Post by nausearockpig on Mar 26, 2021 12:39:31 GMT 1
OK, I'll start, thanks steve
When this came out I was generally disappointed. I enjoyed Bloodflowers a lot and this sounded raw at best, unwritten and unfinished at worst. Some tracks I found immediately accessible (Lost, Labyrinth, Anniversary, Us or Them, Taking Off amongst others) but overall I found the sound to be rushed and unpolished.
Add to that the fact Ross Robinson had been associated with acts who were very far removed from The Cure and there were a lot of opinions that he had wrecked the songs, the album and the band. There were a lot of negative opinions about the sessions, the production and ultimately the songs themselves.
Furthermore there was the fact that different regions of the world had access to different track lists, which meant I had to buy two or three versions to get all the "album tracks". I'm fine with buying singles to get b-sides, but making us buy more than one version to get all the album tracks is a kick in the goolies, and just poor form. I know it's not the fault of the band, but c'mon man....
I ended up making a 17 track "full" album as below, because it just annoyed me having bits and bobs across different CDs.
Lost
Labyrinth
Before Three
Truth, Goodness and Beauty
The End of the World
Anniversary
Us or Them
alt.end
(I Don't Know What's Going) On
Taking Off
Never
The Promise
Going Nowhere
This Morning
Fake
Why Can't I Be Me?
Your God is Fear
So I put my 17 track version on my phone and listened to my favorite tracks only, and basically ignored a large chunk of the album, but really even "the good" songs didn't get very heavy rotation, and the band didn't tour the album in my part of the world, so I didn't really get to feel the live renditions in my face like many others around the world did. I did always blast Lost though, that just chugged along and blew my mind each time I heard it, never REALLY listening to the words properly. More on that later.
I did think that "Why Can't I Be Me?" was a clever play by Robert (I assume), right down to the "simply inelegant" at the end, bravo old son. That's gold, that right there. BRAVO...
But it stayed at the bottom of the pile for many years, largely ignored.
Now some seventeen years later, I'm starting to pay more attention to the record. I listen to it every couple of days, through headphones to really pay attention to the different things going on in each channel. Whenever I have to drive somewhere, be it a long or short drive, I put the record on nice and loudly and let it carry me to my destination.
There are only two songs on the record that I don't like, and one that has a section that I think is very poor. The two are "The End of the World" and (I Don't Know What's Going) On. Those songs are just no good to me. At all.
The other bit that grates on me is the spoken word bit in "This Morning". What were they thinking??
Other than that though, the songs are layered masterpieces of songwriting and instrumentation. I don't have the time to go into each song right now, but as I write this I'm listening to Fake. Aside from the main melody in the right channel, there's a great guitar part in the Left channel that is just magical. I really like what Ross did to record the tracks, and the mix by Steve Evetts, and presumably Robert, is really well spaced out. All the different parts are mixed in a way that they all stand out and apart, but still mesh perfectly. Not that the other albums are mixed badly, but there's something odd about the mix. It's great!
I recently came across a great interview with Robert about the album, here it is below for you to enjoy.
Well, what say you? Have you given this album a really good, hard listen and not just heard the songs, but LISTENED to them? I'm interested in your opinions.
Also, do you do what I do with the b-sides? Do you bung them in with their album at the end like I have here, or do you, like I do with earlier albums, put the b-sides in after their singles, mixed in with the album tracks (like Dressing Up > The Caterpillar> Happy the Man > Throw Your Foot > Piggy in the Mirror....)?
When this came out I was generally disappointed. I enjoyed Bloodflowers a lot and this sounded raw at best, unwritten and unfinished at worst. Some tracks I found immediately accessible (Lost, Labyrinth, Anniversary, Us or Them, Taking Off amongst others) but overall I found the sound to be rushed and unpolished.
Add to that the fact Ross Robinson had been associated with acts who were very far removed from The Cure and there were a lot of opinions that he had wrecked the songs, the album and the band. There were a lot of negative opinions about the sessions, the production and ultimately the songs themselves.
Furthermore there was the fact that different regions of the world had access to different track lists, which meant I had to buy two or three versions to get all the "album tracks". I'm fine with buying singles to get b-sides, but making us buy more than one version to get all the album tracks is a kick in the goolies, and just poor form. I know it's not the fault of the band, but c'mon man....
I ended up making a 17 track "full" album as below, because it just annoyed me having bits and bobs across different CDs.
Lost
Labyrinth
Before Three
Truth, Goodness and Beauty
The End of the World
Anniversary
Us or Them
alt.end
(I Don't Know What's Going) On
Taking Off
Never
The Promise
Going Nowhere
This Morning
Fake
Why Can't I Be Me?
Your God is Fear
So I put my 17 track version on my phone and listened to my favorite tracks only, and basically ignored a large chunk of the album, but really even "the good" songs didn't get very heavy rotation, and the band didn't tour the album in my part of the world, so I didn't really get to feel the live renditions in my face like many others around the world did. I did always blast Lost though, that just chugged along and blew my mind each time I heard it, never REALLY listening to the words properly. More on that later.
I did think that "Why Can't I Be Me?" was a clever play by Robert (I assume), right down to the "simply inelegant" at the end, bravo old son. That's gold, that right there. BRAVO...
But it stayed at the bottom of the pile for many years, largely ignored.
Now some seventeen years later, I'm starting to pay more attention to the record. I listen to it every couple of days, through headphones to really pay attention to the different things going on in each channel. Whenever I have to drive somewhere, be it a long or short drive, I put the record on nice and loudly and let it carry me to my destination.
There are only two songs on the record that I don't like, and one that has a section that I think is very poor. The two are "The End of the World" and (I Don't Know What's Going) On. Those songs are just no good to me. At all.
The other bit that grates on me is the spoken word bit in "This Morning". What were they thinking??
Other than that though, the songs are layered masterpieces of songwriting and instrumentation. I don't have the time to go into each song right now, but as I write this I'm listening to Fake. Aside from the main melody in the right channel, there's a great guitar part in the Left channel that is just magical. I really like what Ross did to record the tracks, and the mix by Steve Evetts, and presumably Robert, is really well spaced out. All the different parts are mixed in a way that they all stand out and apart, but still mesh perfectly. Not that the other albums are mixed badly, but there's something odd about the mix. It's great!
I recently came across a great interview with Robert about the album, here it is below for you to enjoy.
Well, what say you? Have you given this album a really good, hard listen and not just heard the songs, but LISTENED to them? I'm interested in your opinions.
Also, do you do what I do with the b-sides? Do you bung them in with their album at the end like I have here, or do you, like I do with earlier albums, put the b-sides in after their singles, mixed in with the album tracks (like Dressing Up > The Caterpillar> Happy the Man > Throw Your Foot > Piggy in the Mirror....)?