The Cure: Boys Don't Cry CD Track Listing

A list by checkmate

The Cure Boys Don't Cry (1979)
Originally Released June 1979\n''Boys Don't Cry'' LP (US Edition) Originally Released January 1980\nCD Edition (US) ''Boys Don't Cry'' Released February 1988\nDeluxe 2CD Edition Released December 7, 2004\nRemastered 1CD Edition Released April 4, 2006\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: (''Boys Don't Cry'') Falling somewhere between official release and compilation, Boys Don't Cry was released in February 1980 in hopes to get the band exposure outside of the U.K.. It captures the first phase of the band well, showcasing the angular new wave that had garnered them acclaim in England. What separates this from the debut full-length (and thus qualifying it as an 'official' release) is that unlike Three Imaginary Boys, the first three singles ("Killing an Arab," "Boys Don't Cry," and "Jumping Someone Else's Train") are included, and tracks like "So What" (the one with lyrics read off a sugar packet) are dropped in favor of the excellent "World War" and "Plastic Passion." A good starting point for getting up to speed on this era of the band, it works best when paired up with Three Imaginary Boys; then you'll get the complete picture. -- Chris True\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Reviews (''Boys Don't Cry'')\nWhen Robert Smith's long-running group made this debut (actually the resequenced American version of the British Three Imaginary Boys), they weren't the Goth-and-reverb, new wave heroes they later became; they were just a trio of disaffected kids who didn't like what was on the radio, because it wasn't smart enough or dark enough. Smith's lyrics are bleakly sarcastic (as when he spells out the title of "Fire in Cairo") and literate (the single "Killing an Arab," a nihilistic sketch based on a scene from Albert Camus's The Stranger). The band matches them with swift, tingling arrangements that dodge skillfully around rock's machismo and self-indulgence, even when Smith launches into the occasional gnarled little solo. --Douglas Wolk\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (''Boys Don't Cry'')\nOnly glimmers of the greatness to come, February 20, 2006\nReviewer: Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City)\nThis is, not, technically the band's debut: that came in the British release of THREE IMAGINARY BOYS (which has a slightly different track lineup). But for us Yanks, this is the album that introduced Robert Smith and company. The multi-layered wash of guitar and keyboard is nowhere in evidence on this one, though. [Think stripped back angular post-punk new wave rock.] \n\nThere's plenty of experimentation here..some of it works (the shattering scream that ends the claustrophobic stalker tune "Subway Song"..just as you think the intended victim has safely escaped) some doesn't (the scattershot use of phrases from advertisements in "So What"). \n\nHIGHLIGHTS: \nThe title track is the closest you get to the sound the Cure would evolve into. Shimmering guitars collide with Smith's admission that this time he's hurt his girl too much and it's finally over for good. ("I try to laugh about it/Hiding the tears in my eyes") "10:15 Saturday Night" is the aftermath of that loss..Smith waiting for the phone call that will never come ("And I'm sitting/In the kitchen sink/And the tap drips/Drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip") Anti-conformity anthem "Jumping Someone Else's Train" sparkles ("The old ideal/Was getting such a bore/Now you're back in line/Going not quite quite as far..") "Killing an Arab" paints the detachment of the act itself ("I feel the steel [...] jump/Smooth in my hand..") and the realization of what he's done ("Staring at myself/Reflected in the eyes/Of the dead man on the beach") \n\nLOWS: \nThe lyrical pastiche that comprises most of "So What" is NOT "brilliant"..it's simply oddball. I guess Robert's going for a sense that the world is nothing but noise without the woman he's lost ("Forget all the lies forgive me the wounds/And all the world was used to love/And yes we'd still be happy in another time/But so what?") but it's a theme he approached in "10:15 Saturday Night" in a much more memorable fashion. "Another Day" is plodding and dull. Surely there's another way to evoke boredom than with boring music? \n\nBOTTOM LINE: \nIf the words "raw" or "stripped-back" in a music review raise a contented sigh in you, this will probably be up your alley. If it's the lusher productions of latter-day Cure (a la "Lovesong" or "Pictures of You") that do it for you, this may not hit the spot. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (''Boys Don't Cry'')\nSolid American Debut by Cure, February 19, 2004\nReviewer: SandmanVI (Glen Allen, VA United States)\nBasically the same as their actual debut '3 Imaginary Boys' with the addition of the singles "Killing an Arab" based on Camus' "The Stranger" and the uptempo, anti-conformity ditty "Jumping Someone Else's Train". Too bad they dropped the cover of Hendrix' "Foxy Lady". The title track is amazing; I always to compare it to Bauhaus' "She's in Parties" as one of the best post-punk, pre-Goth masterpieces. It's soaked in reverb and echoes, dreamy and dark, distant and edgy. The disc is a must for fans and non-fans would like it as well. It's easily more accessible than the bleak efforts that followed. If you have this then the British debut '3IB' is unnecessary unless you are a true Cure completist (disclosure - I have both).\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Chris Parry \n\nAlbum Notes\nThe Cure: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar); Michael Dempsey (vocals, bass); Lol Tolhurst (drums).\n\nRecorded at Morgan Studios, London, England in 1979.\n\nInaugurating the shadowy gloom/blissful pop combination that became the Cure's trademark, BOYS DON'T CRY contains healthy portions of both, along with a dose of punk-fueled angst befitting the times in which it was recorded. Robert Smith reveals himself as an alarmingly developed songwriter--though he was still in his late teens when these songs were written, his compositional abilities are as impressive as the potential they reveal.\n\nThe album produced a string of hits, several of which were to remain signature tunes for the group throughout their lengthy tenure in pop's upper strata. The title track, as touchingly naive and vulnerable a love song as one could ask for, is the album's best-known song. "Killing An Arab," based on a famous passage from "The Stranger," attracted controversy while it displayed Smith's burgeoning taste in exotic compositional textures. The gently bizarre "10:15 Saturday Night" is a calm study in dynamics, while "Jumping Someone Else's Train" is a cry for individuality, a sentiment truly at the heart of this and all the group's work.
This rock cd contains 12 tracks and runs 33min 42sec.
Freedb: 9007e40c
Buy: from Amazon.com

Categories

Latest lists

The Cure: Boys Don't Cry CD Track Listing

Category

Tags

cyList

Legal