The Cure Album: “Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities 1978-2001 (The F”

Being a fan of the Cure since I first heard the Concert and Curiousity cassette in late 1984, I have always searched out the more difficult to find material, B-sides, concert bootlegs, etc. If, like me, you like that sort of thing, you won't want to miss "Join the Dots." And don't get me wrong, no one I know loves this band as much as I do. So first the good news: It is a treasure trove of rare tracks. And as other reviewers have noted, the sound is greatly improved on the earlier B-sides that were put on the cassette version of Standing on a Beach back in 1986, especially "I'm Cold" one of my personal favorites. And now the bad : Their are several B-sides here that are readily available ( the Japanese Whispers set for starters ) and a few live B-sides I was hoping for that are not ( the incredible "Faith" from the Charlotte Sometimes 12" single, and the cuts from the UK multi pack of the "Hanging Garden"). Maybe those will be included in next year's set of re-releases. I dock this one point for the covers included. The Cure have never been a covers band in my opinion. I have heard them tackle Hendrix before ( "Foxy Lady" on the "Three Imaginary Boys " cd, which Robert Smith either didn't want to, or just couldn't bring himself to sing, as that vocal was done by then bassist Michael Dempsey )and wasn't too impressed. The covers I found here are ill-conceived and poorly excecuted. Most especially the anemic version of Bowie's Young Americans. I shuddered when I first heard it, and skip it when it comes on my cd player. In fact I will more than likely burn the 4 disc set down to my favorite tracks, which will fill maybe 3 discs, and keep the originals in a safe place. One last note, the book that comes with "Join the Dots" actually makes me re think my 4 star rating, and give it 4 1/2 stars. It is invaluable for the Cure fan. Thanks for taking the time to read my review. J

The Cure's four disc "Join The Dots" boxed set is the rare box set that is a must have for both comnpletists and novists alike.

Completists need it as it shows a complete alternate reality/history of The Cure (not to mention the wonderfully direct history of the band included in the liner notes). It parallels the many stages, phases, and styles that Robert Smith and the boys have experimented with and morphed in to (and out of) while gathering the numerous rarities, b-sides, alternate versions and non-album tracks that The Cure have recorded over their 25 year career.

Novists need this set because to be honest - nearly all of the songs are damn good. Many of these songs could have been on the albums proper (sometimes they were left off simply because they didn't fit the style of the album, or sometimes the band had written an overabundance of quality material). "Pillbox Tales" (with Banshee Siouxsie Sioux on background wailing) is good enough to be on either "Boys Don't Cry" or "Seventeen Seconds" but doesn't really fit into the style of either album. While "Charlotte Sometimes" b-side "Splintered In Her Head" would have fit in on "Pornography" perfectly and foreshadowed what was to come with that classic album.

From there the songs even get better: "The Exploding Boy", "A Few Hours After This...", and "Stop Dead" all could have been on "The Head on the Door" and likely would have been had this album been made in the CD, rather than the casette, era. The tracks from the "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" era are good typical cure tracks from that era with two standouts in "A Japanese Dream" and "Sugar Girl" that would have been great on the album. The "Disintegration" album is near perfect as is and I wouldn't mess with it. That said, "Fear of Ghosts" is a perfect fit for that album, while "To The Sky", "2 Late", and "Out Of Mind" are all good tracks that simply would not have fit in on "Disintegration" and were rightly left off for stylistic reasons despite the fact that the songs are all very good. "Babble" is of a little lower quality but is a sonic cousin of the song "Disintegration".

The songs that are from the "Wish" era on these CD's are among some of the strongest and I can't for the life of me understand why some of these tracks were left off of that album. "This Twilight Garden" is a flat-out masterpiece that would have fit in on "Wish" or "Disintegration", while "Play" is an elegant and understated ballad. Furthermore, both "The Big Hand" and "A Foolish Arrangement" would have fit nicely as well as they are both moody pop gems that are similar to much of "Wish". Heck, the cover art of "Wish" is even based on "The Big Hand".

Interestingly, many of the tracks included on "Join The Dots" that were outtakes from "Wild Mood Swings" are more "classic" sounding Cure than much of that album. "It Used To Be Me", "Ocean", and "Adonais" are all maudlin Cure-esque ballads while "A Pink Dream" is a frothy latter day Cure pop piece ala "Friday I'm In Love", "High", or "Mint Car".

Finally, "Coming Up" and "Possession" are "Bloodflowers" outtakes that indicate the original direction that album was to take. Both tracks are solid with hard rock/techno beat overtones in the general tone of "Wrong Number" from "Galore". I will admit while I like these tracks I prefer the direction "Bloodflowers" ended up going in.

