The Head on the Door [Import]

The Cure | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Universal Japan
• ASIN: B00164PONM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,617 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is the Cure album to start with. Robert Smith and company's best and most coherent statement, The Head on the Door is a successful, if schizophrenic, synthesis of the best of '80s rock, boasting danceable Eurobeat anthems ("In Between Days"), world-music-flavored exotica ("Kyoto Song," the Latin-tinged "The Blood"), and more sullen statements of post-modern angst from the band that gave you such downer epics as Faith and Pornography. More than any other Cure album, Head rewards those who don't subscribe to the darker side of the group's ethos. The use of Spanish guitar and other colorful arrangement touches help to create a rich dynamic. The softer, more introspective cuts (like the claustrophobic "Close to Me," Smith's confessional classic) are also far more effective for them. --Don Harrison

Product Description

2006 digitally remastered two CD edition of the 1985 album by Robert Smith and co-horts. Disc One features the album in it's entirety and includes the radio hits 'In Between Days' and 'Close To Me'. Disc Two features an additional 18 bonus tracks including demos, live tracks and four previously unreleased songs. 28 tracks total. Deluxe package contains a 20 page booklet including sleevenotes with rare and previously unseen photographs. WEA. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the right Cure, June 11, 2000

By 

dcinDC "dcinDC" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Head on the Door (Audio CD)

The review up top is right: This is the Cure album to start with. But maybe that's because this is the one I happened to start with. Actually, I think it's excellent because it's right at what I would call the middle of the Cure's range of sounds. It's still got some of their early punk edginess, some of their 80's danciness, some of the dark goth-like tones, and a hint of the gloss that you'll find in their more recent albums.

Even though it falls in this niche, the styles of music on this album vary widely and the lyrics are haunting as always. This is definitely one of my favorite albums and seems to fit a variety of moods and settings. I bought this album on vinyl when it first came out and have been listening to it periodically ever since (although I've "upgraded" to a CD version). Every once in a while I forget about it and find it dusty on my shelf. When I clean it off and pop it back in the player I'm always glad I did.

If you only know the Cure's recent stuff, definitely go out and get this album. If you've never heard of the Cure and don't just want a greatist hits album, get this one. If you don't care...well, then nevermind...

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Cure...at its finest!, June 19, 2000

By 

Christopher R. Cicatelli "cicatelli" (bethesda, md) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Head on the Door (Audio CD)

Whenever I hear the first drum beats of this album, I get a smile on my face. Since listening to this album for the first time in the winter of '86, I've savored every note, every word, every emotion, every second. It is truly one of the finest releases of the '80's, yet the music really is timeless. It's a happier Cure than found on "Faith", "Pornography", or "Seventeen Seconds". Don't get me wrong, those albums are excellent, but "Head On The Door" was a new direction for Robert Smith and company. The lyrics on this album are still dark, twisted, and thought provoking like earlier albums, but they are matched with a lighter, happier sounding music. Even on tracks like "Sinking", and "A Night Like This" where the images are dark and brooding, the music is unlike any they've done before. I love this album. It always seems fresh and vibrant...even after all these years (15 to be exact) "The Head On The Door" still makes me happy to be a Cure fan.

Track highlights from "The Head On The Door"? Hmm, they're all great but if I had to pick..."InBetween Days", "Six Different Ways", "A Night Like This", "Push", and "Kyoto Song". Some of the Cure classics by far.

Although the Cure has come to the end of the road in what has been an amazing musical career, I thank the musical gods that looked upon Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst, Porl Thompson, Simon Gallup and Boris Williams during the making of this excellent album. Five stars? Nah, I give it six.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cure for musical ennui, February 14, 2007

By 

Alison Ross (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Head on the Door (Dlx) (Audio CD)

Whenever I'm mourning the death of our old friend, Good Music, I just slap any Cure CD onto the disc player. The Cure is the definitive "80s and beyond" band. Their mercurial pop melodies mingled with singer Robert Smith's Poe-meets-Rimbaud-meets-Dr. Seuss lyrical musings and plaintive wail make The Cure a truly mesmerizing presence. All of its albums are stunningly solid efforts, including the recent "The Cure" and "Bloodflowers," but 1985's "Head on the Door" is its most intriguingly layered offering, serving up an experimental foray into various musical styles; bits of flamenco, Japanese new wave, funk, hard rock, and even jazz sneak their way onto this magical album. The best part is, the Cure manages all the musical genre-melding without surrendering its trademark surrealistic sound.