The Cure KISS ME KISS ME KISS ME

2 LPs on 1 CD.
The Cure: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Simon Gallup (bass guitar); Laurence Tolhurst, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams.
Personnel: Robert "Big Bert" Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Porl Thompson (guitar, saxophone, keyboards); Andrew Brennen (saxophone); Laurence Tolhurst (keyboards); Boris Williams (drums, percussion).
Liner Note Author: Johnny Black.
Recording information: 03/1986-12/1987.
Photographers: R. Tucci; Paul Cox; Andy Vella; Tom Sheehan .
This hefty double album often sounds more like a compilation than a coherent whole, with musical ideas bouncing frantically back and forth. Nevertheless, in typical Cure style, KISS ME, KISS ME, KISS ME successfully combines catchy pop with bitter despair. Through 17 immensely sensual songs, Robert Smith is at his most poetic ("strange as angels, dancing in the deepest ocean, twisting in the water, you're just like a dream") and vitriolic ("get your fucking voice out of my head...I never wanted any of this, I wish you were dead"). The joyous pop of "Just Like Heaven" and "The Perfect Girl" still delights, and the frisson provided by "Shiver And Shake" reinforces the physical nature of this collection.

• Format: CD
• Released: 2006-10-10
• Genre: Rock