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Product Description
Review
In one of music's longest and strangest careers, perhaps the most peculiar twist of all was that–after six years of bombarding the world with giddy, oddball pop–it was 1989's Disintegration which propelled The Cure to true global success. After all, this is an album of near relentless gloom, dark grey in texture and sprawlingly epic in structure. It's not exactly Automatic for the People.
Its three million sales can partly be put down to the ferocity of their 80s fanbase, but mostly to its singles. The sexual-revulsion nightmare of Lullaby was the strangest of the three, but its sticky strings and peculiar addictiveness smuggled it into the UK top five. Pictures of You was more conventional, a glorious widescreen epic which Bono would have eaten his firstborn to write, while the downbeat but insidious Lovesong (written for Robert Smith's new bride, surely the most sullen wedding gift in history) even wormed its way into the hearts and top two of the USA.
But the singles are like the prettily twinkling peaks of icebergs, and the gloomy power of Disintegration is truly revealed in the vast slabs of synth-soaked, spectrally dense introspection beneath. Opening with the whimpering, windswept loneliness of Plainsong, and taking in the snarling, bass-driven misanthropy of Fascination Street and the shuddering, incantatory misery of Prayers for Rain, Disintegration is like taking a long bath in someone else's despair, and finding it cathartically enjoyable.
It is, of course, a touchstone goth album, with its relentless death imagery, dramatic sweeps of synth and eight-minute drowning-metaphor symphonies; but such is its single mindedness of intent and vanquishing beauty that it somehow avoids risible self-indulgence. And at its very peak–in the unbearably sad, hypnotically shimmering lament of The Same Deep Water as You and the raging tour of emotional destruction that is the title-track–no other album has ever matched its morose magnificence.
This being a deluxe reissue, there are the obligatory demos, live versions and out-takes. But although it's interesting to see how fully developed songs like Prayers for Rain were before Smith even took them to his bandmates, and the madcap B side Out of Mind deserves another chance to be heard, none of the extras rival the terrible beauty of the main feature. A beauty which has only deepened with 21 years and the knowledge that Robert Smith would never again be as ambitious, inspired and creatively courageous. --Jaime Gill
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CD Description
The release of Disintegration in 1989 saw The Cure returning to the introspective and atmospheric sound of their earlier albums, after the mid 80's foray into poppier territory. This 21st Anniversary Edition has been compiled and digitally remastered by frontman Robert Smith at The Soundmasters, London.
- Disc One features the original album digitally remastered and contains the singles "Lullaby", "Lovesong", "Fascination Street" and "Pictures of You".
- Disc Two contains 20 previously unreleased period rarities from 1988-1989, including Robert Smith home demos, band rehearsals and four previously unreleased songs: "Noheart", "Esten", "Delirious Night" and a cover version of Wendy Waldman-Parker’s "Pirate Ships".
- Disc Three is the "Entreat" concert recorded live at Wembley Arena in 1989, which has been restored to its original running order of 12 songs with four previously unreleased live performances ("Plainsong", "Lovesong", "Lullaby" and the 10-minute epic "The Same Deep Water As You".
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ok so if you're into the Cure, you were always going to add this to the collection. However I have found other groups are keen to fleece the fans by making one or two subtle changes to material you already have umpteen times, and stung you for plenty of money in the process. Not so with the Cure, this stands up along side the previous Deluxe Releases, and at the price I paid via Amazon, represents even better value than ever before.
The Album and Entreat are of course familiar to most of us, but the real treat for me was a little gem hidden amongst the 20 demos and outakes also included here in a 3 disc set (which also has the tastefully done plastic packaging and extended sleeve notes with unseen pics).
The gem I refer to is titled Pirate Ships, a solo effort by Lancashire's finest, Mr.R.Smith.
The track simply blew me away, had it made the album and a single I'm sure it would have been another classic. I played it to the wife, who despite not seeing them since the 80's, still likes to listen to them, and she was in full agreement - The best unheard Cure track we've certainly come across. Buy it while you can, there is something for everyone on these three discs. Enjoy!!!!
The Album and Entreat are of course familiar to most of us, but the real treat for me was a little gem hidden amongst the 20 demos and outakes also included here in a 3 disc set (which also has the tastefully done plastic packaging and extended sleeve notes with unseen pics).
