Seventeen Seconds [Deluxe Edition]

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•	The Top

Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
Originally a Goth-flavored post-punk outfit, the Cure evolved into one of the truly seminal bands of the '80s, and ultimately one of modern rock's most celebrated and influential acts. Guided by creative visionary Robert Smith, the Cure's signature sound balances a dreamy pop savvy with a dark, brooding majesty and fuses superbly crafted, literate songs with a feverish emotional intensity. The band's early catalog-newly remastered and expanded wtih a wealth of rarities-is a series of masterpieces that laid the groundwork for their phenomenal and enduring popularity.

Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A Wonderful Deluxe Edition, Cure fans should be pleased! April 27, 2005
25 out of 31 found this review helpful

It is SO incredibly awesome that Rhino and Fiction records worked together to remaster and reissue this classic album from The Cure. Seventeen Seconds was released in 1980--before The Cure were huge and before Robert Smith had long hair and really into the makeup thing. The look may have been different but this is the sound of The Cure that their fans have grown to love and the fact that these songs have been remastered and re-packaged is totally awesome. Track number 3, "Secrets," is classic Cure with the guitar and basslines. The lyrics are sparse but the song will speak to you. "Secrets," is followed up by "In Your House," another musically driven piece. The way that the songs breaks down into the bridge is classic Cure. If you didn't get into The Cure until their later releases, you should really pick up Seventeen Seconds.

The original 1980 release contained 10 songs. The remastered reissue not only features these songs, but disc two includes 15 rarities recorded between 1979 and 1980. All of these songs are great. The CD packaging is wonderful and the set includes a color booklet that has lyrics, pictures from that time period and a forward by Johnny Black.

I hope you find this review helpful. I was 5 years old in 1980 and didn't really get into The Cure until "Just Like Heaven," so I have really enjoyed going back in time and rediscovering all of their classic hits.

3 out of 5 stars

Here We Go Again November 5, 2005
15 out of 20 found this review helpful

Despite how popular and influential they have since become, it remains a fact that America missed a huge chunk of the Cure's career. `Three Imaginary Boys' got a lukewarm welcome in their home country Great Britain, but its release was delayed in the United States to see if any interest would be generated by any of the album's tracks. When "Boys Don't Cry" began to get some attention from college radio and the club scene, the album was finally released here. In typical fashion, the American record label changed the album title to "Boys Don't Cry" so even twits could recognize it from the `hit' song title. Despite first impressions, the Cure were not interested in becoming a `hit' band, though. Although the songs were short, concise and succinct, they addressed topics that were light years away from pop song blather. The title song may have been somewhat trite, but "Jumping Someone Else's Train," "Grinding Halt," and "10:15 Saturday Night" were perhaps more memorable, and conveyed a refined sense of atmospherics. "Killing an Arab" even took its theme from "The Stranger" by Albert Camus.
For the second album, entitled `Seventeen Seconds', the band decided to go further in this direction, and abandoned the `pop' single mentality altogether. In America, the result was the sound of one hand clapping; the album wasn't even released here, until A&M picked up the option and released it with the band's third record, `Faith', as a specially-priced double album, somewhat sarcastically titled "Happily Ever After".
According to the informative liner notes that accompany the new CD package, singer/guitarist/main songwriter Robert Smith wanted the Cure to "connect" the sounds of Nick Drake ("Five Leaves Left"), David Bowie ("Low"), Jimi Hendrix (Isle of Wight"), Van Morrison (Astral Weeks") and Khachaturian (Gayennah Ballet Suite").Without a doubt, Robert Smith and Co. had high ambitions, especially for a band that appeared to know about seven chords. In this regard, I would surmise that they failed miserably (The Cure sound like Jimi Hendrix???? Ay-yi-yi), but they succeeded on other levels. The utter simplicity of the arrangements presented a sound that was almost barren, which provided the perfect foil for Smith's stark, imagistic wordplay. A sullen mood pervades the entire album, but it is still somehow appealing, in a bleak sort of way.
The extra disk contains some songs that sound as though they were recorded inside a subway tunnel, but a few others are enlightening and enjoyable, from a historical perspective, The photos are a bit of a hoot, too, since we can see Robert Smith looking like a teenager without his bird's nest hairdo or ghoul-on-holiday eye makeup. If you're interested in Goth at its infancy, it doesn't get much younger than this.B Tom Ryan

5 out of 5 stars

When Rhino puts out a deluxe edition, they always deliver May 18, 2005
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

What's the 4-1-1?
Rhino Records have gone into The Cure vaults along with Robert Smith to bring you Deluxe Editions of two of their most memorable releases. Both are remastered and appear on CD for the first time. In addition to the complete albums, each disc comes with a bonus disc of rarities and unreleased material. Seventeen Seconds contains rarities from 1979-1980 and Faith contains rarities from 1980-1981.

Genre
Post-punk / alternative / gothic / rock

The Good
Highlights from Seventeen Seconds
Drab and dreary piano set the tone of the album on the opening instrumental cut "A Reflection". Eerie background tones help underscore the track. "Play for Today is made up of an up-tempo drum beat, glassine-like keyboards, and watery guitar tones. An infectious little guitar hook goes a long way on "In Your House". I would liken the tone of the song to a hazy dream. "A Forest" employs haunting tones and melodies, backed by thought-provoking lyrics. Fuzzy guitar tones and creepy synths dominate "At Night". Seventeen Seconds" sums up the last moments of your life after committing suicide.

