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Three Imaginary Boys
The Cure, Three Imaginary Boys
Originally a goth-flavored post-punk outfit, The Cure evolved into one of the truly seminal bands of the ’80s, and ultimately one of modern rock’s most celebrated and influential acts. Guided by creative visionary Robert Smith, The Cure’s signature sound balances dreamy pop savvy and poetic lyricism witha dark, brooding intensity. The band’s first four groundbreaking albums-newly remastered-are a series of masterpieces that laid the groundwork for their
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Ok I am non stop on the
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point of view. Today’s piece of content is titled Galore .
Galore
original 18 tracks
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Could have been a better reissue,
Why can’t record labels get it right? We fans have no problem shelling out cash for reissues, but it sure would be nice for them to be worth the money. What’s positive? It’s great to have all the bonus material, especially to have World War on CD, finally. I no longer have my TIB vinyl, but I believe all the original cover art is reproduced. Now for the bad news:
1. The sound is good, but other than being louder, it’s not much of an improvement over my original Three Imaginary Boys or Boys Don’t Cry CDs. I’m no golden-eared audiophile, but I’ve got plenty of other remasters that are noticeably better than the versions they replaced.
2. No Killing an Arab. This is just ridiculous.
3. The cover art colors look horrible. I know it’s not a great cover, but heck, they could have at least reproduced the original colors properly.
4. No plastic slipcase like other “Deluxe Edition” reissues. The slipcase is cardboard and will start wearing. Mine came slightly dented because of this.
5. World War is finally on CD… but it’s either a different mix from the Boys Don’t Cry LP, or there’s just absolutely no high end on the tape they used – it’s so muddy you can hardly hear the cymbals compared to the vinyl.
6. The faint talking bit from the beginning of “The Weedy Burton” is missing (my player’s time seems to skip about 15 seconds between the last two tracks, so this could be a CD indexing problem).
7. The liner notes are a bit skimpy and some are hard to read over the background.
Are these picky issues? You bet they are, but if record companies are constantly going to pump out reissued product, make it worth it for the fans.
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|Early Cure – Quirky Pop-Rock That’s Waaaaay Addictive,
There’s something about the primitive innocence of early Cure that makes me want to listen to it again and again. As a dyed-n-the-wool Cure fan, I like or at least appreciate nearly everything they do, but this early stuff is really melodic and could potentially appeal to a much bigger crowd than, say, their PORNOGRAPHY album ever could. Sure, one could say the American release of THREE IMAGINARY BOYS (renamed BOYS DON’T CRY) is superior, but Disk 1 presents the album in its original form – that’s history, baby! Yes, “Killing An Arab” belongs here, but that song’s pretty easy to come by anyway so no biggie. “Plastic Passion” is also missing, but you can get that one on the JOIN THE DOTS B-side collection which is worth getting for the first disk alone (and, of course, there’s always downloading..). Obviously, this expanded package is aimed at the die-hard fans, but some of the unreleased tracks on Disk 2 are actually superior to many of the TIB tracks (IMHO). There’s a lot of really cool music on Disk 2 that’s worth discovering even if you’re not a big fan. In addition there’s a few well-known singles and some demos that are mostly of interest to the diehards.
