The two new tracks are a real treat. The first is simply Smith singing on a looped drum and keyboard beat. Surprisingly it is very catchy, something that had they the proper motivation, could have been a nice farewell single. Now the final track, the last thing we will ever hear that has been produced by The Cure, is the most disgustingly annoying piece of bile ever mistaken for an actual song. A song supposedly "up to caliber with the rest on the album" as Smith says. This song, Just Say Yes, flaunts its vomitous self at the rules of acceptable song writing. If your going to write a song with tremendously-terrible-weak-repetitious lyrics, at least back it up with a musical score that doesn't sound like Michael Jackson singing lead for an unpolished Spice Girls. The Cure at one time were capable of creating wonderfully pleasing pop songs that were a reward to listen to, but now their attempts seem nothing but stillborn. Using this song as the grand finale only shows how misguided Smith's elderly perceptions of the world have become. And finally, the fact that this song is done as some sort of duet, an obnoxious never-ending hell of a duet, further goes to show that at the end of The Cure's career they no longer want to be considered "dark", but would rather go out as poppy nauseating garbage.


Not the Greatest Hits   August 24, 2003
 3 out of 7 found this review helpful

This really isn't worth much unless you can find the double-disc version that has a whole second cd with acoustic versions of all the songs on the greatest hits disc. It has a brief glance of old Cure (the only Cure that counts), the generic stuff from Disintegration/Wish/Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, and some junk from Wild Mood Swings (by far the worst Cure release). If you're looking for a greatest hits to start off with to get to know the Cure go for Staring At the Sea, it's loaded with great old songs from Boys Don't Cry up to Head On the Door (pre-Disintegration unfortunately). If you're looking for a Cure greatest hits with newer stuff try finding Galore, actually, no, nevermind, don't get Galore, it has songs from Wild Mood Swings.


Weeping confession...   November 8, 2003
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I have traveled a long and tortous way with this burden, to the point where it's burning me from the inside, a searing confession just aching to get out.

I must submit myself to your forgiveness now. For I... I...

I had never payed much attention to The Cure before.

Yes! It's true! Through my years as an avid music listener, I always dismissed The Cure as idiotic britpop, often associating them with A-Ha and such, even if I'm not entirely sure if A-Ha are british, but that's beside the point.

The point is, after stumbling upon this Greatest Hits compilation, I realized what a great band they truly were. I seriously enjoyed the fun, punky feel of "Boys Don't Cry". The alarming, almost paranoia-inducing "A Forest". The jazzy edge of "The Lovecats". The dreamy "Just Like Heaven", the psychodelic rush that is "Wrong Number" and the nostalgic yet refreshing new track "Cut Here", which is worth the price of the compilation by itself.

Many people could argue that this only provides a few of the more succesful singles and is in no way a true representation of The Cure's sound, and there ARE two other compilations on the market, but this one is a great starting point for someone who's never really cared about this band.

As soon as I was done fully absorbing every single song in this album, I went out and bought the "Pornography", "The Top" and "Wish" albums and I finally saw the true greatness of Robert Smith and co. I suggest others do the same.


A tough call   January 18, 2005
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Let me start by saying this: if you're interested in The Cure, but want a brief overview of some of their hits before buying any studio albums, this is a good buy.

If you want more of an in depth overview, this is not a good buy, because it leaves out a lot of key songs. A better option would be "Staring at the Sea" (which covers all the Cure singles from 78-85) and "Galore" (which covers all the Cure singles from 87-97).

With that said, let me review this on its own merit - the songs. From the bittersweet, perfect pop of "Boys Don't Cry" to the manic techno-pop on "Wrong Number", and everything in between. Most of it is really good.

"The Lovecats" is my pick for their best pop song ever. Disney meets tin pan alley/jazz with multiple hooks and melodies oozing out its 3 minutes or so. "Just Like Heaven" is ecstatic, lovestruck pop at its best. And the desperation/cries for help in "In Between Days" and "Close To Me" are buried in more sugary sweet pop melodies. As a contrast, "Lovesong" is actually a pure love song, but the dark minor key arrangement makes it seem like something else.

"Friday I'm In Love" is so cute and sweet that I can forgive it for being a "Just Like Heaven" retread. "Mint Car", on the other hand, is pushing it. Another retread of "Heaven", but this time, Robert Smith is just on autopilot.

Also, some of the songs have aged poorly. "Let's Go To Bed" and "The Walk" are dated 80's synth-pop. And the horn-driven "Why Can't I Be You" sounds a little too mid-80's for its own good. But it's a fun song nonetheless.

What hurts "Greatest Hits" is that it leans too heavily on The Cure's upbeat sounding stuff. Only a few of their darker moments are chronicled here. "A Forest" is a towering goth/pop masterpiece, and the aforementioned "Lovesong" as well as "Lullaby" are both excellent as well. But that's about it. I know I'm being nitpicky now, because why *would* they include a song like "The Hanging Garden"? The album is titled "Greatest Hits", and that's what they stick with. Their hits. And most of The Cure's hits are shiny happy sweet sounding pop songs.

Still, why no "Pictures Of You"??

The bait for hardcore fans is the inclusion of two new songs - "Cut Here" and "Just Say Yes". Are they good? Yeah. Are they great? No. If you're a hardcore fan, get the special edition with the bonus disc. Each song on here is done live, accoustically. It's a cool spin on all the songs. And some of the dated 80's synthy stuff like "Let's Go to Bed" really benefits in a more stripped down setting like that.

This is a tough compilation to review, really. I mean, anything with these songs on it has to be good. But at the same time, it's hard to rave about it when there's two other Cure hits/singles compilations out there that are better.

Basically, any Cure compilation is gonna be flawed, because the majority of their best songs weren't even singles.

Best Songs: Boys Don't Cry, A Forest, The Lovecats, Close To Me, Lovesong, Just Like Heaven, Lullaby.