Many others. Plus, there are songs that are already on regular CD releases like 10:15 Saturday Night, Plastic Passion, much of Japanese Whispers. Are they different versions?

Remixes should be kept for another release. Just include all the b-sides and rare tracks. Remixes are at the lowest rung of importance, although I greatly prefer the single mix of Lovesong and Just Like Heaven to album versions. But, those aren't here because they're singles. It's appalling that Carnage Visors isn't on CD. It's a brilliant piece of music.


Worth the Wait   January 29, 2004
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Having been a rabid Cure fan for nearly a decade, I already have most of the songs here on bootlegs, imports, or the original singles. Consequently, I was a bit unsure about spending the money on this. However, I must say it is worth every cent. The remastering job done here is fantastic, really bringing life to some of the older tracks that lacked when transferred to CD format on past bootlegs, and boosting the sound quality of the newer songs. As it is, having the different mixes and unreleased songs (like Possession) is a real treat. The packaging is beautiful, and the notes on each track are facinating. Anyone with more than just a passing interest in the band needs this set.
Sure, it would be nice to have some of the other B-Sides on here as some have said, like Carnage Visors or Spilt Milk, but considering that the entire catalogue will be reissued starting this year, it's tolerable. Honestly, this set is so packed that having extra tracks would be overkill. Besides, a remastered 2 disc set of Faith without Carnage Visors would be pointless.

It is too hard to pick a favorite track from this set, because it does flow so well together. Anytime a song gets a little tedious, there is another great song right next to it, especially during the Kiss Me 3x through Wish era.

Bottom line: This box set is a fan's dream. Buy it, you will NOT be disappointed.


Not Everything But There Is More To Come   February 15, 2004
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This album is primarily a B-sides album and secondarily a rarities album. To those who are worried that not all the rarities are here you really needn't be concerned. Over the next eighteen to twenty-four months every Cure album will be re-released completely remastered and with a second disc of bonus material. It would be inconceivable that "Faith" would not then include "Carnage Visors," and that "Wish" would not include its four "lost" instrumental tracks, etc. plus material that even die-hard fans may never have even heard of yet.

What you have here with Join the Dots is a couple dozen strong B-sides, many of which were famous in their own right. You can't go wrong picking up a copy.


Just when you thought it was safe to stop buying   June 15, 2005
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I read through all the reviews for this CD collection and didn't see much focusing on the songs, so I thought I'd give my thoughts here on songs I liked and why.

Disc 1: 10:15 on a Saturday Night everyone's heard a zillion times, but the original Staring at the Sea mix was very quiet, whereas this one is volume boosted for modern stereos. (Just like all the other tracks on this compilation). Thank you!

Do the Hansa is a funny song poking fun of The Cure's early relationship with Hansa records (as detailed in the excellent liner notes). Another Journey by Train is the standout song on this CD, their first instrumental. Think of the "train tracks" closing sounds from Jumping Someone Else's Train, and you'll appreciate how this track compliments it. Descent is a quiet and moody instrumental, one can feel touches of A Forest in this.

Just One Kiss is a poppy little song that drums like The Hanging Garden, a nice feel. The Exploding Boy is something Robert Smith wrote upon feeling the weight of success, very spritely. A Few Hours After This is an interesting track, although after a few replays the overbearing keyboards get on your nerves.

Disc 2: A common theme on a lot of these tracks (and much early Cure for that matter) is for most of the song to be an instrumental, with Robert's vocals coming in for the latter third of the song. And so it is with many tracks on this CD, such as Breathe and Icing Sugar. Icing Sugar has a guest sax player that really improves the track over what made it onto Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me.

A Chain of Flowers is a very touching song about a girl's funeral, "please wake up". Robert's guitar is particularly haunting on this one. Sugar Girl is a delight, giving those light melodies that only Robert Smith could pull off. How Beautiful You Are is shorter than the Kiss album version, but it's just a different edit that works fine. To The Sky is just a delight as Robert sets up a hypnotic beat and chorus. Unusual for The Cure, yet beautiful.

Babble and Out of Mind are familiar to those who have the Fascination Street CD single, for some reason I don't like listening to them out of that sequence. 2Late and Fear of Ghosts were also on the Lovesong CD single, nothing new there. The final standout on this CD is Harold and Joe, with vocals reminiscent of Wrong Number and similar light touches.