The following is a song by song commentary of Disk 2 from an old-school Cure fan (since ’85). I’ve never been dedicated or savvy enough to collect a lot of bootlegs, so for me most of Disk 2 was a thrilling discovery. —————————————————->
“I Want To Be Old” (studio demo) – this appropriately cynical song totally rips. Very punk. Robert Smith has said his main influences starting out were The Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Buzzcocks, and that influence is very evident on several Disk 2 tracks including this one. Great sound. *****
“I’m Cold” (studio demo) – many Cure fans are familiar with a slowed-down, wiggy version of this song which served as an early B-side. This is a straight-up version, upbeat and rocking. The lyrics are perfectly clear without the wicked reversed echo heard on the B-side and they’re so cool – cold, actually. Guitar wizard Porl Thompson appears on several of these early tracks including this cut. After a falling out with Robert Smith, he later rejoined the band. Great sound on this one. *****
“Heroin Face” (live) – a harsh blast of punked-up energy. Fairly decent but certainly not great sound (I believe it’s an audience recording). Those fortunate enough to have a copy of the rare CURIOSITY cassette released back in the day have heard this track. ***1/2
“I Just Need Myself” (studio demo) – Robert Smith quite obviously cops Sex Pistol singer Johnny Rotten’s on this cut (as he does on the TIB track “So What”). He even sounds a bit like a sneering Rotten but whinier. Pretty basic rock n’ roll with Porl wailing on guitar. I love it. ****
“10:15 Saturday Night” (home demo) – I am so thrilled to have this version. Just a young Robert Smith, home alone on Hammond organ, guitar and drum machine. This version captures the bare essence of the song. Robert sounds so anguished! *****
“The Cocktail Party” (home demo) – an amusing lark with Hawaiian-sounding guitar, poorly recorded but fun. ***1/2
“Grinding Halt” (home demo) – early document, mostly of interest to those who study the band. Not much different from the final studio version, has bad sound. ***
“Boys Don’t Cry” (studio demo) – pretty good, straight-up version. A very good pop song (but far from my personal Cure fav). ****
“It’s Not You” (studio demo) – cool song, very good version, some different lyrics. ****
“10:15 Saturday Night” (studio demo) – great version, not too different but way cool. *****
“Fire In Cairo” (studio demo) – cool version, slightly grittier sound on the guitars. *****
“Winter” (studio out-take) – this is a great lost track. So soft and dreamy, I can understand why it wasn’t included on the debut. A harbinger of more mellow and emotional songs to come from the Cure. *****
“Faded Smiles” aka “I Don’t Know” (studio out-take) – another great lost track, this one rocks. ****1/2
“Play With Me” (studio out-take) – wow! yet another great unreleased song, this one has a prickly old-school guitar groove that just works. ****1/2
“World War” (rare album track) – Robert Smith hates this cut and was appalled when label head Chris Perry added it to the original album line-up. If memory serves, this song was on my old BOYS DON’T CRY tape and I’ve always found its primitive, almost bone-headed approach strangely appealing. It’s got a sort of sinister post-apocalyptic feel to it. ****
“Boys Don’t Cry” (extra album track) – the (should’ve been) hit single. Undeniably catchy..and truly great (but again, not my favorite Cure song). ****1/2
“Jumping Someone Else’s Train” (extra album track) – This frantic, runaway-train track is one of their best…
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|The album,
These songs are more than 20 years old, and remain some of the best musical experiences around. Time has not altered their strength. Much the contrary.
I discovered the Cure when this album was released in France. Those were the days. Therefore, I guess I’m sort of stuck with my fond memories of these fantastic tunes, as I don’t quite agree with other reviewers. To put things simply : this first album is my favorite.
I remember that upon discovering this record, I thought : How did these guys manage to construct such a powerful debut ? The first tune was arresting (10:15), then it got better and better. I was amazed. They were confident enough to keep the best tunes buried inside !
Sure, the Cure evolved after this first opus, they got more experimental (Seventeen seconds, my second best), onright depressing (Pornography, “the black gem”), or playful (Japanese whispers), and then they toyed with these ideas, fleshing them out, creating variations (Disintegration, Kiss…). But they never captured again the brilliance of their debut, this obvious display of Robert Smith’s genius.
My guess is that Robert was disappointed with the response to his first songs, got weird, depressed, then gradually decided, I’m able to give them the tunes they want. Consequently, the Cure released “Japanese whispers” and the others. I confess I listened to each one of them. But at the time I did not want to admit that I was gradually losing interest (yeah, that’s right, I was getting older. But hey, I don’t dribble all over yet).
This first record has got it all. This IS “the Cure”. Any “real fan” should, in my opinion, listen to it. Try to forget about those “synth layers”. Had this first record been the succes it deserved, my guess is that the Cure would have subsequently followed a quite different path. But then again, who knows ? Art is such a mystery…
So, there we are. I don’t think I’m a purist. I’m glad the Cure got the immense following it rightly deserves. I don’t systematically consider first albums as the best albums. But. This one is the one. Believe me. Treat yourself. Do it for Robert Smith. Whatever. THIS IS THE REAL STUFF.
