotten", were produced by the band one year before in 1993.

Track listing

1. "O Baby"*
2. "Tearing Apart"*
3. "Stargazer"
4. "Fall from Grace"° (Lyrics: Severin)
5. "Not Forgotten"
6. "Sick Child" (Lyrics: Budgie)
7. "The Lonely One"*
8. "Falling Down"
9. "Forever"*
10. "The Rapture"
11. "The Double Life"* (Lyrics: Severin)
12. "Love Out Me"

Personnel

• Siouxsie Sioux: vocals
• Steven Severin: electric bass
• Budgie: drums and percussion
• Martin McCarrick: cello, keyboards and accordion
• Jon Klein: guitars
• Renaud Pion: woodwind
• Siouxsie & the Banshees: producers
• John Cale: producer* and mixer°
• Martin Brass: engineer
• Charlie Gray: engineer
• Mark Saunders: mixer

Charts

Singles

References

]