The Cure: Japanese Whispers CD Track Listing

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The Cure Japanese Whispers (1983)
Originally Released 1983\nUS CD Edition Released February 1989\n\nAmazon.com Product Description\n1983 singles collection featuring the 7 inch versions of three singles ('Let's Go To Bed', 'The Walk' & 'The Love Cats') and five of the B-sides from these singles ('The Dream', 'Just One Kiss' (7 inch version), 'The Upstairs Room', 'Speak My Language' and 'Lament'. Unavailable domestically. Fiction / Universal.\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: After the fallout both psychologically and physically of Pornography, it looked unlikely that anyone would hear from the Cure ever again. Surprisingly, from 1982-1983 Robert Smith and (now keyboardist) Lol Tolhurst put out some of the catchiest singles of their career. "Let's Go to Bed," "The Walk," and "The Lovecats" were not only singles that got the Cure radio play and made them a household name, but more importantly marked the next phase in the music of the Cure, which would reach its peak with albums like Head on the Door and Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Dropping the stripped-down darkness of Faith and Pornography, the songs on Japanese Whispers (the aforementioned singles from that era, including all the B-sides) are light, dancy, and at times jazzy. Adding new keyboard sounds, old-timey percussion, standup bass, and some damn silly lyrics rejuvenated Robert Smith and sent him on a course that would cement his role as one of the most interesting musicians to emerge from the '80s underground. Japanese Whispers is one of those rare releases when a singles collection works just as well as a standard-issue album. -- Chris True\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nPOP went the weasel, September 24, 2005\nReviewer: J. Brady (PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States)\nTrying to shrug off the unwarranted "Goth" tag that saddled the Cure after the one-two-three punch of 17 Seconds, Faith and Pornography, singer-songwriter-leader Robert Smith recorded this series of ultra-pop singles, most of which work very well as such. And those fans who complain that the Cure "sold out" by recording these songs only need to look to their debut album and the few singles recorded around that time. "Boys Don't Cry" in particular is as undeniably "pop" as anything they have ever recorded. Japanese Whispers should rightly be seen as more than just a stop-gap, or a novelty. It is precisely this, the lighter side of the Cure, that makes the darker, more serious material even more so. These songs are at turns winsome and fluffy, and (lyrically, at least ) a bit more esoteric and quirky. What holds this release back from a five star rating is the atrocious sound quality ( hopefully the re-release next year will tidy that up ) and the fact that the first ten or so seconds of "Just One Kiss" have been taken out ( a discordant drum and piano intro that I distinctly remember from the cassette edition that Sire Records released in 1983 .) As a whole, Japanese Whispers is a nice addition to your Cure collection, a breath of fresh air, and the perfect antidote to the sometimes stifling and claustrophobic work that preceded it.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe lighter side of The Cure, May 15, 2005\nReviewer: trainreader (Montclair, N.J.)\nProceeding here as a duet, Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst utilize sythesizers and sounds of The Orient to make "Japanese Whispers," which contains only eight songs, most of which are less than four minutes long (in fact, the entire album times in at less than 30 minutes). I've never particularly loved the "silly" side of The Cure. Although "Let's Got to Bed," "The Walk," and "Lovecats" are fun, they are not representative of the songs that make them a great band, although I appreciate the sharp departure from the all too bleak "Pornography." I really do like "Just One Kiss" and "La Ment" which could easily have fit well on other albums. \n\n"Japanese Whispers" is not one of "The Cure's best, but it is quite enjoyable.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nDisagree with Sandman, May 1, 2005\nReviewer: J. Cornett (Royal Oak, Michigan United States)\nI remember many nights listening to (...) and waiting for the next Cure album...When the Let's Go to Bed single was first released, I ran out, bought it, put it on and was stunned... it was one of the coolest songs I have ever heard them do... then I realized that I was listening to "Just One Kiss" which was the B-Side (it was one of those photo on one side, info on the other singles.) Still in my euphoria, I put the flip side on and gagged.... every other fan of the Cure that I knew at the time pretty much gagged as well----- when "The Top" was released, we pretty much wrote the Cure off (just as we did with Gang of Four after "Hard" and Killing Joke after "Outside the Gates," While I still feel "Just One Kiss" is right up there with Charlotte Sometimes as one of their best songs, La Ment is really the only other track worth a listen on this piece of drivel..... I will never forget how terrible I felt about one of my favorite bands turning to crap.....\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nCome On, Dance!!!, January 11, 2005\nReviewer: mike "pumpkinhead27510" (chapel hill, NC)\nMy dad got this album for me while he was in London on a business trip and I'm forever thankful for it. I was really suprised, because I didn't think there was an album with these songs collected together. At the time I had most of their other albums, including Staring at the Sea. When I heard the singles from that album I assumed that "Let's Go to Bed", "Lovecats" and "The Walk" were just non-album singles that couldn't be found on any albums, kind of like "Charlotte Sometimes". Anyway, I was delighted to find those singles, along with some stunning material I'd never heard before, compiled on this ep. The flow of the album is very consistent. I really like every song. Sure it's cheesy, but come on and loosen up a bit it's fun! After Pornography, there came a point when even Robert Smith got sick of all the gloom and doom stuff. So he released this, and good for him! It's not exactly my style, but it's the Cure! Trying someting different, like usual! And Succeeding! So have a listen and enjoy! The Upstairs Room must be danced to! And don't forget to play this and all Cure albums (except Wild Mood Swings) LOUD!