The other day I read in the paper that The Cure had recently played Radio City Music Hall. I was really not too disappointed in missing the show. Let’s face it; The Cure is not the most exciting live acts. Further reading showed that it was not just another Cure concert. The band had played their first three albums in their entirety. Normally I am not a huge fan of the “Album in its Entirety” concerts. I feel they cheat you a little bit. Maybe THAT album is pretty good but you want to hear the songs but what about the many other albums the band has released?
Anyway, back to The Cure. So when I read about this past concert were they played Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds and Faith in “their entirety”. I wasn’t upset about missing the concert. What it did was make me think about those three albums. How much I loved those three albums and how important they were to forming my musical mind. The rest of The Cure’s albums, at least up to Disintegration, I loved too. I’ll write about those another time. Since Radio City Music Hall has already brought them up, for now let’s focus those first three. Three Imaginary Boys today, Seventeen Seconds tomorrow and Faith on Friday
Three Imaginary Boys – 1979 – Like many people my age the first exposure to the Cure was the singles compilation Standing on a Beach. Somehow one of my friends scored a copy off an older brother and brought it before us. Listening to that compilation would prove to be a life changing experience, well at least to a 13 year old kid just being exposed to new “alternative” music. All the full albums by our new favorite band would have to now be acquired.
Although just about every track on Standing on A Beach was incredible and would act as our blueprint to this band, the tracks I was most drawn to were the first three. “Killing an Arab”, “Jumping Someone else’s Train” and the song I had just viewed the new video coinciding with Standing on A Beach, “Boy’s Don’t Cry”. According to the linear notes in Standing on a Beach these three tracks were some of the first songs recorded by The Cure. I figured they would be found on the first album Three Imaginary Boys. This would have to be the first album purchased.
In 1986 Three Imaginary Boys was not readily available. The albums closer to Standing on a Beach had been released on a much larger label and sat on the shelf of most major record chains. Three Imaginary Boys was only available on the import label. Fiction records. It took a few tries but a copy was finally found on a journey to Georgetown with my family.
The album begins with the bouncy “10:15 on a Saturday Night”. It is almost impossible to listen without you head bobbing up and down. The song is perfectly illustrated when lead singer Robert Smith sings “The tap drips, drip, drip, drip”. You can close you eyes and picture a drop of water falling from the spout with each “drip" he sings. A couple of minutes into the song a sharp guitar solo stands out from the rest of the song before going back to a bounce and getting lower and lower until another lower riff closes it out. This would become one of the traits to would attract me to the early Cure.
Track Two "Accuracy" keeps a steady lazy guitar bounce, almost a dub regae pace. Although the song is entirely based on the subjet of practicing to achieve “Accuracy” the song sound like it almost has none whatsoever, purposely contradicting the songs title. I always took this as even though Three maginary Boys was overall a serious album this young band could still poke little fun at itself.
“Grinding Halt”, Track Three becomes the first of The Cure’s song with a fast pace. Well fast paced for a band which would become known for Is’s doom and gloom dark sound. The song’s steady groove will almost force you to dance around your room or drive your car a little faster before the songs does exclty what the it’s title says.
“Another Day” comes off as a early sign of the darker and slower sound the Cure would take on later but at the fact there are only three members of the band allows the song to still carry the stripped down punk sound of the this first album.
The next song “Object” brings back the faster almost punk rock pace of track three only this time even faster. With Robert taking on a snarl for the song’s jilted vocals.
Track 6 “Subway Song” closes out the first side of the album with a slow steady beat almost like those of tracks 1 and 2. This time Robert Smith’s vocals are at a whisper. You can feel the tension of a person walking nervously around a late night deserted subway station. Closing your eyes you can even picture it. The song becomes quiter and quieter building even more tension before a surprise at the end.
Side Two of the album begins with what sounds like the band fooling around with their instruments in the studio before transforming into a rousing version of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" ,done with the steady beat and out front guitar The Cure had already displayed so well on side one, the heaviness of Jimi's guitar replaced with Robert Smith's jagged riffs. Even though Smith would always voice his distaste for this cover, saying it was only a sound check and not supposed to be on the record, I feel it is done just right with the band showing respect to the Hendrix version while still making the song their own.
