THE CURE (ALBUM)

'''The Cure''' is the eponymously-titled twelfth studio album from The Cure. This album was released on June 28, 2004 internationally and a day later in the United States. Initial pressings included a bonus DVD "Making 'The Cure'", which featured video footage of The Cure recording the backing tracks and "scratch" (guide) vocals to three of the songs included on the album.

Contents

Overview

Track listing

Extra tracks

''Making 'The Cure' bonus DVD tracks

Missing songs

Trivia

Singles

Personnel

Chart success

Critical response

External links

Overview

This album continues the pattern of a release once every four years: ''Wish'' (1992), ''Wild Mood Swings'' (1996) and ''Bloodflowers'' (2000).
The album is the first Cure release on Robinson's I Am label, with whom they signed a three album deal. To promote the album, the band went on several festivals in Europe and the United States in spring 2004. The band also premiered the song "The End of the World" on ''The Tonight Show With Jay Leno''. In the Summer of 2004, the band launched the Curiosa festival, where they performed shows across the United States with other bands that have been inspired by The Cure, including Mogwai, Interpol and Muse. The band then performed in Mexico (Monterrey and Mexico City) and then did some more festivals and TV performances in Europe to end 2004. At the end of the year, all of the main twelve songs on ''The Cure'' (including "Going Nowhere") were played live.
The Cure album was co-produced by Ross Robinson, who has produced Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, At the Drive-In and a fair few others. Due mainly to the producer's nu metal influence, there are songs on this album much heavier than ever before, although the classic Cure sound still shines through. Smith has described it as "Cure heavy", as opposed to "nu metal heavy". The entire album was recorded live in the studio, according to what is mentioned in the CD booklet.

Track listing

# "Lost" – 4:07
# "Labyrinth" – 5:14
# "Before Three" – 4:40
# "The End of the World" – 3:44
# "Anniversary" – 4:22
# "Us or Them" – 4:09
# "alt.end" – 4:30
# "(I Don't Know What's Going) On" – 2:57
# "Taking Off" – 3:19
# "Never" – 4:04
# "The Promise" – 10:21

Extra tracks

# "Going Nowhere" (on all versions except the North America, after "The Promise")
# "Truth Goodness and Beauty" (on the UK CD, Japanese CD, and vinyl versions, in between "Before Three" and "The End of the World")
# "Fake" (on the Japanese CD and vinyl versions, in between "Us or Them" and "alt.end")
# "This Morning" (closing track on the vinyl version)
According to Robert Smith, the official track listing is the main album plus "Going Nowhere" at the end. Only the North America CD excludes the track. It and "Truth Goodness and Beauty" were never released in North America (except as a video in the DVD).

''Making 'The Cure' bonus DVD tracks

# "Someone's Coming" (alternative version of "Truth Goodness and Beauty")
# "Back On" (instrumental version of "Lost")
# "Jason 3" (instrumental version of "Never")
# "The Broken Promise" (instrumental version of "The Promise")

Missing songs

#"A Boy I Never Knew"
#"Please Come Home"
#"Strum"
The song "A Boy I Never Knew" has been thrown around by Robert Smith as one of the most "depressing" songs he's ever made as it is ''supposedly'' about the son whom he never had.[1]

Trivia

★ Presence, the band that Lol Tolhurst played in following his departure from The Cure in the early 1990s, also released a song called "Never". (See ''Inside'')

Singles

★ May 18 2004 - "The End of the World" (b/w "This Morning" and "Fake")

★ October 18 2004 - "Taking Off" / "alt.end" (b/w "Why Can't I Be Me?" and "Your God is Fear")

Personnel

★ Robert Smith – vocals, guitar

★ Simon Gallup – bass guitar

★ Perry Bamonte – guitar

★ Jason Cooper – drums

★ Roger O'Donnell – keyboards

★ Porl Thompson also contributed to several songs for ''The Cure'', though none were included on the album. He is, however, featured on the singles' B-sides, "Why Can't I Be Me?" and "Your God Is Fear," and does play on the three unreleased songs.

Chart success

''The Cure'' was released on June 28 2004 and debuted at #7 in the U.S., selling 91,000 copies in its first week of release, and #8 in the UK. The album also debuted in the top 30 in Australia. Since then, the album has sold 2 million copies world wide.

Critical response

Metacritic.com has rated ''the Cure'' at a 73 meaning that the critical response has been generally positive. [2]
The album was rated as good by: ''The Guardian'', ''New Musical Express'', ''Kerrang!'', ''Playlouder'', ''Rolling Stone Magazine'', ''Stylus Magazine'', ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' Pitchfork, ''E! Online'', ''Entertainment Weekly'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''.
The album was rated as average by: All Music Guide and ''Blender''.
''The Guardian'' described it as a "masterful performance all round". Best tracks: "The End of the World", "Going Nowhere" "Anniversary", "The Promise". Rating 4 stars out of 5 [3]
''The New Musical Express'' described it as "startling from the first listen." (19 June 2004, page 55)
''Rolling Stone'' rated it as four stars saying "it's the grooviest thing, it's a perfect dream." Best tracks: "Before Three", "Lost", "(I Don't Know What's Going) On [4]
''E! Online'' rated the album as a B, stating "It's hard to imagine a set of songs that better reflects every phase the group has navigated through its turbulent career". [5]
''Entertainment Weekly'' stated: "As with Prince on ''Musicology'', Smith allows the Cure's current lineup to become his own tribute band". (9 July 2004, page 86)
''Allmusic.com'' rated the album as three stars saying "the album is a satisfying listen and there's a certain charm in hearing a Cure thats so comfortable in its own skin, but its the type of record that sits on the shelves of diehard fans, only occasionally making its way on the stereo". Best tracks: "Lost", "Never", "The End of the World". [6]
''Blender'' stated: "They come off more than ever like a caricature." (August 2004, page 104)

External links

★ Billboard News - New Cure Album Due In Late June

★ Metacritic The Cure review summary

★ Allmusic.com review