The Cure [Live]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
All Keith Jarrett's trio releases with drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Gary Peacock contain passages of luminous brilliance, and there are many here. The leader's predilection for emotional intensity predictably takes precedence over his vehicles on this occasion--all of them standards, or near-standards. At a live recording at New York's Town Hall in 1990, Jarrett first backs into Monk's "Bemsha Swing," then does exquisite service to the tune. Similar personal inflections appear in a rollicking interpretation of Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody 'n You" and a fine "Golden Earrings" and "Body and Soul." Throughout, Jarrett does things that no other pianist would. With a striking mixture of sympathy and independence, DeJohnette trundles, lags, and lurches, yet projects great solidity and dependability. Gary Peacock provides the more essential timekeeping, while providing much lift. Before ending with "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," the trio performs the only Jarrett original, the title track, and there's a great sense of liberation and flight. --Peter Monaghan

Tracks:

Boys Don't Cry
A Forest
Let's Go To Bed
The Walk
The Lovecats
Inbetween Days
Close To Me
Why Can't I Be You?
Just Like Heaven
Lullaby
Lovesong
Never Enough
High
Friday I'm In Love
Mint Car
Wrong Number
Cut Here
Just Say Yes

Amazon.com

As Greatest Hits--and particularly the busking pavement jazz of "Lovecats"--reminds us, the best Cure singles were very often tangential exercises; they offered a goth-free playtime divergence from some of the weightier studiousness of those early albums. Or, as smudged frontman Robert Smith says of this 18-track collection, "Songs that are sung with a smile." This wasn't always true--witness the refrigerated fogginess of the classic "A Forest," the Blair Witch Project of its day. What this compilation does is focus attention on the Cure's perennial unpredictability--the breathless claustrophobia of "Close to Me," the New Order-lite of "The Walk," the brass- section embellished thrust of "Why Can't I Be You." Oddly, chart-wise, the Cure's lost weekend began immediately after "Friday I'm in Love," their most ebullient melodic moment and the ultimate "clocking-off to kick those heels" anthem. But at least the inclusion of two new songs, "Cut Here" and "Just Say Yes" (with Saffron from Republica), indicate that the Cure remain a healthy, ongoing concern. --Kevin Maidment

Customer Reviews:

Attention Guitarists.......2007-07-14

For you guitarists out there, there is a companion tab book to this CD. So if your Cure collection is not 100% complete, you can buy this CD and have all the songs in the books. Very helpful!

The cure I remember..........2007-03-27

This is a great cd, that offers some "old" stuff and some "new" stuff all in 1 cd. After the 80's tapes that have long been "borrowed" and all the songs I wanted to hear again, they are here on this cd. Only a couple missing, which would have made this cd the "motts", but I guess that's why it's not called the all time greatest hits. Not a bad cd at all, worth the bucks.

The Cure has some really great hits.......2007-03-23

I bought this cd only for about 3 songs but after listening to the cd I found that I liked every song on the cd. My friends and I love to listen to it in the car. Its such a great cd, and you totally get your moneys worth.

One way or the other, get the song "Cut Here".......2007-03-18

For a greatest hits collection, you are much better off getting "Staring at the Sea" and/or "Galore", depending on whether you like early Cure, later Cure or both. But the one thing you should not miss from this latest greatest hits package is the song "Cut Here". It is one of the most lovely songs the Cure has done in a long while, including some of Robert Smith's most personal and heartfelt lyrics. (It is about Billy MacKenzie; check wikipedia for more info.) Musically, the 6-string bass evokes the heyday of both the Cure and New Order. Don't miss out on this gem. Download that track or find a copy of the import cd single or get a used copy of "Greatest Hits" just for this song. You'll be glad you did.

