Wild Mood Swings - Dark Publications

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Customer Reviews: Read 104 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Let Your Moods Swing June 9, 2001
33 out of 35 found this review helpful

On this album, the Cure does what it does best: it goes where none of its fans think it should go (upbeat); it goes where no one else in the music industry was going at the time (a little out of sync with what was currently popular); and it's very daring...new instruments, new rhythms. The album opens with "Want," a five-minute tour de force that begins with 2 minutes of guitar riffs that sound like a wailing siren (much like Pornography's "100 Years"), before descending into Robert Smith's plaintive yearning for more... of everything. The album's next song is "Club America," one of the few rock songs the Cure has written, with Robert Smith donning a detached, cool voice and reflecting on the trite, superficial club scene in the US, as he enters a club that (mocking the credit card notices posted at the front of nearly every American store), has a sign reading, "We accept all major lies, we love any kind of fraud." The 3rd song, "This is a Lie," is a measured and lush questioning of why we all believe we can only love one person forever. Whether you believe that Smith meant what he's singing, the song makes you ponder and doubt yourself, and your loved one, until..."The 13th" which was The Cure's rather daring choice for a 1st single from the record, as you find yourself in a small Brazilian jazz club listening to Robert Smith get snared by the provocative and seductive singer on stage, as she threatens to test his fidelity and ruin his relationship, yet he yells a triumphant, "but it feels good!" with each chorus as the horns blare in approving unison. Utterly fantastic and original, it was released as the first single instead of "Mint Car" because of the latter's infectious enthusiasm and glee and The Cure's fear that it would remind too many people of Friday I'm In Love, and thus limit the band's credibility as pure but thoughtless pop. "Mint Car" is a fantastic song, and easily the most unabashed shriek of happiness that The Cure's ever written. "Strange Attraction" was released as a single only in America (hence no video), yet it is a lyrical wonder, recounting a sexy love story between two people who share letters each year, when suddenly, like so many relationships, the infatuation period ends and so does the love. "Jupiter Crash" has a dreamy acoustic backdrop, and tells of the disappointment when we feel so much excitement and have so many expectations with new love that it inevitably disappoints us...much like the grand expectations we had when we expected a fantastic explosion when a large meteor collided with Jupiter, only to be quickly and unceremoniously swallowed by the larger planet. "Round & Round & Round" is a short and upbeat whirlwind criticism of the way we "fake it" with each other, and how we just can't seem to stop. The album's last single was "Gone!," where flirtatious keyboards were paired with saxophones to create a nouveaux jazz sound; yet another example of The Cure's successful experimentation with new and old sounds to create something quite distinct. "Return" is also very upbeat, with shouts of happiness as Robert Smith is ironically mystified by the woman he thought he knew, dressed in PVC and tempting him to engage in adventures that both excite him and scare him at the same time...before he desperately asks for someone to "get me out of here." "Trap" is a raucous cry for freedom from the low self-esteem one feels when trapped in a bad relationship; "Treasure" is a tender, melodic final request for a loved one to remember and smile, for "it's better to forget, than to remember me and cry." The final song, "Bare," is just that, a simple, 8 minute mini-epic that engages the reader in the singer's monologue when he realizes his relationship has been fueled on past happiness instead of dealing with the inability to relate to each other any more, before ending with the Smith repeating, "I will never forget." This album is fantastic because it is massive, complex, diverse, and can be listened to over and over no matter what mood you're in, and this album alone can put you in touch with your feelings regarding any relationship you have or had. With songs like "Mint Car," "The 13th," and "Return," you can always pull yourself out of the deepest and most prolonged blues, or if you'd prefer to let yourself sink in self-indulgent depression, there's always "This is a Lie," "Jupiter Crash," and "Bare." This album is absolutely wonderful because you can use it for whatever you need to feel at any given moment. I can't recommend it enough.

4 out of 5 stars

Singificantly better than many diehards will tell you. August 21, 2006
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

An album that is generally dispised by fans of the Cure, "Wild Mood Swings" is as different from everything else in the band's catalog as can be, and a the time of release it was a bit jarring. It's an album of acoustic guitars and bright production and of open space, and while it was significantly different from anything the band has done, a decade after its release, it's pretty clear that the album, taken out of the shock of its appearance, is a decent record in its own right.

