The Cure: Classic or Dud?

Anything to add, Ned?

The idea is to encourage people to be forthright in their opinion but it's not a vote or anything. It's a catchier way of saying "what do you think of this band?"

Cheers!

(PS: Dud. A couple of the singles are nice musically, even very good, but they have Smith's horrible smeared moan over the top of them. He sounds like a fourteen-year-old with a splinter in his toe: there's something wheedling about his voice which makes me want to smack him and tell him to get a grip rather than empathise with him.)

Seriously.. though it seems the norm to slag 'em off these days, it's amazing just how much good stuff they have done. 'Boy's Don't Cry'/'3 Imaginary Boys' is a great debut, whichever version you have. Scratchy wired glum-pop. In fact it's all classic up to 'The Top', their first major clunker.

'Head on the Door' is great pop. 'Kiss Me X3' is also great pop ('Just Like Heaven'), except where they try too hard to make great pop and fail ('Hot, Hot, Hot'). 'Disintegration' is their last great album. But not pop. No problem.

My last encounter with The Cure was 'Wild Mood Swings'. I swung my copy back from whence it came - Record and Tape Exchange. Still, 'Galore' sums up the later years nicely.

Anyway I like old Bob, a pop man at heart even in his gloomiest moments.

Classic. And if you disagree with me I'll shove all twenty or so CDRs of rare and odd stuff I have of theirs down your throat and kill you. *proceeds to light candles to huge _Disintegration_ poster in room*

The Cure are a band who, like Depeche Mode and a number of others of that ilk, should have just hung it up on December 31, 1989. Their glory days were in the 1980s, Disintegration should have been their last album. It would have been a perfect ending. Instead, they chose to put out three subpar releases in the 1990s. While Bloodflowers was a definite improvement over Wild Mood Swings (did *anyone* like that album?) and Wish (which came out at the peak of my Cure fandom and still disappointed me), it still wasn't close to the material they released during the 1980s.

Yeah, some of their stuff is whiny and pretentious. But I think they manage to pull it off reasonably well, and I think the whininess and the pretentiousness will make them staples of every sad-sack high school kid for the next thirty years, whether they continue to release new albums or not. (And hopefully they won't, judging from the poor quality of their most recent albums--I think that the more bad stuff they release, the less "legendary" they'll become.)

By the way, I *was* a teenage goth girl. I was also an early-20s goth girl. I own a velvet and lace cape and little pointy boots and black lipstick. Heh.

_Wild Mood Swings_ is more problematic. It's a very erratic album and contains a couple of songs that never should have seen the light of day ("Mint Car", "Return"). However, it also contains the absolutely marvelous "The 13th", "Want", "Gone!" and "Jupiter Crash". Some judicious editing (and swapping some album tracks for b-sides) would make this a much better album.

For me, _Bloodflowers_ compares very well to their 80's output. It seems that the group got back into a good songwriting groove for this album, which is particularly evident on "Out Of This World", "The Loudest Sound", "The Last Day Of Summer", "Bloodflowers", and "Watching Me Fall" (Cure cliches and all). The album has a strong sense of flow and there are no embarrassing attempts to rewrite "Friday I'm In Love". It was a good ending for them, assuming that Robert's latest pronouncements about the band's demise are actually true this time.

There are individual songs I don't like, and _Wild Mood Swings_ is easily my least- favorite of their albums, but I'd be hard-pressed to say that I actively dislike any of the Cure's albums.

They have many good tunes. However, they have many bad ones, viz "Friday I'm In Love".

Still, at their best they show an impressive ability to make both poppy goth jumpathons and total doomfests.

I had a girlfriend once who was into these boys hard and she used to play is it 'Pictures of You' (?) over and over and over (a sort of pining for a lost love I think; not me, incidentally). Anyway, it used to bore the hell out of me, not to mention what felt like a large hole in my brain.

The thing is, with the Cure, it's like the Manic Street FUCKING Preachers syndrome - people who like 'em don't just like 'em, they fucking LOVE 'em, and think they're prophets or something. No, they are miserable, half-goths with absolutely nothing to say and even less charisma.

That said, I am admit that I am hardly familiar know their canon, since I can't bear exposure to it for protracated periods.

