The Cure: (CD 1) Join The Dots - B-Sides & Rarities 1978-2001 CD Track Listing

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The Cure (CD 1) Join The Dots - B-Sides & Rarities 1978-2001 (2004)
2004 Elektra/Asylum Records, Inc.\n\nOriginally Released January 27, 2004\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Normally speaking, a box set of nothing but B-sides and unreleased tracks would only be of interest to rabid fans, but the Cure have never really been a "normal" band. While their longevity alone -- nearly 25 years -- is certainly the most obvious clue to their uniqueness, Robert Smith's true charm lies in his ability to craft memorable songs that inspire nothing less than emotional fervor in his and the band's fans. Over the years, the band's singles have achieved high sales and chart placings in numerous countries, while the albums have become icons in themselves, with thousands of ex-gloomy teenagers being able to remember things based on when, say, Disintegration or Wish hit stores. While this successful output would usually be enough to cement a band's place in the big picture, Smith is also blessed with the ability to compile his work in a fashion that is second to none. For example, one of the best moves that he and the band made was back in 1986, when they decided to pad the cassette release of their 1986 singles collection, Staring at the Sea, with most of the B-sides dating back from 1978 (the remaining B-sides from the era were collected on the Japanese Whispers LP). Now in most cases, this would have been a minor annoyance, pulling away from the strength of the singles (and those singles were not only strong, but incredibly diverse) and filling space with songs that are put on the backs of singles for a reason. But in this case, the Cure were just as good (and in some cases more outlandish) at making B-sides as they were hits. Unfortunately, when it came time for the Cure to do it again in 1997 with the Galore collection, the B-sides were nowhere to be found. While neophytes may not have even noticed, those in the know were disappointed, to say the least. Where was "A Japanese Dream" or "Harold & Joe" or "2 Late"? Subsequently, fans had to hunt down singles, soundtracks, and compilations for these gems, while others were left in the dark as to what the band wasn't making readily available. So it's a blessing that the Cure's long and happy relationship with Fiction records came to an end. Wisely, the band decided to start fresh upon signing with their new label by cleaning house, remastering the old albums, and bringing their fans Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001. Not only is it the ultimate companion to the official releases, but it is, in a way, the new-super-deluxe-updated version of that cassette release of Staring at the Sea. Every B-side, in order, with cleaned-up sound, liner notes, and explanations by the man who made it all happen. All tracks, from "10.15 Saturday Night" (the B-side to the debut single "Killing an Arab") to covers of "Hello I Love You," "Purple Haze," and "World in My Eyes," to entries from the Bloodflowers singles, are an indication that while the Cure made both strong albums and singles, they were not afraid to experiment along the way, and more importantly, they didn't let pride keep them from not making them available to those who were willing to look for them. Their growth as a band can be fully tracked in the songs here, the wild development on disc one (which includes the B-sides from the Staring at the Sea cassette, the B-sides from the Boys Don't Cry re-release from 1986, and the Japanese Whispers B-sides -- as well as the extremely rare "Lament" [flexi-disc version]) -- is easily their strongest and most diverse era, with Smith growing artistically and musically in leaps and bounds from track to track. The rampant growth eventually gives way to the dark and heavy pop of the B-sides of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Disintegration, and Mixed Up on disc two. While the songs are strong on this second disc, they manage to have less of the wild, experimental abandon that disc one has. The Cure began to find a real niche by this point, and by disc three, the dream pop of the late '80s had developed into the stadium-sized gloom and doom that characterized 1992's Wish, their critical and commercial peak. Eventually the band's output would become more sporadic, and the level of consistency would be more of a trademark of the band than the experimentalism of old. Disc four, which covers the time