FireInCairo

I intend over the coming months; as my school life has finished, to chronologically review the Cure's entire studio discography.

I shall be rating on a scale of:

Excellent
Very good
Good
Mediocre
Poor
Awful

As compared to my feelings about the album, in general, in context of the time, and in context of the artist's catalogue.

First up is.....
Three Imaginary Boys (1979)




"10.15 Saturday Night" – 3:42
"Accuracy" – 2:17
"Grinding Halt" – 2:49
"Another Day" – 3:44
"Object" – 3:03
"Subway Song" – 2:00
"Foxy Lady" (Jimi Hendrix) – 2:29
"Meathook" – 2:17
"So What" – 2:37
"Fire in Cairo" – 3:23
"It's Not You" – 2:49
"Three Imaginary Boys" – 3:17
Untitled (a.k.a. "The Weedy Burton", hidden track) – 1:04


The Cure's debut album tends to be quite overlooked, possibly due to its subsequent overshadowing by later releases or perhaps as it too clearly bares the mark of its influences in early releases by Wire and the Fall.
However, as a collection of short, sharp, jagged pop songs, it more than stands on its own. Despite its obvious short comings in terms of production, the experience of the band and the development of Robert Smith's vocal style, songs such as Accuracy and 10:15 Saturday night have been sporadically retained in the bands set since the albums release.

The seeds of the Robert Smith's pop songwriting is apparent here, albeit in stripped down punk form. The lineup mirrors the current day incarnation of the cure, that of two guitars, a bass and drums. There are no Fender bass Vis or synthesizers in sight and the emphasis is equally on the guitar alongside the bass as foundation for the song. This hints that Robert smith's writing style (building the foundation of drums and bass, layering keys and guitars from there) had not yet been developed. The real oddity is in the simplicity and pop hooks of the songs, there are no dirges, long suites such as pictures of you and not atmosphere developed beyond catchy youthful fun.

The arrangements and riffs are simple, as are the tones created by the instruments themselves. The guitars are dry and scratchy sitting atop the mix and dominating the melodic propulsion and instrumental hook. The bass provides support in slightly muddy tones. The drums provide a simple close miked back beat. The record is singularly dry in comparison to the rest of the cure's catalogue which is drenched in reverb and echo. This goes a long way to reducing the sense of scope and atmosphere which would become prevalent in their later music.

According to wikipedia, the band did not have final choice with regards to either track listing or album art, and perhaps this is the cause for it being only vaguely representory of anything the Cure would go on to do.
Notable at this point also, is that the iconic image of Robert Smith had not yet been developed, and the band followed a purportedly "anti-image" look.
For a committed fan of the Cure, this record sits as an anomaly, jammed alongside the rest of their expansive catalogue and relegated to a corner as the 'eponymous' debut that sparked their first minor hits. A notion not helped by the fact that bar robert Smith's voice, it sounds like a completely different band from the one that would emerge later with 17 seconds.

Key tracks: Accuracy, 10:15 Saturday Night and Fire in Cairo

Overall Impression: Good
Three Imaginary Boys is an enjoyable romp through the early phase of the Cure, possessed with energy and fun but still struggling to find their voice. However the album is compromised by a poor track listing that prevents an engaging listen, poor production and songwriting and stylistic traits that do not fit in context.

*Note: I don't like individual song reviews as I feel the overall quality of the album is more important than the 'singles' mentality that that structure can impose.

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Fruitonica

Nice review, eloquent and descriptive. It's cool to see how you are looking at how the band evolved, as well as just a straight review.

FireInCairo

cheers, i thought it might be interesting to do it chronologically
a hard one to start with really as it doesn't slot in neatly.

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Piss Me Off

I actually haven't heard it but Boys Don't Cry is a brilliant album, i always thought that was their proper debut :s

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Urban Hat€monger ?

Same album. Boy's Don't Cry is the US release of it with a different tracklisting.
They added those tracks to the CD reissue so they're pretty much the same now.

On their last tour they played the entire first album as an encore.

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Son of JayJamJah

To digress briefly... Do bands still do that? Release albums by different titles in the US\UK.

If so why? The Beatles did that for quite awhile. Never understood the point, seems to only add confusion. Even if a few tracks are added\removed.

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If you're posting in the music forums make sure to be thoughtful and expressive, if you're posting in the lounge ask yourself "is this something that adds to the conversation?" It's important to remember that a lot of people use each thread. You're probably not as funny or clever as you think, I know I'm not.

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Urban Hat€monger ?

I think it's because by the time an album by a new British band reaches the American market they've usually released a few more singles so they stick the singles on and take off some of the lesser album tracks.
In the case of Three Imaginary Boys / Boys Don't Cry there was 14 months in between releases.

I doubt it happens as much now with the internet & stuff like I tunes around.

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jackhammer

Nice review. I have 11 Cure albums so there are gaps that will be plugged by the views in this thread.

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Astronomer

Great review, I am interested to see what you have to say about the rest of their discography, keep it up.

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DJ Phoenix

Great review! Lets keep our fingers crossed they go forth w/the re-release of "Disintegration" very very soon, and also "Japanese Whispers" then my Cure discography will be complete.

By the way, Fire in Cairo is my favorite song off that cd.

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