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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great weaving of old sounds into new patterns, February 14, 2007
I am amazed at the scorchingly negative reviews this album is receiving here and elsewhere, but also heartened by the positive or at least more restrained reviews which seem to be written by those who are able to eschew preconceived notions about what a "true" Cure album should be. Naturally, people will have to make up their own minds, but I would hope that they would give this disc many thorough listens before dismissing it. A given criticism's credibility evolves from its constructive rendering, and constructive criticisms evolve from thoughtful immersions into the sounds of whatever music is being reviewed.
But such is the Cure's hardcore fanbase: rabidly ardent followers of a band that has come to mean so much to each of us personally. I myself am not always happy with every song the Cure has put out, but I embrace the flaws anyway, and generally am able to embrace the band's inevitable mutations through time.
On The Cure's eponymous offering, there are classic Cure moments. In general the album does a great job at assimilating old Cure sounds into a new Cure pattern. It's as though for each song they take fragments of several Cure songs and weave them into a new tapestry.Gone are the lengthy musical preludes, and the mixing can be a little challenging to deal with sometimes - vocals mixed on top of the songs rather than within the songs. However, the live recording gives it a raw energy that is refreshing, if a bit jolting sometimes.
Besides, even if some of the songs sound a bit more stripped of the textures prevalent on many Cure albums, we must remember that the band actually started out with a more spacious sound and moved away from that in favor of a fuller more fleshed out feel. So, some of this album actually takes on a Faith-era atmosphere, even if it's bit more aggressive in style. Too, we must remember that though current Cure music seems to have appropriated some modern nu-metal sounds, many newer bands were actually influenced by The Cure. So, you could say that The Cure is now simply re-interpreting interpretations of their own pioneering sound.
Initially the album does suffer a bit from disjointedness - there's not that immediate coherent feeling as there was on most other Cure albums. On the first few listens, then, the album seems merely a hodgepodge of loosely related songs. However, upon closer and closer inspection, the album begins to fall together as interestingly spliced-together songs that tell the whole story of the Cure in a fresh medium.
My thoughts on the songs:
Lost - Melodic punk. Contains a euphoric anger. I love the trudging start, potent climax and noisy finish. I bask in the oppressive power of Robert's screaming;
Labyrinth - Psychedelic rock with luscious swirls of Middle Eastern sounds. Break out the incense and Moroccan tapestry.
alt.end - I love the bouncy bass , swirly guitar solo, and Robert's subtle whimsical vocal flourishes during part of it. It's quirky yet catchy.
(I Don't Know What's Going) On- It's rambling and abstract and lyrically repetitive, elements which could be potential drawbacks, yet mixed together somehow make for an interesting and rather tasty stew.
Taking Off - Cure-pop at its brightest, yet it has a slightly aggressive undertone. I love the naive romance of the lyrics.
Before Three - This song pairs dreamy melancholy with crunchy rock. The signature Cure echo-guitar effect is there, but with a more biting edge to it.
Us or Them - At first I wavered violently on this song. But now I really like it, despite a growling AC/DC-like gruffness that can be a bit overpowering. And I do like AC/DC.
I also have the Japanese version of the album, which contains three extra tracks, and the MP3 of This Morning:
Going Nowhere - Positively aching mix of guitar, piano and bass. The song's brief length lends it a stunning power.
Truth Goodness and Beauty - The vocals are a bit too disembodied from this otherwise gorgeous song. I like the music and the "structureless structure" of the song, but feel that it would benefit from re-mixing in order to achieve its latent brilliance.
Fake - Wonderfully retrogressive in spirit, sweetened by a perky melody.
This Morning - The start of this song is a bit akward, as Robert plunges right into singing. He should have allowed a musical intro to lead dreamily into the vocals. Nonetheless, once the song delves into its own heart, this song reveals itself to be the most haunting, atmospheric Cure song ever devised.