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nMore Fun Than Before But Not Disposable, February 19, 2004\nReviewer: SandmanVI (Glen Allen, VA United States)\nSome of the harsh criticism here from the darkling seeds is unwarranted and shows their lack of range, while this release showed the band increasing their musical boundaries. True that it is more pop I suppose, but it was hardly mainstream at the time. "The Walk" is the closest they ever came to synth pop, but it still had a haunting tone and mysterious subject matter. So did "LaMent", the tale of a dead young girl whose body is seen drifting under a bridge; the corpse is poetically described as the "ice cream river body" probably describing the diffuse, blurry way the submerged body would look - this song feels a bit like "Charlotte Sometimes without the bass. Also dark and mysterious is the nervous, paranoid "The Upstairs Room". Hold on, I'm getting a theme here. This album may have been bouncy and had some beat but it was still quite morose and way left of center. In fact, most Cure fans I know loved this collection of 3 singles. For sure, it wasn't their best, more of a short, sweet anomaly... but certainly not bad.\n \n"Let's Go to Bed" was maybe their 1st U.S. hit before "Head on the Door". It's fun and takes a playful approach to sex; it was a refreshing shift from their previous stuff. "Lovecats" is one of the most refreshing hit records ever written with its charming standup bass usage, boppy rhythm and Robert actually doing a bebop scat thing of some sort... a classic by any standard.\n\nStated shortly, this was a very strong release that just happened to be a departure from previous releases. And here's a note to Rozzy and others who are probably a bunch of 13-year-old Goths (nothing against 13-year-old Goths... I may have been one)... I was alive at the time this came out and actually to listening to it as it was released - not some modern collector looking back 20 years after the fact. This album was enjoyed by Cure fans at the time who loved the blackest moments from before but needed a change just to keep the music alive. Variety is the spice, ain't it?\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nIt's Only Logical That This Album Should Follow Pornography, February 19, 2004\nReviewer: R. Brown "Russ" (HSV, AR)\nUp to this point in the Cure discography if you haven't thrust yourself from this mortal coil due to the bleak collection of albums before this one, congratulations here's your prize. Japanese Whispers is about the closest thing I've heard to The Cure tampering with Synth Pop techniques, and I have to say I'm saddened that they never really did an album like it again. Although this album consists of only eight songs clocking in at just over a half an hour, it's one of the best collections of songs used seamlessly to fit the eerie mood conveyed by this album, and you'll definitely appreciate this if you're into the more artsy, "out-there", and eccentric side of The Cure. I liken this album to The Cure's "Head on the Door" LP, as it's really a work apart from aetypical Cure albums. Albums like "Japanese Whispers" and "Head on the Door" are examples of one thing that drives me crazy about The Cure, how they go on musical tangents on certain albums, making something incredibly unique, but then you realize it was a phase and chances are you'll end up getting a slew of "Wild Mood Swings" before getting anything else worth a damn. I'm starting to rant about WMS again...Where was I? Japanese Whispers is one of the best Cure albums on the market, and I highly recommend getting it and "Head on the Door" to hear two very different directions that The Cure went in around a small period of time.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nCut the Words and Waved Goodbye, June 9, 2001\nReviewer: Matthew Giuliano (Philadelphia, PA)\nJapanese Whispers was released by the band at the end of 1983 as a collection of its recent singles rather than as a fully developed studio album. Yet the sounds emanating from this disc have much more in common with the next three Cure releases, The Top, Head on the Door, and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me than any of the earlier records do. For whatever reason, this album and its immediate predecessor, The Top, were never published in America, as Elektra probably decided that the albums would never sell here. The album's final song, "Love Cats," is probably the most perfect pop song the Cure ever made until 1987's "Just Like Heaven." "Let's Go to Bed" and "The Walk" were also very successful singles for the band, though they sound distinctly like early 1980s techno pop. Fortunately for non die hard fans, these three singles are all available on the album, "Staring at the Sea." For those willing to venture a bit further, though, the rest of this album is very tight, and Japanese Whispers belongs in any Cure fan's collection. All of the songs are heavily synthesized. "Lament" has that eerie sadness that would have allowed it to fit seamlessly on the "Faith" record; "The Dream" is a rather catchy B-side, and the almost irritating "Speak My Language" is my favorite Cure song on the record--it's like having "Love Cats" with alternative lyrics. "The little time I spend with you, we drink each other dry." A must for serious Cure fans.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA New Language, November 3, 2000\nReviewer: Greg Hughes\n"Japanese Whispers" is an album that marks a departure point for the Cure. This is where the music was starting to become more commercial, after the bleak, tormented, soul-wrenching anguish of "Faith" and "Pornography".\n"Let's Go to Bed" was Robert Smith's attempt to write "a silly pop song". Apparently Smith hated the song so much he wanted to release it under a pseudonym. Luckily he was talked out of it.\n\nEvery Cure fan will know the hit single "Lovecats" of course. At the same time this album came out the Cure film-clips were starting to look more exciting, thanks to the creativity of Tim Pope. In the clip to "Lovecats" Robert Smith doesn't look the least bit depressed. "The Walk" is one of those songs that sticks in my head. It's very 1983.\n\n"Japanese Whispers" is a neat little package of songs. This is one of the first steps in the evolution of the Cure musically, after being fashionably depressing, then darkly depressing, then morbidly depressing. It takes the Cure out of the murky swamp of despair into the light of wider acclaim. (Although these songs still appealed to alternative listeners.)\n\nThis was the first album to prove that the Cure isn't all gloom and doom. They showed a quirky side too.\n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nProducers: Chris Parry, Steve Nye, Phil Thornalley, Robert Smith.
This rock cd contains 8 tracks and runs 28min 51sec.
Freedb: 5c06c108
Buy: from Amazon.com

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