The Cure Discography
 

I intend over the coming months; as my school life has finished, to chronologically review the Cure's entire studio discography.

I shall be rating on a scale of:

Excellent
Very good
Good
Mediocre
Poor
Awful

As compared to my feelings about the album, in general, in context of the time, and in context of the artist's catalogue.

First up is.....
Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
http://www.mattyho.estranky.cz/archiv/iobrazek/184



"10.15 Saturday Night" – 3:42
"Accuracy" – 2:17
"Grinding Halt" – 2:49
"Another Day" – 3:44
"Object" – 3:03
"Subway Song" – 2:00
"Foxy Lady" (Jimi Hendrix) – 2:29
"Meathook" – 2:17
"So What" – 2:37
"Fire in Cairo" – 3:23
"It's Not You" – 2:49
"Three Imaginary Boys" – 3:17
Untitled (a.k.a. "The Weedy Burton", hidden track) – 1:04


The Cure's debut album tends to be quite overlooked, possibly due to its subsequent overshadowing by later releases or perhaps as it too clearly bares the mark of its influences in early releases by Wire and the Fall.
However, as a collection of short, sharp, jagged pop songs, it more than stands on its own. Despite its obvious short comings in terms of production, the experience of the band and the development of Robert Smith's vocal style, songs such as Accuracy and 10:15 Saturday night have been sporadically retained in the bands set since the albums release.

The seeds of the Robert Smith's pop songwriting is apparent here, albeit in stripped down punk form. The lineup mirrors the current day incarnation of the cure, that of two guitars, a bass and drums. There are no Fender bass Vis or synthesizers in sight and the emphasis is equally on the guitar alongside the bass as foundation for the song. This hints that Robert smith's writing style (building the foundation of drums and bass, layering keys and guitars from there) had not yet been developed. The real oddity is in the simplicity and pop hooks of the songs, there are no dirges, long suites such as pictures of you and not atmosphere developed beyond catchy youthful fun.

The arrangements and riffs are simple, as are the tones created by the instruments themselves. The guitars are dry and scratchy sitting atop the mix and dominating the melodic propulsion and instrumental hook. The bass provides support in slightly muddy tones. The drums provide a simple close miked back beat. The record is singularly dry in comparison to the rest of the cure's catalogue which is drenched in reverb and echo. This goes a long way to reducing the sense of scope and atmosphere which would become prevalent in their later music.

According to wikipedia, the band did not have final choice with regards to either track listing or album art, and perhaps this is the cause for it being only vaguely representory of anything the Cure would go on to do.
Notable at this point also, is that the iconic image of Robert Smith had not yet been developed, and the band followed a purportedly "anti-image" look.
For a committed fan of the Cure, this record sits as an anomaly, jammed alongside the rest of their expansive catalogue and relegated to a corner as the 'eponymous' debut that sparked their first minor hits. A notion not helped by the fact that bar robert Smith's voice, it sounds like a completely different band from the one that would emerge later with 17 seconds.

Key tracks: Accuracy, 10:15 Saturday Night and Fire in Cairo

Overall Impression: Good
Three Imaginary Boys is an enjoyable romp through the early phase of the Cure, possessed with energy and fun but still struggling to find their voice. However the album is compromised by a poor track listing that prevents an engaging listen, poor production and songwriting and stylistic traits that do not fit in context.

*Note: I don't like individual song reviews as I feel the overall quality of the album is more important than the 'singles' mentality that that structure can impose.

Nice review, eloquent and descriptive. It's cool to see how you are looking at how the band evolved, as well as just a straight review.

cheers, i thought it might be interesting to do it chronologically
a hard one to start with really as it doesn't slot in neatly.

I actually haven't heard it but Boys Don't Cry is a brilliant album, i always thought that was their proper debut :s

Same album. Boy's Don't Cry is the US release of it with a different tracklisting.
They added those tracks to the CD reissue so they're pretty much the same now.

On their last tour they played the entire first album as an encore.

To digress briefly... Do bands still do that? Release albums by different titles in the US\UK.

If so why? The Beatles did that for quite awhile. Never understood the point, seems to only add confusion. Even if a few tracks are added\removed.

I think it's because by the time an album by a new British band reaches the American market they've usually released a few more singles so they stick the singles on and take off some of the lesser album tracks.
In the case of Three Imaginary Boys / Boys Don't Cry there was 14 months in between releases.

I doubt it happens as much now with the internet & stuff like I tunes around.

Nice review. I have 11 Cure albums so there are gaps that will be plugged by the views in this thread.

Great review, I am interested to see what you have to say about the rest of their discography, keep it up.

Great review! Lets keep our fingers crossed they go forth w/the re-release of "Disintegration" very very soon, and also "Japanese Whispers" then my Cure discography will be complete.