The rarities disc contains "I'm a Cult Hero" and "I Dig You" from Robert Smith's side project Cult Hero. It's more hopeful than any of the tracks Smith penned for The Cure. There are two rough home demos, an alternate mix for Three, and live tracks for every song that appears on the album; even a live version of "I'm a Cult Hero".

Highlights from Faith
" The Holy Hour" begins with a rather indulgent bass line. Robert Smith blends in nicely with his clean guitar tones and his trademark tortured vocals. Driving rhythms run rampant on "Primary". The track is more up-tempo than the usual Cure track, but the story being told is no much on the up-side. Percussion accented by warm keyboard tones prevail on "All Cats are Grey". Smith seems off in the distance as he inflicts his eerie vocals. I wasn't really surprised that church organ tones could be heard throughout "Funeral Party". To keep the mood going, Robert sings like his delivering a eulogy.

The rarities disc contains the unreleased tracks "Drowning", "Going Home Time", "The Violin Song", and "A Normal Story", two raw instrumental demos of "Faith", "The Holy Hour" and "Doubt", live tracks of songs from the Faith album to include a ten minute version of "Faith" and a nine minute version of "Forever", the rare single "Charlotte Sometimes, and an alternate version of "Primary" among it's fifteen tracks.

The Bad
Nothing

The Verdict
When Rhino Records puts together a Deluxe Edition, they always deliver the goods. Not only are you getting rare and unreleased material, which is always a plus, but you're also getting to hear the songs at their best possible quality. It's fun to hear how they went to rough demo to final composition. All of the depressing, sad, and heart-broken moments of your youth can be summed up by the latest remasters by The Cure.

Did You Know?
Rhino has also released The Cure's Pornography as a two CD deluxe addition. I would have reviewed it but after listening to these two, I was ready to slit my wrists.

5 out of 5 stars

Essential reissue for Cure enthusiasts April 27, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Out of all of the three Cure reissues, I would go as far as to say that the 'Seventeen Seconds' one has the most improved sound quality versus the original cd issue, but lacks the most in the bonus material (despite the Cult Hero single being present).

The original album now has a slightly more "spacious" quality to it that the last cd issue lacked. 'A Forest' sounds absolutely brilliant. In my opinion, this remaster revealed the most. The short instrumental tracks are much clearer and the vocals more distant and ethereal. Where the 'Pornography' reissue reinforced the sonic density of its original production, the 'Seventeen Seconds' reissue reinforces the dry, spare quality to its production.

The rarities material, however, and despite the obscure and quite cool Cult Hero material, doesn't quite live up to the 'Faith' and 'Pornography' reissues. Having the Cult Hero single is definitely the highlight of portion of the set.

Overall, this is still an essential package, with great artwork, much improved sound quality, and a few essential goodies on the rarities disc.

5 out of 5 stars

Wrapped up in perfect cover art May 6, 2005
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is an awesome, moody little album that fits right in today with the slew of bands going after the early-80s 'post-punk' sound. This disc marks the first of a masterful trilogy that continues with Faith and Pornography.

The Cure are famous for being gloomy, and this album backs it up, but it's not heavy or depressing and it never gets to be too much. Quite the opposite. Some songs are slower, like In Your House, while other like Play For Today (the first track after the instrumental opening) open up with an electronic calling in the back and a punchy little rhythm, immediately catchy, and the perfect length. Three, meanwhile, has the feeling of a dark jingle. At Night has a slow, fuzzy opening and a steady beat, sounding a little like a dark Police. The classic track A Forest sounds even richer in the remastered format. There's the classic Cure guitar, the bobbing basslines, some swishy help from the keyboards in the background to lend that gray atmosphere...it sounds like 1980, it's spot-on. The whole trilogy is accompanied by perfect album art--they each sound like the covers. A wash of muted colors on what looks like a blurry windshield here, to the mysterious gray, faint scribbling of Faith, to the tortured Scream-like cover of Pornography.

An addictive album of good songs, with Smith's voice never overbearing, nor never too much whining, and some very fine singing. Pornography would bring the band to a darker place, with its far more depressed quality. Seventeen Seconds is getting there, but it's minor-key pop with some very good production. Cure addicts may break it down more in terms of band lineups, but I find the whole release an excellent effort.

Quite frankly, better than most of the bands out there who were in diapers when this was released, you may as well check out the original thing. And at 30-odd minutes, it's the old style of complete, quality beginning-to-end albums perfect for a slow day at home, preferably in the middle of the week when it's raining.

The new Cure remastereds are excellent, a real value for fans. For one, the sound is vastly improved--just compare any track on here, but especially 'A Forest', with your old AAD disc--big difference. The bass is bigger, punchier, the sounds are all clearer and brought up front. The older, unremastered rock albums really do suffer with the original CD format--everything is flattened right out to the middle, while the new discs bring much-needed oomph to everything. The second disc is full of goodies, from demos to live versions of nearly the entire album in great sound quality. And of course, nice liner notes with actual notes, old pictures, the whole job. Quality re-release in this era of downloading, however, it must be said that these sets are BIT on the pricey side, but will likely be a must for fans of this album (and the following two).

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