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The Head on the Door
 
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The Head on the Door [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

The Cure
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews) | More about this product

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The Cure
Amazon's The Cure Store
Find all the CDs, MP3s, and vinyl, plus photos, videos, biographies, discussions, and more. Visit the store.

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
  • Original Release Date: 1985
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Original recording reissued
  • Label: Elektra / Wea
  • ASIN: B000002H2Z
  • Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,071 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Listen to Samples

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1. In Between Days
2. Kyoto Song
3. Blood
4. Six Different Ways
5. Push
6. Baby Screams
7. Close to Me
8. Night Like This
9. Screw
10. Sinking

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

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Customer Reviews

54 Reviews
5 star:
 (32)
4 star:
 (17)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
23 of 24 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
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...

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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Cure...at its finest!, June 19, 2000
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.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply wonderful..., March 31, 2002
By unbridled_id (Berwyn, il United States) - See all my reviews
I was watching r.e.m's story on behind the music. They were showing some old alternative tv show and they were listing the top five alternative albums of 85. 1. Fables by r.e.m (their best), the rest go like this; one by the talking heads, low-life by new order, the queen is dead by the smiths and this album. Now in 2002 alternative is alien ant farm, limp bizkit, and linkin park. Can I go out on a limb and say there has been a precipitous drop in quality as to what is considered alternative music????
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, but still good.
The Head on the Door breaks away from The Cures previous traditon of releasing dark and goth like albums. Read more
Published on March 13, 2006 by Big C

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Cure Album! Bar none.
When this album first came out, it was a total revelation. I had been a casual fan for a few years, but never rabid. This record changed that. Read more
Published on February 27, 2006 by Jack Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just the best Cure, an all-time great by any band
There isn't much point in me reiterating what just about every other review here says. Into the late '80s, I'd heard and owned every Cure album at one point or another. Read more
Published on February 21, 2006 by Kid A

5.0 out of 5 stars The Head on The Door....
Though this is the premier Cure album for most....All Cure recordings are timeless. As I listen to "Pornography" or "Faith" both still seem new and vibrant. Read more
Published on February 12, 2006 by Robert Wolf

5.0 out of 5 stars a GREAT album--superior craftsmanship and an engaging mixture of styles
Depending on whether or not you count 1983's "Japanese Whispers" as an actual 'non-compilation' album, "The Head On The Door" is either the 7th or 6th proper Cure album since... Read more
Published on February 4, 2006 by Dave

5.0 out of 5 stars cure perfect
Other Cure offerings seem to generate more press, i.e. "Pornography" and "Disintegration", but "The Head on the Door" is without doubt their most fully realized, coherent and... Read more
Published on December 17, 2005 by dandurand

4.0 out of 5 stars 1985 sounded this good?
Picking a favorite Cure album is like choosing between air or water, hard to do. This might not be my absolute #1, but "Head On The Door" is the first Cure album I really knew... Read more
Published on December 5, 2005 by H3@+h

5.0 out of 5 stars Boo-Yah!
This is by far the best Cure album... I own them all and this one is the sauce de creme.... it has everything.... Read more
Published on October 24, 2005 by Gary Goldblum

4.0 out of 5 stars good Cure record
awesome record by The Cure. Head on the Door captures their weird pop stylings and lovely little melodies in a very focused band effort. Read more
Published on September 24, 2005 by J. Holmes

5.0 out of 5 stars Not My Favourite
It's not my favourite Cure album, by any means, but I do like it quite a bit.

It seems with this album, they put more effort into making the music more accessable... Read more
Published on September 5, 2005 by Caleb

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SoundUnwound Says...

“The Head on the Door opens new browser window by The Cure opens new browser window is mainly Gothic Rock, quite Alternative Rock, with hints of Punk”

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Head on the Door
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The Head on the Door 4.5 out of 5 stars (54)
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