The Cure: Classic or Dud?

Seventeen Seconds
Head On The Door
Disintegration
Faith
KMKMKM
Japanese Whispers
Pornogrphy
The Top
Three Imaginary Boys
Wish
Never Heard anything recorded after Wish

No 'new' songs on this tour last night, but given what they've dug up so far who can complain?

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-cure/2016/the-chelsea-las-vegas-nv-6bfebac2.html

killer #17-20

hopefully by the time they reach Washington State they've realized everything after 1989 is pointless and just play the good stuff (except Never Enough, they can play that).

Wish is not pointless!

You're right. Wish isn't bad. It is the album that made me give up on them though. The songs I liked best felt like intentional rewrites of Disintegration highlights.

When they played that secret gig in 91 and premiered 4 new songs, I really thought that album was gonna be the greatest thing ever. It's still pretty good but perhaps it could have been great had they not started second-guessing things during the recording sessions.

i haven't listened the s/t in years and am finally diving into a copy that includes "truth goodness and beauty" and "going nowhere." anyway wow "lost" is so wild, I kinda forgot

in preparation for the concernt, I decided to use my trial Tidal membership to listen to the Cure discography from beginning to end...

damn...following up Three Imaginary Boys with Seventeen Seconds is one of the great "step yo game up" moves in rock history jesus...it's kinda crazy how much they improved and focused what the band was about...like one minute they are petering out the end of an album with a half assed "Foxy Lady" cover then they are dropping shit like "A Forest"

I really love two albums which are not proper albums but absolutely wonderful as they condense what i love about the cure. "Mixed up", the remix album from 1990 which got very bad reviews at the time but which updated their sound and still holds today and is a terrific album for parties. The other one i love is "entreat" the live album from the disintegration period which i listened to before disintegration. And somehow i find the live versions more to the point, more touching than the studio versions. Of the proper albums faith and 17 seconds are my faves. I quite like wish - it hit me when it came out - and never understood the appeal of the top which actually was the 1st album i ever heard of the band and which turned me off them for quote some time.

I still maintain that Boys Don't Cry > Three Imaginary Boys

Disintegration
The Top
Wish
Faith
Pornography
Seventeen Seconds
Kiss Me
Head on the Door
Japanese Whispers
Three Imaginary Boys
Bloodflowers
The Cure
4:13 Dream
Wild Moon Swings

mooon swings. whatever.

yeah BDC is better than 3 Imaginary Boys.

Totally. It's how TIB should have been released. They took out the pointless songs (Foxy, So What, It's Not You) and added a better one (World War) and the singles.

I don't mind "It's Not You" but it's basically "Object (Variation I)"

Of course. But that is one of the most obvious statements in the world. Boys don't cry is a killer song, three imaginary boys is ok but not more. It's an unfair match, a genius tune vs. an average, everyday song.

Yeah, I generally prefer Boys Don't Cry to Three Imaginary Boys too.

I often wonder what Smith thinks about songs like 'Object' and 'It's Not You' these days... I'm guessing he's embarrassed by 'em.

Uh, 'Three Imaginary Boys' (the song) rules.

(x-post to DJP) Exactly. I like it too, but we really only need one or the other on the album. I also prefer the Easy Cure demo of "Meathook" than the version that made it on the debut.

Alex we are talking about the albums not the songs. The song "Three Imaginary Boys" is brilliant!

lol well everyone covered all of my points so I'm just going to delete them and say "ditto"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5iHouB9ODk

good old Tochurst Dempsey

yeah i mean when you take off some garbage songs and add one of the greatest new wave songs i'd say boys don't cry is better than three imaginary boys!

What was the story with World War again? It wasn't on the CD version of BDC for some reason, I think I read that Bob doesn't/didn't like it?

also

The song "Three Imaginary Boys" is brilliant!

^

But boys don't cry is a compilation. How can you compare a compilation to a real album. That does not make a lot lf sense. Obviously the comp is better as it is a sort of best of. That is trivial. And anybody who thinkks the song tib is better th a n the song bdc is crazy. bdc sleighs, tib is a sleeping pill in compsrison.

Sorry about the spelling. It's the smartphone's fault.

Nobody is saying one is better than the other. We're saying that both rule, which is true.

add one of the greatest new wave songs i'd say boys don't cry is better than three imaginary boys

Which one, "Killing An Arab" or "Jumping Someone Else's Train" ?

This

BDC is better than 3 Imaginary Boys.

Seven shows into the tour and they've played 72 different songs!

