While everyone is still meme'ing that insipid "It's gonna be May" bullshit, I felt that it was time to remind the masses that good music exists in the world, even if it is 30 years old.
The Cure, Disintegration was released on this day back in 1989. I was about to turn ll, and for whatever reason, I vividly remember asking my mother why on earth she was playing so much Cure on this day because it did not sound like anything, I had remembered... Then... The reason for this is, The Cure as a group had gone from their Darkwave style rather dramatically over the years since their first album, Three Imaginary Boys, in 1979. Right up into 1982 with Pornography, they were the gold standard for Goth Rock/Darkwave/Gloom introspective culture. It would be a whole 10 years until I adopted that lifestyle, but when I did, you best believe that The Cure was my go-to when it was not Bauhaus, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Echo & The Bunnymen, OMD, and of course, The Smiths.
Disintegration was a full return to form for Robert Smith and the Cure. They had gone the long and dusty road of popish music and commercialism for the sake of mainstream success. As usual, in addition to alienating the core fans of the band, it sent Robert Smith back into the drug-induced haze that for better or worse, fueled the group's comeuppance. It is sad the price of success is sanity and health, but, in 1989, they went back to basics and purposefully went for the kind of dark that only someone who has seen some shit could talk about.
Lullaby
It took The Cure 8 albums to create something that is widely considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time. Their first single, Lullaby, easily in my top 5 favorite songs of all time, (Ask me about that list sometime.), was their first single to ever reach #1 in the UK. Think about that for a minute... 8 albums with countless singles and it took one of the darkest songs they have ever done to reach #1!? In the states it was a different story, they had long been successful and popular, but it took songs like Fascination Street and Pictures of You to put this album over the top. (Figures, it would be the most commercial, least dark songs on the album... Yeah, I threw that shade.) In fairness though, Lovesong did become a #1 hit in the US, so I guess there was some hope there, right? Regardless, Robert Smith was actively looking to make an album darker than he has done before. He was in a very different headspace. The band was wildly popular for the wrong reasons and he was strung out. he was calling for the band to break up! Talk about not being able to handle fame. In the states, it was all stadium level shows at that point. Following the Prayer Tour that summer, after winning numerous awards and claiming to not want to tour or record anymore. Fortunately, or unfortunately that was not the case.
The Cure would go on to record 6 more studio albums, none of them reaching the success or popularity of Disintegration, but, all of them dragging pieces of it with them. So yeah... That is what we celebrate on this day...
Just know, when you weren't listening to Madonna in her prime when Donny Osmond was a soldier when Jodie Watley was a 1 hit wonder, and when the Fine Young Cannibals were driving you crazy with that incessant song, there was the Cure. They came back to form with one of the greatest albums, ever.
Information about this release pictured above:
I picked this up sealed from Academy Records in NYC. It's the 2010 remastered reissue, which kind of throws me given the hype sticker on the front. I mean, technically, they're not wrong. It is the first time it's been issued on 2LP's, but, it's certainly been released on vinyl before, many times actually. Polydor did it and did it well along with Electra back in 1989. You can find an original for around $30+ depending on condition. Curiously, the reissue is significantly less depending on where you get it and what condition it is. Expect anywhere from $15-30. As if I had to mention it, on vinyl.
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