Track 8 "Meathook" and Track 10 "Fire In Cairo" picks up once again with the slowed down pace of track 1 and once again it is impossible to keep you head from bouncing up and down while they play. "Fire In Cairo" is especially addicting, it's enunciated chorus of "F-I-R-E-I-N-C-A-I-R-O" will be stuck you your head for days. In between these two track is "So What" and it comes off as the sound of band blowing off some steam in the studio
Track 11 "It's Not You" is almost a continuation of "Object". The hooks are present,the pace is picked up and Robert once again becomes a little snarly.
The album closes out with the title track "Three Imaginary Boys". The song is pretty downbeat, showing a little of The Cure's future sound, but halfway through the guitars really kick in reminding us they are still a punk force to be reckoned with
But when the album was finished three of the songs from Standing on a Beach which most of all drew me to the Cure were missing. I then found out there was a US version of Three Imaginary Boys entitled Boy’s Don’t Cry. Even though it is technically not an album I always preferred this version. Gone are the songs “Meathook”, “It’s Not you” and the “Foxy Lady” cover, but in their place are the singles “Jumping Someone Else's train”, “Killing and Arab” and arguably the Cure’s best and most popular song “Boy’s Don’t Cry”. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" has the best of the driving pace. Even done better then Grinding Halt and Object. This track would appear on most of my driving mixes when I would get my licence a few years later. “Killing an Arab”, also one of the songs The Cure is most known for has that great head bobbing rhythm. The song’s subject matter is based on Albert Camus’s novel “The Stranger”, a book 14 year olds were not really too into. Many years later the novel would become one of my favorite I'm sure in part to hearing The Cure's song so many years earlier.
Side Two of the album begins with what sounds like the band fooling around with their instruments in the studio before transforming into a rousing version of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" ,done with the steady beat and out front guitar The Cure had already displayed so well on side one, the heaviness of Jimi's guitar replaced with Robert Smith's jagged riffs. Even though Smith would always voice his distaste for this cover, saying it was only a sound check and not supposed to be on the record, I feel it is done just right with the band showing respect to the Hendrix version while still making the song their own.
Track 8 "Meathook" and Track 10 "Fire In Cairo" picks up once again with the slowed down pace of track 1 and once again it is impossible to keep you head from bouncing up and down while they play. "Fire In Cairo" is especially addicting, it's enunciated chorus of "F-I-R-E-I-N-C-A-I-R-O" will be stuck you your head for days. In between these two track is "So What" and it comes off as the sound of band blowing off some steam in the studio
Track 11 "It's Not You" is almost a continuation of "Object". The hooks are present,the pace is picked up and Robert once again becomes a little snarly.
The album closes out with the title track "Three Imaginary Boys". The song is pretty downbeat, showing a little of The Cure's future sound, but halfway through the guitars really kick in reminding us they are still a punk force to be reckoned with
From the day I first saw the video at 13 years old to this day, "Boy's Don't Cry" has been one of my all-time favorite songs. If you are reading this blog I probably do not have to describe the song too much to you but even so I have to say the songs subject matter describes perfectly what most guy have gone through at sometime in their life. The songs hook is also among the best and also one of the most instantly recognizable of all-time.
Overall I prefer Boy's don't Cry over Three Imaginary Boys. All of the songs included are perfect. Even the changed order of tracks makes the record sound better than it's UK counterpart.
I remember perfectly how while walking home from school my Freshman year of High School with Boy’s Don’t Cry on my headphones, the auto reverse of my Walkman flipping it over as side one ends, then again when side two is complete.
Years later both albums are still played regularly on
my iPod
I remember perfectly how while walking home from school my Freshman year of High School with Boy’s Don’t Cry on my headphones, the auto reverse of my Walkman flipping it over as side one ends, then again when side two is complete.
Years later both albums are still played regularly on
my iPod
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