Still; DUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUD

Hmm, having said that, I do get riled when someone fails to 'get' my favourite bands and indulges in the kind of mindless attack I have already posted against The Cure. Yet, I feel that certain bands are wont to attract a more dependent following, who hang the band's music like metaphorical rosaries. And I'm not sure that even among my most beloved artists, there are those which I could hold in such equally mindless esteem.

What say you?

DUD

Yet I do wonder how much my own nosatlgia plays a role. I still think Wish is great, despite every. review. ever. written. Maybe if I hadn't listened to it for the 1st time as a teenager travelling thru Europe with schoomates I'd think differently.

Also, I really really like the Wolfgang Press song on _Lonely is an Eyesore_, but I've heard their recordings are pretty patchy. Any recommendations there?

the "cure=suburbia" part of Michael Bracewell's England Is Mine is one of the best things ever!

Classic, BTW. Again, my mid-teens coincided with Disintegration and I was full-on obsessed for a couple of years. I bought a shedload of albums at Oxfam last year, and a friend and I drove our GF/wives insane by listening, back to back, to 17 Seconds, Faith, Pornography and the Top. Divorce was on the horizon by the end of that evening.

Thing is, there are SO many B-sides and rarities which have officially surfaced that they'd have to put out a box set. As it is, if the remasters that are surfacing next year are going to include bonus discs for each with room for other oddities, then that will partially settle the problem.

I do like the flow of 4:13 Dream and like the songs on the album. "Underneath the Stars" is amazing, might be the best late period song by the Cure. Bloodflowers could be better, I suppose, but it has been awhile since I heard it. The s/t I just can't listen to as it hurts my ears. Tho probably a decent album if you play with the alternate tracks and B-sides.

The biggest problem with the last 2 albums is how loud and up front in the mix Robert’s voice is. Makes them barely listenable unfortunately. I’m surprised he doesn’t hear it.

I went and watched a live version of The Promise and it probably delivered more on the assaultative guitar burnout front - without quite getting there - could even faintly hear Roger's keys

Would be a pretty interested to read a candid oral history of those Ross Robinson sessions - sounds like the goth Some Kind of Monster - band identity crisis, tantrums, walkouts, Robert berating the band for not being worthy of being the Cure, people throwing music stands across the room (audible on Lost IIRC) etc

If Wiki can be trusted it looks like Ross has produced over 30 albums since that one, most of which I've never heard or even heard of, so I'd like to think it tanked his career.

Wish they'd finish up Songs of a Lost World and release it

Me too

I have been BURNed before but I still hold out hope that they have a mature-age masterpiece in em

They really should, all the things that RS sang about at 25 are actually happening now

https://youtube.com/XmoFgi2EB9c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmoFgi2EB9c
sorry

sky arts showed both Nocturne and the Cure's 2018 gig from hyde park on friday night. the years have not really been kind to R Smith but his voice has held up remarkably well, i thought.

(there are like a million people in hyde park by the looks. played for two hours. things like A Forest and Just Like Heaven sounded note-perfect. it's all very impressive)

Yeah their live show at this point is full-on stunning

Finally listened to the Chestnut Studio demo version of "Boys Don't Cry." Those vocals! Sounds like a Nick Lowe Rollers Show-style production.

That whole bonus disc rips. And wow, released 20 years ago now.

the og demo of "i'm cold" reminds me of ________ (insert awesome first wave british punk band) in the best possible way.

the guy was p good at synthesizing his influences.

The demo of "I'm Cold' is so good, it should've been on the album instead of the dumb remake of "Foxy Lady". The Easy Cure demo version of "Meat Hook" is also better than the one that made it on the album.

I remember when KROQ played this on the radio, and such an off the wall song even for the Cure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3sAnCluOsE

On some days Harold & Joe is my favourite Cure song!

Harold and Joe was the last classic Cure song

Never Enough was the A-side because it had the production I guess, but it could easily have been the other way round. People would have still clocked it as 'The Cure going baggy'. And they'd have an actually catchy song in their head as a bonus. History continues as planned.

"Never Enough" deserves to be the A side but "Harold and Joe" could have also been a stand alone single.

"harold and joe" contains one of my favorite moments of whistling on a pop record. definitely one of their best.