from Wild Mood Swings to Bloodflowers (and the admittedly odd Greatest Hits collection), is the "weakest" of the collection, but there are still great moments to be found, with many remixes that give the original tracks a new interpretation. There are those who would argue that the band grew, and other would argue that it fell apart, yet there is no denying that the majority of work on Join the Dots is extraordinarily strong. It admittedly may be a bit too much for someone who isn't quite a big devotee of the band, but it's a veritable godsend for those who've been waiting for this for years. No jumbled, out-of-order track listings, no glaring omissions (it's safe to say that the reissues of the albums will take care of any extra tracks, mixes, etc., lying around) -- it's exactly what a rarities/B-sides collection should be. Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001 is proof that, while the band may falter from time to time -- as most do -- the Cure has, unlike most, really been paying attention to their fans' needs over the years. Thank Rob for that. ~ Chris True\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nA testament to the Cure's explosive creativity, Join the Dots is also an ode to the band's remarkable consistency. Spanning the group's entire career, it'll keep fans happily burrowing away for hours; days, even. Disc 1 concentrates on Robert Smith's early growth spurts, when his jerky goth-pop blossomed with depth and savvy. Disc 2 recycles some of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me's motifs (there's a touch of "A Thousand Hours" in "Breath," for instance), and pays tribute to their early-90s Mixed Up Madchester phase with "Harold and Joe." Elsewhere, there are covers of "Young Americans," Depeche Mode's "World in My Eyes," "Purple Haze," and three versions of the Doors' "Hello I Love You," as well as more recent material like an acoustic version of "Maybe Someday" from 2000's Bloodflowers. The handsome packaging features a complete career retrospective partially narrated by Smith himself. As a capstone to a brilliant career, Dots is a sublime walk down memory lane for tortured hearts and melancholy moods. --Matthew Cooke \n\nAmazon.com Album Description\nSubtitled - B-sides & Rarities 1978-2001 - The Fiction Years. First-ever collection of hard-to-find gems in a career-spanning four-disc remastered set. As The Cure nears its third decade at the forefront of pop culture, Universal, Rhino & Fiction/Elektra are celebrating the band's remarkable career with this collection. 70 tracks compiled by Robert Smith, 25 on CD for the first time & 10 tracks previously unreleased. Includes 76-page booklet featuring rare & previously unseen photographs & a complete Fiction discography. Packaged in long-digibook format. 2004. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nFinally....the complete B-Sides !!!, August 7, 2004 \nReviewer: Jeffrey Baer "Critical Cure" (Thorofare, New Jersey United States)\n\nOk....I don't have this box set yet, probably because I've made my own complete collection of all the B-Sides. Someday I'll remind myself to get this for the fact that it's an OFFICIAL release while mine is a mere creation of my own work. Anyway....this doesn't lose any stars for the fact that the Robert Smith has answered all the fans requests since 1998's release of 'Galore - The Singles 1987-1997'. If you remember, it was released on (Limited Edition vinyl, cassette, and CD). All formats were the same, meaning it didn't include ANY B-Sides from 1987-1997, don't know why, I guess we'll never know why. At any rate, fans were quite preturbed to discover this so called "cheat" to Cure fans. 'Standing on the beach / Staring At the sea - The Singles 1979-1985-86' included the B-Sides from '79-'85-'86 (cassette only). That is now out of print, and has been for some time now, 1995 to be precise. SO......without further ado, here you have the long out of print B-Sides 1979-1985, plus the long awaited B-Sides never before released in a collection of it's own, 1987-2001. "But...but....but....it doesn't have 'Carnage Visors', it doesn't have 'The Peel Sessions', uhhhh....it doesn't have the 'Curiosity' songs". GET OVER IT!!!! I'm sure Robert Smith is well aware of all this and will release it accordingly. For fans who have the albums Faith, Pornography, and Three Imaginary Boys'. You all know Rhino Records is releasing these in expanded editons, eventually. For all that are worried that they have to shell out more money for songs they already have, do it anyway. "But