The gem I refer to is titled Pirate Ships, a solo effort by Lancashire's finest, Mr.R.Smith.
The track simply blew me away, had it made the album and a single I'm sure it would have been another classic. I played it to the wife, who despite not seeing them since the 80's, still likes to listen to them, and she was in full agreement - The best unheard Cure track we've certainly come across. Buy it while you can, there is something for everyone on these three discs. Enjoy!!!!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've never bought a Cure album before (apart from the greatest hits collection) & was curious to know what a complete body of work by the band would be like.
I ordered this after reading the excellent reviews (well, most of them are excellent!) & I was not disappointed. What a great intro for me to get into The Cure's back catalogue - this album is great! Stand out tracks for me already are Prayers for Rain, The Same Deep Water as You & Disintegration - fabulous!
I will be checking out further releases now to increase my Cure collection.
I ordered this after reading the excellent reviews (well, most of them are excellent!) & I was not disappointed. What a great intro for me to get into The Cure's back catalogue - this album is great! Stand out tracks for me already are Prayers for Rain, The Same Deep Water as You & Disintegration - fabulous!
I will be checking out further releases now to increase my Cure collection.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
When The Cure's reissue campaign began in 2004, many fans were anxiously awaiting the release of the Disintegration deluxe edition. Due to the band's lengthy touring schedule and album recordings, the reissue series began to falter and some years passed without any word on future releases. Fortunately, Robert Smith announced late last year that the Disintegration project was underway and scheduled for release. Unlike previous Cure reissues, the Disintegration deluxe features an extra bonus disc which consists of live material from the 1989 Prayer tour. Entitled Entreat Plus, this new mix expands on the original Entreat album by capturing the four missing album tracks from the Wembley concert. After six long years and several release date postponements, the Disintegration deluxe has finally arrived.
The original album was remastered by Kevin Metcalfe with Robert Smith at The Soundmasters in London. Although this is Metcalfe's first mastering stint with the Cure, he has an exhaustive resume that spans many decades of mastering expertise. On the first few listens, the remastered album didn't sound dramatically different to the original 1989 CD release. Although it wasn't much louder than the original (which is a good thing), the murkiness of the recording was unfortunately still evident. It wasn't until I A/B'd the remaster to the original which ultimately exposed some noticeable differences. One of the most obvious improvements of the remaster is in the bass region. There's more bass impact in this remaster than any other Cure reissue I've heard. I even remember Robert mentioning in an old interview once on how they couldn't flood the original CD with bass due to some technological restrictions at the time. And although I echo another reviewer's comments that the bass can sometimes be overbearing, the only real problem with this is in Prayers for Rain -- which is a bassy song to begin with. Robert's vocals are not only higher in the mix but cleaner as well. The keyboards, as well as Boris Williams drums, are more pronounced and better defined. Stereo separation has been improved and the whole album sounds a bit cleaner; the entire thing just sounds more convincing.
While the rarities disc is probably best served for only the diehard fans of the band, it does contain several interesting instrumental demos and even some unreleased songs from the era. The only true worthy songs that require repeated listens are Esten, Delirious Night, and Robert's cover of Pirate Ships. The alternative version of the songs are quite different as well and I actually prefer the alt. version of Babble to the released b-side. The only real disappointment with the set is the bonus disc, Entreat Plus. It does not retain the same quality of the original Entreat album and has been mixed to sound identical to the 2009 live Cure sound more than anything. Seeing that Robert has mixed many high quality live albums in the past like the original Entreat and Paris, the new mix will disappoint many who already have high expectations. It does not capture the true sound of the 1989 Prayer tour and the dynamics are pretty lousy to boot.
Despite Entreat Plus's shortcomings, the Disintegration deluxe can be chalked up as a success due to the improvements in the original album. While the remastering is far from perfect, it is an improvement over the original and is sonically superior to anything the Cure has released since 2000. It may be a bit louder and bassier, but it's still listenable and enjoyable at louder volumes and in the year 2010 that's a hard feat to do (try playing 4:13 Dream loud in a decent setup, ouch!!!). Let's hope that the Mixed Up and Wish deluxe editions, as well as the future "Dark album", will soon see the light of day and are mastered with the same amount of care which Disintegration has received, albeit with even more headroom to spare.