Definitely my favourite Neighbours song

Harold and Joe was the last classic Cure song

Curious if you mean “last song that was a classic” or “last song by the classic lineup”

it's one of my favourites too. otoh I played it to a friend of mine the other day and they said "I can see why it was a b-side"

It's catchier than any single of theirs since Friday! With the possible exception of "Cut Here"

But it preceded "Friday"

If I ranked favorite Cure songs, it would place above anything that came after, for sure.

But it preceded "Friday"

I know

I think I listen to the Join The Dots box set more than any Cure album these days

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-cure-releasing-acoustic-hits-to-streaming-for-first-time-ever-watch-acoustic-videos-for-a-forest-and-the-love-cats/

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the cure acoustic hits
The Cure releasing 'Acoustic Hits' to streaming for first time ever (watch acoustic videos for "A Forest" and "The Love Cats")
Bill Pearis
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July 18, 2024
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When The Cure released their Greatest Hits album back in 2001, they recorded new acoustic versions of 18 songs for a bonus CD. It includes unplugged versions of “Boys Don’t Cry,” “The Love Cats,” “Lullaby,” “Friday I’m in Love,” “A Forest,” “In Between Days,” and more. Acoustic Hits has never been available on streaming services, but will be starting on August 9.

In celebration, The Cure are releasing acoustic videos, originally bonus content on the Greatest Hits DVD, to their YouTube Channel. Today they shared the videos for “A Forest” and “The Love Cats.”

huh cool, i remember a few of those being on the vhs too (which is what i had). boris heads take note: mr babacar is among the fray for a few tunes.

BrooklynVegan
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Bill Pearis
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July 18, 2024
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Lol, the most important part

I have the original two disc set but don't remember playing the acoustic set much. Not that it wasn't good but just know the songs to well, and would play other things instead to get my Cure fix.

The only song I remember being specifically good on the acoustic disc was “Just Say Yes”

I thought the acoustic disc was from MTV Unplugged for some reason?

This CD set has nothing to do with MTV but remember them also doing an MTV set.

Yeah the MTV Unplugged appearance was in 1991

I wish the would release Join The Dots on streaming services.

dear Bob, stop getting distracted by other stuff and finish the album, ffs

xp: https://open.spotify.com/album/0Be9aR7uSUhQII8AC404TP?si=sOOxCm25TdecRgzYDovbkA

Thank you, but it's not available here in Canada for some reason. Only the Japanese Whispers tracks.

It's a good job Let's Go to Bed, The Walk and The Lovecats sound great on Greatest Hits because they were skipped by the remastering series.

join the dots discs one and two are useful, but i feel vaguely that it should have been a series of lp reissues not a box, and disc 1 should have been side b of the cassette standing on a beach. what is 10:15 even doing here, plastic passion and pillbox and hansa are wack and should be on the 3IB reissue, the japanese whispers songs are fine where they are, the la ment alternate should go, i dunno on the top reissue maybe, and new day should come after stop dead. that cassette was awesome and join the dots ruins the nostalgia with the extra stuff.

similarly, japanese dream through fear of ghosts would make a nice lp without the alternate stuff, that's like 43 minutes of prime cure.

after that i suppose i would appreciate a disc of hello i love you / harold and joe / wish b-sides / purple haze / burn, but that's not something to put on very often, and then beyond that who cares.

They’re b sides, is all. 10:15 was the b to Killing an Arab, the early 3 were b sides to the Boys Don’t Cry reissue, etc. But yeah I have made my own playlist of the SoaB cassette b sides, as well as the Curiosity flip of the Concert cassette.

I have returned to being an active Walkman user and it is partly because I wanted to revisit side 2 of Standing on a Beach - which is absolutely as good as I remember

The Australian cassette has a mastering error where Happy the Man is repeated twice - I swear as a kid I didn’t really notice because I was totally blissed out and dopey from the lysergic vibes of those b-sides - pretty happy for Happy The Man to go as long as it likes

Mine wasn’t! I’m pretty sure it was an OG Aus release too

I had this one - and the ones I have bought since my return to cassettes have been the same

it is so good revisiting this stuff in the same way I fell in love with it in the first place

ah mine was a black cassette

Anyone else break down and buy the Funko Pops?

https://shop.revolvermag.com/products/funko-pop-rocks-the-cure-5-pack-set?variant=39854159102046

there's been two (?) of Robert alone before? (also: no)