what am I going to do with the copies of those albums I already have", here's a novel idea, there's a site called 'Ebay', and services within' 'Amazon' to accomodate your needs, use them!! I'm sure any newbie to 'The Cure' will be most honored, and gracious to buy your old copies. This collection 'Join The Dots' has been set out to do exactly what it's supposed to do, to compliment the material that hasn't been released on any of The Cure's albums! \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nA Boxed Set Worth Having, May 13, 2004\nReviewer: D.M. Davis (Salt Lake City, Utah)\nThe Cure's four disc "Join The Dots" boxed set is the rare box set that is a must have for both comnpletists and novists alike. \nCompletists need it as it shows a complete alternate reality/history of The Cure (not to mention the wonderfully direct history of the band included in the liner notes). It parallels the many stages, phases, and styles that Robert Smith and the boys have experimented with and morphed in to (and out of) while gathering the numerous rarities, b-sides, alternate versions and non-album tracks that The Cure have recorded over their 25 year career. \n\nNovists need this set because to be honest - nearly all of the songs are damn good. Many of these songs could have been on the albums proper (sometimes they were left off simply because they didn't fit the style of the album, or sometimes the band had written an overabundance of quality material). "Pillbox Tales" (with Banshee Siouxsie Sioux on background wailing) is good enough to be on either "Boys Don't Cry" or "Seventeen Seconds" but doesn't really fit into the style of either album. While "Charlotte Sometimes" b-side "Splintered In Her Head" would have fit in on "Pornography" perfectly and foreshadowed what was to come with that classic album.\n\nFrom there the songs even get better: "The Exploding Boy", "A Few Hours After This...", and "Stop Dead" all could have been on "The Head on the Door" and likely would have been had this album been made in the CD, rather than the casette, era. The tracks from the "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" era are good typical cure tracks from that era with two standouts in "A Japanese Dream" and "Sugar Girl" that would have been great on the album. The "Disintegration" album is near perfect as is and I wouldn't mess with it. That said, "Fear of Ghosts" is a perfect fit for that album, while "To The Sky", "2 Late", and "Out Of Mind" are all good tracks that simply would not have fit in on "Disintegration" and were rightly left off for stylistic reasons despite the fact that the songs are all very good. "Babble" is of a little lower quality but is a sonic cousin of the song "Disintegration".\n\nThe songs that are from the "Wish" era on these CD's are among some of the strongest and I can't for the life of me understand why some of these tracks were left off of that album. "This Twilight Garden" is a flat-out masterpiece that would have fit in on "Wish" or "Disintegration", while "Play" is an elegant and understated ballad. Furthermore, both "The Big Hand" and "A Foolish Arrangement" would have fit nicely as well as they are both moody pop gems that are similar to much of "Wish". Heck, the cover art of "Wish" is even based on "The Big Hand".\n\nInterestingly, many of the tracks included on "Join The Dots" that were outtakes from "Wild Mood Swings" are more "classic" sounding Cure than much of that album. "It Used To Be Me", "Ocean", and "Adonais" are all maudlin Cure-esque ballads while "A Pink Dream" is a frothy latter day Cure pop piece ala "Friday I'm In Love", "High", or "Mint Car".\n\nFinally, "Coming Up" and "Possession" are "Bloodflowers" outtakes that indicate the original direction that album was to take. Both tracks are solid with hard rock/techno beat overtones in the general tone of "Wrong Number" from "Galore". I will admit while I like these tracks I prefer the direction "Bloodflowers" ended up going in.\n\nFinally, "Join The Dots" collects the various soundtrack and compilation album songs the Cure have done. Some are excellent, like "Burn" from The Crow and "More Than This" from the X-Files. Others are interesting such as the Jimi Hendrix and Doors covers, while a couple are misses - Judge Dredd's "Dredd Song". Finally, the amazing "Greatest Hits" outtake "Signal To Noise" which can serve as the single for this box set (although not officially) which is a good enough song to beg the question as to why they are not recording a new album.