I'm in the mood for another Cure marathon...I know it's only Wednesday but let's stay up all night, drinking beer and listening to Cure albums anyway...
The Cure: Wild Mood Swings
1996
Elektra Records
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Want 2. Club America 3. This Is a Lie 4. The 13th 5. Strange Attraction 6. Mint Car 7. Jupiter Crash 8. Round & Round & Round 9. Gone! 10. Numb 11. Return 12. Trap 13. Treasure 14. Bare
Most Cure fans agree this is the worst album the Cure ever released (inching out "The Top," which suddenly didn't look so bad in comparison)...And I tend to agree...I still like the album alright, but there's no denying its inferior to the strong run of recordings that came before it...
The biggest problem, for me, is the shitty mixing job...It sounds so odd...Like its trying to be overly slick, but comes up bizarrely hollow-sounding...Who in the hell mixed this thing? Well, a quick glance at the album credits reveals it was mixed by EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD ON PLANET EARTH!!! Holy cow, there's a lot of names on here...Some I recognize, some I don't...I don't know if this was done as an experiment, since the album is ridiculously diverse, maybe they were trying to play around with this aspect...I can't really say...
I tend to favor the more pop side of the Cure, and this album definitely leans in that direction. so it should be right up my alley...And you can kind of imagine under different circumstances something like "Mint Car" could totally work as a magic single...Everything seems to be in place song-writing wise, but the sonics do it a bit of a disservice...
The album starts out on the right foot with "Want," which picks right up where "Wish" left off (except with a bit more of an electronic feel due to prominent keyboards)...The type of grand melancholic rock that seems to summon a starry sky in broad daylight...So far, so good....But then suddenly the sleazy lounge funk of "Club America" comes on and things fall apart quick...The song reminds me of Zooropa-era U2, which was a risky proposition for U2, but a complete and utter mistake in the hands of the Cure...Yuck! Can't win 'em all I guess.... And it happens so early in the album, that it takes a loooong time to recover from it..."This Is a Lie" is a psychedelic acoustic ballad that falls far short of the bands previous ventures into that genre (most notably the kaleidoscopic confections on "The Top")...And things seem to sink even further with the mariachi experiment "The 13th" which is a song I greatly enjoy, but unfortunately it's in the wrong place at the wrong time...
I almost think if they cut the run of tracks from "Club America' through the "13th" and had "Want" go directly into "Strange Attraction," the album would stand up next to the other albums..Definitely keep "The 13th," but toss it later into the track listing once your ears get acclimated to the stylistic whiplash (since it's one of the songs most responsible for this feel)...and give the whole thing a healthy remixing....
I don't want to deter people from checking this album out though...There's a lot of worthwhile stuff here..I'd actually recommend this album more to people who aren't Cure fans, since the album ends up being a lot of fun once you check your expectations a bit...For example, you hear the Jazzy horns start up on "Gone!" and you think it's going to be a mistake, but the chorus hits the mark so squarely that all is forgiven and "Strange Attraction" is such a great, understated little pop ditty you can't help but smile while it's playing...
Either way, the used bins are usually overflowing with copies of this album...It's an interesting listen, if not up to the bands usual high standards, but I think most long-lived bands need stuff like this in their catalog...The weird albums you turn to when you've burned through their real classics...
I know my old cassette of this got a hell of a workout back in the day, despite any petty reservations I may have about it now...
Anyway, here's "Want" by the Cure...Dig it...
The Cure: Galore
1997
Elektra Records
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Why Can't I Be You? 2. Catch 3. Just Like Heaven 4. Hot Hot Hot!!! 5. Lullaby 6. Fascination Street 7. Lovesong 8. Pictures of You 9. Never Enough 10. Close to Me (Closest Mix) 11.High 12. Friday I'm in Love 13. A Letter to Elise 14. The 13th 15. Mint Car 16. Strange Attraction 17. Gone! 18. Wrong Number
I've never been able to quite figure out why this second collection of Cure singles doesn't rule the world like the first singles collection ("Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea") did...On paper it sounds great...The run of albums from "Kiss Me,Kiss Me, Kiss Me" to "Wish" were some of the band's strongest...But somehow this is less than the sum of its parts...
Maybe it's the all the radio edits...or the inferior acid house remix of "Close to Me," or the handful of bum tracks (note that every single song on "Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea" was vital...). Or maybe it's the fact that there's not as many albums represented as the first singles collection (six albums on "Standing" as opposed to the four represented on "Galore.")
(this cover, however, makes me hungry for Goldfish crackers....)
All of these singles work way better within the context of their original albums and for that reason I'm going to recommend "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me," "Disintegration," "Wish," and "Wild Mood Sings" over this comp...Sure, you'll miss out on "Never Enough" (which isn't so hot) and "Wrong Number" (which is alright, but too 1997 electronica for my tastes...) but I enjoy any of the aforementioned albums more than "Galore"...
Anyway, here's "Never Enough" by the Cure...Enjoy....
Alright, there's still a few beers left...I think I got another quick one in me...
The Cure: Bloodflowers
2000
Fiction Records
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Out of This World 2. Watching Me Fall 3. Where the Birds Always Sing 4. Maybe Someday 5. The Last Day of Summer 6. There Is No If... 7. The Loudest Sound 8. 39 9. Bloodflowers
If "Wild Mood Swings" showed the band slightly off-course, they sure righted themselves pretty quickly with "Bloodflowers" (if you consider the 4 years between "WMS" and "Bloodflowers" quick...).
The interviews and the press that followed the album made it clear that Robert intended this album to be the third in a trilogy, along with "Pornography" and "Disintegration," but I don't hear much in common with those albums...This album has always reminded me of some of the more downcast material on "Wish," if anything...
I don't think they've ever started an album with a song like "Out of This World" before...While undoubtedly an epic, it's a lot more...well...acoustic than you'd expect...When you hear something is a "spiritual sequel" to an earlier masterpiece, you expect to hear someone trying harder than this, but it's ultra refreshing that it's so easygoing...And boy, do I love that "Strawberry Fields Forever"-esque Mellotron...A brilliant choice of album opener that immediately puts this album leagues ahead of its immediate predecessor...Here, check out "Out of This World" if you don't believe me...
Oops...wrong video...Here's the real song if you're interested in hearing it...Although that ALF one was pretty frickin' dope if you ask me...
This album isn't so much about highlights (or lowlights) though...Not much jumps out at you on first (or third or fifth) listen outside of the catchy radio single "Maybe Someday." It's more about maintaining a comfortably dour mood...It's possibly even more single-minded in its approach than "Disintegration," since that album manged to squeeze in quite a few catchy singles...
Of course it'll never be a classic on the same level as "Disintegration" or "Pornography," largely due to the fact that they don't take the same bold risks, production-wise, they did on those albums...Again, it falls more in line with "Wish"'s safer, easy on the ears, radio-ready sound, but that doesn't matter...I think longtime fans were happy as hell (and probably greatly) relieved to get this, non Cure fans probably asked, "Why are all the songs so long and samey" and the talking frog said, "Toad-ally awesome"...So all is right in the world...Turn world, turn...
Alright, I've had enough Cure albums for the night and that case of beer is lookin' pretty empty...It's time to pack it in, but before we crash out, here's "Maybe Someday" by the Cure...Have a good one, have a safe one, and thanks for shopping...
No comments:
Post a Comment