Ignoring the singles compilation "Standing On A Beach", The Cure's follow-up to "The Head on The Door" was a double album two years later. Much as four sides of vinyl was to applauded, my memory is one of slight disappointment at the time, and I don't think the album got played that often. However, it was the LP that launched The Cure into the US Billboard Top 40 and converted them from cult band to global superstars.
Looking at the track listing now though, I had to admit that I could only recall 4 songs out of the 18 tracks, which just happened to be the 4 singles. This was going to be an interesting experience....
The opening track "The Kiss" has a trademark Cure lengthy introduction, with staccato bass and drums before a dramatic, "in your face" guitar. Its nearly four minutes before the vocal comes in, with Smith suitably wailing like a Banshee ( or an ex-Banshee ! ). It is reckoned by some to be amongst one of the best 5 songs ever recorded by the Cure, but whilst it is quite good, it is not that good....
In contrast, the ballad "Catch" is a bitter sweet love song, with a gorgeous tune, a violin and a delicately plucked acoustic guitar solo. It was once included as background music on Eastenders to some mundane kitchen scene featuring Ali Osman !
"Torture" has a throbbing bass and heavy drums intro, but the song plods along but with no great melody. There is a typical wailing vocal and some brass towards the end, but overall it is fairly ordinary.
Side One's closer "If Only We Could Sleep Tonight" has a slow beginning, a pleasant piano riff, but it is essentially an album filler.
Side Two opens with the first single from the album "Why Can't I Be You", which combines a strong pop melody, and bouncy brass. It was accompanied with a great video as the band performed several bad dance routines to the song dressed up in various different costumes, and completely out of character with the band's previous image !
"How Beautiful You Are " has a bass intro not to dis-similar to "In Between Days" but the song is nowhere near as memorable.
"The Snakepit" has a slow intro with, unsurprisingly given the title of the track, an Indian vibe on guitar. It's nearly 2 and a half minutes before the indistinct vocal, low in the mix enters the fray, and the the track goes on far too long.
"Hey You !!! is an splurge of energy but without any shape or structure but side two finishes with "Just Like Heaven", a pop classic and one of The Cure's most recognizable songs, it was even used in a car advert. With a drum and bass intro, a swirling keyboard, then guitar, lyrically the song starts with the memorable line "Show me show me show me how you do that trick, the one that makes me scream she said" it's perhaps The Cure's most covert love song in their career to date.
Side three begins with "All I Want" which is a lively toe-tapper with a nice tempo, and a typical Cure keyboard refrain, and is followed by "Hot Hot Hot !" which has a funky riff reminiscent of Orange Juice's "Rip It Up" and a catchy chorus "Hey, hey, hey, well I like when that lightning comes". Part of the instrumental outro clearly influenced INXS' "Suicide Blonde" three years later.
The pace dramatically drops with "One More Time", a slow and dreamy song with a beautiful guitar and , majestic keyboards. It's dark and romantic and an obvious predecessor of "Plainsong" and "Closedown" on Disintegration.
Unfortunately "Like Cockatoos" is probably the worst track on the album. Although there bass line is dark, there is an absence of tune or melody, until the instrumental piece at the end.
"Icing Sugar" with its saxophone and tribal drums, harks back to "Hanging Garden" from Pornography but is none the worse for that.
"The Perfect Girl" attempts at being playful and romantic but doesn't quite have the killer hook to pull it off but the next track, "A Thousand Hours" has a slow piano and bass intro, beautiful keyboards, and similar to "One More Time", brings "Plainsong" and "Closedown" on Disintegration to mind.
The album ends disappointingly, with "Shiver & Shake" a forgettable instrumental rage, then "Fight" which despite a menacing riff doesn't make a good song.
In summary, "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" was better than I was expecting, and like many double albums, it could have been an outstanding single LP with some serious editing, especially with many of the tracks having intros of over 2 minutes. Aside from the three singles, the up-tempo songs, with the honourable exception of "All I Want" are fairly ordinary ( or worse ). In contrast, the slower, melodic tracks are amongst the best moments.
Track Listing :
Side 1
1. The Kiss
2. Catch
3. Torture
4. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
Side 2
1. Why Can't I Be You
2. How Beautiful You Are...
3. The Snakepit
4. Hey You !!!
Side 3
1. Just Like Heaven
2. All I Want
3. Hot Hot Hot !!! funky
4. One More Time
5. Like Cockatoos
Side 4
1. Icing Sugar
2. The Perfect Girl
3. A Thousand Hours
4. Shiver & Shake
5. Fight
Released 1987
UK Chart Position : 6
Singles :
Why Can't I Be You ( No 21 - 1987 )
Catch ( No 27 - 1987 )
Just Like Heaven ( No 29 - 1987 )
Hot Hot Hot !!! ( No 45 - 1986 )
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