Finally, "Join The Dots" collects the various soundtrack and compilation album songs the Cure have done. Some are excellent, like "Burn" from The Crow and "More Than This" from the X-Files. Others are interesting such as the Jimi Hendrix and Doors covers, while a couple are misses - Judge Dredd's "Dredd Song". Finally, the amazing "Greatest Hits" outtake "Signal To Noise" which can serve as the single for this box set (although not officially) which is a good enough song to beg the question as to why they are not recording a new album.

If you own everything Cure or just the Greatest Hits - spend the $60 and get "Join The Dots".

If you were a diehard fan of the Cure and wanted to listen to their b-sides and rare tracks, you had mainly two options: listen to the original vinyl/CD single or grab the "Standing on a Beach" cassette, which had a bonus selection of early b-side cuts. "Join the Dots" now makes things easier for the fan who's got to own every hard-to-find release by the Cure. On 4 CDs, the band covers their 23-year discography of rarities, and all the tracks are digitally remastered under the supervision of Robert Smith. The first disc is a virtual trip down memory lane and it's easily the best, featuring songs that trace back to the Cure's punk roots. Notable gems are "I'm Cold," "Another Journey by Train," the orchestral "A Few Hours After This," and "Throw Your Foot." The second disc covers 1987-92, and by this point, the band found a mainstream audience in America. Its twin peaks are the poppy "2 Late" and the dark and atmospheric "Fear of Ghosts," which stands as good a track as anything off their 1989 album "Disintegration." Another highlight is a respectable cover of the Doors' "Hello, I Love You," and three versions of this song are found. Disc 3 covers 1992-1996, with some good tracks ("Play" and "This Twilight Garden") and some notable misfires, such as a cover of Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and a not-bad-but-pointless cover of Bowie's "Young Americans." The fourth disc, which covers 1996-01 finds the group experimenting with electronica with varying degrees of success. It's not a bad disc, and much of the stuff on here is good, but it's my least favorite among the four. Tracks that make it worth the trip are the Palmer remix of "This is a Lie," the Oakenford remix of the "Bloodflowers" cut "Out of this World," an acoustic version of "Signal to Noise," and the beautiful "More Than This" (which, by the way, is NOT a cover of the Roxy Music classic). All in all, "Join the Dots" is a no-questions-asked must buy for Cure diehards like myself, but first-timers who are green to the band should start with their studio albums first. For those who have been longing to get these tracks on CD, this is more than a box set. It's also an answered prayer.

I read through all the reviews for this CD collection and didn't see much focusing on the songs, so I thought I'd give my thoughts here on songs I liked and why.

Disc 1: 10:15 on a Saturday Night everyone's heard a zillion times, but the original Staring at the Sea mix was very quiet, whereas this one is volume boosted for modern stereos. (Just like all the other tracks on this compilation). Thank you!

Do the Hansa is a funny song poking fun of The Cure's early relationship with Hansa records (as detailed in the excellent liner notes). Another Journey by Train is the standout song on this CD, their first instrumental. Think of the "train tracks" closing sounds from Jumping Someone Else's Train, and you'll appreciate how this track compliments it. Descent is a quiet and moody instrumental, one can feel touches of A Forest in this.

Just One Kiss is a poppy little song that drums like The Hanging Garden, a nice feel. The Exploding Boy is something Robert Smith wrote upon feeling the weight of success, very spritely. A Few Hours After This is an interesting track, although after a few replays the overbearing keyboards get on your nerves.

Disc 2: A common theme on a lot of these tracks (and much early Cure for that matter) is for most of the song to be an instrumental, with Robert's vocals coming in for the latter third of the song. And so it is with many tracks on this CD, such as Breathe and Icing Sugar. Icing Sugar has a guest sax player that really improves the track over what made it onto Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me.

A Chain of Flowers is a very touching song about a girl's funeral, "please wake up". Robert's guitar is particularly haunting on this one. Sugar Girl is a delight, giving those light melodies that only Robert Smith could pull off. How Beautiful You Are is shorter than the Kiss album version, but it's just a different edit that works fine. To The Sky is just a delight as Robert sets up a hypnotic beat and chorus. Unusual for The Cure, yet beautiful.

Babble and Out of Mind are familiar to those who have the Fascination Street CD single, for some reason I don't like listening to them out of that sequence. 2Late and Fear of Ghosts were also on the Lovesong CD single, nothing new there. The final standout on this CD is Harold and Joe, with vocals reminiscent of Wrong Number and similar light touches.