By the way, Fire in Cairo is my favorite song off that cd.:p:

Cheers.
Its mine too
hence my user name and my band's name haha

Seventeen Seconds
 

Seventeen Seconds (1980)

http://www.disinformati.org/wp-conte...en_seconds.jpg


"A Reflection" (Instrumental) – 2:09
"Play for Today" – 3:39
"Secrets" – 3:20
"In Your House" – 4:07
"Three" – 2:36
"The Final Sound" (Instrumental) – 0:53
"A Forest" – 5:55
"M" – 3:03
"At Night" – 5:54
"Seventeen Seconds" – 4:02

The first thing I feel is note worthy about this album is how far the Cure had come in the year since the release of Three Imaginary Boys. Whereas that record sounded like a group attempting to find themselves within the trail end of punk and the beginning of post-punk.
Another notable, is concept of the 'dark' trilogy which is formed by Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography. These three albums if connected by concept in actuality, chronicle the descent into madness. The atmosphere created in this record is relentlessly cold. One reviewer described it as "a sad cure, sitting cold and alone in a room, watching clocks", for me this is almost the exact image that it conjures up for me as I listen. The recorded is pervaded by a sense of apathetic melancholy and boredom which I find all to easy to relate to.

As for the songs themselves, this album has been very overlooked. It has aged quite well, more so than some of their dated later output. The only song which I could say I don't like, is Three, that beat just reminds me of michael jackson for some reason.
For the most part the songs are driven by simple single not melodies provided by both guitar (sounding quite like the trademark Bass vi) and synth/keys and underpinned by slowly pulsing Bass. The proceedings are swimming in echoing reverb, choruses, flange and phase, a stew of modulation. Robert Smith's voice is more developed and defined here, and is usually quite distant like he's only half-paying attention. The hall-marks of classic cure songs are here in terms of sound, production and theme, but what is missing to a large degree is the depth in songwriting.

However, despite this albums strong points in terms of cohesion and maturity, it does suffer from a lack of remarkable songs, featuring only the infallible 'A Forest'. It strikes me that perhaps that is half the point, as this album is about boredom and apathy, and creating that mood. This may go a way to explaining why this album is oft looked over in favour of faith and pornography, the desperation of faith and the total nihilistic madness of pornography make for far more engaging set pieces.

I find the evolution of the Cure's image quite interesting and relevant to the music as it seems to have developed with the concept of the music. Here the band are still in a phase of Anti-image, which fits with the music, as it attempts to portray somewhat of a blank canvas of indifference.

Overall Impression:
This is the first glimpse of the Cure as a fully formed band with their identity assured. As a mood piece this album is incredibly evocative. Its just that, the mood isn't particularly engaging unless you are already in that mood, and really who wants to feel bored and apathetic just cause Robert Smith tells you to?
I find that it flows well one song into the next, but there are the odd weak songs which do not work within the context, I'm pointing at Three and oddly M because the chord progression and general mood doesn't sit right.
A remarkable progression from the previous year, and a stepping stone for things to come.

Good: but a very high good

Key tracks: A forest, Play for today and Seventeen Seconds

Faith (1981)
 

Faith (1981)

http://www.mattyho.estranky.cz/archiv/iobrazek/180

The third album by the Cure and second in the dark trilogy shows a logical progression from the brooding apathy of Seventeen Seconds in terms of both mood and in sound. This record forms the mid-point of the dark trilogy, moving from lethargic, grey bedroom gloom into anguished desperation. This album has a pervading sense of oppression and isolated agony, most songs find Robert Smith sounding on the verge of a flood of tears. A thing to note on this album, and the dark trilogy as a whole is, that it is about building mood (and kind of imposing it on the listener to some extent) and should not be listened to one track at a time interrupted but as a whole.

OK enough adjectives...

This album spouts somber and stately minimalist new wave like there is no tomorrow. The arrangements are spare with simple instrumentation and barely noticeable rhythmic patterns, mainly created by a drum machine or by heavily filtered drums.
The song structures revolve around bass and baritone guitars which provide droning foundations, with synths adding extra ambience and texture. Percussion is minimal in the extreme with most songs featuring simple kick and snare patterns drenched in reverb as the main rhythmic foundation, with occasional inclusions of a cymbal stab or gentle toms.
Once again, modulation is Robert Smith's best friend with almost every instrument drenched in chorus, and reverb as par for the course. This gives the record a dreamy ambient feel and renders Smith's voice distant, sounding like he is in the next room or crawling around alone in your attic.

This album is big on dirges with one or two bass riffs forming the basis of the song and few notes. Tempos range on the most part from around 90-1115, with exclusions coming from the lead single 'Primary', and Doubt. While Seventeen Seconds worked best when viewed purely as a conceptual mood piece designed to sound like boredom, Faith is much more engaging, firstly on part of the mood it evokes: as desperation is more interesting than apathy. Also, the songwriting, lyrical content, consistency and structured track listing.