I'm really impressed that they played "2 Late". I hope they play it in Montréal.

I have a fantastic bootleg from the Top tour with Phil still on bass and Boris in on drums (maybe his first or second show ever, if I recall correctly). I'll post it when I get home if enough people are interested.

Go on then. This was the tour i first saw them.

Listened to "The Top" for the first time in ages, and yeah, it's pretty great! Really sets the stage for what comes next, but in a sort of non-linear way.

Faith
The Walk (North American mini-LP)
Blue Sunshine (The Glove)
Pornography
17 Seconds
Disintegration
Join the Dots (first 2.5 CDs)
The Head on the Door
KMKMKM
The Top
Wish
Boys Don't Cry >> Three Imaginary Boys
Wild Mood Swings
4:13 Dream
The Cure
Bloodflowers

I can't include Japanese Whispers with the truncated "Just One Kiss," as much as I love "The Lovecats."

What was the story with World War again? It wasn't on the CD version of BDC for some reason, I think I read that Bob doesn't/didn't like it?

Yes, Robert left "Object" and "World War" off the CD because he hated them - replaced with "So What." I believe he thought "World War" was terrible, and "Object" lyrically embarrassing.

Here 'tis:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ovqbesiwmcxa1qf/tc16111984.zip?dl=0

I'm really impressed that they played "2 Late". I hope they play it in Montréal.

― LeRooLeRoo, Friday, May 20, 2016 3:52 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh nice

(x-post)
Thanks! I still have my ticket for Thursday 10 May 1984 (Block 10;B19) - 32 years ago.

Relistening to this Top tour show, it has some downright hilarious between song banter from Bob:

"Sorry we started so late. We got arrested."

(introducing 'Let's Go to Bed') "Here's another country and western song."

"Whoever turned the house lights on is gonna get a fuckin' kicking later on."

Smith's live between-song banter was always a bit WTF during the '80s, providing that you could make out what the hell he was saying! There's some moments on The Cure In Orange where I'm like "what the fuck did he just say?"

my all-time favorite band:

Pornography
The Head on the Door
Faith
Seventeen Seconds
Disintegration
Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
Join the Dots
Wish
The Top
Japanese Whispers
Three Imaginary Boys
Bloodflowers
Wild Mood Swings
4:13 Dream
The Cure

Relistening to this Top tour show, it has some downright hilarious between song banter from Bob:

"Sorry we started so late. We got arrested."

(introducing 'Let's Go to Bed') "Here's another country and western song."

"Whoever turned the house lights on is gonna get a fuckin' kicking later on."

― Austin, Saturday, May 21, 2016 12:38 AM (16 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

My favorite Robert Smith stage banter can be heard on the Curiosity cassette. At the conclusion of one of the songs, he says, "You've been the noisiest audience I ever had to listen to."

thanks! this version of "forever" is dope

I often think I've "completed" my Cure phase but there's still quite a bunch of things I don't have. I should be filling the gaps but it's annoying to get albums for just a few tracks.

I tend to go through phases of either not listening to The Cure, or binge listening to their discography. Just when I think I've reached a point where I feel I've burnt out on the discography, I'll find myself on a Cure kick and loving them as much as ever.

I'm definitely getting in the mood for it and I always meant to fill in the gaps and buy all the expanded editions but I'm always reluctant to go back to old favourite bands when I've got the majority of their stuff. I don't know why. But I'll probably have a great time with it.

I tend to go through phases of either not listening to The Cure, or binge listening to their discography. Just when I think I've reached a point where I feel I've burnt out on the discography, I'll find myself on a Cure kick and loving them as much as ever.

― Turrican, Saturday, May 21, 2016 7:31 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This. Also, I hear the influence of Disintegration in unlikely places, like a lot of post rock and shoegazey metal. I was listening to Panopticon by Isis last week and remember thinking it sounded like that band has definitely spent some time with the back half of Disintegration (and probably Pornography too)

my friend/drummer is a friend of roger's. he txted him today:

"what do i have to do to guarantee exploding boy on the shoreline set list?"

roger: haha

"i don't know why you think i'm joking"

roger: awful song

still hope they play it!

Hope nobody minds if I shill for a Curehead friend of mine.

Nick Keech (who plays in the Telescopes touring band among others) has a little side project where he conjures up the sound of that cold, disconnected, 17 Seconds/Faith era for fun and he's really good at it too.

This is his latest.

http://easterhead.bandcamp.com/track/swing