For ultra casual fans only.......2007-03-13

If "Staring at the Sea", undoubtadly one of the best greatest hits albums ever released period, was for casual listeners, then "Greatest Hits" is for ultra casual Cure fans only. We get many songs that we would come to expect when seeing a Cure disc with this title on the cover: "Boys Don't Cry", "Inbetween Days", "Close To Me", "Why Can't I Be You?", "Lovesong", and "Friday I'm in Love" are here as they should be, while two songs recorded just for this release, "Cut Here" and "Just Say Yes", are included as well. Both songs are pretty decent enough, but nothing real special to make completists rush out to get this if they own every Cure album and "Staring at the Sea" and "Galore". There is nothing from "Bloodflowers" included here, nor is fan favorite song "Burn" from The Crow soundtrack or breakthrough hit "Pictures of You", which leads one to wonder what the point of putting this together was (well, besides to make a little extra dough, then again, that was the reason this was made, but I disgress). That aside, there's nothing bad to be found here, and "Greatest Hits" is instantly enjoyable for ultra casual fans who don't own any other Cure discs or compilations.

Average customer rating:

I think it's dark , and it looks like rain ...
a classic.
Without a doubt...
the best cure album ever
Hype hype hype

Disintegration
The Cure
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Wish
Staring at the Sea: The Singles
The Cure - Greatest Hits
The Head on the Door

ASIN: B000002H70
Release Date: 1989-05-01

Tracks:

Plainsong
Pictures Of You
Closedown
Love Song
Last Dance
Lullaby
Fascination Street
Prayers For Rain
The Same Deep Water As You
Disintegration
Homesick
Untitled

Amazon.com

Disintegration is a pop album realized on an epic scale. Most of its 12 songs are long mood pieces that develop slowly around the listener. Anchored by complex drum patterns, the layered guitars, soaring bass lines, and rich keyboards blend to create a lush, evocative soundscape that captures the ear immediately; and for all its length, the album is never boring. The lyrical focus is intensely personal throughout, and, with the exception of "Love Song," the mood is overwhelmingly dark and brooding. Here are songs of remembrance that, through their deep candor, transcend the individual level to explore universal longings and fears. Robert Smith, his vocals plaintive or angry or despairing, unfolds a tapestry of loss. Broken bonds, old lies, missed opportunities, belated realizations. Anyone who has experienced the joy and sorrow--especially the sorrow--of love will find his or her deepest sentiments, noble and petty alike, echoed poetically here. --Al Massa

Customer Reviews:

I think it's dark , and it looks like rain ..........2007-07-06

put on head phones, turn your volume up to the breaking point. Then lay down and press play. There will never be another day that you will ever be the same. This record is one of the finest pieces of music ever recorded. Don't think for a moment that this is a "goth" record anyone who wants to hear what great song writing and production sounds like should own this record.

a classic........2007-07-03

Not only is this the Cure's best album, it is also one of the best records ever made. It is a classic. every so often, i listen to this cd in its entirety and i feel reborn.

Without a doubt..........2007-06-08

The Cure at their absolute best!!!... I've been hooked on this band since the first time i heard "In-Between Days" as a teen in the early 80's and their music has only gotten better... but this album was without a doubt their best work... from the beginning chimes of "plainsong" through the end of the barely mentioned, but amazing "untitled", this album takes your mind and heart on an unbelievable journey... Robert Smith's lyrics are so deep and thought-provoking, he writes like very few can or have the ability to... like one reviewer wrote, 5 stars is simply not enough...

the best cure album ever.......2007-05-05

this is the best album the cure ever recorded every song is great ,i wish i could give more than 5 stars.

Hype hype hype.......2007-04-20

I have to say it, after two months I still can't be convinced that this album is all the critics & fans claim it to be. Sure, it's thematically heavy, serious, existential, but for some reason it all seems a little contrived for me. I can allow myself to be moved by the opening track, despite its use of a cheap trick (it starts with some very low level chimes, forcing to turn up the volume, only to be hit by a thunderous opening to the album), and my mind does indeed turn to mortality as I listen to Smiths lyrics; and I can't deny the subtle work of lullaby, but in all it's a patchy album. The obvious highlight of the album is Same deep water as you, a mesmerizing echo back to the heydays of Faith. This song is a deep, slow, lush, dreamy sojourn into the parting of two lovers by the dark curtain that takes us all. Sounds depressing but it's quite a beautiful poetic piece. Could be a forgotten track off Faith.
It has some other decent songs like the airplay Pictures of you, but in all, it's just a darker version of their eclectic pop albums (which are actually more interesting) and doesn't come anywhere near their epic theme album Pornography or the delicately ethereal Faith. I'm afraid it's all hype. Of all the Cure albums I've so far listened to, this would have to be the biggest letdown. Maybe Smiths talents are indeed disintegrating. It does have one fine moment though; a poetic & obtuse lyric: "The shallow drowned lose less than we, you breathe". See? Smith still has it. It's just buried beneath his fame.