Disc 3: This CD has some of the strongest tracks of the compilation, making one wonder why a lot of these were unreleased. I think the answer is that Robert Smith is the creative genius who makes these songs, and so he's too close to them or he's played them too many times to like them as much as we do. Be grateful he's releasing them now, they could actually tour off this material if you ask me.

This Twilight Garden opens this CD, alone worth paying for the collection. The stunning Cure "dreaminess", for lack of a better term, is fully in play here. This song just carries you away with its fantasy sound, amazing. Play has beautiful guitar work and thoughtful lyrics (or is that redundant?). Halo, Scared as You, The Big Hand, A Foolish Arrangement follow sequentially, all great to put on your playlist. I love the opening to Arrangement.

Burn of course is from the Crow soundtrack, easily their best soundtrack work next to Carnage Visors (which is on the Faith reissue). It Used to be Me has a great chorus, and a relentless beat that draws you in. Ocean has some nice moments, rather like love poetry set to music as all of Bloodflowers seemed to be.

Disc 4: The weakest CD of the compilation, marking the direction of The Cure as others have noted. This is a Lie is a standout as a thoughtful track, with delightful orchestral arrangements. The remixes of Wrong Number and Forest did nothing for me, although others like them. More Than This is probably the best track of this CD, sounding like a Duran Duran song with Robert Smith dropped in over Simon Lebon. Not a Cure song, which is why Robert left it unreleased, but still a delight to hear him sing and play.

Maybe Someday has a delightful opener and great vocals by Robert, again, why was this not the main single of his newer work? That's the curse of the creative genius, they make great stuff and then run with something else. But we get to hear it now("someday..."), so everything's okay. Signal to Noise acoustic is a nice bonus that was apparently left off the Acoustic CD that comes with special versions of the Greatest Hits collection. Nice to get a bonus to that CD, which in itself is a treat.

I shelled out the money for this collection on a lark and have not regretted it. There is a ton of new stuff here, especially for those of us who don't have 100+ maxisingles like some Cure fans. This collection will give many many listenings of great music, for any sort of Cure fan.

I must make a regretful announcement for those considering spending the money on this collection. A few months after this hit the shelves, they issued two-CD remasters of Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography. I have listened to all three remasters in great detail, and the songs that others lament are not included on Dots are largely on these releases. Sad to say, the additional songs on those three reissues are priceless and amazing, buy them too.

That's a lot of new Cure to have to pay for, but Dots and the Three reissues for their early albums are worth every penny. They are a delight, thank you to Robert Smith and his bandmates for being such prolific musicians. Even their "rejected" material is better than what most bands put out.


Finally!   February 9, 2004
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

If you were a diehard fan of the Cure and wanted to listen to their b-sides and rare tracks, you had mainly two options: listen to the original vinyl/CD single or grab the "Standing on a Beach" cassette, which had a bonus selection of early b-side cuts. "Join the Dots" now makes things easier for the fan who's got to own every hard-to-find release by the Cure. On 4 CDs, the band covers their 23-year discography of rarities, and all the tracks are digitally remastered under the supervision of Robert Smith. The first disc is a virtual trip down memory lane and it's easily the best, featuring songs that trace back to the Cure's punk roots. Notable gems are "I'm Cold," "Another Journey by Train," the orchestral "A Few Hours After This," and "Throw Your Foot." The second disc covers 1987-92, and by this point, the band found a mainstream audience in America. Its twin peaks are the poppy "2 Late" and the dark and atmospheric "Fear of Ghosts," which stands as good a track as anything off their 1989 album "Disintegration." Another highlight is a respectable cover of the Doors' "Hello, I Love You," and three versions of this song are found. Disc 3 covers 1992-1996, with some good tracks ("Play" and "This Twilight Garden") and some notable misfires, such as a cover of Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and a not-bad-but-pointless cover of Bowie's "Young Americans." The fourth disc, which covers 1996-01 finds the group experimenting with electronica with varying degrees of success. It's not a bad disc, and much of the stuff on here is good, but it's my least favorite among the four. Tracks that make it worth the trip are the Palmer remix of "This is a Lie," the Oakenford remix of the "Bloodflowers" cut "Out of this World," an acoustic version of "Signal to Noise," and the beautiful "More Than This" (which, by the way, is NOT a cover of the Roxy Music classic). All in all, "Join the Dots" is a no-questions-asked must buy for Cure diehards like myself, but first-timers who are green to the band should start with their studio albums first. For those who have been longing to get these tracks on CD, this is more than a box set. It's also an answered prayer.