The Top [IMPORT]

The Cure

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 10, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1984
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Polygram Int'l
• ASIN: B000005S0E
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #165,702 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Shake Dog Shake

2. Bird Mad Girl

3. Wailing Wall

4. Give Me It

5. Dressing Up

6. Caterpillar

7. Piggy in the Mirror

8. Empty World

9. Bananafishbones

10. Top

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

1984 album that is unavailable domestically. 10 tracks, including 'The Caterpillar', 'Bird Mad Girl', 'Shake Dog Shake', 'Dressing Up' & 'Give Me It'. Fiction / Universal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Spurning sex like an animal of God"? Uh, okay..., May 29, 2002

By	Angry Mofo "angrymofo" - See all my reviews

This has to be the most bizarre Cure record ever, and its being inexplicably out-of-print only adds to the weirdness. It doesn't belong with the dour, slow Cure of Faith or Seventeen Seconds (too much instrumental variety), nor does it fit in with the lush, expansive Cure of Disintegration or Head on the Door (nowhere near as atmospheric). We've seen Robert Smith depressed before, but The Top is where he gets psychotic. His voice paints a picture of someone completely out of control and blind as a bat, utterly out of their mind. It's broken in pieces, and his inimitable tortured wails are at their most tortured and inimitable. Then there are the freakouts. The first time "Give Me It" came on, right after the hypnotic groove of "Wailing Wall," I practically had to jump and hide behind a chair. It is quite possibly Smith's most insanely frenetic song ever, placed and carried out somewhat like "Doubt" from Faith, except hitting a thousand times harder. And the lyrics carry Smith's most burningly bizarre imagery ever. Some songs are just surreal jumbles of these images. It rather borders on frightening.

No song on The Top sounds like any other. Thematic coherence? Nope, none of that. We start with a fevered rocker ("Shake Dog Shake"), switch gears completely for the lighter "Birdmad Girl" (great title on that one), then switch them again for the mesmerizingly hypnotic "Wailing Wall." This last one contains Smith's most "normal" singing on the album, making the next song ("Give Me It") that much freakier. From there we once again make a _complete_ about-face for the beautiful, melancholy pop of "Dressing Up" and the sad/cute "Caterpillar." What follows is the subdued weirdness of "Piggy in the Mirror," then another complete change into the military marching band tune of "The Empty World" ("stiff as toys and tall as men" is one of Smith's best lines ever), then yet another switch and more freakiness with the utterly incoherent "Bananafishbones," and finally an end with the pounding, despondent title track. The stylistic thrashing about makes for a difficult listen, but also actually serves to distinguish each song since every one of them stands out on its own. And the opaque, crazed lyrics add to the effect ("spurning sex like an animal of God"? whatever that is, it doesn't sound too happy, does it?).

It's hard to say which is the best track on the album, since they're all so different as to be incomparable. It's not an album to be played on every occasion, or even often, but for those times when you're feeling completely lost and confused, I daresay there's nothing better. Manic, paranoid and surreal, The Top is not an easy listen, but there's no other Cure album quite like it. The price is a bit steep, what with it being out of print in the States and all, but I declare it to be worth it. Purchase it today.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Ghoulish Nightmares to Powder Pink Dreams, July 5, 1999

By	Thomas Baldwin (Upland, California 90210) - See all my reviews

I didn't know what to expect when I first popped this into my CD player. I had heard plenty of negative reviews in the music press (like their opinion matters anyway), which now seem horribly wrong.

The opener "Shake Dog Shake" is one of the most intense Cure songs ever, its brilliant layered sound and haunting lyrics push my mind into a dark realm reserved for my worst nightmares. Spectacular.

"Birdmad Girl", "Dressing Up", and "The Caterpiller" are the light and airy tracks reminescent of the 1983 "Japanese Whispers" EP. "Birdmad Girl" is my favorite track on this disc for reasons I have yet to figure out. The gorgeously ambigious way Robert sings about being a polar bear just gets to me.

"Dressing Up" is a dreamy little tune with the dated synth sound I really love. Probably Robert Smiths favorite track on The Top, or so I've heard.

"The Caterpiller" is a worthy single, incredibly fun to sing along to as well. Why only 1 single was picked is beyond me. "Birdmad Girl" and "Dressing Up" seem single worthy.

"Bananafishbones" is extremely weird, I can't even describe it... but it's very cool. Same goes for the fun little "Piggy In The Mirror".

"Empty World", "The Top", and "Wailing Wall" sound like lost sessions from the Pornography era.

The only song I don't care for (maybe I have to develop a taste for it?) is "Give Me It", which is just too disorderly. A frenzied mess!

If you are looking for an album full of "Friday I'm In Love" type songs, look elsewhere! This is suggested for people after they have been aquanted with The Cure for awhile. It's a bit much to jump into for the casual listener.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The "Forgotten" Cure Album, March 5, 2000

By	Chris D. (Ocean Grove, NJ) - See all my reviews

"The Top" was an album that I dismissed at first, but that has really grown on me over the years. This is one of the more musically diverse efforts the Cure have produced, and it's a fascinating listening experience. "The Top" is almost like a sampler of the Cure's various musical styles. "Shake Dog Shake" is my favorite on the album (and one of my favorite Cure songs). The band still opens shows with it for good reason - it's an intense and powerful song. "Bird Mad Girl" and "Piggy In The Mirror" are poppier cuts (think "Let's Go To Bed"), "Wailing Wall" and "The Top" are slow and somber (think of almost anything from "Pornography"), "The Caterpillar" and "Dressing Up" are cute and goofy (think "Close To Me"), "Give Me It" is a frenzied wail of guitar and drums (think "Shiver and Shake," but more frantic). If you like 80's-era Cure, you should really pick this one up. Don't give up on it after one or two listens, as I nearly did. "The Top" is full of surprises and idiosyncracies, and is a much more satisfying listen than some better-known Cure albums ("Wish" springs immediately to mind). The fact that "The Top" seems to be the only Cure studio effort to be dropped from domestic circulation is inexplicable.