Average customer rating:

Not impressed....
A great collection, but only of real value to collectors.
An Excellent Compilation of Early Cure
I Give You Exhibit A
A compilation in need of remastering

Staring at the Sea: The Singles
The Cure
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Galore
Disintegration
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Wish
The Singles 81>85

ASIN: B000002H3O
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Killing An Arab
10:15 Saturday Night
Boys Don't Cry
Jumping Someone Else's Train
A Forest
Play For Today
Primary
Other Voices
Charlotte Sometimes
The Hanging Garden
Let's Go To Bed
The Walk
The Lovecats
The Caterpillar
In Between Days
Close To Me
A Night Like This

Amazon.com

Big and moody, Staring at the Sea compiles some hits and near misses of these excavators of the dark soul. Beginning with their earliest hits--the sparse "Killing an Arab," the aptly tedious "10:15 Saturday Night," and the charming "Boys Don't Cry"--this collection stops before the comparative giddiness of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me.

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

Album Description

Stunningly brilliant is the only way to describe the new Wired Remorse album appropriately titled "The Ides of March." The album whose theme of backstabbing and revenge comes thru as loud and aggressive as anything since Siouxsie and the Banshees "JU JU" or Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures." While the tribal drum beats will remind one of Dead Can Dance, Killing Joke or even Bow Wow Wow. The minor guitar barrage and whaling singing should force you anticipate the best "old school" album in years!

Customer Reviews:

Not impressed...........2007-04-10

I read another person's review on the "Best of The Cure". He said that it wasn't even close to being as good as "Staring at the Sea". He was wrong. I was very bored with Staring at the Sea. I wish I would have gotten the Greatest Hits instead.

A great collection, but only of real value to collectors........2006-08-23

For quite a while, "Staring at the Sea: The Singles" was an essential package of music by the Cure and a fine introduction to their catalog-- in recent years its value has been minimized by the appearance of the "Greatest Hits" compilation, a retrospective spanning the band's career on Fiction Records. For collectors though, the opening track, "Killing an Arab" is worth the price of admission.

Often the center of enormous controversy, "Killing an Arab" (composed about Camus' "The Stranger", a fine read if you haven't had the chance) has become the unloved stepchild of The Cure-- it was left off the "Greatest Hits" album even though it's one of their most recognizable songs, it didn't make the rarities disc of "Three Imaginary Boys" (like all the other singles from that era did), and as an a-side was excluded from "Join the Dots". The piece itself, with its Middle Eastern swirl and disaffected vocal is fantastic, and really one of the great early Cure songs. Fans of the band will definitely want to hunt down this compilation just for this.

As an overview of the group, it certainly does a reasonable job up until 1985, fro mthe band's very early singles, soaked in post-punk primitivism but with an air of careful thought, one more fantastic than the other ("Killing An Arab", "10:15 Saturday Night" and "Boys Don't Cry") to their early developments in exploring the sounds that would establish their reputation ("Primary", "Hanging Garden") to some of the great pop songs they'd eventually be equally well known for (the vastly superior single mix of "Close to Me"). Still, with the band having been in existence for another 20 years, there's a lot more to cover, and "Greatest Hits" does a much better job as a career retrospective.

If you're new to the band, get the "Greatest Hits" record, it's a great overview. If you're a diehard, get this one for "Killing An Arab".

An Excellent Compilation of Early Cure.......2006-07-13

This was the 1st Cure album I had bought, and I really wasn't sure what to expect. The only songs I was familiar with were "Boys Don't Cry", "In Between Days", & "Close To Me". Wow! Everysong is great, and very diverse styles & moods as the album goes on. After that I had gone out & purchased just about all of their albums. My only gripe is that it needs to be remastered! How about a 20th Anniversery re-release???

I Give You Exhibit A.......2006-06-03

Although their legions of fans would beg to differ and albums like "Disintegration" and "The Head on the Door" make a compelling argument to the contrary, The Cure have always been, first and foremost, a singles band. Need proof? Exhibit item A: "Staring at the Sea -- The Singles."

