1/1/1989 Unknown Source
Under The Spotlight
1989 marks the tenth anniversary of the release of The Cure’s first album Three Imaginary Boys and the release of the most eagerly awaited album of their career, Disintegration. This is the follow-up to their 1987 Elektra LP, Kiss Me which sold 2 million world-wide. Since their inception in 1977, this band have made some of the most unusual and extraordinary "pop" music one could hope to hear - and become quiet, phenomenally successful in the process. The same players and producers Robert Smith and David Allen are responsible for Kiss Me have returned for Disintegration (EA60855) and the results both replicate and build on the strengths of that breakthrough double LP. The first single, "Fascination St." Is remixed for 7" and 12" to take full advantage of its psychedelically-fringed trance/dance possibilities. "Fascination St." is also one of the first releases available from Elektra on the new 5" CD Single, which offers a remix, an extended remix and 2 cuts unavailable on the LP - "Babble" and "Out Of Mind." The CD and cassette versions of Disintegration feature two bonus tracks - "Last Dance" and "Homesick." "Plainsong" has a grand, slow build-up, with Robert Smith’s unique voice buried in great swirls of keyboards like a drowning man in the tide. The effect is eerie, almost church-like. "Pictures Of You" and "Lovesong" are filled with Smith’s unique romantic visions, and danceable pounding. In a world where mainstream success fights with critical acclaim to an unhealthy degree, this is The Cure. Disintegration (EA60855) is an album that proves that the experimental and the commercial are not mutually exclusive. The Cure have never been let down by their adamant refusal to do anything other than what felt right to them. Their attitude is neither snobbish nor pettily anti-Establishment, but it is remarkably single-minded. Whatever you hear on Disintegration, you can be sure it’s what The Cure wanted you to hear. "It’s really perfect," says Robert Smith, "to have been able to go so long and not to have compromised or regretted anything we have done."
