My love for the Cure began in Sunderland, all the way back in 1994, when my mate Tez and I were visiting the house of someone we’d met through the role playing Soc. This guy (Or Rich as I’ve known him as over the last 30 odd years) went to the shops so Tez and I went through the videos beside his TV (as was the style at the time) and found Staring at the Sea. We’d both liked the song Burn, from the Crow soundtrack and put the video on.
By the time it finished we were both Cure fans. (Rich arrived back three songs in and was very happy to let us keep watching)
When selecting albums for this list, I was trying to work out which Cure album to pick and I couldn’t do it. The Cure needed to be in here but I just couldn’t decide on which one. Should it be one of the bleak, early 80’s classics? The more poppy Head on the Door? Maybe Wish, with its shoegaze influences? There are a lot of Cure albums, and a lot of them are very, very good. So am I really going to pick the obvious one? Yea, I really am.
Is there anything as lush as the intro to Plainsong? What an introduction to an album! That lush, orchestral swell of music perfectly sets the album’s dark, yet beautiful feel. It also introduces this album’s love of a long intro to a song. It’s half way through Plainsong’s runtime before the lyrics turn up, something that happens a lot on the album.
The first eight songs on this album are perfect. No notes. Would not change a thing about them. Love Song is haunting with how simple it is emotional and how effective it is. It was a wedding present from Robert to his wife Mary. She owns the rights to it, and he’s been making everyone else who’s bought a wedding present look bad ever since. Fascination Street changes tactics and has such aggressive bass that really give an edge to an album that can be a little too gentle in places, while Lullaby really is one of the most perfect songs ever written. Everything about it is spot on, from the moody strings, to the menacing bass, to one of Smith’s best vocal performances. It’s also got one of the best videos of all time.
But it’s Prayers For Rain that’s my favorite song on the album and I’m not sure why. but there is something about it that just catches me. Bob’s plaintive vocal mixed with the swirling guitar line and sweeping synths just build such a fragile grandeur. It just hits right for me.
There’s a reason this is the band’s classic album. It’s not a 100% album for me, Homesick and Untitled could be cut and you’d get a far stronger record, but when Disintegration hits? Well, there’s nothing that tops it.
https://lynkify.in/song/lullaby-remastered/Rmq8tWSE
The ways of exile 