Here we have 17 songs that make the case, and make it very strongly. Sometimes these singles were dark and brooding ("Charlotte Sometimes," "Jumping Someone Else's Train," "Boys Don't Cry") sometimes they were surprisingly upbeat and catchy ("Let's Go To Bed," "The Love Cats,") sometimes they fell somewhere in between ("In Between Days," "Close to Me") but always they were solid pop songs that pushed the boundaries without sacrificing listenability.

Yes, "Staring at the Sea -- The Singles," makes its case flawlessly and as if that wasn't enough there is Exhibit B -- the additional 18 tracks on "Galore: The Singles 1987-1997."

A compilation in need of remastering.......2006-05-06

For some odd reason or the other, I had suddenly had an interest in The Cure. I determined that Greatest Hits simply had to be missing too many good tracks, I instead picked up this and Galore at the same time.

The album is an interesting look at the progression of the early Cure from punk rock to new wave. One can hear the band grow into more complex arrangements and more elegant lyrics. While the beginning and the end of the album are incredibly strong, it is the middle of the album the suffers the most. Seemingly, the hooks that grabbed you with "Boys Don't Cry" disappeared into a sort of drone. However, with "Let's Go To Bed", the songs begin to pop out and grab you again.

However, that is not to say that the middle part of the album is lacking. Given a few listens, a few of the songs do show themselves as strong, like "Charlotte Sometimes", a few still show themselves as weak, like "Other Voices".

From the highs ("A Night Like This") to the lows ("The Caterpiller"), the album does give the best overview of The Cure's early career.

While the best of the music has aged very well, one part of this album has not - the sound. The master used is from the early days of CDs, and this album's mastering shows off every fault that the CD has in terms of sound. The sound can be lifeless on some tracks ("Killing An Arab"), too cold ("Love Cats"), too harsh ("The Forest", "Charlotte Sometimes"), and at best is just acceptable ("In Between Days"). The sound does harm the music, and frankly, it is in serious need of a remastering job.

However, while the sound is terrible, it is a price one has to pay in order to get a quality over-view of their early period. Forget "Greatest Hits", which boasts superior sound but has a pretty poor selection, and pick up both this and Galore if you are looking for an overview of The Cure's career.

Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of The Cure

Average customer rating:

Here's to being timeless....
My Baby loves it
I love this CD!
Lullabyes you can listen to
Soothing tunes

Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of The Cure
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Baby Rock Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Compilations | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Lullabies | Children's Music | Styles | Music

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Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Pink Floyd

ASIN: B000I2ISSG
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Tracks:

boys don't cry 4.57
just like heaven 4.16
friday Im in love 4.36
Love Song 4.42
one more time 4.30
in between days 4.07
high 4.51
close to me 4.12
homesick 3.51
lullaby 4.33
plainsong 4.03

Album Description

Lullaby. A whisper. The Cure's music is just like heaven to their fans. Beautiful, infinite and captivating, The Cure's best work captures a dreamy sense of love and longing. This album is a mesmerizing and serene take on the kind of quirky, romantic songs that The Cure helped make famous. If only tonight we could sleep as soundly as your child will after hearing these interpretations of The Cure.

Customer Reviews:

Here's to being timeless...........2007-04-03

I'm glad I read the reviews below, which persuaded me to buy this cd. I absolutely love this cd, as does my 3 month old son. It lulls him to sleep on daily basis since we received this from Amazon. Although my husband is not a Cure fan, he really enjoys this lullaby rendition of their music. Highly recommended!!!

My Baby loves it.......2007-03-09

this cd lulls her to sleep every time. the only thing that could make it better would be if The Cure actually did the music for it.

I love this CD!.......2007-03-06

This is my favorite of the "Lullaby Renditions" series. Unlike some of the other CDs (like the Nine Inch Nails one), the Cure songs are completely recognizable.

I bought this for the baby, but I also like to have it in the background at work. It's very calming and makes me happy.

Lullabyes you can listen to.......2007-01-27

Our 3 month old daughter seems to like it. We use it as part of her "sleep-time regimen", and we don't mind listening to it. It's better to get this stuck in your head than the other music in her life. We figure some day when she's 22, she'll ask us why she loves The Cure so much.

