The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

 

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 )

 

The Cure - The Head On The Door

 

"The Head On The Door" was the follow-up to the "The Top" and on its release I thought it was a much stronger LP. Containing two major hit singles, a couple of rock standards, there was also the continued experimentation with different styles from around the world. In comparison with "The Top" the quality was much more even, and I could recall all the tracks except the final two.

The opening track "In Between Days" was the first single and released in advance of the LP as a taster. Featuring a great intro of strummed acoustic guitars with a simple but effective synthesizer it was a breath of fresh air, although some critics accused The Cure of jumping on New Order's train. In any case it remains a great pop song although the joyous feel is slightly at odds with the slightly sad lyrics about getting old. The video also revealed the latest look of the band, with the increasing Gothic and make-up look.

"Kyoto Song", as suggested in the title, has a Japanese flavour  although the keyboards sound like the sort of piano given to a 7 year old.

"The Blood" has a Spanish guitar feel, similar to "Piggy In The Middle" and "Bad Mad Girl" from "The Top but over a middle-eastern vibe. The melody is strong, and the dominant lyric is "I am paralysed by the blood of Christ".

The mood changes with "Six Different Ways", which has a quirky off-beat intro, an old fashioned happy synthesizer, and a naive almost nursery rhyme feel to it. It's one of my favourite songs on the album.

Side one finishes with "Push", which has big dramatic guitars building up as the intro continues for almost 2 minutes 20, and is as close as The Cure get to a stadium rock anthem, although they follow-up with "A Night Like This" on side two !

Side Two starts with "The Baby Screams", which chugs along in a run-of-the mill fashion but is unmistakably The Cure. If you were attempting a parody of the band, it would probably sound like this.

"Close To Me" was the second single, but the album version is without the New Orleans style brass band at the end of the single. There is the simple single notes keyboard, a danceable bass line, hand-claps, and a toe-tapping sing-a-long. The video for the single was memorable, with the band playing the song in a wardrobe, eventually falling off Beachy Head.

"A Night Like This" is another stadium anthem with a sax solo, and it could easily have been the third single from the album. It also has perhaps the best chorus on the album "I'm coming to find you if it takes me all night, a witch-hunt for another girl, for always and ever is always for you, your trust, the most gorgeously stupid thing I ever cut in the world"

The album peters out a little with the final two songs. "Screw" has a heavy bass line trying and whilst trying to be funky, it doesn't quite work and I'd be quite happy if I never hear it again.

The final song "Sinking" has the type of organ riff that would not be out of place on Disintegration, played over piano and bass. It is perhaps an updated version of "The Drowning Man" from "Faith"

In summary, listening to "The Head On The Door Again" after just over 35 years, it remains one of the best releases by The Cure.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. In Between Days
2. Kyoto Song
3. The Blood
4. Six Different Ways
5. Push

Side Two :

1. The Baby Screams
2. Close To Me
3. A Night Like This
4. Screw
5. Sinking

Released : 1985
UK Chart Position : No 7

Singles :

In Between Days ( No 15 - 1985 )
Close To Me ( No 24 - 1985 )

The Cure - The Top

 

After the gloom and depression of "Pornography", the release of the radio friendly singles "Let's Go To Bed", "The Walk" and "The Love Cats", the latter two achieving The Cure's best chart placings in the UK up to that point, at 12 and 8 respectively, I was eagerly looking forward to the release of the next album from the "The Cure". The early release of  the slightly eccentric "The Caterpillar" as the single from the album also boded well. As you can see from the picture, I paid £4.49 for the LP !

Frankly though, I was a little disappointed with "The Top" when it came out, being obviously experimental, and inconsistent in quality. Amongst a couple of gems eg Shake Dog Shake and Bird Mad Girl, there were several mundane, uninteresting tracks, and I rarely played the LP after the initial curiosity had waned. 

With the departure of Simon Gallup leaving just Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst as the official band members, the album lacked the trademark dominant bass lines, and instead headed off in a number of different directions, with a hint of psychedelica, heavy metal as well as oriental/middle-eastern and Spanish influences. Smith's time as the guitarist in the Siouxsie and the Banshees is also evident on the album.

Looking now at the track listing, there are 5 songs I have no recollection of so it will be interesting to see what I think of them now !

If you can imaging The Cure playing a Siouxsie and The Banshees song in the style of heavy metal then you will probably have something like "Shake Dog Shake", which although slightly plodding is quite compelling, and the "Shake Dog Shake" chant stays in the mind.

"Bird Mad Girl" is possibly the best song on the LP being the closest to a traditional pop song and with a rich melody. There is a hint of Spanish guitar but I have no idea what is meant by "I could be a polar bear" !

