Customer Reviews

Paris

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am usually a gentle person, Jim DeRogatis, but I put it to you that both you and your egotistical, mean-spirited, pseudo-sophisticated criticism of great art will rapidly be forgotten by History, whilst great musical masterpieces like 'From the edge of a deep Green Sea' by The Cure (To name just ONE amongst NUMEROUS lovely songs that you have trashed), will be remembered and treasured by other human beings for a long long time. Time is the best proof of quality, and the Cure's marvellous music will continue to soar, conquering time and transcending place, long after your petulance is no more...why a great site such as Amazon pay you good money is quite beyond me...

I kind of agree with the reviewer above about Show--it's definitely a piece of Cure product. But I disagree with him about Paris. Paris, thank God, is Robert Smith's acknowledgment to Cure fans, a live record of the lesser-known, mostly early songs. I've always enjoyed Cure concerts because Smith never forgets to devote a significant portion of the set to older, gloomier, punkish material--the very material that sends some fans (like me) screaming, and sends other fans (the teeny-boppers or newly-converted) absolutely confused. Thus, Paris marks the first legitimate live release of classic Cure material

The Cure's PARIS was the band's second live album release in a two month span in 1993. Talk about prolific. Talk about overkill. Talk about capitalism. While SHOW spotlighted more recent Cure material, the bulk of PARIS (taped in 1992, guess where?) spotlights the Cure's earlier, less radio-friendly days. Sparkling renditions of songs like "Charlotte Sometimes" and "The Figurehead" only go to show that the Cure can do it all. Not to completely alienate recent pop fans, PARIS also contains sparkling renditions of the Cure's first big AOR hit "Lovesong," plus the Kinks-like "Catch," and the gem "Letter To Elise." Half the original proceeds from royalties of PARIS were donated by the Cure to the Red Cross in support of international relief work. For a bunch of gloomy guys, that was a helluva nice gesture.

Paris is a wonderful live album. Anyone who enjoys The Cure as well as people who have never heard The Cure before, will want to enjoy this cd!

This live album is flawless. It is by far, better than I've ever imagined live albums could endeavor to be. Let me give you an example. "Play For Today", off of "Seventeen Seconds", was an okay song. Nothing to jump up and scream over though. Good enough to go on the mp3 player, but not enough to play constantly or anything. Well, I decided to go ahead and listen to it on Paris, just for the hell of it, since everything else was so great.

The live version of this song absolutely kills the original!!! I was blown away when I heard the sheer magnificence of this performance. It was darker, more grandiose and more complex, just absolutely stunning.

"Dressing Up" is also breathtaking, and this was a song that I already loved.Ditto for classics such as "The Figurehead"...if a song like "Play For Today" can be turned into a masterpiece, then what do you think that the greats sound like?

I had Show for years and really liked it but kept reading reviews that talked about the superiority of Paris. I ordered a used copy from amazon and found the reviews to be true. Show is still highly recommended but if you're a big fan of the group you'll also want to get Paris.
The highlight of the set - Catch! Check it out.

Just say yes to this album, and its brother show, however go for Show [UK], which includes all tracks except for the encore; which I wish so much had been included. I highly recommend you purchase the video versions of both; hearing The Cure live is itself excellent, but seeing it simotaneously is brilliant. I personally do not agree with the editorial provided by this site, Show and Paris are both equally good albums, mere differnet selections. Paris gathering up the older Cure classics while Show endulges us into the bands second phase which grew out of Head on the Door. Let us not forget Show does give us its share of old favorites: Boys Don't Cry, Inbetween Days, A Forest, Primary, not to mention it was the 'Wish' tour.

So..my friends, if you want satisfaction of a purchase, take my assurance, from one of the biggest Cure fans you'll find.

I love live CDs, as they tend to add a different dimension to bands I enjoy. Paris is very, very good. "The Figurehead" is one of my top 3 Cure songs ever, and the guys do a great justice to the song here. "Apart", "Catch", "Letter to Elise", and "Play for Today" are all great. Far superior to show, in my opinion. The real surprise for me, though, was "Close to Me", because this version is far better than the album version. It's things like this that reaffirm why I'm a Cure fan to begin with. And how 'bout that little Jimi Hendrix cover at the end of 100 years? Sweet!

This is according to my own weird taste: Listen to this music and pay attention to every second that you hear of Robert Smith's incredible voice, and notice the gloomy wall of synths used on Charlotte Sometimes and One Hundred Years. That's how I enjoy it. One thing though: get Concert, it's even better.

I'm not sure why this gets panned, along with Show (Show deservedly gets panned - boring). It has the best version of "apart", as well as superior versions of "100 Years" and "The Figurehead". A must have, even for the casual fan (which is hard to fathom, once you start listening to them!}