1/1/1983 Uknown UK Source
Hangover Cure The Cure 'Japanese Whispers' The Cure Singles Nov '82 - Nov '83' (Fiction FIXM 8) ***1/2
Remember The Cure?
Before he became an honorary Banshee and one half of the Glove, Robert Smith directed his energies towards the Cure - with increasingly more feeble results. It is ironic, then, that the year he should spend largely away from the Cure nucleus of himself and Lol Tolhurst saw something of a chart renaissance for the band, scoring several 'hits' with a fresher sound.
What has Smith been thinking of? Does he know? From the ramblings of the Glove's 'Blue Sunshine' to the charming inanitites of 'Love Cats' he's sought to confound. Why else did he not smile on Top Of The Pops?
But whatever is going through the Rouged One's mind, it's not difficult to imagine what Fiction have been thinking about to serve up 'Japanese Whispers'. With all this chart action just before Christmas and no Cure album on the horizon just yet, this slim package makes the perfect stop gap. And very nice is it too.
In just over a year, the Cure have gone from the mystery of 'Let's Go To Bed', through the manic "Walk' to the loopy, lop-sided delight of the aforementioned "Love Cats' - truly one of the year's great singles. Add to these their assorted B-sides and you have a hefty document - no, more - of the Cure's most accessible phase since 'Boys Don't Cry'.
Beware: all the signs are that Smith intends to return to the plodding ground of past work for the next album, so get happy while you can.
- Bill Black