\n\nIf you own everything Cure or just the Greatest Hits - spend the $60 and get "Join The Dots".\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nA Treasure for Cure Completists, March 4, 2004\nReviewer: SandmanVI (Glen Allen, VA United States)\nIf you are not a big Cure fan then go away. This is not for you. If you are keep reading.\nIt's great to finally have all of those wonderful B-sides and rarities in 1 place. And it's about time those great songs from the b-side of the 'Staring at the Sea' tape got remastered (wasn't that outtake collection called 'Standing on a Beach'). You'll also get lots of remixes and covers. Having 3 versions of The Doors' cover "Hello I Love You" seems excessive but I'd rather have more than less - wouldn't you? They also have the Bowie cover "Young Americans". Wondering why they didn't include Hendrix' "Foxy Lady" though. Do you realize The Cure has done 3 Hendrix covers (Hey Joe, Foxy Lady and Purple Haze)?\n\nThe most pleasant surprise was the inclusion of the painfully hard-to-find "To the Sky" from the b-side of the 'Concert' live tape release. The biggest disappointment is the non-inclusion of the excellent "Forever" from that same release. Why o' why can they not release this on CD?! And I'll bet you that it doesn't find it's way onto any of the upcoming studio remasters because it wasn't a b-side from any particular release. Also missing are "Carnage Visors" and "Curiousity". Still the collection is nearly complete and long overdue.\n\nThe packaging is very nicely done. It looks like a long, thin hardcover book (I didn't just say long, thin and hard did I?) and includes loads of color photos spanning the band's history. Also includes a narrative history that I plan to read soon.\n\nOK now, less reading... more buying.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nI Won't Lie, Not Everything The Cure Make Is Good., February 19, 2004\nReviewer: R. Brown "fallchildren" (HSV, AR)\nSo let's get this out of the way right away. In my personal opinion pretty much everything starting with "Boys Don't Cry" and ending with "Disintegration" is the only Cure stuff worth even considering. Let's face it, the albums went down hill fast. "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" shows the song writing ability of a drunken retard, "Blood Flowers" was a close-but-no-cigar attempt at getting back into the mood of "Pornography" and "Disintegration", and "Wild Mood Swings" is just awful. Okay, I'll give you "Wish", "Wish" is the only great album The Cure have made since 89'. Which leads me, instantly, to tell you that Discs 3 and 4 on this collection are worthless. \nDisc Four is variant/remixed versions of stuff on "Wild Mood Swings" and "BloodFlowers", did we really need a remix of "Out Of This World" arguably the only good song on Bloodflowers? I mean, come on, it's a somber acoustic guitar song, and now it has fat funky booty beats and microwave malfunction sounds? The only good song on Disc Four is "This is a Lie" the only tolerable song on Wild Mood Swings, and the mix is basically just all string instruments, it's pretty, i'll say it.\n\nDisc Three starts off with B-sides from "Wish", which is an album I like to begin with, and the B-sides are obviously related to the feeling of that album, so those were songs I liked. However, disc three trails off into a bunch of horrible songs that The Cure had made for various sound tracks. Oh and just in case you weren't enjoying yourself enough as it is, there are three versions of The Cure covering "Purple Haze" mixed in with "Wild Mood Swings" B-sides, a true excersize in torture. The only redeeming things on this disc are the "Wish" b-sides, and the song "Burn" which The Cure did for the movie "The Crow", I consider this to be their best song ever (hence the reason robert smith lumped it in on the crap disc in the box set).\n\nDisc Two starts off bad with "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" B-sides, get's better with the Disintegration b-sides, but then goes back to bad when I have to listen to three intolerable covers of The Doors song "Hello I Love You". God kill me now, please.\n\nDisc One is the best disc in the box. It includes B-sides from "Boys Don't Cry", "Seventeen Seconds", "Faith", some variant stuff from "Japanese Whispers", and some select B-sides from "Head on the Door"-era Cure. I really like this disc, and wish I could say all the others were as good. This disc is the reason I passed the box-set off with three stars.