"Wailing Wall" has an oriental vibe and does conjure up images of being in an Arabian souk, but it is a far cry from "Fire In Cairo" or "Killing An Arab". Smith sings "walking to the promised land", and whilst the song is pleasant enough, he doesn't get there via this road !

"Give Me It" is mess, with shouty vocals, screeching psychedelic guitar, and I still find it to be unlistenable. I hated it then, and I hate it now ! 

In contrast the next song, "Dressing Up", is the complete opposite, with a much slower tempo, a pretty tune and what sounds like a recorder being played along the chiming keyboards. I had forgotten how nice this song was.

Side Two opens with "The Caterpillar", the single from the album. Despite, the erratic, off-key keyboards and violin in the intro, it leads into a gorgeous melody. It's hard not to sing along to "You flicker and you're beautiful, you glow inside my head" and "I'll dust my lemon lies with powder, pink and sweet. The day I stop is the day you change and fly away, away from me"

"Piggy In The Middle" was a pleasant surprise to hear again as I had completely forgotten this one. It's another track with Spanish style guitar and another strong tune.  "Jump with me, for that old forgotten dance, the midnight sun will burn you up".

"The Empty World" was another track I couldn't remember beforehand but I immediately recalled it once it started with its military style drumming, and a jaunty army whistling like keyboard line. Indeed the song includes the line "She talked about the armies that marched inside her head

The LP goes downhill with the final two songs. "Bananafishbones" sounds like XTC on a bad day, whilst even by their standards "The Top" is a slow, tuneless dirge.

In summary, listening to the album again reminded me of several good tracks that had been erased from my memory banks. However, it still comes across as uneven, with three numbers being candidates for any Cure "Worst Ever...." compilation.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Shake Dog Shake
2. Bird Mad Girl
3. Wailing Wall
4. Give Me It
5. Dressing Up

Side Two :

1. The Caterpillar
2. Piggy In The Mirror
3. The Empty World
4. Bananafishbones
5. The Top

Released : 1984
UK Chart Position : 10

Singles :

The Caterpillar ( No 14 - 1984 )

The Cure - Pornography

 

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 )

The Cure - Faith

 

Faith remains my favourite Cure album of all time, and much to the annoyance of my flat mates at University, it was constantly played on my record player after its release in 1981. Whereas they found it gloomy and depressing,  on the other hand, I found joy and cheerfulness from the majestic, beautiful melodies and hypnotic rhythms of the 8 tracks on the LP. The fact that the album cover is grey, with a blurred image of a church is apt, and a strong indication of what you will find on the record. At times it could also be a sound track to a horror movie.

Apart from perhaps "Plainsong" from the Disintegration LP, "The Holy Hour" and "The Funeral Party" are, in my opinion, arguably the finest songs ever recorded by the band whilst "The Drowning Man" is mesmerizing. "Primary" is memorable for the two basses playing the riff instead of a guitar. It is one of the few albums were I can recall all of the songs.

"The Holy Hour" commences with just the bass riff before being joined by the drums and a synthesizer low in the mix. The guitar enters after just over a minute building to a crescendo from which the wailing vocal comes in after over a minute and a half into the song. The track ends with two gongs of a bell just to emphasize the dark, unsettling mood built up by this epic piece of music.

The single "Primary" follows, with the manic two basses generating a totally different pace to the rest of the album, apart from "Doubt",

"Other Voices" returns to the general feel of the LP. Again the bass line dominates over the drums, with the jangly guitar in the background. Smith's sparse vocal conjures up the feeling of desperation and there is a nice ending, with just the drums until an abrupt stop,

In "All Cats Are Grey" the keyboard slowly plays the melody although the bass and drums remain distinctive with a slightly creepy feel to it. The track ends with just a solemn piano playing the main motif. "In the caves all cats are grey, in the caves the texture coats my skin. In a death cell the single note rings on and on and on".

Side two opens with "The Funeral Party" which has a glorious keyboard intro over slow, rhythmic drumming, and like "The Holy Hour", gradually builds into the introduction of the vocal. Again, its eerie but totally suited to the sad atmosphere, It manages to be bleak but uplifting at the same time. The title of the song is very appropriate. "I heard a song and turned away as piece by piece you performed your story. Noiselessly across the floor, dancing at the funeral party".

"Doubt" changes the mood, being the second up-tempo number. Similar to "Primary" but with a guitar instead of the second bass, the anger and hatred clearly come across. "Tear at flesh and rip at skin, and smash at doubt I have to break you. Fury drives my vicious blows, I see you fall but still I strike you".

"The Drowning Man" is another suitably titled song, with the swirling rhythm of the guitar and hypnotic drums painting the picture of struggling to keep one's head above water in the maelstrom of life. "The words all left me lifeless, hoping, breathing like the drowning man".

