smokeverbs said:

Oh, I totally agree that most of the material is first rate. But it's a bit of a scewed way to get into an artist. For me, b-sides are almost something you have to earn. To have them all at once like they're nothing, when knowing nothing about The Cure seems a bit backwards. They're the kind of band that really hooks you. If you become a fan, you have to have everything eventually anyway. For a newbie though, if you're not even sure how much you like them yet, a box set of a lot of their rarities would be overwhelming I'd think and hard to put into contest. I still say their singles collections are a perfect place to start.

NWF said:

I had most of the material on this too, but I just could not wait. I've been listening all day.

TRON said:

Wow, you're right. I withdraw my earlier opinion.

Yes, the 7" mix of How Beautiful is wonderful, especially with headphones! There's some really interesting things happening here. 99% of the time I HATE single mixes of anything, by any band.But the cure's 7" mixes have always been something special. Like the added synths in "high", or the JAW DROPPING break in the middle of "pictures of you" ("...always so lost in the dark.. the dark ... the dark... BANG BANG!!! remembering you...")

I'M DYING TO HEAR THAT VIRGIN MIX OF PURPLE HAZE!!!

Nawh, I don't think so - I've quit slashing my wrists a long time ago.

Novabreaker said:

It's nice to finally have "To The Sky"(disc 2).They use to play it on the radio in Houston all the time in the late 80s.I wasnt aware that it was on an Electra compilation disc,and was really bummed that it was on neither "KissMe,Kiss Me, Kiss Me" or "Disintigration".

This set is completely FABULOUS!!! I am only through disc 1 and 2 and am totally mesmerized. I agree it could be overwhelming as a starting point for someone but an absolute MUST HAVE ~ the packaging is great as well. It is nice to have everything identified, in one set and so well done. I am loving it!!! Makes me want to be totally irresponsible and stay home from work with my headphones all day!

bratchildsfriend said:

I know. I've been listening non-stop. I even made a backup copy with a few alterations so I don't fuck up the originals. They're one of the few artists that still inspires teen-like hysteria in me.

Alright, I never really review music (as I tend to just enjoy or not without picking apart too much) but I thought I'd add a few of my thoughts just for you, TRON.

I finally picked it up yesterday and had time to spend some of my lovely snowy Sunday morning listening today. There was at least 5 inches of snow on the ground and more floating down when I awoke this morning and looked out the window. (Can you think of a better time to listen to the Cure?)

Knowing I didn't have time to give the whole thing a listen, I jumped right into disc 2 and moved on to disc 3, since Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Disintegration are my top 2 discs. At least, they are what got me really heavy into the Cure.

I've never been much of a collector, nor a completist. But due to a great and generous friend of mine ( ) I already have more than a fair amount of the B sides. That said, from the 2 discs I listened to this morning my standouts are Sugar Girl, Sad as You (is that right? doesn't sound right, I'm so bad at titles...) and the wholly Cure-esque (dubbed "Psychedlic" in the notes) cover of Hello, I Love you.
Sugar Girl has all of that melodic sweet happy bliss that I love so much about the lighter side of the Cure. Sad as You (again, sorry, that doesn't sound right) has all of the moody sorrwful beauty that made me fall in love with them when I was a disillusioned teenager.
In fact, the whole damn thing made me so nostalgic this morning I could barely handle it. I found myself thinking of people and places and events in my life I hadn't thought about in years. The Cure was one of those life-changing bands for me. I started when Disintegration came out (8th grade, I was 13?) and then went back and bought Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and it went on from there. I can actually trace back to a major direction change in my life in the night I stayed overnight waiting in line for tickets to the Wish tour in Minneapolis which was also the night of my Junior prom. I went alone to get the tickets and made new friends (and picked up a boyfirend to boot) that changed the course of my life.
Again, being that I'm not much of a critic and don't like to pick apart too much, I'll leave it at saying I had a very pleasant morning. I can't wait to get through discs 1 and 4.

rdhull said:

Whatcha thinkin' about rd?

rdhull said:

TRON said:

That Im getting compelled to get this now. Im a big Cure fan on the downlow and reading this thread kind of seals the deal for me. But I was more interested in the reissues etc sione they will/have some of th e time of creation extras etc. I was always weary of any singles and b sides when they were released but now ...hmmm.

And I was also wanting a regular boxed set of all of their regualr released but I guess getting this Dot and the rerelease is one in the same.

CarrieMpls said:

That Im kind of interested in gettingthis more than in the past...I love the cover of it too lol..I always wanted that poster (thats in black n white) but never get it when I see it.

rdhull said:

That's so cool. I didn't know you were a fan.

Between this boxset, the remasters and the new album, it'll be a great time in Cureland.

I can't recommend "Join The Dots" enough. It really is wonderful all the way through.

TRON said:

Since summer of 1984 Standing On The Beach (and going back to disvcovering them then)

CarrieMpls said:

Aww Carrie, I love you!

And I can relate totally to what you're saying. I can't think of an artist/band that conjures up so many conflicting emotions in me. I got into them around the same time as you. They made me feel like I was an outcast and part of some huge cult, but also that I was in on something really secretive and cool. This was the time in my life that things started to take shape. In 1989, I finally knew that music was what I wanted to do with my life. When people would ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would just tell them, "I want to be in The Cure". It was the easiest way to describe my dreams. It made the answer kind of humorous and deflected the usual, "You're crazy. You need to have a backup plan. It'll never work." But it was honest too. It's the closest way to explain how I felt and the music I wanted to make. I haven't wandered too far from that goal in 15 years.

rdhull said:

Just when I thought you couldn't get any cooler, you go and prove me wrong.

Great set!