If "Faith", the preceding album, was my favourite all-time Cure album, then "Pornography" was by some distance my least favourite, finding much of it to be totally unlistenable. Whereas the gloom and sadness of Faith was clothed with majestic keyboards, melodic bass and mesmerizing rhythms, much of Pornography was just noise. Only "A Strange Day" was anything remotely accessible, and over time I had found "A Hanging Garden" bearable, as it was included in the "Standing On A Beach" singles compilation. I could just about tolerate "A Hundred Years" and "A Short Term Effect" but I couldn't stand the rest, and now had no idea how they sounded. Nevertheless, it was The Cure's best selling album up to that point, and reached number 8 in the UK album charts.
This was going to potentially be a tough listen 39 years later.............
Looking at the cover, I can see that I bought the album for £4.39 from Aquarius Records in Cardiff.
The opening line of "One Hundred Years " perhaps sets the tone for the whole album. Robert Smith sings "It doesn't matter if we all die" over pounding drums and a screeching guitar. Nevertheless, the song sounds much better now although it could do with being a couple of minutes shorter.
The beat on "A Short Term Effect" is almost toe-tapping but this is offset by the guitar playing, which seems to be deliberately off-key and is basically just a nightmarish noise. There is potentially a good songs in there somewhere.
The more I hear "A Hanging Garden" the more I like it but in the beginning I wasn't impressed. The military style drumming gives the song its impetus
Listening to "Siamese Twins" was a total surprise. I had totally forgotten how this sounded. Much slower with the bass much more to the fore than the other songs on the side, and together with the drums and the sporadic chiming guitars it wouldn't be out of place on "Faith".
"The Figurehead" also has a strong bass riff and powerful guitar. More than any other song here, it is probably the most deserving of the tag "Gothic". I could lose myself in Chinese Art and American girls", "I will never be clean again"
"A Strange Day" is the song that "A Short Term Effect" could have been, with a similar bass line but the instrumentation is clear, there is a strong chorus and a great guitar solo. The song also has the strongest melody so it is a little surprising it wasn't chosen as the single from the album.
"Cold" is another slower song and actually includes some keyboards. It was another song I had completely erased from my memory but hearing it now I quite liked it, sounding in parts like a crossover between "The Funeral Party" and "The Holy Hour" from "Faith"
The title track "Pornography" though is just awful, a six and half minute assault on the ears. A mash of noise, the shouted vocal, which only comes in after over three minutes, low in the mix, and a complete absence of tune or melody.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by listening to this album again, and it deserves a huge reappraisal. Apart from the dreadful title track, it's actually quite good !
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. One Hundred Years
2. A Short Term Effect
3. The Hanging Garden
4. Siamese Twins
Side Two :
1. The Figurehead
2. A Strange Day
3. Cold
4. Pornography
Released : 1982
UK Chart Position : 8
Single : The Hanging Garden ( No 32 - 1982 )
No comments:
Post a Comment