Soothing tunes.......2007-01-24

I have been a huge cure fan for many years and was excited to get this as a gift when my baby was born. What I love about this CD is that the songs are recognizable as the cure, but done is a very baby friendly way. To my husband's dismay, I had this CD going nonstop for a while since it was quiet enough to play as the baby fell asleep but also nice to listen to while feeding him.

That's not to say that my son won't also be hearing the original versions of the songs, but for those 3am feedings, this is just the thing!!

Average customer rating:

Relentlessly cheerful
Single Versions of songs used rather than Album versions
A great find!
If you've got the problem, then I've got the Cure!
Robert Smith is god

Galore
The Cure
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Staring at the Sea: The Singles
Wish
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Disintegration
Mixed Up

ASIN: B000002HR2
Release Date: 1997-10-28

Tracks:

Why Can't I Be You?
Catch
Just Like Heaven
Hot Hot Hot!!!
Lullaby
Fascination Street
Lovesong
Pictures Of You
Never Enough
Close To Me
High
Friday I'm In Love
A Letter To Elise
The 13th
Mint Car
Strange Attraction
Gone!
Wrong Number

Amazon.com

Standing on a Beach, the first singles compilation from Britain's premiere love cats, was the capper on a period of startling, evolving growth for Robert Smith & Co. This rather less interesting 18-song companion piece documents a peak commercial run that ended abruptly with last year's Wild Mood Swings disc. The one new studio track here, "Wrong Number," is a buzzing, synth-suffused delight that hooks deep after three spins. It's the cherry on a cake built from latter-day gems like "Lovesong," "Just Like Heaven," and "Friday I'm in Love." --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews:

Relentlessly cheerful.......2007-03-05

I bought this album for just one track - 'Lullaby' - but am playing the whole thing endlessly. The Cure are perfect car music and this selection of their boppy singles is a good representation of their later work.

Single Versions of songs used rather than Album versions.......2007-02-12

Galore covers the Cure from 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' through 'Wild Mood Swings'. The only reason it does not include 'A Head on the Door' is that those songs were included on the Best of Vol 1 called 'Standing on a Beach'
But 'A Head on the Door' really belong on this comp.

Some problems with this era are that Robert Smith wrote a few great songs on KMKMKM, then Disintegration, which is the best CD in the catalog, then Wish...which has a few great songs, and finally Wild Mood Swings...which isn't very good.

But after reading 62 Amazon regarding this cd, not one person mentioned that several of the song are the single version and not the album versions.
They are:
# "Just Like Heaven" (Bob Clearmountain Mix) - 3:32
# "Hot Hot Hot!!!" (Francois Kevorkian and Ron St. Germain Mix) - 3:35
# "Lullaby" (Single Mix) - 4:10
# "Fascination Street" (Single Mix) - 4:20
# "Lovesong" (Single Mix) - 3:28
# "Pictures of You" (Single Mix) - 4:48
# "Never Enough" (Single Mix) - 4:28
# "Close to Me" (Closest Mix) - 4:21
# "High" (Single Mix) - 3:33
# "Friday I'm in Love" (Single Mix) - 3:36
# "A Letter to Elise" (Single Mix) - 4:20
# "The 13th" (Swing Radio Mix) - 4:17
# "Mint Car" (Radio Mix) - 3:31
# "Strange Attraction" (Album Mix) - 4:21
# "Gone!" (Radio Mix)

So it is well worth seeking out each individual cd to get the album versions, which are better.

The second problem I have with this comp is the song selection.
They get all the best songs from Kiss Me & Disintegration , and Wish, but there are way too many songs from Wild Mood Swings.
The new song, wrong number is very good, btw.
So if I were making a vol 2 to Standing on a Beach, here would be my best of:
1) In Between Days
2) Close to me (Version off of Head on the Door)
3) Push
4) Why Can't I be You
5) Catch
6) If only Tonight we could sleep
7) Just Like Heaven
8) Pictures of You
9) Lullaby
10)Fascination Street
11) Love Song
12) Friday I'm in Love
13) A Letter to Elise
14) High
15) To wish impossible Things
16) The 13th
17) Mint Car
18) Wrong Number

A great find!.......2007-01-29

This is the album that introduced me to The Cure. I found it in a box of random cds near a dumpster of an apartment complex. Now I don't know why someone would want to throw this cd away because I think it is fantastic, I guess one persons trash is anothers treasure. Personally I like the first half of the album better than the second, but in general all the songs are decent. My favorite is lullaby! Like another reviewer wrote it is eerie and I love the lyrics and the video as well--go check it out. Other than lullaby my other favorites are why can't I be you, hot hot hot, fascination street, wrong number and gone! I give it a 4/ 5 and definitely recommend it!

