A thread for the Cure reissues

It's not immediately apparent that I'm talking about the Glove reissue. Haven't heard the others yet.

Now i want those Disintegration, Wish, Wild Mood Swings, and Bloodflowers reissues now dammit... sigh, they're probably going to make us wait until December... of 2007.

Finally found them at Border's.

I do love this band. (And this side project.)

Also how awesome is "Innsbruck"?

(I'm assuming yes, right?)

because i'm awesome, the first thing i did was tear open the head on the door and play the push demo.

Also Blue Sunshine pwns everything.

Yes indeed, yes yes.

Are you nuts? They will so too do it, not least because there are plenty of other of uncollected remixes floating around. Plus, the extended version of "Never Enough."

Neither nor. There's also at least one alternate 12" mix from the Faith/Pornography days that was never collected, as well as the myriad of mixes from Wish onward, only some of which are on Join the Dots.

I'm gonna be pissed if lousy Mixed Up gets this remaster treatment and I have to buy shitty old comps for the miscellaneous and conspicuously absent songs like The Walk and Killing an Arab

The Greatest Hits comp which has the Japanese Whispers stuff on it is only a couple of years old. As for "Killing an Arab," it's almost like I don't ever need to hear it again, frankly.

I think I'm gonna buy Kiss Me first, I've lost the CD a long time ago and was waiting for the reissues to buy it again. I don't think I can wait too long to get Blue Sunshine either, the bonus disc looks too good to be true!

"Like An Animal" -- lighter arrangement (acoustic guitar, drum machine, soft keyboard)...whoa, what's surprising is thinking how he could have recorded this almost yesterday! He sounds very fresh, for lack of a better word, and the feeling is very much like the sprightlier Cure songs around 2002. Great to hear, love the way he twists the chorus.

"Looking Glass Girl" -- way murkier instrumental mix, vocals a lot more clear in comparison, the descending sparkles in the full version are here represented by wordless vocal sighs...once again, I'm struck by how *modern* this all sounds. Another winning vocal from Robert.

"Sex-Eye-Make-Up" -- not as detailed, more prominent beats, less queasy on the face of it. Lots of echo on Robert's vocals, feels more like a rougher demo than the previous two but still a sharp performance; he goes much quieter on the repeat of the first verse, which becomes more fragmentary in the end.

"Mr. Alphabet Says" -- much different instrumental mix in comparison to the final arrangement...prominent beats, keyboard in place of the strings, very upfront bass, only the piano part is relatively unchanged and it's more buried. More forceful delivery of the lyric, less resigned, he does his 'screw up the vocal like you were screwing up your face' trick in the chorus. Neat!

"A Blues in Drag" -- musically fairly similar to the final version, less prominent piano but it's still there as is the core bassline. The short lyric is delivered extremely slowly, swathed in a lot of reverb -- interesting to hear it but I definitely think it works more as an instrumental, if only due to familiarity.

"Punish Me With Kisses" -- different mix of the same core instruments and arrangements but otherwise pretty similar, so it's down to the singing as the key difference. Very proto-Head on the Door/Kiss Me as a result, has the same more 'direct' feeling as the alternate "Mr. Alphabet Says."

"This Green City" -- less detailed and lush instrumentally, key guitar line more prominent, more calmly moody but still very brisk in pace. Robert's vocals wordlessly swirl about for a bit before formally starting, does a really striking job on the chorus in particular.

"Orgy" -- again, much more prominent beats in comparison, the violins are still there but it's guitar rather than flute with the main riff. More racked singing than the album version, especially interesting to hear it on the chorus. Good version, like it a lot.

"Perfect Murder" -- generally close to the final version in the music, though the keyboards have more treble and drone (at the same time). Like "Mr. Alphabet Says," much more upfront/immediate vocals here in comparison to the final take.

"Relax" -- near the final mix musically, very queasy and all, but a bit lighter in feeling. Robert's vocals appear as vocal shades and textures throughout the song, which seems to suit it very well, much more so than a formal lyric.

"The Man from Nowhere" -- a different, I think slightly-longer mix from the released-as-B-side version, a touch tinnier sounding perhaps but still good fun. It was nice finally hearing this song in full after all this time!

"Mouth to Mouth" -- more compressed sound in comparison to the final version, very moody even for the Glove and reminds me a bit of late Soft Cell/early Marc Almond as a result. One of Robert's higher/slightly more aggro vocal takes -- it's interesting to hear how many of the demos had that quality. Like the murk added to the 'million fat girls' part.

"Opened the Box (A Waltz)" -- the first flat out rarity, and it is indeed a waltz, though I recognize a slightly different version of the "Mr. Alphabet Says" melody lurking in the keyboard part, so I'm guessing this is a prototypical version of that in the end. Vocals murky and fragmentary, I'd guess he sung it off the top of his head; not very long in the end.

"The Tightrope (Almost Time)" -- pretty close to the final version instrumentally, same distorted percussion start and weird/pretty lead melody and etc. The vocal part is more developed than "Opened the Box" but similarly seems a bit raw, though maybe it's just my unfamiliarity. Almost suggests what would eventually happen with "The Top."

"And All Around Us the Mermaids Sing (aka Torment)" -- surfy/Spanish guitar part, big drum machine punch, nagging little keyboard line, dreamy lyric delivery though still spiked with urgency along the way...doesn't immediately seem to be the root of any other song. Nice chorus, at once smooth and unsettling, and a surprisingly uplifting break.

"Holiday 80" -- goofy little organ/beat box number, fun enough sketch of a song that didn't get taken further from what I can tell.

And there you go...