Songwriting Faith was Robert Smith's strongest set of songs to date, featuring ambient *mood pieces (*see Faith and Drowning man) alongside *catchier (yet still dark) songs with pop structures (*see Primary and Doubt). The songs say a lot with very little and convey strong emotion in neatly packaged bites.
Lyrical content On this record Smith's darkly abstract, and oddly personal lyrical style of the period is firmly stated with effective lyrics that do not conform to conventional rhyming structures, and are generally quite concise. Also, at this point his dark lyrics had not yet really become the broad (but quite nice and acceptable) cliche they are today, and can convey real angst.
Consistency For me this album is a wholly engaging listen which holds me in a suspended state for the full 36:50 duration. However it is not for everyone, and definitely not for those without melancholic/depressive streaks. Viewed on their own, a few of these songs would not stand up, but that is not the way of the album, these songs hold each other up and form a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Track listing The aforementioned consistency is in part the achievement of the track listing which creates such a balanced record, with the appropriate peaks and troughs.


Overall
For me, Faith is the Cure's first truly great album. A triumph of mood and minimalism, and the presentation of a whole work, rather than a collection of random songs. It is one of their most listened albums for me and an experience in itself. However, other albums present a more accessible, varied and ambitious set, so I must rate this:
Very Good +

Great review on Seventen Seconds. I gave that a spin the other day and forgot how good it was.

The only real problem I have with The Cure is filler. When they make a good track, they absolutely nail it but they also make some average forgettable tracks. This is why I find it difficult to have a favourite Cure album.

I have to say, I find the same problem. They have lots of albums I love, but none I could say is my favourite.

I will be interested in your views on 'Wild Mood Swings'. Once again there are a few fillers but I have a real soft spot for this.

to me Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss me is their Opus, psyched to see your review for it.

Good review for Faith, really did the album justice. Im really looking forward to your Pornography review

Next instalment please :D

Woah totally forgot about this
I'll try and get a couple done this week.

Pornography 1982
 

OK finally getting around to doing the next one.

Pornography (1982)

http://wallofsound-records.com/images/pornography.jpg


This record is fairly well described in terms of mood, ambience, general themes and sound, by the opening line. "It doesn't matter if we all die", pronounces Robert Smith 35 seconds into the Cure's darkest and most desperate album.
While Seventeen seconds charted boredom and apathy, Faith plummed depression and hopelessness, Pornography sounds like the mutterings of someone who has lost it; finally plummeted headlong into crazy.

The bare minimalism that reached it's apex on Faith songs such as The holy hour, is replaced by more expansive arrangements and production. It makes heavy use of long instrumental vamps utilising the Bass Vi which is a bit of a trademark Dark trilogy foundation. However, while still echoey, the reverb seems to have been pared back and Smith's voice brought prominently to the forefront. More complicated production is evident with many effects, such as backwards parts and more extensive modulation have been used, along with panning that pre-echoes the psychedelic tendencies of the next few albums.
Most of arrangements feel a bit more swirly and confusing, featuring much faster tempos than the almost exclusively funereal tempos of Faith.

This album is brilliant, yet it makes for an uncomfortable listen, and for that reason, I very rarely bring it out. There is something about it that prevents me from really embracing it, it's a bit voyeuristic maybe, listening to some one elses pain so exposed. That, and the fact that it is a very album orientated affair, the only possible single here, was The Hanging garden...not to say that singles are hugely important, but it emphasises the fact that it is hard to find something to grab hold of.

It is a hugely dense, intimidating and evocative album, that said, I don't think I can give it any score that reflects how I feel about it. I suppose it's a bit like reading Patrick White, you know it's great, you enjoy it's brilliance, but it drags you down so much, that you can only bear a very limited amount of it.

?/10

Very good.

One of my favourites and i'd say it's very underrated. Just the right amount of dark and it think it's a brilliant work of production, it takes a while to notice all the layers going on.

It's always good to see a discography thread here and there. I've never really gotten into the Cure myself (though I did have a copy of Disintergration which I lost somewhere years ago), but I like the songs I've heard. You've officially encouraged me to bag an album or two - kudos :thumb:

'One Hundred Years' set's the tine perfectly for this album. When I first heard this, the dense production and subject matter put me off but the more I listened, the more I got into it. Great review.

Yes :D i've been waiting for this review for quite some time. Great review, you certainly described the mood of the album pretty accuratly. I would be interested to know your view on the title track though, since you didnt mention it.

Yeah this album was my gateway to all the early 80's goth bands like The Sisters Of Mercy and Bauhaus. One Hundred Years, The Figurehead and a Strange Day would be my highlights, the latter hints at the future direction The Cure would take.

That's a pretty good rating for it i'd say.

It's one of those albums that when i'm in the mood for it I love it. But if i'm not it just irritates the fuck out of me.

That doesn't apply for One Hundred Years though. I love that song no matter what.

Thanks for the responses guys
Ill try and get the next one up tomorrow.

BTW: The next one will be fot The Glove's Blue sunshine record as it is next chronologically and I see it as being basically a cure record.

Very nice review of "FAITH". I do also love the "KISS ME" album as well, especially the tracks ( why can't I be you, and just like heaven). My favorite album though would have to be "DISINTEGRATION" with it's heaviness and psychedelic ambience tone throughout the whole work. Favorites would be (fascination street, love song, and the epic pictures of you). the Cure and especially mr. Robert Smith always seem to deliver the goods, live and on their recordings. One of the best on the planet in my opinion.