If you've got the problem, then I've got the Cure!.......2006-06-28

As many reviewers have stated, this is pretty much The Cure's singles volume 2. In my opinion, these are the best Cure songs and much better than the older stuff (except "Boys Don't Cry" was an awesome song from "Staring At The Sea: The Singles). On this CD, you are taken on a rollercoaster of Robert Smith and company's tragic tales of love and lost love. I love how so many of the songs have so many layers in it. The song will start with some guitar, bass, and drums, and then will build up and kick in some keyboards, and by the time Smith's voice begins you're already bobbing your head. Many have tried to copy The Cure's signature sound, but none have been able to outdo them. Most of the songs on here are excellent with a few so-so tracks. The best songs are: Just Like Heaven (easily my favorite song by The Cure - "'Show me show me Show me how you do that trick The one that makes me scream' she said." Love it!), Catch, Why Can't I Be You?, Pictures of You, Close To Me (which the Get Up Kids did a nice cover of), Friday I'm In Love, and Lovesong. While he sings, you can just picture Robert Smith, with all his makeup and fingernail polish and think, "Man, this guy's got some issues with love!" But it is his passion in every word he sings that makes you feel his pain as well as his joy. It's like he is singing the words that you have wanted to say and never knew how to express. Please do yourself a favor and buy this CD. You'll be happy you did!

Robert Smith is god.......2006-02-15

For all of you guys who weren't born late in the 1970's, this could be a perfect introduction to a band who made a clear path to all of our minds and souls since back then. If you can find peace and joy in "High", "In between days" and "Just Like Heaven" and let the music flow in your heart for a moment while Smith plays his sad and crazy and melancholic music....man what a insanesation! I have no doubt in my mind that all of those who were born close to date, are going to buy this CD (if you already don't have all the albums up to date, and even if so...). This band makes a clear statement to an ERA. Along with INXS, Def Leppard, Aerosmith, U2, and Midnight Oil and many others. Not the bunch of crap that's coming out today: this is a MUST HAVE CD.

Although their energy is not as highly appreciated today because (as AC/DC) these guys have been making the same kind of music for decades now, nonetheless, they are worthy of tremendous respect and must be given that acknowledgement.

I'd go to a concert of The Cure over ANY crap out there today that is only searching for money making, witless songs

Average customer rating:

Lounge with spunk
In Love With This Album!
Brilliantly different...
Relaxing AND Catchy!
Mixed bag gives bossa nova swing to olde inde faves

Nouvelle Vague
Nouvelle Vague
Manufacturer: Luaka Bop
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Bande a Part
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Latenighttales: Nouvelle Vague

ASIN: B0007YMVOW
Release Date: 2005-05-03

Tracks:

Love Will Tear Us Apart
Just Cant Get Enough
In A Manner Of Speaking
Guns Of Brixton
This Is Not A Love Song
Too Drunk To ****
Marian
Making Plans For Nigel
A Forest
I Melt With You
Teenage Kicks
Psyche
Friday Night Saturday Morning
Sorry For Laughing

Amazon.com

Recycling the 1980s sound has been in vogue lately, so it's no surprise that the producing team known as Nouvelle Vague would find yet another way to mine the nostalgia for the early `80s, post-punk era. They're doing it bossa nova style.

The disc opens with a rendition of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart." It's a charming start, and with a breathy chanteuse on vocals, it's exactly the kind of sound that has some music critics proclaiming (admittedly with a touch of sarcasm) that Nouvelle Vague is the ironic dinner music for the new millennium. Unfortunately, this CD is somewhat less winning as it wears on. "Guns of Brixton" is annoying when done in a loungey mood, and sitting through "Too Drunk to F**k" in the wrong company could certainly ruin the amuse bouche. Nevertheless, the entertaining tracks do outweigh tiresome ones on this release. If this concept sounds like an interesting idea to you, you're bound to get a smile from the execution. --Leah Weathersby

Customer Reviews:

Lounge with spunk.......2007-07-08

Or is it punk? Anyway I've got a weak spot for lounge music and this may best, edgiest lounge you'll ever hear. Frankly, I'm not all that familiar with most of the originals so I have no idea how much they've been maimed here. All I know is that the vocals are inspired and impossible to ignore.