While lyrically some of the songs suffer from banal repetition, some of that repetition takes on a whole new meaning within the musical context and therefore seems less blatantly redundant over time. Besides, songs like Labyrinth, Before Three, Anniversary, Taking Off, Truth Goodness and Beauty, Going Nowhere and This Morning feature luscious lyrics that boast Robert Smith's patented dreamy and philosophically-probing writing style.
Furthermore, Robert's trademark plaintive wail is mostly amazing on this record. Despite his advancing age, he's able to plumb the heights and depths of his range, exploring low, almost whispered tones, soaring into more youthful high notes, and sometimes even daring to reach into "scream territory" that is chilling in its stark intensity. Occassionally you wish Robert would rein in his vocal ardor a bit, but then you realize it's all part of the passionate package.
In all, I love the US version of the album, and feel that the extra tracks on the Japenese and other versions only make it a more palatable and beautiful offering. I wish Robert Smith had successfully combatted the profit-hungry Geffen, into whose trap many of us have fallen by buying multiple versions - all owing to our aggressive adoration of one of the best bands in the world, The Cure.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Songs...BAD Production, July 7, 2004
Okay...it seems that the biggest complaint people have with this album is that there is no huge, lush orchestrations that were prevalent on albums such as "Disintegration." Well, that isn't really true. There ARE lush orchestrations...you just can't hear them that well. The songs really are good songs. They really are melodic. They really are emotional. They really are classic Cure songs. Unfortunately, the production is so bad that usually all that you can hear is distorted guitar, droning bass, and Robert Smith's vocals. One of the clearest examples of great song-writing marred by horrible production is on "Anniversary." If you listen with headphones...with the volume very loud...you CAN hear some synth leads, fluttery smooth melodies, and even a piano, but unless you strain your ears to the point of bleeding, you probably won't notice any of that. That is the case with every song. Lots of good great melodies, synths, and complex orchestrations all with the volume turned down so the distortion can come to the forefront.Basically, most of the good reviews are correct, and most of the bad reviews are correct. The good reviews talk about the songwriting being on par with past Cure albums. This is very true. There is lush orchestrations, great synth parts, great guitar parts...this is a good Cure album. Yet on the other hand, the bad reviews are correct too. The prodution is muddy (so muddy that you won't be able to hear 90% or the parts), there is no orchestration (even though there is orchestrations...good luck hearing them), and there are no beautiful synth parts (again...there...just with the volume turned way down). In conclusion, if you want a Cure album with really good songs that you can't really hear or enjoy..get this album. If you want these songs in a listenable form though...you should probably wait for a cheap bootleg recorded on a 5 dollar Wal-Mart tape deck to seep its way into the marketplace. The production value will probably be much much higher.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tired and uninspired, August 24, 2004
I was looking forward to the new release from the Cure with great expectations. I didn't even let my so-so response to their first single sway my anticipation. However, once I started listening to the album, over and over again trying to give it a chance, it never took off the ground. The first thing that stood out to me was the way over-repetative lyrics. Sometimes that can be effective, but not if it's done constantly. Second, as everyone already knows, the man who brought us Slipknot and KoRn was the one who totally screwed up the production on this one. I have to agree with everyone else who has asked Robert what the freak he was thinking to sign with Ross. The whole record is WAAAYYY overproduced and leaves no room for dynamics or atmosphere, let alone the signature Robert Smith guitar sound. Even Bloodflowers sounds much more dynamic than this album.
Lastly, one of the previous reviewers eluded to the fact that while the record might not hold up, the live show may prove us all wrong (he used Wish as an example). Well, I saw them on their most recent tour, and while overall it was one of the most incredible shows I've ever seen, the new material was absolutely flat (with the exeption of The Promise). It was amazing how the new material compared with their previous, more inspired work. There are no songs on the new record that even come close to matching songs like "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea", "Disintigration", "A Forest" or "100 years" live.
Simply put, this album is average, something The Cure is not known for. If you're a Cure completist, go ahead and get it, but don't expect any of the songs to give you the chills, or much of an emotional response at all. I wonder why Robert said that anyone who doesn't like this album doesn't like The Cure...I think the reason I don't like this album is BECAUSE I like The Cure...
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by The Cure 
