The Cure- Join The Dots (Rhino)
review by Joe del Tufo

Track Listing

Disc One
1. 10:15 Saturday Night
2. Plastic Passion
3. Pillbox Tales
4. Do The Hansa
5. I'm Cold
6. Another Journey By Train
7. Descent
8. Splintered In Her Head
9. Lament (Flexipop Version)
10. Just One Kiss
11. The Dream
12. The Upstairs Room
13. Lament
14. Speak My Language
15. Mr. Pink Eyes
16. Happy The Man
17. Throw Your Foot
18. New Day
19. The Exploding Boy
20. A Few Hours After This...
21. A Man Inside My Mouth
22. Stop Dead

Disc Two
1. A Japanese Dream
2. Breathe
3. A Chain Of Flowers
4. Snow In Summer
5. Sugar Girl
6. Icing Sugar (Weird Remix)
7. Hey You!!! (Kevorkian 12" Remix)
8. How Beautiful You Are (Clearmountain 7" Remix)
9. To The Sky
10. Babble
11. Out Of Mind
12. 2 Late
13. Fear Of Ghosts
14. Hello I Love You (Psychedelic Version)
15. Hello I Love You
16. Hello I Love You (Slight Return Mix)
17. Harold And Joe
18. Just Like Heaven ('Chuck' Remix)

Disc Three
1. This Twilight Garden
2. Play
3. Halo
4. Scared As You
5. The Big Hand
6. A Foolish Arrangement
7. Doing The Unstuck (Saunders 12" Remix)
8. Purple Haze (Virgin Radio Version)
9. Purple Haze
10. Burn
11. Young Americans
12. Dredd Song
13. It Used To Be Me    
14. Ocean
15. Adonais

Disc Four
1. Home
2. Waiting
3. A Pink Dream
4. This Is A Lie (Palmer Remix)
5. Wrong Number (Smith Remix)
6. More Than This
7. World In My Eyes
8. Possession
9. Out Of This World (Oakenfold Remix)
10. Maybe Someday (Hedges Remix)
11. Coming Up
12. Signal To Noise (Acoustic Version)
13. Signal To Noise
14. Just Say Yes (Curve Remix)
15. A Forest (Plati/Slick Version)

Perhaps a better title would have been - A Secret History of The Cure. After 25 years of some of the most poignant and seminal music to ever grace the alternative airwaves, perhaps the biggest secret is that there was so much more. Over the course of 4 packed CDs, Join the Dots collects nearly every B-side, unreleased track, and soundtrack/ compilation contribution and then throws in a few remixes for good measure. There are many tracks on Join The Dots that were more than worthy of inclusion on an official release. In particular, tracks like 2 Late (B-side of Love Song-- recorded during the Disintegration Sessions) stands out as a killer track. Mixing the band's unique ability to conjure emotion in the most jaded goth, 2 Late is a sweet, catchy track that lingers long after the music has ended. A similar gem in the cache is the seething Burn. Recorded for the film The Crow, Burn is perhaps the edgiest track ever recorded by the band, with electronic elements that recall Skinny Puppy or Reznor, but the haunting, lilting vocals that could only be Smith's.

What you end up with is a virtual history of the band. From their raw, ground-breaking roots in the late 70's with such essentials as 10:15 Saturday Night, through the goth 80's period (see The Exploding Boy) and finally into their current and more uncertain present. Yes, there are signs that the greatness has been in decline for some time now, but there are also countless reminders of just how much has been borrowed from this rare and timeless act.

The liner notes and packaging are done with the utmost care. Smith himself apparently spent months working on the preparation- culling rare photos and personally sifting through the bands archives for worthy gems.

There's a little of everything here- from the sublime and super-rare Flexipop version on Lament to the three somewhat painful mixes of the Doors' Hello I Love You included on the second disc. Is this essential music? Probably not for the casual fan- for them the two recent best of compilations will probably suffice. But for the die-hards, this is a no-brainer, and for the curious looking to discover great music that has not (yet) been played to death on alternative radio, this is money well-spent.


