Customer Reviews

The Only One (Mix 13)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A lot of times when a veteran group releases an album, the critics and reviews like to compare it to past achievements as if to give the new release some credibility (or if we're going to be really cynical, to help the record sell) or to help it resonate amongst the old fans. After one listen to the new single, it became immediately apparent that sometimes the voices are actually right.

'The Only One' sounds reminiscent, without being a total retread or rip-off, of that jangly 'Wish' sound, ESPECIALLY the lead-off single, 'High.' Despite being a bit less wistful, and more quirky than 'High' the sound is all there. 'NY Trip' is a bit less spunky sounding, but no less energetic, showcasing a nice wah-wah lead guitar and Smith's howl during the refrain. Honestly, 'NY Trip' is a close cousin to the b-sides from the 1995-1996 'Wild Mood Swings' sessions, particularly 'A Pink Dream' and to some of the 2004 b-sides like 'Fake'.

For better or for worse (depending on what type of Cure fan) The Cure has settled into a sound, with 'Wish' being the real starting point to that sound. Gone are the lush keyboards that textured their '85-'89 period and made for some great songs. One feels like Smith was never quite as comfortable with previous lineups of the band as he is with his current lineup (Porl Thompson and Simon Gallup both being Cure stalwarts on and off since the early days) and the sound of these new songs really shows that. Since the 90s, Smith has effectively reduced the amount of keyboards from the albums, with 'Bloodflowers' being the major exception; but wasn't that supposed to be a sequel to 'Disintegration' anyway?

Overall, there was an uncertainty about the departure of long-time keyboardist, Roger O'Donnell. Many people even blamed the bland sound of their self-titled album on the lack of keyboards (yet 'Wish' and its near-lack of keyboards remains a fan-favourite). After a successful run of festival shows and now a full-fledged tour, Smith and company are more than proving that they can function very well without all the keyboards that spoiled so many of us Cure fans. This single, as well as the new songs being debuted on this current tour, is evidence that The Cure is still a steadily-evolving rock group that can still look forward, with its feet firlmy planted in the past, and put out solid music despite rumours and expectations.

As the first single from the Cure's forthcoming 13th album, The Only One sets the tone for what Cure fans can expect of this latest album. The single is poppy and jangly, in the style of The Head on the Door and Wish, and though the song itself isn't as strong as some of the singles from those records, it is a nice single, and a good choice as an opener for the set of four singles. The b-side is an interesting, slightly darker affair, but both songs share a sort of sick fascination for erotica in the lyrics, which are rather X-rated depending on how you interpret them. If The Only One is the worst song on their upcoming album, Cure fans will have much to rejoice about. Though the sound may not be as groundbreaking as that of Disintegration or Bloodflowers, it is a sound that will please many fans that were disappointed their the 2004 self-titled album.

Good to hear the Cure back on form.
Saw them perform this live a few times earlier in the year & the almost "fair-ground" feel of the song on the single is a joy really.
The B side is typically quirky & IMO better than the A side.
In fact it wouldn't sound out of place on The Top really.
What does stick in my craw, however, is the fact that the digital download for sale is a poor quality, lossy wma file.
You'd think that a band with the standing of the Cure would at least be able to offer a lossless download.
Even NIN can do that (for free).
Now we need to brace ourselves for June 13th when Fud Show is released.
Here's hoping it's better in the studio than that poppy drivel they are playing currently.
s

'The Only One' is good single with a classic Cure sound. However, its perhaps a bit to generic; a fairly 'safe' first single. I honestly prefer the b-side 'NY Trip'. That second track has more personality, with vocal and piano elements adding a bit of uniqueness. If 'NY Trip' doesn't make it on the album, this single is a must buy.

Many people are comparing this single to songs from Wish, and...having enjoyed several listens, I'm going to agree. There is a very similar carefree and happy feeling found in the A-side that is reminiscent of "A Letter to Elise" and "Friday I'm In Love." Lyrically as well; as with songs like "High" and "Doing the Unstuck," there are a few 'silly' word choices, but, Robert makes them work as part of the song's charm.

"NY Trip" has a nice hook. Also Wish-sounding, though a bit funkier like perhaps -- if you want to extend the Wish comparison -- "Wendy Time." Like the chord progression on the verse, catchy.

The single stands on it's own. Rather than pidgeon-holing this single as a Wish knock-off, I'd offer that this is simply the sound that comes from Robert when he feels a certain way, whether it's 1992 or 2008, and we are experiencing those feelings with him all over again. Good stuff, I am hoping for a great new album.

