2009年 12月 25日 金曜日 18:16

Well, I was bored so I decided to make a small review of the cure's whole carrer. I chose to start with Boys Don't Cry (1980) instead of Three Imaginary Boys (1979).

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf500/f532/f53275ig97o.jpg
Boys Don't Cry (1980) - 3/5
A very very great album in the overall, a fine piece of early post-punk. BUT, it doesn't really gathers the cure's characteristic sound. There's the atmosphere and the style, but it isn't the proper "cure" yet.

Highlights: Boys Don't Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc400/c499/c49937ddg79.jpg
Seventeen Seconds (1980) - 4/5
Now, this one is the 'first real cure' album. Seventeen seconds sounds heavier, darker, gloomier and is the start of the 'gothic' trilogy (altogether with the next two albums). Seventeen Seconds is catchy and unforgettable since the first listening.

Highlights: Secrets, A Forest, At Night

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drh200/h253/h25315q2htv.jpg
Faith (1981) - 4,5/5
Faith is one of the the heavier and darkest album the cure would ever made. Maybe not dark, but definitely and thoroughly the most grey. Filled with an dense depressive atmosphere, Faith is always one of the favourites in every cure's fan collection.

Highlights: Primary, The Funeral Party, Faith

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drh200/h253/h25309iffzd.jpg
Pornography (1982) - 5/5
Considered one of the key gothic albums from the 80's, and claimed by almost every 'hardcore' cure fan as their best (a throne disputed only by Disintegration). Recorded under a very self-destructive and hateful atmosphere, Pornography is doubtlessly the cure's darkest, heavier and angriest album.

Highlights: One Hundred Years, A Strange Day, Cold

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd700/d750/d75082182y8.jpg
Japanese Whispers (1984) - 3/5
After the band breaking up (during Pornography tour) and gathering together, it was clear that The Cure would never be the same after Pornography. And Japanese Whispers (which is not a proper album, but a compilation of the singles released by that time) was the proof. Filled with a whole world of light-pop songs, adding new keyboard sounds, old-timey percussion, standup bass, and some damn silly lyrics rejuvenated Robert Smith and sent him on a course that would cement his role as one of the most interesting musicians to emerge from the '80s underground.

Highlights: Let's Go To Bed, The Upstairs Room, The Lovecats

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd700/d750/d750914ty92.jpg
The Top (1984) - 3,5/5
The most underrated Cure-album ever made. Besides its lighter atmosphere and attractive-pop structures, The Top still holds a very dark soundscape and the lyrical theme is still as gothic as its precedents. It may not be a high-point in Cure's carrer, but it isn't a low either. A very good album in the overall.

Highlights: Piggy In The Mirror, The Empty World, Shake Dog Shake

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd200/d297/d29739117je.jpg
The Head On The Door (1985) - 4/5
After the precedent dark records, the cure changes its musical direction rather radically. While the band always had a pop element in their sound and even recorded one of the lightest songs of the '80s, The Lovecats, The Head on the Door is where they become a hitmaking machine. Highly melodic, extremely catchy, a little gloomy at some parts, A Head On The Door is a more than perfect example of gothic-pop.

Highlights: Push, In Between Days, Close To Me

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drh800/h806/h80635ywknd.jpg
Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me (1987) - 4/5
Kiss Me is the mixture of all the efforts until now. A double-disc album consisting of both light-pop and gloomy songs. It's one of Cure's most popular records, and while its bests songs aren't as great as on other record's, it carries lots and lots of good ones. One of The Cure's most essential albums.

Highlights: Just Like Heaven, One More Time, Why Can't I Be You?, A Thousand Hours

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd600/d684/d68462a7451.jpg
Disintegration (1989) - 5/5
Simply Perfect. I don't even have words to describe it. Perfect from beginning to end, Disintegration is without-doubts The Cure's Masterpiece. A must-listening for every single person in the world. Extremely sentimental, gloomy as never, filled with a huge ocean of beautifulness. Every song in it, from the pop-est to the darkest, is simply perfect. It is for sure one of the bests albums ever made. Simply Epic.

Highlights: Plainsong, Pictures Of You, Lovesong, Lullaby, The Same Deep Water As You, Disintegration, Untitled

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd600/d684/d68463yr7qp.jpg
Wish (1992) - 3,5/5
Wish follows the same vein that The Head On The Door and Kiss Me. Both extremely beautiful pieces of melancholy and lovely catchy pop songs. Besides not being anything really landmarking in Cure's discography, Wish is a very strong record.

Highlights: Friday I'm In Love, Cut, To Wish Impossible Things

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc500/c591/c59162iu6h2.jpg
Wild Mood Swings (1996) - 3/5
A extremely underrated album, Wild Mood Swings is a pretty fair record. It feels weak at some points, but it's really amazing at its highlights. I pretty much agree with borntohang when he says that "Essentially half of the album is great and the other half is either okay or weak".

Highlights: Want, Treasure, Numb

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre000/e043/e04325kgf6s.jpg
Bloodflowers (2000) - 4,5/5
Simply the best record since the masterpiece Disintegration, Bloodflowers is essentially a gothic and dark album. Praised as one of The Cure's bests records, and forming a dark trilogy with Disintegration and Pornography, Bloodflowers features lots of beautiful arrangements and strong songs, though it drags a little bit at some points. To me, this is pretty much one of Cure's best albums, and it's at the brink of becoming a classic.

Highlights: Out Of This World, The Last Day Of Summer, Bloodflowers

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drg400/g470/g47030crhvi.jpg
The Cure (2004) - 3,5/5
Another underrated album, the eponymous 13th album is a great record. It might not be as strong as most of Cure's old stuff, but it's still a great album. Similar to Wish, it features more light-pop stuff than dark songs. In spite of it, most of the light songs carry a heavy arrangement. It has some weak songs, but in overall it's a very good record.

Highlights: Going Nowhere, Anniversary, The End of The World

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drl600/l694/l69454mptc3.jpg
4:13 Dream (2008) - 3/5
Featuring a more straightfoward 2-guitars rock, 4:13 has been very criticized for the abandonment of keyboards. I don't really think that was a stupid move, they are still able to create huge and beautiful soundscapes, as at the amazing opener Underneath the Stars. It's good to see The Cure trying new things. The album sounds pretty good at the overall. It gets a little weak after the first song (hell, that song is amazingly beautiful), but it still has lots of good ones. I must admit I expected more after the first song and got a little disappointed (hell, that song is amazing), but the album is pretty good. Well, pretty good!

Highlights: Underneath the Stars, Sirensong, The Reasons Why

Well, that's it. Fuck Hell I Love The Cure!

5 Essential Albums (not necessary the best, but essential):
-Disintegration
-Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
-Seventeen Seconds
-Pornography
-Wish