I've just started getting into them. Picked up the Pornography album a couple of months and it blew me away! Wasn't really that keen on the Cure singles I heard on the radio in years gone by, but this album had a totally different sound. Just brought Disintegration album and loving that to, particularly Fascination Street and the title track.

Any suggestions for what album I should try next? Borrowed Three Imaginary Boys album from a friend from work and wasn't so keen.

DaveT said:

I've just started getting into them. Picked up the Pornography album a couple of months and it blew me away! Wasn't really that keen on the Cure singles I heard on the radio in years gone by, but this album had a totally different sound. Just brought Disintegration album and loving that to, particularly Fascination Street and the title track.

Any suggestions for what album I should try next? Borrowed Three Imaginary Boys album from a friend from work and wasn't so keen.

You definitely started with some of the best. Disintegration is in my Top 5 (of any artists). If you want to cap off what Robert Smith calls the "Trilogy", pick up Bloodflowers. It's a bit slower and doesn't begin to equal up to Pornography or Distintegration, but it's not a bad album. A DVD/Blu-Ray of these three albums performed back to back in their entirety is still in print -- TRILOGY.

As for what I'd recommend next...

Head On The Door (1986)

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987)

Faith (1981)

Join The Dots (B-sides & Rarites 1978-2001) -- like Prince, at one time their B-sides were as good or better than the album cuts

For what I consider a continuation of what they were doing on Distintegration, pick up Wish (1992). It doesn't pack the punch that Disintegration had/has, but it's not a bad album. It's a bit brighter in feel (not as dark). Just felt like rehashed ideas from the previous album.

The underrated...

Wild Mood Swings (1996) -- contrast of playful and dark

The Top (1984) -- the closest Robert ever got to a solo album

I wouldn't necessarily steer anyone away from any Cure album. That being said, I have rarely listened to 4:13 Dream (2008). I am a huge Cure fan, but that album (for me) was a major disappointment. 2004's self-titled album isn't bad. Like other times in The Cure's history, it just seems like rehashed ideas. It WAS refreshing to hear a slight change in their sound, considering it was produced by nu metal producer Ross Robinson (read: harder-edged). Some Cure fans cried foul with his involvement. I didn't mind that at all. The album just doesn't stand out to me as much as the bulk of their earlier work.

Nonetheless, glad to help guide a potential new Cure fan. Hope this helps.

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If you are into the darker sounds of Pornography and Disintegration then I agree you should get Bloodflowers next to complete the trilogy. However, The Head On The Door is actually my favorite Cure album with Pornography coming in second.

Once you've had your fill of Cure albums, get The Glove's Blue Sunshine deluxe edition. Robert Smith sings on some of the songs and the bonus disc has his vocals on demo versions of all the tracks so it's like another Cure album really. That side project was a collaboration with Steven Severin from the Banshees when Robert was in both bands simultaneously so naturally I'm a bit partial to that one.

X2 For Head On The Door, might have to dig that out right now...

Big ups for The Top as well, underrated Cure album IMO

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kiss me..., disintegration, wish are their pinnacle in my opinion. everything after wish is just meh.

join the dots is essential. after years of collecting their b-sides, this was a bittersweet release for me. i had spent so much time trading, mail ordering, bin searching; and then this dropped....sheesh.

also, you can't go wrong with any of their live releases. all top notch.

all of their home videos are worth seeking out. trilogy is spectacular. i think you can watch in orange on youtube...

enjoy your exploration!

Robert Smith is one of the finest lyrcists/band leaders the UK has ever produced. I have most of the earlier stuff, including videos and boots. My enthusiasm began to wane after the release of Bloodflowers.

Faith and Disintegration are my two favs from them. I have a think for their dark sound, for some reason their manic tunes have never appealed to me. I havent bought a Cure album after Wild Mood Swings, although someone told me that Bloodflowers was something that I'd like. I actually haven't listened to that one yet.

There's two personalities of The Cure: Poppy, and Gloomy.

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So far, you've gotten their 2 darkest albums. You gotta go with their poppy stuff next, if only to familiarize yourself. And while "Bloodflowers" is indeed the final album of his dark Trilogy, I'd go elsewhere before getting to that one.

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"The Head on the Door" is an excellent mixture of the light & dark. A lot of folks will also say "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me", though I'd hold off on that one since there's a few misses on there. Head on the Door is probably the best way to go, since it's a perfect transitional album for you to see what Rob can do when he remembers to take his anti-depressants.

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But, if you like the doom and gloom and you want to keep going that direction, "Faith" is your next listen. Faith almost acts like the final moments of disparity before you lose your cool and stop giving a shit alltogether ala "Pornography".

Everyone already said everything i was going to say The Cure did make some great pop songs. But i'm so fucking sick of friday, i'm in love. And In Between Days

Pornography, Disenegration, Head On The Door.

As for the ''poppier'' cure they never got better than Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Head on the door is a mix of te darker cure... starting to go somewhat poppier. It's kind of a cool sound on the album!

one of the few famous rock bands that I'm TOTALLY unable to like/dig/enjoy

peedub said:

kiss me..., disintegration, wish are their pinnacle in my opinion. everything after wish is just meh.

join the dots is essential. after years of collecting their b-sides, this was a bittersweet release for me. i had spent so much time trading, mail ordering, bin searching; and then this dropped....sheesh.

also, you can't go wrong with any of their live releases. all top notch.

all of their home videos are worth seeking out. trilogy is spectacular. i think you can watch in orange on youtube...

enjoy your exploration!

My favourite B-side:

Beautiful!

mancabdriver said:

peedub said:

kiss me..., disintegration, wish are their pinnacle in my opinion. everything after wish is just meh.

join the dots is essential. after years of collecting their b-sides, this was a bittersweet release for me. i had spent so much time trading, mail ordering, bin searching; and then this dropped....sheesh.

also, you can't go wrong with any of their live releases. all top notch.

all of their home videos are worth seeking out. trilogy is spectacular. i think you can watch in orange on youtube...

enjoy your exploration!

My favourite B-side:

Beautiful!

mine...



...and possibly my favorite cure song, period. the b-sides from wish are absolutely among the best stuff they ever did.

"Harold and Joe" is my favorite Cure b-side.

sexton said:

I'm far from the Cure's biggest fan, don't know much bar the singles after the 80s, but I can't recommend The Top enough. It's initially quite a bizarre album as it seems to cover a lot of different styles, often all at the same time, but it has, in Robert Smith's words, an 'internal logic' that eventually leads to a weirdly smooth flow. I think as an overall listen its dated better than a lot of their 80's albums.

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jaawwnn said:

I'm far from the Cure's biggest fan, don't know much bar the singles after the 80s, but I can't recommend The Top enough. It's initially quite a bizarre album as it seems to cover a lot of different styles, often all at the same time, but it has, in Robert Smith's words, an 'internal logic' that eventually leads to a weirdly smooth flow. I think as an overall listen its dated better than a lot of their 80's albums.

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"The Top" is vastly underrated! Shake Dog Shake, Birdmad Girl...excellent songs. I remember reading a quote by Rob saying every band is allowed one bad album, and The Top is The Cure's. While I agree with the bad album thing, I dont agree with his choice. That would be "Wild Mood Swings"