Downside Up
| Downside Up | ||||
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| Box set by Siouxsie and the Banshees | ||||
| Released | 29 November 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 1978–1995 | |||
| Genre |
Post-punk alternative rock |
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| Label | Universal | |||
| Producer | Various | |||
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Siouxsie and the Banshees compilations chronology |
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Record Collector | |
| Rock Sound | very favourable |
| Stylus | A |
| The Times | very favourable |
| Uncut | very favourable |
Downside Up is a four-disc box set collecting B-sides and bonus material from the catalogue of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also included (on disc four) is The Thorn ep, originally released in 1984. Most of these songs (only present on these CDs) were classics of the band's live repertoire like "Pulled To Bits", "Eve White/Eve Black", "Red Over White", "I Promise", "Something Blue" and "B-side Ourselves". The boxset was also released on iTunes.
The four-cd box set compilation received critical acclaim upon its release. The Times wrote in its review of Downside Up: "Standouts include the spiky Drop Dead/Celebration, the sinister Eve White/Eve Black and the chopped up industrial funk of Tattoo". The critic also rated the band as one of "the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era."Stylus rated it A saying : "It’s a wonderfully eclectic mixture of fingers-down-a-blackboard avant-punk (“Voices (On The Air),” “Eve White/Eve Black”), Creatures-esque tribal drum-worship (“Sunless”), majestic beauty (“Something Blue,” “Shooting Sun,” “Return”), amusing experimentation (“Slap Dash Snap,” “(There’s A) Planet In My Kitchen”), linguistic fun (“Mittageisen,” “Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant,” “El Dia De Los Muertos”) and, yes, playfully ‘dark’ tunes (“Something Wicked (This Way Comes),” “Are You Still Dying, Darling?”)."Record Collector praised the box set for its "remarkable diversity, spontaneity and playfulness", considering that there are "No throwaway tracks". Critic Murray Chalmers noted: ""Drop Dead/Celebration" is still a wonderful explosion of bile aimed at their absconded guitarist and drummer, while Slap Dash Snap is prototype techno." She underlined the diversity of the material: "on more reflective tracks like Sea Of Light and Let Go you feel that here is a group who could go anywhere". She then stated: "By CD2 they are firing on all cylinders, a pop group thrillingly ahead of the pack, CD3 is immaculate." and considered the four tracks of The Thorn that end the box set as an "orchestrated EP of ferocious intensity".Rock Sound shared a similar point of view and said: "Whilst most bands regard the B-side as an irrelevancy, a dumping ground for throwaway tracks not deemed good enough for proper release, Siouxsie And The Banshees always treated it with respect, an excuse to have fun and experiment." Neil Gardner praised "the sensual menace of "Tattoo"".Uncut qualified Downside Up as "an exhaustive and fascinating collection from an astonishing group".
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