I am a true to the soul cure fan so anything they do I pretty much like but I really liked the only one I cant wait til sept when the cd comes out

This single sounds like the classic cure sound that harkens back to Wish. If most of the CD sounds like this then I will be pleased. The lyrics start off strong, but do get quirky in the middle. I was a little upset by the quirkiness of the lyrics, but it's usually either gloom and doom with Robert Smith (think Plainsong or alt end) or sticky sweetness like The Only One. The music is reminiscence of Wish and Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me. It's a truly classic cure song and this should go down as one of the all-time classic Cure singles.

The Cure chose The only one as their first single. It sounds like they are getting back to the Wish sound on this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og_VoeTFzyY

A catchy little tune. Robert Smith has a very mesmerizing voice, and having listened to this tune quite a few times, I think this is one of those songs you'll catch your self singing. Good light summer-feelgood-be-happy-have-fun songs. I must say I really like the b-side on this one. NY Trip, a very very good b-side, from a band that has a history of producing very good b-sides on their singles.

In anycase, it looks like their new album will be a double one...(from Billboard) "What will probably happen is that a double album will come out like a limited edition, mixed by me," he continues. "A single-disc version, which I assume will be primarily chosen by the label, might get mixed by someone else in order to have a different thing. There's a concern Cure fans will feel like they have to get both, but the fact is, I've agreed to sell the double version at a single album price, because I feel that strongly about it. It is almost impossible to get a double album nowadays. I naively thought my standing as an artist would push aside all objections, but the world gets ever more commercial as it turns."

While it's not a 5-star Cure song it is still far better than most other alterna-pop songs out there. As many others have already pointed out it does sound like Wish era Cure and in my opinion that's a great thing, but I'm also the kind of Cure fan that finds it very difficult to be objectively critical of Robert and crew...

When I first heard "The Only One" on a live video clip, to say that I was underwhelmed would be well, an understatement. I was downright disillusioned! The Cure's 2004 self-titled album features one of my most cherished Cure pop songs, "The End of the World," which delivered a fresh interpretation of the classic Cure sound. But "The Only One" sounded to me like a redunandant reworking of the done-to-death bright-and-happy Cure sound, and I wanted nothing to do with it. And indeed, when the studio version was released, I became even more distraught, because I thought this was the direction the Cure was headed: the band meekly yielding to what fans wanted (another Wish), rather than bravely delving into newer musical perspectives.

But it took the next single, "Freakshow," actually, to convince me that "The Only One" was, after all, a great song. Not because "Freakshow " is a bad song - indeed, I love it - but because it is a slight departure from what some hold to be the signature Cure sound. And this taught me that okay, it's fine if the band does a bit of Cure-by-numbers as long as they persist in experimenting with other genres as well. After all, The Cure's trademark is daring diversity.

So yeah, "The Only One" finally grew on me, to the point to where I actually love it - almost more than "The End of the World," but not quite. True, it's derivative of songs like "High," and I do love "High," but it also bears its own quirky charms. For one, its lyrics exude less of the woozy romantic sentiment like "High" or "Just Like Heaven"; they start off softly yearning, but soon turn brazenly bawdy.

In a way, the lyrics' erotic edge diminishes the boyish melody, but they are also what give the song a unique stamp: its refusal to cater to childlike notions of romance. Instead, the lyrics assert a bold sexuality; rather than ooze delicious innuendo, they are explicitly lascivious in nature. For some Cure fans, this could be disconcerting - what's a 50-year old man doing meowing about carnal pleasures, usually held to be the sacred province of youth? But for others - the less provincial ones? - it's refreshing, because that is EXACTLY what a 50 year old SHOULD be doing: brashly celebrating life and libido.

Lyrically, too, the song continues the legacy of Seussian-Smith parallels - word-pairing reversals ("slip/slide" - "slide/slip"), whimsical word play ("hazier," "mazier"), pervasive internal rhyme and so on.

"The Only One," like so many Cure singles, is wonderfully infectious and showcases Smith's proclivity for crooning in a higher register to embellish the song's frisky mood.

Indeed, one could charge Smith with overplaying the falsetto flourishes, and perhaps he could rein it in a bit. But then I figure, as long as he doesn't do it on every song, and as long as the flourishes "fit" with what the song is trying to achieve, then I see no harm.

"The Only One " is thoroughly engaging Cure-pop, if a bit derivative. Thankfully there are graphic lyrical twists to keep us indecently entertained.

The b-side, "New York Trip" is an understated piece whose chief allure lies in its meandering structure. Musically it somewhat echoes "Wild Mood Swings," anchored as it is with a mildly groovy beat. The piano, too, is featured nicely, giving the song more melodic import. Lyrically the song sometimes recalls tunes from "The Top," with hallucinatory lines like,

I SWEAR THEY'RE WHALES
SWIMMING DOWN THE LINE
SPITTING MONKEY TAILS...

Other times the lyrics fall back onto overly familiar Cure cliches and don't offer up anything terribly distinctive. But all in all it's a solid song, although to my ears the weakest of the released b-sides.