Disintegration (Deluxe Edition)

The Cure
Disintegration (Deluxe Edition)
Rating: Chilfos

For me, Disintegration was perhaps THE defining cd of my college years. And there were a lot of great cds released during 1988-1992: among them, Loveless from My Bloody Valentine, Violater from Depeche Mode, Pretty Hate Machine from NIN, Surfer Rosa and Doolittle from The Pixies, Spirit of Eden from Talk Talk, Jordan: The Comeback from Prefab Sprout (to name merely a few); cds that I continually go back and listen to and always find something new. But Disintegration for some reason is the one I go back to the most often. And the funny thing is that I probably list Loveless as my favorite cd of all time (I guess it is the hipster douchebag in me coming out). I suppose I will alter my list if I ever come up with one.

I'm not really going to review the Deluxe Edition of the cd, mainly because the live show is just ok and doesn't really add anything to the songs other than offer a pristine live performance, and the bonus material is nothing brilliant either; only demo versions and songs that didn't make it onto the initial release. But, the cd itself sounds so much clearer and less murky than my copy from 1989. Because what Disintegration is all about in The Cure's discography is Robert Smith making a true "Cure" cd, something that is cohesive and not sounding like bits and pieces strung together. Although it is 100% Robert Smith, Disintegration sounds like the work of a very tight band; and in fact it was probably the most members Smith had been working with for the longest time. Don't get me wrong, I love almost all of The Cure's output before Disintegration, but a lot of times the albums sounded like they were compilations from different periods. Disintegration sounds so whole and direct.

Immediately you know the album is going to be something different. The gorgeous, epic rush of "Plainsong" is perhaps their finest opening song ever. It almost sounds like a coronation anthem (which is perhaps why Sofia Coppola used it do effectively in her Marie Antoinette film).



And the singles still pop with energy. From "Fascination Street"



to "Love Song"



and "Pictures of You" the songs still sound as fresh and dynamic as they did over 20 years ago.

Of course, to me the album is always about the title song:



Such a wonderful song that just seethes with tension and raw emotion. It is definitely the centerpiece of this monumental album. And for me, Disintegration is one of the rare albums that has no weak songs. Each song could have been released as a single. And I love the air of dread and melancholy that pervades the album. Some of The Cure's most atmospheric songs came of this album:

The sinister "Prayers for Rain"



and haunting "Swimming the Same Deep Water As You"



Robert Smith was definitely at the height of his creative powers. While he may have written some individually better songs later on, he would never again match this overall high quality for an entire release. I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard this album, and remember listening to it for weeks on weeks, never tiring of it. I sort of miss the days when you couldn't get an album so quickly online, where every purchase took effort and so you chose wisely and with deliberation. I love putting my iPod on shuffle and getting one of Disintegration's songs in the mix. Inevitably it will mean I stop and play the full album and experience it as a whole. When was the last time you could say that about a current album?