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| Disintegration | 
 enlarge | Artist: The Cure
Label: Elektra / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy Used: $3.73
You Save: $15.25 (80%)
New (40) Used (41) Collectible (4) from $3.73
Avg. Customer Rating:  304 reviews
Sales Rank: 2334
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.8 x 0.5
MPN: 60855
UPC: 075596085526
EAN: 0075596085526
ASIN: B000002H70
Release Date: May 1, 1989
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
I've listened to it a hundred times, and I will continue listening... September 29, 2005
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
The idea of reviewing this album is such a strange idea to me. I cannot find words that will express the way this album feels--rather, I think colors, images, and feelings are much more descriptive: darkness, highlighted by rich tones of greens and blues; rain, shattered glass, hands outstretched in misery, soft violet flowers; reminiscing, worship, disillusionment, confusion, anger, aching, melancholy, isolation, resignation. This is my experience of Disintegration, the most vivid experience that a modern music album has given me, ever.
Some people may not enjoy that dazzling dark atmosphere, in which case, they are probably not going to enjoy any of The Cure's music. But this is an album that I recommend to any person who can relate to any of the feelings I listed above.
This is a quintessential expression of a particular step in the journey of life, the step of pain and disillusionment, falling apart, losing touch. We all feel these things, and Robert Smith and his band members were able to create music and lyrics which captured so accurately and painfully this part of the human spectrum of feelings. (I personally would line up NIN's The Fragile right next to this album, just a little closer to the "anger" side of the spectrum.)
This is universal and epic. If you don't understand it, it won't mean anything to you. If you do understand it, it will capture your heart and mind. This is my favorite album ever.
Makes today's music look like shit January 29, 2006
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I still remember when I got this cd, which was only about a year and a half ago. I was in Manhattan (I moved back home) for college. I pulled an all nighter and at dawn I took the Staten Island ferry for fun. I saw a bus that went to the mall. I'd never seen it so I was excited to see a mall, something to remind me of home. I got out there and I saw a Circuit City. I went inside and saw this cd. I had heard such great reviews on it so I wanted to get it. I still have the reciept! I thought I would fall asleep on the way home after being up all night, but this cd kept me awake. What a great band. What a great cd. What a beautiful gift The Cure gives to the world.
Long Live The Cure.
I'd give it 6 stars if I could... March 3, 2000
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This was the album that got me (and a lot of other people) into The Cure. You've heard "Love Song," "Fascination St.," "Lullaby" and "Pictures of You" on the radio, and if you have a heart, you liked them. So did I, and that's why I bought the album... and was just blown away by the sound, the songs, the lyrics, the voice. Every song on here is a classic, that really stands up against any song, anywhere. I almost feel bad recommending particular songs, but "Last Dance," "Prayers for Rain," "The Same Deep Water As You," "Disintegration," and "Untitled" are absolutely flawless songs, perfect in every way. Buy BLOODFLOWERS because that will keep the group on the radio, but after you do, you must own this album. Even if you aren't a Cure fan, you must own this album. Except for THE SOUL CAGES, I can't think of another album that I have liked this much from the first time I heard it until now. Take this one to your desert island.
This is an amazing album July 18, 2005
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I was never a huge fan of The Cure. I remember when Disintegration came out and I liked a few songs. Well, I have reacquainted myself with the band over the past few weeks. I am angry with myself for not fully appreciating the greatness of this cd many years ago. There are very few perfect albums out there, but this may be one of them. The lyrics are wonderful. Robert Smith's voice is perfect for this music. The bass, guitar and drums are exactly as they should be. The lush keyboards help create the entire mood of this cd.
From the beautiful "Pictures of You" and "Lovesong" to the more haunting "Plainsong" and "Prayers for Rain" to the great "Fascination Street;" this cd has it all.
Even if you normally do not like this "type" of music, you will most likely appreciate the beauty of this cd. I listen to a lot of rock, progressive metal, and I grew up on 80s hard rock. This cd makes my "10 cds to have on a deserted island" list.
Like stepping into a dream world . . . (+ extra note about Robert Smith solo album) September 11, 2005
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Although they are often seen as the quintessential doom & gloom band, The Cure is also one of the most versatile groups to come down the pike, having touched base with nearly every musical style in existance, from metal to jazz, synth-pop to salsa. Ironically, they've also made some of the most exuberantly happy music ever created ("Why Can't I Be You?," "Doing the Unstuck," etc.) - but DISINTEGRATION is, overall, closer to the darkest and bleakest side of their music.
