''Feast'' is the debut studio album by British duo

the Creatures The Creatures were an English band formed in 1981 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie (musician), Budgie of the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Creatures released their first extended play, EP ''Wild Things (EP), Wild Things'' in ...

, composed of

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

and musician

Budgie Budgie may refer to: Arts * Budgie (album), ''Budgie'' (album), the debut album by the Welsh heavy metal band Budgie * Budgie (band), a Welsh heavy metal band from Cardiff * Budgie (musician) (born 1957), English drummer * Budgie (TV series), ''Bu ...

, then-members of the band

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

. It reached No. 17 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and the "

Miss the Girl "Miss the Girl" is the debut single recorded by English band the Creatures (Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie). It was co-produced by Mike Hedges and was released as the lead single from the critically acclaimed ''Feast'' album. It was remastere ...

" single peaked at No. 21. With their first album, the band embraced

exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon "Si" Waronker, Liberty Records ...

, including "waves crashing on beaches", "found-sound effects from nature" and local Hawaiian chanters. Critic Ned Raggett described it as "a lush, tropical experience".

Recording and music

Siouxsie and Budgie decided where to record the album by randomly placing a pin on a map of the world; the result was the U.S. state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Several songs are about their experiences in that region, including "Festival of Colours" and "A Strutting Rooster". Mark Brennan of ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' said that the album's opening track "Morning Dawning" "begins with the sound of complicity: waves rushing against a beach, waves that are ..the languid laps of dawn – a soundtrack for the netherland that are souvenirs between memories of dark and anticipations of light, the state between lingering in the past and launching into the future".Brennan, Mark. "The Naked Lunch 'Feast'' review. ''Melody Maker''. 21 May 1983. P. 27 The song title "Inoa ʻOle" is Hawaiian for "no name". "Ice House" was inspired by an obscure television play, while single "

" was inspired by the

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass medi ...

novel ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

''. "Dancing on Glass" was based on an Indian musical; during the studio session, the sounds of broken glass were created by Siouxsie and Budgie dancing on broken mirrors while wearing tough shoes.

Release

''Feast'' was released by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

on 15 May 1983, two years after the '' Wild Things'' EP. ''Feast'' was also the first album released on ''Wonderland'', a label created in 1983 by the members of Siouxsie and the Banshees. The album was entirely

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed in 1997 and reissued as part of the ''

A Bestiary Of ''A Bestiary Of'' is a compilation album by the Creatures (aka singer Siouxsie and musician Budgie), issued on CD in 1997. It compiled remastered recordings made by the band between 1981 and 1983, including the '' Wild Things'' EP, the ''Feast'' ...

'' CD compilation.

Critical reception

''Feast'' was released to critical acclaim. Paul Prayag of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' praised the album, awarding it a score of 4 out of 5 and writing: "Siouxsie and Budgie are wandering deeper and deeper into a jungle that looks like having no easily definable boundaries".Prayag, Paul. ''Feast'' review. ''Record Mirror''. 28 May 1983. ''Melody Maker'' described ''Feast'' as "an album of filtered brilliance, fertile, sensual and erotic; an album that, in its desperate naivety, attempts to articulate that moment when the monsoon ends, when the smell and the heat conspire in a perfumed mist and life sprouts instantly, green and luxurious". Reviewer Mark Brennan said it was "breathlessly exotic and breathtakingly erotic". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' also hailed it: "The Creatures have assembled a multifarious sonic boom that is as various and kaleidoscopic as can be imagined. The humours of Sioux's frosty larynx are nakedly outlined against skins of sometimes fabulous quality. The drum sound on 'Ice House' must be one of the greatest on record".Cook, Richard. "All Creatures Great And Small". ''NME''. 14 May 1983.

Track listing

Personnel

;The Creatures *

– vocals *

– drums, percussion with: *The Lamalani Hula Academy Hawaiian Chanters – choir on "Morning Dawning", "Inoa 'Ole" and "A Strutting Rooster" ;Technical *The Creatures - recording *Rob O'Connor, The Creatures - sleeve design *Gil Gilbert - photography "Sea noises courtesy of Sunset Beach. Jungle noises courtesy of Rick and Donna's back garden. Broken glass courtesy of the night before."

References

{{Authority control 1983 debut albums The Creatures albums Albums produced by Mike Hedges