Musicians first, brooding art types second, The Cure's unique instrumentation doesn't get the credit it rightfully deserves. The thrashy, trash-can break in "Jumping Someone Else's Train," the sprightly synthesized recorder of "Close to Me," and the techno-pop disco lines in "Let's Go to Bed" and "The Walk" are downright brilliant in their effectiveness and simplicity. A string of money shots if ever there was one. --Steve Gdula

As dark and morose as The Cure's image had always been, their albums up to "The Head On The Door" frequently found them making dazzlingly brilliant singles. Hard to believe it, but Robert Smith was just as pop song smart as any New Romantic period hit maker, and in songs like "The Walk" or "Love Cats" he showed the kind of playfulness that many of his fans didn't always "get." Nonetheless, early efforts like "Killing An Arab" or "Hanging Garden" reinforced that dark depressive atmosphere that early Cure fans embraced so completely. Smith himself never had any problem with playing against preconceived notions of what a Cure song should be; I doubt a jazzy Robert ("Let's Go To Bed") was in any goth fan's must hear list.

I also found it ironic that the "Staring at the Sea" image of an old man was mirrored by the baby with the ice cream on "Galore." If you wanted to read more into it, you'd almost suspect Robert Smith was gently trying to remind listeners that he didn't mind playing to his more childlike nature when making music. While there has yet to be a comprehensive single disc collection of the Cure's best, a purchase of "Galore" and "Standing" will at least put all the singles at your fingertips.


An excellent compilation album.   November 2, 2004
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Pro: It culls all of The Cure's singles from their early period.
Con: If you want stuff like "Lovesong", "Just Like Heaven", and "Friday I'm In Love", it aint on here. That's all on "Galore", which picks up where this leaves off, chronologically.

Pro: Their early singles are excellent.
Con: But a lot of The Cure's best songs are non-singles. Buy this first. If you like it, buy all of the studio albums in which these songs come from.

So yes, this is an excellent compilation album. If you're new to the band, buy this and "Galore". It covers pretty much every single the band put out, even the ones that tanked.

"Staring at the Sea" is the better of the two, as their earlier singles are stronger overall (even though the band's most well known/successful singles came later in their career). From the Middle Eastern flavored punk of "Killing an Arab" to the shimmering, nocturnal pop of "A Night Like This", and everything in between.

And like a sandwich, there's some good stuff in between. The pure pop bliss of "Boys Don't Cry" and "Close To Me". The goth/new wave/pop masterpiece, "A Forest". The tribal gloom of "Other Voices". The tin pan alley, music hall romp of pop perfection that is "The Lovecats". The downbeat punk of "Play For Today" and "Primary". The minimalistic goth of "The Hanging Garden". The dated-but-still-fun synth pop of "Let's Go To Bed" and "The Walk". The jangly new-wave/punk mashup of "Jumping Someone Else's Train". And so forth..

With 17 songs, all of which range from 'good' to 'masterpiece', you can't really go wrong here. I would still recommend just buying all their studio albums, but this is a good place to start if you're not sure..

Best of the Best: A Forest, Primary, Charlotte Sometimes, The Lovecats, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Other Voices, Close To Me.




Just in case people didn't know...   January 24, 2000
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

...the cassette version of this very fine Cure retrospective has the songs on the CD version, minus the 4 "bonus tracks", on side A, & features a wealth of B-sides on side B. The B-sides do sound somewhat "throwaway" to a point, but it's part of what makes them so much fun. They are all good, with "I'm Cold" & "Throw Your Foot" being particularly infectious & memorable. Big fans won't want to miss out on these.