Seventeen Seconds - Dark Publications

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•	Faith
•	Pornography
•	Three Imaginary Boys
•	The Top
•	Disintegration

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 dreamy pop savvy and poetic lyricism with a dark, brooding intensity. The band's first four groundbreaking albums-newly remastered-are a series of masterpieces that laid the groundwork for their phenomenal and enduring popularity. Fusing superbly crafted songs with charged emotional depth from the very beginning, The Cure's early catalogue, as upgraded by Rhino, is ready to be revisted.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

stark, hauntingly seductive--the Cure's first masterpiece June 23, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Robert Smith explains in the 2005 2 CD deluxe edition reissue of "Seventeen Seconds" that this is "the first record I felt was really The Cure", and although I feel this statement is pushing it a bit, it's still very understandable. Although Smith was just turning 21 around the time of "Seventeen Seconds"' initial release in April of 1980, the Cure had already made their first masterpiece. (It has now been reissued in single CD form in April of 2006.)

It shouldn't be overlooked though that The Cure's 1979 debut "Three Imaginary Boys", a strong album in its own right, did point the way toward "Seventeen Seconds", in particular on tracks like "Another Day" and especially the title track. There's no denying though that "Seventeen Seconds" marks a major turning point for The Cure--the sound here is more thoroughly haunting, more claustrophobic, with an incredibly icy snare drum sound throughout, and with Smith's vocals often being pushed WAY back in the mix and never as upfront as on many of the songs from "Three Imaginary Boys".

Smith also explains in the deluxe edition liner notes that the group made virtually no modifications to their 'basic set-up' throughout the album's entire 10-day recording session, and quite frankly, this method proved to be an absolute blessing. For one thing, it allowed the band to work quickly and affordably since they were still relatively low on money at the time. At the same time, it also accounts for the album's consistent sound which gives it an irresisible, mesmerizing flow. There don't appear to be that many overdubs at all on the album, which could be attibuted to the lack of time and money the band had at their disposal, but again, this proved to be an advantage--the starkness of the album is absolutely arresting.

It appears that Smith pretty much had in mind exactly what he wanted when the band went into the studio to record "Seventeen Seconds". As the saying goes, there doesn't appear to be a note out of place anywhere on the entire album--the overall level of craftsmanship is astonishing. The performances themselves are nearly as precise--the only time the band sounds a bit 'off' is on the intro portion of "Play For Today" where Lol Tolhurst's bass drumming seems to be a tad behind the beat. Tolhurst's lack of technical proficiency on the drums has been well-documented, but aside from this extremely minor gripe, his limitations don't hinder the album whatsover. Frankly, on most of the songs you could almost swear the band was using a drum machine opposed to a real living drummer.

Keyboardist Matthieu Hartley joined the band for just this one album before leaving. "Play For Today", "In Your House", "M", "A Forest", and the title track all use synthesizers in a mind-blowingly unobtrusive manner that enhances their moody feel.

Every song here is in a minor key, and even with such a strong emphasis on 'mood', the band still managed to pile in catchy hooks and/ or arresting melodies into pretty much every song. Much of this is thanks to Smith's guitar work, which is brilliant throughout--check out his superbly 'rubbery' rhythm work on "Play For Today"; his dreamy arpeggios on "In Your House"; and his ingeniously dissonant chords on "At Night". "A Forest" is a thrilling uptempo epic that culminates in Smith's cathartic, frantic riffing, and the 8-note guitar riff that appears on the intro leaves such an impression that you might not even realize that it never reappears after the first minute & a half of this nearly-6-minute song.

Like Pink Floyd before them, the Cure prove themselves to be masters of pacing. There are three instrumentals/ near-instrumentals here, and they each work as links in the chain as opposed to just album fillers. The album starts off with the gentle, yet creepy and contemplative instrumental "A Reflection". "Three" has a robotic kind of repetitiveness to it, and is basically an instrumental, although there are some extremely buried vocals that seem to be mostly spoken and are almost totally inaudible. The atonal, haunted house-style "The Final Sound", which is less than a minute, perfectly sets up "A Forest".