I love nearly every Cure album made, but to me, they amazingly kept getting better and better until they hit a peak with this one, widely considered to be their masterpiece (with the possible exception of PORNOGRAPHY). Robert Smith's songwriting had clearly reached a new level of sophistication in songs like "Pictures of You," "Last Dance" and "The Same Deep Water as You." While continuing in the same vein as PORNOGRAPHY which is quite harsh, tortured and full of despair, DISINTEGRATION is dreamier, full of lush beauty and sadness, with more melancholy than raw pain. It also boasts more lighthearted moments, whereas on PORNOGRAPHY, "A Strange Day" offered the only ray of light in the form of escapism.
The following are some of my personal impressions of DISINTEGRATION:
"Plainsong" - Like waking up only to find yourself in a dream-state - The opening wind chimes set the stage before gorgeous, droning synths come crashing through. The guitar is so dreamy, it almost sounds like a slow-motion Hawaiian riff. "it's so cold it's like the cold if you were dead . . ." *****
"Pictures of You" - so catchy, it should've been a bigger hit but I"m glad it wasn't. One thing that has kept The Cure from being bigger than they are is Robert Smith's voice which some find too whiney. It's a question of taste, but I love his voice - it's undenyably unique and very expressive (although I admit it does sound a bit more grating on their latest self-titled release). "Pictures of You" is one of those feel-good-yet-sad pop songs the Cure do so well, similar to "Just Like Heaven" in that respect. *****
"Closedown" - isn't structured like a typical pop song; the vocals don't come til the end (which isn't the first time the Cure has done this). It's absolutely gorgeous and a classic example of the dreamy DISINTEGRATION sound featuring particularly excellent drumming from the super-talented Boris Williams. As far as drummers go, his style is very musical. *****
"Lovesong" - unfortunately, this one got overplayed on the radio and I temporarily became sick of it (yes, it's fantastic, but why did corporate rock radio have to play the same one over and over when there are so many other great Cure songs out there? - thank goodness those days of letting radio dictate what I listen to are long gone). "Lovesong" is warm and cozy with a sort of almost 60's vibe from the keyboards. This is a pure love song just as the title suggests. Longtime member Simon Gallup turns in yet another totally addictive bass groove. *****
"Last Dance" - After "Lovesong," the mood turns gloomier and hazier, soon augmented by an angular, twisting guitar part and a dramatic string section. "Last Dance," about a relationship coming apart, is one of my favorites and some of Smith's best, most descriptive lyrics. *****
"Lullaby" - so tuneful and playful, this is one of the Cure's best melodies and a really creepy-yet-fun song. *****
"Fascination Street" - intense song and the rockin-est one on the album. A great change of pace that stands out as something different yet it fits well on the record. *****
"Prayers for Rain" - probably the most dismal, nightmare-ish cut on DISINTEGRATION, this one's heavy, grim and foreboding. "I deteriorate I live in dirt and nowhere glows but drearily and tired the hours all spent on killing time again . . ." ****1/2
"The Same Deep Water as You" - possibly their most achingly beautiful song ever. *****
"Disintigration" - heralded by the sound of breaking glass, the title track is driven by a bold, repetitive bass line. Not really their greatest song, but it's intiguing, filled with strange sounds and distorted, high-pitched vocalizations. Probably the best thing going for it is the absolutely devestating lyrics. ****
"Homesick" - Robert Smith sounds barely alive on this brilliantly lethargic number with spiralling guitars and first-rate jazz keys, probably played by Roger O'Donnell. Every member of the Cure at this point oozed talent except for Laurence Tolhurst. The only remaining original member aside from Robert Smith (who virtually IS the Cure), poor Lol was on his way out due to his outrageously excessive drinking. ****1/2
"Untitled" - ending the album on a comparitively upbeat note, "Untitled" neatly sums up the themes on DISINTEGRATION and washes away the dream world with what sounds like a rather staid accordian, or possibly a harmonium. ****
Extra Note: in '91 or so, a few years after I got DISINTEGRATION, some dude who was fairly well connected to the music business in Washington D.C. at the time (he sang in a band called Broker Karsh) gave me a copy of what he said was a bootleg Robert Smith solo album. Sadly, only one track has survived (which I had stuck on a mix tape). It goes something like, "Come on outside, there's a whole new world . . ."
The whole album was light and airy and quite happy with lots of acoustic guitar and keyboards. It certainly SOUNDS like solo Robert Smith, and there are no drums, as I recall. The voice is unmistakably his. I wish I knew more about the album, but I can't find anyone on-line that knows anything about it, only the typical rumors of an impending solo release. This old bootleg sounded like it could've been recorded around the time of THE HEAD ON THE DOOR. Sure would love to get my hands on it again!
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