marillion- happiness is the road
tilt- million dollar wound
mickey simmonds- the seven colours of emptiness
ukz- radiation
pain of salvation - scarsick
icon- icon II, icon live
the pineapple thief- tightly unwound
planet p project- levittown (go out dancing part II)
nosound- lightdark
dengue fever- venus on earth
art of all- morgan
marillion- somewhere else
abigails ghost- selling insincerity
blackfield- blackfield II
damien rice- 9
the who- endless wire
the beach boys- good vibrations
the pineapple thief- little man
the killers- sam's town
tom petty- highway companion
hem- funnel cloud
emm gryner- the summer of high hopes
jeremy enigk- world waits
razorlight- razorlight
gps- window to the soul
iron maiden- a matter of life and death
thom yorke- the eraser
richard butler- richard butler
the flaming lips- at war with the mystics
ray davies- other people's live
david gilmour- on an island
nosound- sol29
jackson browne- running on empty 5.1
neal morse- ?
king crimson- 21st century guide to king crimson
shriekback- cormorant
depeche mode- playing the angel
pallas- the dreams of men
my morning jacket- z
riverside- second life syndrome
roger waters- ca ira
various artists- backs against the wall
riverside- out of myself
sigur ros- takk
killers- hot fuss
queen + paul rodgers- return of the champions
journey- generations
yes- the word is live
emmylou harris- heartaches & highways
van der graaf generator- remaster series
rob dickinson- fresh wine for the horses
annie- anniemal
dredg- catch without arms
foo fighters- in your honor
dream theater- octavarium
belle and sebastian- push barman to open old wounds
the go-betweens- oceans apart
porcupine tree- up the downstair (remaster 2005)
coldplay- x & y
nine inch nails- with teeth
aimee mann- the forgotten arm
van der graaf generator- present
christopher o'riley- hold me to this
glen phillips- winter pays for summer
new order- waiting for the siren's call
ben folds- songs for silverman
john doe- forever hasn't happened yet
trashcan sinatras- fez
adrian belew- side one
kaki king - legs to make us longer
longview- mercury
stereophonics- language. sex. violence. other?
for against- echelons
over the rhine- drunkard's prayer
kathleen edwards- back to me
kasabian- kasabian
porcupine tree- deadwing
the wedding present- take fountain
super furry animals - songbook
arena- pepper's ghost
snow patrol- final straw
rpwl- world through my eyes
tori amos- the beekeeper
kino- picture
monarch- the grandeur that was rome
spocks beard- octane
the wonder stuff- escape from rubbish island
richard barbieri- things buried
the pineapple thief- 12 stories down
the pineapple thief- 8 days later
the innoncence mission- now the day is over
zero 7- when it falls
pain of salvation- be
california guitar trio- white water
jelly jam- 2
tim bowness- my hotel year
van halen- the best of both worlds
glen burtnik- welcome to hollywood
charlie mars- charlie mars
porcupine tree- voyage 34 (2004 remaster)
saint etienne- travel edition
lanterna- highways review
hellboys- cha cha with the hellboys review
persona non grata- the fine art of living review
tegan and sara- so jealous review
guadalcanal diary- 2x4 reissue review
voices in the wire- signals in transmission review
roger waters- to kill a child/ leaving beirut review
luna- rendezvous review
jim white- drill a hole in that substrate and tell me what you see review
the drive-by truckers- the dirty south review
the blue nile - high review
lovedrug- pretend you're alive review
twilight singers- she loves you review
keane- hope and fears review
winds- the imaginary direction of time review
kristeen young- x review
asia- silent nation review
macha- forget tomorrow review
crystal method- legion of boom dvd-audio review
kevin moore- ghost book review
marillion- don't hurt yourself singles review
attrition- dante's kitchen review
rush- feedback review
tortoise- it's all around you review
division of laura lee- does not compute review
peccatum- lost in reverie review
iq- dark matter review
bass communion- ghosts on magnetic tape review
the push stars- paint the town review
virgin black- elegant... and dying review
marillion- marbles review
the streets- a grand don't come for free review
the veils- the runaway found review
all about eve- let me go home review
john young band- live review
mary lou lord- baby blue review
the divine comedy- absent friends review
pink floyd- the final cut (2004 remaster) review
prot-kaw- before became after review
jeffrey gaines live review
mocean worker- enter the mowo review
starsailor- silence is easy review
pineapple thief- variations review
lloyd cole- music in a foreign language review
david sylvian- blemish review
spock's beard- feel euphoria eview
guy manning- press pack sampler review
magellan- impossible figures review
the tangent- the music that died alone review
john gorka- live from grace church photos and review
hothouse flowers- into your heart review
charlotte martin- on your shore review
rasputina- frustration plantation review
stellastarr*- stellastarr* review
vast- nude review
sparks- lil' beethoven review
the damnwells- bastards of the beat review
dave gahan- paper monsters review
king crimson- power to believe review
fish- field of crows review
porcupine tree- in absentia dvd-audio review
new model army- great expectations review
antimatter- unreleased 1998 - 2003 review
catie curtis: dreaming in romance languages review
the gathering- sleepy buildings review
twilight singers play blackberry belle review
vienna teng- warm strangers review
opeth- lamentations dvd review
courtney love- america's sweetheart review
blackfield review
anathema- a natural disaster review
nearfest 2003 coverage
neal morse solo photos- metuchen, nj
porcupine tree broadcast
alpha- stargazing review
david sylvian at the tla
emm gryner at the point
barry andrews at the tin angel
tweaker:2 am wakeup call review
cure- join the dots review
fish live from the tla with john wesley
spearhead- everyone deserves music review
miles hunt (wonderstuff) live

full archives coming soon!

 



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