There's just so much musical invention here... Smith's guitar kind of takes a backseat on "Secrets" which has a prominent, memorable bass line and extremely distant-sounding piano chiming. The beginning part of "Play For Today" features brilliant interplay between Gallup's bass and Smith's expect use of guitar harmonics.

The only track on the album that comes up a little short is the album-closing title track. It's not BAD--it does have a neat build-up and build-down, but it feels a bit too sketchy and melodramatic, as if they couldn't quite figure out how to bring the album to a satisfying conclusion.

The Cure would go on to make more elaborately-produced recordings later on, but "Seventeen Seconds" remains a key touchstone in their discography, and a phenomenal record in its own right.

4 out of 5 stars

Great Cure record December 15, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is my favorite Cure record. Years and years before the over-produced and over-rated precious Disintegration. Tolhurst's drums are great on this. No..it's not a drum machine..they didn't have that timbre back in 1980 for the other reviewer. The Cure seemd to go to Motley Crue style cock drumers after Tolhurst switched to keyboards for some reason. Here, this early Cure still had a very punk attitude with awesome lyrics about uncaring, narcisism, existiantial, irony. This was a real band still as well. The constant line up changes and the hair and makeup hadn't kicked in yet. Awesome record.

3 out of 5 stars

The first "real" Cure album May 18, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

If you're new to the Cure, you problably know them as a "gloomy" goth band. Well, if you pick up their first CD(Three Imaginary Boys), you would never have known. Their second album, Seventeen Seconds, took the band to a very dark place. Of coure, they got MUCH darker on the next two albums.

This is known as the first part of "The Dark Trilogy", which is followed by Faith and Pornography. The early Cure records that kind of stand by themselves. They aren't as produced as later offerings, with a more low-key sound than usual(the exception being Pornography).

The album IS very low key, and original CD pressings(and perhaps record pressings too) really ruined the sound of this album. The voice was too low, the drums were much louder than the rest of the instruments...it was a mess. It took me many years to really appreciate this CD, thanks to the god-awful sound reproduction on the old CDs. Well, they fixed it, thank god. The instruments have been raised up closer to the drums. The voice sounds louder in certain songs(At Night), and everything just sounds more "full", unlike the old pressing. It really has made all the difference in the world.

The CD is pretty solid, with only a couple of weaker tracks. "A Forest" is amazing as usual, as is "At Night". Songs like "Secrets" and "Play For Today" are great as well. "In Your House" sounds far less repetetive now that you can hear the damn keyboards!

A very low key and gloomy album, but not so much as Faith. I really like this one a lot, because it is gloomy, but not so sluggish as Faith, and has more hooks. A really big step in the right direction for The Cure.

If you're new to The Cure, and have been thinking about picking this up, get this one over the Deluxe Edition. Far cheaper, and the deluxe edition only has a couple of songs that a really worth owning. If you have the old CD pressing, and have always been frustrated with the sound, pick this up. Of coure, the voice on "Secrets" is still really low, but that's the way i'm guessing it was intended("keep quiet")

Sam M.

5 out of 5 stars

A blissfully stark performance August 23, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Ok, I'm giving 17 Seconds the 5 star treatment because I love the Cure. Not recommended for casual fans because the minimalist approach taken during these sessions runs the risk of turning off those listeners who are hooked on the fuller sounds of 'Disintegration' and 'Wish'.

The opening piano driven 'A Reflection' sets the tenebrous tone present throughout 17 Seconds. It's creepy and unforgettable. The next 2 songs, 'Play For Today' and 'Secrets', pick up the tempo while further carving out a desolate landscape.

Robert Smith never deviates from the overall theme of starkness.

If you want to get a feel for the early days of the Cure and 80's goth this is an excellent choice. It's short so you might consider the deluxe version, which I have not heard but expect to be on par with the other excellent deluxe versions of the Cure catalog that have been recently released.

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