\n\nHere's the big problem I had with the box. NO PORNOGRAPHY B-SIDES!!! Pornography is my favorite album from The Cure, and I was hoping and praying that this box-set would have some rare or variant stuff that hadn't been released that would be on here for me to dance like a giddy school girl in the joy of it's presence, but no. And I think there could have been more Disintegration stuff, I've got singles that have some B-sides from Disintegration that weren't on the box. Anyway, I was thoroughly disappointed by this Box Set, it's been a while since I've been able to say I bought anything new from The Cure that was awesome, and unfortunately I have to keep waiting. One upside to the Box Set you ask? The book that it comes in is cool.\n\nKey Songs: Leave me alone I don't want to talk about it...\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nNicely Presented, Nearly Complete, February 10, 2004\nReviewer: Thomas Horan (Chapel Hill, NC)\n\nThis pretty terrific box of b-sides and rarities was originally issued in the UK and has now been released here in America. Though it's a welcome collection anywhere, it was intended for a British audience, so space is consumed by songs which most US fans have already, while some material that's probably easier to obtain in England is sadly excluded. \nFor example: 10:15 Saturday Night, Plastic Passion, Just One Kiss, The Dream, The Upstairs Room, Lament, and Speak My Language have all been available for years in America on such albums as Japanese Whispers and Boys Don't Cry. While stuff like Curiosity, Carnage Visors, and the club mix of the Boys Don't Cry single were only briefly available in America (generally on cassette) and at stiff import prices. Maybe these gems will appear as bonus tracks on the forthcoming reissues, but it's an expensive hassle to rebuy albums you've had and played for years just for a handful of otherwise ungettable tunes that could easily have been included here. So much exquisite care went into the liner notes and packaging of this four-disc set that it might have been worth the extra time to prepare a US version to satisfy Cure completists on this side of the pond. \n\nI also think there are some rare but useless songs on this compilation that again just fill space. Do we really need multiple versions of mediocre covers like Hello I Love You and Purple Haze? And the remixes are almost all inferior to the originals. \n\nMy complaints are kinda nit-picky, but since only hardcore fans will likely purchase this box set, buyers should probably be aware of them. \n\nIn sum, Join The Dots is a highly enjoyable release that needlessly falls just short of perfection.\n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nThe Cure includes: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar); Porl Thompson (guitar); Simon Gallup, Michael Dempsey (bass); Lol Tolhurst (drums).Producers include: Chris Parry, Robert Smith, Mike Hedges, Dave Allen, The Cure.\n\nCompilation producer: Robert Smith.\nRecorded between 1978 & 2001. \nIncludes liner notes by Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, and Johnny Black.\nIncludes 76-page book.\n\nA remarkable four-disc set of B-sides and rarities, JOIN THE DOTS serves as a sort of alternate history for the Cure, one of the world's most beloved post-punk/alt-rock bands. Painstakingly compiled by Cure frontman (and the group's only constant member) Robert Smith, DOTS provides dozens of glimpses into the literal flip-side of their singles by collecting many long-lost tracks, including the classic songs previously featured only on the cassette version of STARING AT THE SEA: THE SINGLES.Disc one begins in the late 1970s and consists of early tracks that show the Cure in a wildly adventurous mode--tearing into the punky "Pillbox Tales," drifting through the gloomy "Descent," and bouncing along to the oddly danceable "Throw Your Foot." By disc two, Smith and the lads have become college-rock heroes, and despite their goth looks, they move steadily into poppier territory on songs such as the synth-laden "Breathe" and the upbeat "Hey You!!!," eventually settling into their dreamy post-DISINTEGRATION era on "This Twilight Garden," "Halo," and "Home" on the third and fourth discs. Also included are cover tunes and remixes, topping off an impressive collection that features many could've-been A-sides (particularly "The Exploding Boy," "Harold and Joe," and "Signal to Noise") and reveals why a younger generation has become entranced by the Cure's dynamic sound.
This blues cd contains 22 tracks and runs 74min 31sec.
Freedb: 4e117516

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