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|Want to Buy Your First Cure Album? Start Here!,
I’m often bemused when I hear people say that the first Cure album one should buy is Pornography, Bloodflowers, etc. Let’s face it. Unless you heard one of these albums and know that you like it, you’re probably familiar with Cure music that you’ve heard on the radio…and it surely isn’t anything on Pornography or Faith (terrific albums, however). The Cure are in some ways like Queen. Terrific British bands that have never really achieved mainstay status in America-yet I often hear people say they can’t believe they know and like so many of their songs. You hear them all the time, you just don’t realize it’s one great band that has made so much fantastic music. Many people will recognize most, if not all, of the first 13 tracks on this great CD. Robert Smith is at his fizzy best when he sings such songs as “Why Can’t I Be You?” “Just Like Heaven,” and “Friday I’m in Love.” “Love Song,” “Pictures of You” and “A Letter to Elise” are among the most popular (and easy to listen to) ballads the band has produced. Songs 13 through 17 are from the largely ignored and underrated “Wild Mood Swings Album” (a perennial least favorite among longtime Cure fans), and the 18th track, “Wrong Number,” represents the only new release of this album, and it was the least successful Cure single ever-though personally I think its zany guitar distortion and psychedelic lyrics make for a great song. Unless you already know you want to buy another Cure album, this is the perfect first choice, followed by either “Staring at the Sea” (a collection of singles from earlier Cure albums) or one of the albums that is represented on this disc-”Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me,” “Disintegration,” “Wish,” or “Wild Mood Swings.”
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|Good, but see first paragraph of review,
On the first half of this compilation, The Cure manage to successfully cover a lot of different ground while still sounding very much like The Cure. The latter half of ‘Galore’ sounds more like The Cure doing a parody of The Cure. And, while that’s sometimes not bad, it’s sometimes not that engaging either.
On ‘Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me’ and ‘Disintegration’, The Cure were still very much at the height of their powers; something that almost all of the first 8 tracks included here (with the exception of the funky sounding but ultimately irritating “Hot Hot Hot! “) bear out.
There’s the lightweight, infectious pop romance of “Why Can’t I Be You” and “Just Like Heaven”, and in “Catch”, there’s a wonderfully quirky love song. “Lovesong”, while lyrically straightforward, is emotionally straight and true as an arrow and, together with the brilliantly unsettling, driving song that is “Fascination Street”, ranks as one of their best post-’Staring At The Sea’ singles.
“Lullaby” is still enjoyable in a kind of comic-book horror sort of way, and still sounds distinctive enough to set it apart from the more mediocre material which follows after “Pictures Of You”. “Never Enough”, for instance, could be a b-side; and the “Close To Me” re-hash is easily eclipsed by the original.
Other, later songs, such as “High” and “Strange Attraction” for example, lack the distinctiveness of earlier material. “A Letter To Elise”, a kind of remake of “Pictures Of You”, while pleasant in its way, also plods along interminably. “The 13th” sees The Cure experimenting with a more tropical, jazzy sound and the result is something bordering on unlistenable (“Gone”, though unremarkable, is perhaps more successful as an attempt to experiment with a more jazzy sound).
“Mint Car” is buoyant enough, but it’s also “Friday I’m In Love” revisited. In the opinion of this writer, it is only in the lyrically throwaway, yet shimmering pop of the latter that the band manage to again recapture something special.
The new track, “Wrong Number”, is interesting and gets feet tapping along to its slick ‘alternative techno’sound, but, at the same time, is probably more enjoyable than it is memorable .
‘Galore’ is worth investigating for 7/8 of the first 8 tracks plus “Friday I’m In Love” and “Wrong Number”. It’s also worth noting that, because of remastering, the earlier songs on “Galore” also sound a lot brighter and clearer than they do on the original albums.
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|Hits the Mark,
“Galore” is a fine collection of latter day Cure songs with a minimum of padding. The first eight tracks are from the band’s two most popular albums “Kiss Me, Kiss, Me Kiss Me” and “Disintegration,” including radio hits like “Just Like Heaven,” “Pictures of You,” and “Fascination Street.” The next two cuts are from the strange “Mixed Up” collection, including the ace dance floor version of the mid-80s staple “Close to Me.” The album then concludes with a number of songs from the less successful 90s albums “Wish” and “Wild Mood Swings,” including the band’s last big single “Friday I’m in Love.” The final song, “Wrong Number” is the only one that is new to this collection. There are no outtakes or rarities for ardent fans, and it is obvious that this collection is intended for more casual listeners.
Combined with their first best of collection, “Staring at the Sea,” “Galore” is a excellent overview of The Cure’s long musical history.
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