Staring at the Sea: the Cure: Amazon.ca: Music

Frequently Bought Together

1. Killing An Arab

2. 10:15 Saturday Night

3. Boys Don't Cry

4. Jumping Someone Else's Train

5. A Forest

6. Play For Today

7. Primary

8. Other Voices

9. Charlotte Sometimes

10. The Hanging Garden

11. Let's Go To Bed

12. The Walk

13. The Lovecats

14. The Caterpillar

15. In Between Days

16. Close To Me

17. A Night Like This

Product Description

From 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

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Customer Reviews

52 Reviews

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (52 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh Meursault..., Jun 4 2004

By

mrgrieves08 (tucson) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Staring at the Sea (Audio CD)

What else can be said about this that hasn't already? We shall see. If there is just one album by the Cure that you could get (excluding Disintegration) by all means make this the one! This album includes a very nice array of earlier Cure material ranging from their brilliant ode to Camus (that alone makes this cd worth it) in Killing an Arab, the ironically cheerful Boys Don't Cry (oh, but they do) and the brooding atmosphere created in the Hanging Garden to the wonderful meandering of A Forest and playfully upbeat tempo created by Close to Me, brass and all, the Lovecats and of course the beutifully simplistic The Caterpillar.
There are just so many great songs on this album it is hard to describe mention them all; every track is truly a jewel, and, perhaps, most impressive is the range of emotion and subject matter that the Cure covers here, all with brilliance, wit and a graceful passion unmatched in most music that is being made today. In this collection, as with all of the Cure's material, Robert Smith's lyrics ring true and the accompanying music never fails to intensify the the mood that they evoke. The Cure are without a doubt one of the best bands to come out of the 70's and 80's and this album illustrates why. Go on go on your choice is made...

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Cure: a singles band? Here's proof..., May 11 2004

By

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Staring at the Sea (Audio CD)

Thanks to the recent TV commercial for HP Digital cameras, I found myself really wanting to have some Cure in my life again and went looking for "Pictures Of You." Yes, at one time I had almost all the Cure CD's in my collection, but time and economics had weeded them away. "Staring At The Sea" offered me an opportunity to get a batch of other songs I remembered with fondness.

As dark and morose as The Cure's image had always been, their albums up to "The Head On The Door" frequently found them making dazzlingly brilliant singles. Hard to believe it, but Robert Smith was just as pop song smart as any New Romantic period hit maker, and in songs like "The Walk" or "Love Cats" he showed the kind of playfulness that many of his fans didn't always "get." Nonetheless, early efforts like "Killing An Arab" or "Hanging Garden" reinforced that dark depressive atmosphere that early Cure fans embraced so completely. Smith himself never had any problem with playing against preconceived notions of what a Cure song should be; I doubt a jazzy Robert ("Let's Go To Bed") was in any goth fan's must hear list.

I also found it ironic that the "Staring at the Sea" image of an old man was mirrored by the baby with the ice cream on "Galore." If you wanted to read more into it, you'd almost suspect Robert Smith was gently trying to remind listeners that he didn't mind playing to his more childlike nature when making music. While there has yet to be a comprehensive single disc collection of the Cure's best, a purchase of "Galore" and "Standing" will at least put all the singles at your fingertips.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Charlotte Sometimes, May 4 2004

By

Herbert West (The Rabbit Hole) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Staring at the Sea (Audio CD)

The one reason to buy this is to have "Charlotte Sometimes" on cd. I myself own everything the cure has released but I had to buy this for that song. Charlotte Sometimes is the most dreamy and mysterious Cure song ever and I swear it puts me in a trance. It steals me away from my dreary life as a teenager with a dead end job and a so-far meaningless exisitence...sounds Cliche' huh?. Well, trust me this album is full of Cure classics but it holds the one Cure song that has a place im my heart forever. Keep an eye out for the new cure album coming...its going to be a great summer.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
A great start for new fans. Definitly one of the best compilations ever. There's no weak track here. Here are my favorites. Read more

Published on Jan 27 2004 by Zakk White

4.0 out of 5 stars Great CD, excellent cassette.
To the November 25th review, be glad you got the cassette. It's the only way you're going to get 12 of their early b-sides, and any "Cure" fan will tell you, they are as... Read more

Published on Jan 5 2004 by H3@+h