Of all of the Cure albums pre-2000, this is probably my least favorite. Dressing Up is good, Caterpillar is good, and the b-sides aren't too bad. But, I could never really grasp the rest of the songs. They just didn't do it for me. The melodies were chaotic and unattractive, the mixing wasn't the best, and the track arrangement left a lot to be desired.
I had this one on cassette forever before I finally got it on CD. It was the last Cure album I purchased on CD when I was converting my collection (probably 1995). I only got it on CD to complete my digital Cure set. So sad.
When the deluxe sets came out, I was hoping for some better material hiding in the bonus disc. But, alas, not hardly anything we didn't already have. I mean, what sort of title is Sadacic? How do you even pronounce it? You Stayed... wasn't a bad track, but the rest of the material was weak.
This collection eliminates the demos of the album tracks and intermixes the b-side and unreleased song demos into the actual album, in a sad attempt to fix it. Doesn't help.
Don't forget the bonus post, just below this one!
Ouch. Not with you at all on this one. Probably would be in my top 5 of Cure albums. Totally unique mood and atmosphere all the way through it. Though it is also worth noting that for the most part, this is sort of the RS "solo" album of the catalog.
ReplyDeleteBut come on, man, you can't "grasp" "Shake Dog Shake", "Give Me It" or "The Top"? Squeeze harder....
Lol. I will admit that Shake Dog Shake is good live. And, I do know that RS was coming out of his drug induced coma to find himself all alone. He had to really pull himself together. But, unfortunately, still not for me....
Deletethe link doesnt work :(
ReplyDeletecould you please re-up this one? Thanks
ReplyDeleteI do hope you give this album another chance. I find that allowing the madness to take you over that the album makes its hidden worthiness apparent. 'Give Me It' is harder and more paranoid than anything on 'Pornography'. 'Bananafishbones' is an awkward rocking stomper. 'The Caterpillar' and 'Dressing up' are inventive lost pop classics. The title track is a haunting meditation of musical meditation. Even those other ostensibly unnoticed tracks like 'Piggy in the Mirror' and 'Birdmad Girl' (a lot of songs have animals in the title, I just noticed) are the sort of songs that a lesser band would beg to have in their canon. I promise, if you spend some time with this album and allow the weirdness to seep in, the rewards are incredible. Sure, other albums are better, but there is an incredibly spirited inventiveness that shouldn't be ignored.
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