The original album was remastered by Kevin Metcalfe with Robert Smith at The Soundmasters in London. Although this is Metcalfe's first mastering stint with the Cure, he has an exhaustive resume that spans many decades of mastering expertise. On the first few listens, the remastered album didn't sound dramatically different to the original 1989 CD release. Although it wasn't much louder than the original (which is a good thing), the murkiness of the recording was unfortunately still evident. It wasn't until I A/B'd the remaster to the original which ultimately exposed some noticeable differences. One of the most obvious improvements of the remaster is in the bass region. There's more bass impact in this remaster than any other Cure reissue I've heard. I even remember Robert mentioning in an old interview once on how they couldn't flood the original CD with bass due to some technological restrictions at the time. And although I echo another reviewer's comments that the bass can sometimes be overbearing, the only real problem with this is in Prayers for Rain -- which is a bassy song to begin with. Robert's vocals are not only higher in the mix but cleaner as well. The keyboards, as well as Boris Williams drums, are more pronounced and better defined. Stereo separation has been improved and the whole album sounds a bit cleaner; the entire thing just sounds more convincing.
While the rarities disc is probably best served for only the diehard fans of the band, it does contain several interesting instrumental demos and even some unreleased songs from the era. The only true worthy songs that require repeated listens are Esten, Delirious Night, and Robert's cover of Pirate Ships. The alternative version of the songs are quite different as well and I actually prefer the alt. version of Babble to the released b-side. The only real disappointment with the set is the bonus disc, Entreat Plus. It does not retain the same quality of the original Entreat album and has been mixed to sound identical to the 2009 live Cure sound more than anything. Seeing that Robert has mixed many high quality live albums in the past like the original Entreat and Paris, the new mix will disappoint many who already have high expectations. It does not capture the true sound of the 1989 Prayer tour and the dynamics are pretty lousy to boot.
Despite Entreat Plus's shortcomings, the Disintegration deluxe can be chalked up as a success due to the improvements in the original album. While the remastering is far from perfect, it is an improvement over the original and is sonically superior to anything the Cure has released since 2000. It may be a bit louder and bassier, but it's still listenable and enjoyable at louder volumes and in the year 2010 that's a hard feat to do (try playing 4:13 Dream loud in a decent setup, ouch!!!). Let's hope that the Mixed Up and Wish deluxe editions, as well as the future "Dark album", will soon see the light of day and are mastered with the same amount of care which Disintegration has received, albeit with even more headroom to spare.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Don't Fall for It
The original Disintegration really is worth buying twice. This particular flourish sadly isn't. Let's talk about the instrumentals. Some bonus.Nothing new and delightful to notice. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Rob
still the best.
I'm in my late 30's now, and have heard many many albums.
But still, this is up there as one of my favourite albums of all time. Read more
But still, this is up there as one of my favourite albums of all time. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Eric
As CD's should be re-released
It's my favourite TC album, I do admire sound of every song on it - same with for example "Reign in blood" from Slayer or Paradise Lost's "Icon". Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. J. M. Zielinski
Beautiful!
I must confess. This is not my most loved Cure record. For me the band were at their prime some 8 years before the time this album was released but hey, I am here to review what... Read more
Published 9 months ago by David Bentley Newman
cure for pain
Robert Smith was clearly not a happy man when he was writing Desintegration. This album is filled with gloomy, long, sad songs. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Tom Van San
My favourite album of all time - yes, THE one...
Okay, not the most original best album but such is life. In 2007 I started playing this album obsessively for a few months (after playing it obsessively for many many years after... Read more
Published 21 months ago by K. Hendrikse
Heavenly Disntegration
This purchase was about old friends revisted. This is my all-time favourite Cure album - the memory of ambling around Paris for a whole day with this playing on my Walkman is still... Read more
Published 22 months ago by endardo
The sound has been damaged, not improved
It always grates on me when all a person has to do is see the word "remastered" and they immediately spew out the blind praise that it "sounds amazing". Read more
Published 22 months ago by Scott Davies
Submerged Gloop
Life has a rational surface, below which is the infinite gloop. The Cure have made pop songs that are fun as can be (and others that irritate as much as any radio-friendly hit),... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Paul Rayson
Beautiful album and rarities, slightly disappointing remastering
I bought Disintegration (on cassette; the vinyl was two tracks short) when it was released in 1989, and listened to it innumerable times for about four years. Read more
Published 23 months ago by DE01
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