Disc 3: This CD has some of the strongest tracks of the compilation, making one wonder why a lot of these were unreleased. I think the answer is that Robert Smith is the creative genius who makes these songs, and so he's too close to them or he's played them too many times to like them as much as we do. Be grateful he's releasing them now, they could actually tour off this material if you ask me.

This Twilight Garden opens this CD, alone worth paying for the collection. The stunning Cure "dreaminess", for lack of a better term, is fully in play here. This song just carries you away with its fantasy sound, amazing. Play has beautiful guitar work and thoughtful lyrics (or is that redundant?). Halo, Scared as You, The Big Hand, A Foolish Arrangement follow sequentially, all great to put on your playlist. I love the opening to Arrangement.

Burn of course is from the Crow soundtrack, easily their best soundtrack work next to Carnage Visors (which is on the Faith reissue). It Used to be Me has a great chorus, and a relentless beat that draws you in. Ocean has some nice moments, rather like love poetry set to music as all of Bloodflowers seemed to be.

Disc 4: The weakest CD of the compilation, marking the direction of The Cure as others have noted. This is a Lie is a standout as a thoughtful track, with delightful orchestral arrangements. The remixes of Wrong Number and Forest did nothing for me, although others like them. More Than This is probably the best track of this CD, sounding like a Duran Duran song with Robert Smith dropped in over Simon Lebon. Not a Cure song, which is why Robert left it unreleased, but still a delight to hear him sing and play.

Maybe Someday has a delightful opener and great vocals by Robert, again, why was this not the main single of his newer work? That's the curse of the creative genius, they make great stuff and then run with something else. But we get to hear it now("someday..."), so everything's okay. Signal to Noise acoustic is a nice bonus that was apparently left off the Acoustic CD that comes with special versions of the Greatest Hits collection. Nice to get a bonus to that CD, which in itself is a treat.

I shelled out the money for this collection on a lark and have not regretted it. There is a ton of new stuff here, especially for those of us who don't have 100+ maxisingles like some Cure fans. This collection will give many many listenings of great music, for any sort of Cure fan.

I must make a regretful announcement for those considering spending the money on this collection. A few months after this hit the shelves, they issued two-CD remasters of Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography. I have listened to all three remasters in great detail, and the songs that others lament are not included on Dots are largely on these releases. Sad to say, the additional songs on those three reissues are priceless and amazing, buy them too.

That's a lot of new Cure to have to pay for, but Dots and the Three reissues for their early albums are worth every penny. They are a delight, thank you to Robert Smith and his bandmates for being such prolific musicians. Even their "rejected" material is better than what most bands put out.

That's right, I contend that the slow homoginization of the Cure sound which became somewhat of a formula is on display over the course of these 4 disks. Obviously a must for Cure fans, JOIN THE DOTS still boasts many fantastic, unusual songs that will surely win over new listeners as well.

I got turned on to the Cure way back when THE HEAD ON THE DOOR came out and I gotta say their 80's material on Disk 1 still sounds fresh to me while the songs on disks 3 and 4 reveal the Cure becoming a bit more transparent and less surprising. I think their last truly great album was WISH, although that's when this intangible sort of change (or "sameness") began to creep in.

Some will call me crazy as there is still a fair amount of diversity on the last 3 Cure albums as well as disks 3 and 4 of JOIN THE DOTS. So maybe I'm just saying the Cure have gotten a bit more predictable in later years. I'm tempted to rate this collection 5 stars on the strength of Disk 1 which contains some of the most unusual and entertaining Cure songs ever, but I'm trying to remain objective here.

I could go on and on about these songs and the memories they invoke, especially the ones on disks 1 and 2, so I'll refrain from doing so. I'm sure many Cure fans would list a number of songs they think should have been added to this set. I'll just say that I would've omitted "How Beautiful You Are" from disk 2 since it's practically identical to the album version. In its place I would've added the "Primary (Red Mix)" alongside the "Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix)." I think "Primary" is one of the Cure's weaker singles, but this remix is tripped-out and totally hot.

I don't want to indicate disks 3 and 4 are lame by any means - I can't say I love all of these songs, but there is still much to like here. The "Purple Haze" covers are way cool and, contrary to the opinion of some goofy reviewer here, the "A Forest" remix with Earl Slick is powerful and super tripped out - it totally KILLS (ignore trendy critics who get hung up on the "dated" drum&bass sound). And I love the beautiful orchestral version of "This is a Lie" - the lyrics are so poignant and express something so true about how people believe in false religions and other misguided ways of life just because they were brought up that way.

The best songs in this collection (more than half) demonstrate the Cure's ability to paint a vivid musical picture that perfectly compliments any given feeling or subject matter in a song. That is characteristic of the music I love the most.