The final track "Faith" again has the bass as the dominant instrument with the pace and feel of the song being not to dis-similar to "All Cats Are Grey". The intro is over 2 minutes before Smith's sad vocal joins the fray.

Forty years after its release. "Faith" remains a masterpiece and a rarity in that there is not a bad track on the album.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. The Holy Hour
2. Primary
3. Other Voices
4. All Cats Are Grey

Side Two :

1. The Funeral Party
2. Doubt
3. The Drowning Man
4. Faith

Released : 1981

UK Chart Position : 14

Singles : Primary ( No 43 - 1981 )

The Cure - Seventeen Seconds

 

The second album from The Cure represented a marked transformation from the sounds of "Three Imaginary Boys". With the addition of Matthieu Hartley on keyboards and Simon Gallup replacing Michael Dempsey on bass, the band moved away from post-punk to a more ethereal sound, which some critics stated was already the birth of "goth rock", the genre that The Cure was subsequently to be labelled with. However, the album was much more complex that these generalities, with songs such as "Play For Today" and "M" clearly fitting with the style of "Three Imaginary Boys", whilst the "A Forest" and "Seventeen Seconds" were clearly evidence of a different direction. I have to admit that I couldn't remember how the other tracks went though....

The album starts with " A Reflection", a bleak, sombre instrumental dominated by piano and guitar. It wouldn't have appeared out of place on David Bowie's "Low" or perhaps even a horror film !

The pace picks up with "Play For Today" which has an urgent bass line and simple keyboard motif. It's still one of the highlights and could have been a second single from the album.

"Secrets" has a melodic bass riff and an echoey vocal, with the piano repeating the riff in the outro.

"In Your House" is hypnotic, with again the bass and piano playing the same melody, and a soothing organ overlaid towards the end.

"Three" is another instrumental but is a little monotonous.

Side Two opens with "The Final Sound, a very short piano instrumental before leading into "A Forest " the album's epic track. Starting with a slow guitar riff, the bass takes over before more guitar and the drums come in. There is another eerie vocal down in the mix adding to the ghostly atmosphere but with a rare sense of urgency, augmented by the guitar solo, before the dramatic ending with just the bass playing the final note. It was The Cure's first top forty hit single in the UK, having been edited down from nearly 6 minutes to a more radio friendly 4 minutes.

"M" chugs along quite nicely and has an almost sing-a-long chorus "You'll fall in love with someone else again tonight". There is a pleasant organ and another driving guitar solo. It's probably my favourite song on the LP.

"At Night" is much slower and the strummed guitar is typical of the style of playing on "Faith", the follow-up album.

"Seventeen Seconds" ends with the title track. Beginning with a gently strummed guitar, the bass joins in as the tempo slowly builds. The vocal eventually starts after just over 1 minute 30 and the song is another of the highpoints of the album.

Listening now I found it to be a remarkably mature album, although I had forgotten there were three instrumentals.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. A Reflection
2. Play For Today
3. Secrets
4. In Your House
5. Three

Side Two :

1. The Final Sound
2. A Forest
3. M
4. At Night
5. Seventeen Seconds

Released : 1980
UK Chart Position : 20

Singles : A Forest ( No 31 - 1980 )

The Cure - Boys Don't Cry

Boys Don't Cry was the US release of the first album of The Cure, and comprised of most of Three Imaginary Boys, plus the first three singles - "Killing An Arab", Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train". With the inclusion of three outstanding non-album singles, and the exclusion of some of the lessor songs on "Three Imaginary Boys", "Boy's Don't Cry" is obviously a much better album to listen to.

The songs from TIB that were replaced were understandably "Foxy Lady", "Meathook", "So What", "The Weedy Burton" and perhaps more surprisingly "It's Not You" which was in the opinion of this writer, one of the better "post-punk" songs on TIB.

"Jumping Someone Else's Train" was a real shock when it was released as the "tinny" sound from "Three Imaginary Boys" had been replaced with a totally different mix with the guitar much more to the fore. "Boys Don't Cry " is possibly the best "pop" song the Cure have ever released so obviously it's inclusion would add to any Cure album.

Actually listing the song titles, as opposed to the obscure hieroglyphics on TIB, is also a huge positive for this LP ! 

I can't remember where I purchased the US import from but the sticker on the album cover shows I paid £3.99 from Our Price Records....

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Boys Don't Cry
2. Plastic Passion
3. 10:15 Saturday Night
4. Accuracy
5. Object
6. Jumping Someone Else's Train
7. Subway Song

Side Two :

1. Killing An Arab
2. Fire In Cairo
3. Another Day
4. Grinding Halt
5. World War
6. Three Imaginary Boys

Released : 1980
UK Chart Position : N/A

Singles :

Killing An Arab ( - 1978 )
Boys Don't Cry ( 22 - 1978/1986 )
Jumping Someone Else's Train ( - 1979 )