REVIEW: Cure, Galore (Elektra)
- Bob Gajarsky
Nearly twenty years after causing a furor with people who hadn't read Camus, the Cure have returned with a second jam-packed greatest hits album, Galore .
Spotlighting the last ten years of the Cure's existence, Galore contains all the commercial singles - as opposed to radio singles (such as the two tribute songs, the Doors' "Hello I Love You" and Jimi Hendrix' "Purple Haze" ) - which the band has released during the last yean years. And despite what die-hards may feel, during this span (with the possible exception of Disintegration ) the Cure have been a great singles band, but merely an adequate *album* band. In other words, 4 top notch songs and 6-8 fillers. Galore solves the problem by assembling all the singles in one collection.
When taken together, we can see how Robert Smith sometimes recycles his ideas for new songs; the psychedelic twists from Disintegration reappear on "A Letter To Elise", while "Mint Car" comes from "Friday I'm In Love" (which some say emanates from "Lovesong" ) and "Just Like Heaven" spawned a 'did/did not' copy among Cure and New Order fans in the late 80s. But at the same time, tracks such as "Why Can't I Be You," and "Never Enough" don't sound like anything else the Cure have recorded. The new track, "Wrong Number", continues the Cure's evolution, with quirky sound effects added to the mix. It's not groundbreaking, but shows Smith isn't content to simply stand still for new songs.
As a greatest hits collection, Galore helps accentuate the positive traits of the Cure's last ten years of existence. May Robert Smith long continue on.
TRACK LISTING: Why Can't I Be You?, Catch, Just Like Heaven, Hot Hot Hot, Lullaby, Fascination Street, Lovesong, Pictures Of You, Never Enough, Close To Me, High, Friday I'm In Love, A Letter To Elise, The 13th, Mint Car, Strange Attraction, Gone!, Wrong Number
