Customer Reviews

Concert Live 1984

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The liner notes proudly proclaim that no overdubs were used on this recording. Having seen the Cure in concert, I know how powerful they are live, so I have no doubt this statement is true. These songs taken from 4 different shows in May of '84 show off the Cure with a terrific line up that wasn't around for too long (even by Cure standards). M.V.P. Robert Smith is in fine form and his guitar is often massive, sometimes employing an effect that makes it sound like a jet taking off. Drummer Andy Anderson favors heavy-hitting beats and keeps everything very up tempo. Founding member Lol Tolhurst's role on keyboards, questionable as always, seems to be largely relegated to elongated notes, although they are often useful and effective. Multi-instrumentalist Porl Thompson rejoins the fold here, a super-talented guy who would go on to spend many years with the Cure. Abandoning his previous role as a control room wizard, Phil Thornally capably rounds out the quintet on bass.

The breakdown:

"Shake Dog Shake" - Taken from an Oxford, England show. This version substitutes the churning swirl of the dense album cut for a more tightly wound kind of menace. A sick song, but the definitive take remains on THE TOP. Of course, Smith can't duplicate all his trippy vocal overdubs in concert (which, by the way, are brilliantly applied all over THE TOP - see my review, if you so choose). Instead, he stutters and spits them out which compliments the song's deranged air. ****1/2

"Primary" - A lesser Cure song in my view, because it sounds almost like an ordinary pop song and the Cure are capable of much more than that. Still, this is a fun version with "jet-taking-off" guitar flying all over the place. ***1/2

"Charlotte Sometimes" - good version dominated by keyboards and a great bass line. ****

"The Hanging Garden" - killer version - intense beat from Andy gives it a more dangerous edge. Notes are frantically scattered to keep up the pace and a heady climax is reached "as the animals die," then Smith's Japanese guitar weaves back and forth across the auditorium. *****

"Give Me It" - Talk about frantic - this one is off the hook. I might prefer this version to the one on THE TOP. Porl lays down the definitive sax part for the song on this take. *****

"The Walk" - Brilliant live translation of this synth-manufactured oddity, thanks in large measure to Thornalley's skillful interpretation on bass. Longstanding member Simon Gallup would soon refill the bass shoes, though. ****1/2

"One Hundred Years" - a great live song, this is a classic slab of doom n' gloom grilled to perfection with Smith's hovering, harrowing guitar - "thrashing in the water, thrashing in the water . . ." *****

A larger London crowd greets the opening chords of "A Forest" (complete with its lovely intro) with a rabid roar. This is the Cure's signature song. A testament to the power of minimalist rock, it solidly rocks here. While this is a very good version, I saw them on the KISS ME tour and they hit a truly heart-stopping climax (right when Smith got to that last "again!"). *****

"10:15 Saturday Night" - This is a totally wired version, a different beast from the original studio recording and altogether heavier. It rocks hard and fluidly even during the hushed ("drip drip drip") moments. The band sounds like they've blasted through this song hundreds of times, yet it still sounds fresh. *****

"Killing an Arab" - Great version of this cool Japanese/Middle Eastern flavored tune. Not actually racist, it's a tongue in cheek nod to The Stranger, a short novel by Albert Camus. The song is a riot. For the finale, Smith warps his guitar into the fourth dimension, pulls everything through a wormhole, and the CD abruptly ends. *****

Great music, an absolute must for Cure fans!

"Concert" captures the magic of The Cure live. It's an excellent set and the boys, as usual, sound great. There are plenty of official live releases by The Cure. This is one of the earliest and once again confirms that they were and continue to be one of the best live bands around today.

This is the best of the live albums by The Cure. This band has had so many line-up changes and this was one of their most interesting line-ups. Here they sound like a raw post-punk band. Even "The Walk", a normally upbeat song, sounds dark, moody and goth. A great era of The Cure captured live. I only wish there were more tracks on here!

This is probably my favorite live album by The Cure.Some of the songs on this album are even better live than the studio versions.If you want a good taste of The Cure live this is the best.My favorite on here has alway been "The Forest".It has so much more depth and atmosphere live than the studio version.I actually prefere it to the other.

This is definitely one of their better live recordings. The sound is crisp and the treatment of each song is simple but careful. One note of interest: in this version of "10:15 Saturday Night," an odd pause in the first line suggests that something might have caught Mr. Smith's attention...I guess you'll just have to purchase it and listen to see what I mean! The only version of Concert - The Cure Live I currently have is one of the 1984 UK 12" vinyl pressings (fixh10). The track listing is the same as the Swedish version advertised on this site, at least in regards to titles and track order. One of the great things about the format/version I have is that the record has phrases in the run-off grooves. Side One says, "PLAY ME LOUD," and Side Two says, "EAT ME TOO." (A lot of earlier Cure and special Smith project vinyl pressings have simialr quirky run-off groove phrases.) All in all, this is a great live recording, and I would recommend any version or format of this album...and there are quite a few of them out there...you just have to look for them. When you get it, PLAY IT LOUD.

I am a hardcore Cure fan but i find this cd kind of disappointing a lot of the synths sound bad like they only used one patch for the whole concert so the tone is exactly the same throughout.

The sound quality is otherwise decent for the time period this cd was released but there's not a lot of energy or any new revelations to be found to make it worth more than a curiosity like most live albums.


Their best live album by far is definitely Paris.