In Love With This Album!.......2007-06-07

I absolutely LOVE this album! I listen to many different genres of music but I have to say that this album is one of my ultimate favorite cd's! I don't get tired of listening to it! I'm so glad I was introduced to Nouvelle Vague and I have shared this cd with many friend of mine...I then recently purchased their second album Bande A Part, but I was disappointed however, it's not nearly as good as their first...I love 80's music, Bossa Nova, AND Nu Wave, definetly recommend this cd!

Brilliantly different..........2007-04-15

First time through this distinctly "left field" album is likely to leave you a bit confused... laid back interpretations of classic 80's rock tracks served up as nonchalant, bossa-nova driven Anglo-French lounge music. Ridiculous? Well, fortunately not, because in here are some absolute gems - so good that once you've locked into what's going on you'll find them completely irresistible. Which ones depends on where you were at the time but, for me, "Teenage Kicks", "Love Will Tear Us Apart", "We're Only Making Plans for Nigel" & "Just Can't Get Enough" are so beautifully structured and darkly exciting that they're worth the price of the album on its own. But, as you'll see from the other reviews, there's a lot more on offer. Sure, some tracks miss it... but most don't and, insidious and clever, they add up to a brilliant, very different and probably unrepeatable "one off".

Relaxing AND Catchy!.......2007-04-10

Well .... this album combines two of the better qualities I like in a CD. Nouvelle Vague is relaxing -- and extremely catchy! 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' sets the tone from the very beginning ... the comfortable bossa nova rhythm leads to a chorus I found myself whistling along with ... while Nouvellle Vague's catchy take on 'Just Can't Get Enough' had me humming along. I mentioned in another review that I'm not too familiar with the 70s/80s originals ... and because of that I find that this album of covers is a stand-alone, especially for those that are fans of rhythmic bossa nova, samba, and jazz. For me, every song on this album is strong ... As a picky and eccentric listener, this is one of the few times I can play through an entire album and never have to skip a track. It doesn't mean that I don't have favorites on this album -- 'Marian' was the reason I decided to buy the CD. I bought this CD with Bande a Part, because there were several songs on that CD that I felt compliment this one ... but this CD, Nouvelle Vague, is the stronger of two excellent CDs.

Mixed bag gives bossa nova swing to olde inde faves.......2007-01-23

This outing from the cover band Novelle Vague satisfies immensely in many ways, and just plain misses in others. If you are an old timmer who grew up on the originals (like me) then you may find this newly vamped bossa nova approach to 80s post-punk staples a fun filled romp down nostalgia lane. It isn't for everyone, though, and a word of caution to those of you who are missing out by not having heard the originals (all brilliant in their own right) first. The often covered Joy Division classic, "Love Will Tear Us Apart," gives us a warmer rendition than the bleak original, but not better, just different. Of stellar mention is their fun, catchy cover of the DK's hc classic "Too Drunk to..." and the Clash's London-calling era ska-soaked "Guns of Brixton." I will also add that their cover of the insufferably boring "This is not a Love Song" (of disco-era post-Pistols Johnny Rotten PIL fame) gets a great face lift...upwards: Simply awesome!! On the other hand, Nouvelle Vague miss almost entirely on the gothic realm, as best evidenced by their butchering of Andrew Eldritch's "Marian" (off the Sisters of Mercy's first LP, "First and Last and Always") and with their mediocre quickening of The Cure's "A Forest" (which seems to be popular in covering, especially with the techno / rave crowd). Overall this is a good buy, but it does have a couple renditions that deserve a quick skip with a toggle of the fast forward button. A better NV effort is showcased in their "Bande A Part" LP, where they do a fantastic cover of the power-punk-pop classic "Ever Fallen in Love," a former Buzzcocks masterpiece. 4 stars for effort and originality.