Of course, from the opener, you wouldn't know it'd be full of bright songs-- "Want" is classic dark Cure stuff-- ringing bass, clean tone melodic electric guitars, and noisy leads supporting a vocal that turns as fierce and jarring as anything Smith has done. But there is a sense of space that's obvious in it that permeates the album, and the record's brightness is obvious throughout, whether in the form of explosive pop songs ("Mint Car", a positively ecstatic explosition of new love), bizarre blues/funk tinged horn driven pieces ('Gone!"), moody, acoustic Bowie-styled reflections ("jupiter Crash") or just downright bizarre (more of the record than you'd guess-- Latin-tinged "The 13th" defies explanatio and the lower register vocal of "Club America" is in direct opposition to the usual Cure). Admittedly, amidst all of this there's a couple bunts (propolsive rocker "Trap", somewhat dull pop song "Strange Attraction") and yeah, the bright production can get irritating in its lack of subtlety ("Round & Round & Round"), but there's a lot to be heard here, just put aside your preconceived notions of what the band should be at the door.

"Wild Mood Swings" found the Cure crippled-- longtime guitarist Porl Thompson and drummer Boris Williams, who had both been with the band for a decade, left, and leader Robert Smith seemed to have felt painted in a corner stylistically. This one is definitely quite a detour, and if you're not one to like your band's drifting from their core sound, this isn't one for you. For the rest of us, "Wild Mood Swings" is one of the more intriguing things the band has done.

4 out of 5 stars

"The pigeon escapes the proverbial hole" October 19, 2000
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Reading some of the unfavorable reviews of this album, many cure fans feel that this is their weakest offering and rubbish in general. I would wager that most who feel this way first really got into the cure with disintegration(as did I),and they would classify them as a goth band(I would not), along the lines of a group such as bauhaus. This label has been refuted by both robert smith and simon gallup who seemingly dislike the intrinsic limitations which accompanies this categorization that has dogged them since the release of faith. If you look up interviews transcribed from foreign publications when this album was released, you'll learn that they never considered themselves as being a goth band in anyway. Simon comments that they never wore black lipstick, nailpolish, or lamented graveyards. They also said that this perception of them has made for interesting encounters with fans who have seen them downing pints in a pub, and laughing like madmen without a care in the whole world. They even started out with a large skinhead following due to robert's shaved head, although they did not musically represent the skin head ideals, but sometimes people get caught up in the appearance more than the substance. If I believed that the cure were a goth band, and heard trks like the sardonic club america, the insanely happy mintcar, and the jazzy gone, imploring me to; get up, get out, and have some fun, I'd be thoroughly apalled as well. Anyone who has listened to pre-disintegration cure realizes that this deviation from harder, serious trks. has been consistent. Listen to older trks like lovecats, the catepillar, why can't I be you?, and the mariachi-esque the blood, and tell me if they scream goth to you?! Since pornography, the cure have had a tendecy to produce quirky trks, and eclectic cultural musical infusions. The primary difference is the pervasiveness of these elements found on WMS, making it aptly titled. Undoubtedly, many also dislike it's lack of any thematic structure where trks seem to be cohesive expressions that fit in a whole mood, which is very atypical of the cure. If you do read interviews of the band relating to this album, robert states that they intentionally approached each trk so that it would be self-contained. The thinking behind this is that each trk could theoretically be a single. The cure also defied their label by releasing the 13th as the first single, with it's latin vibe(4 yrs before everyone else jumped the train), and blaring horns, instead of a safer, less representative trk like want. They didn't pull any punches, they wanted everyone to know that this album was a myriad of sounds. I listened to this album without the perception of the cure as a goth band, and gave it a another serious go once I realized that it intentionally lacked thematic structure by design, not incompetence. In doing so, the only trk that I dislike lyrically and musically is return, but the 13 remaining trks are solid to great. For those of you (and there are many) who consider the cure a goth band, no trk by trk descriptions layered in colorful metaphors by me or anyone else can convince you that is a worthwhile album. I only ask you to consider the cure's tendency, or perhaps agenda, to alienate fans. People who loved the up-tempo trks recorded before and on three imaginary boys probably were a bit confused by the sparse, atmospheric tones of 17 seconds. People who felt that pornography was an abrasive, pounding masterpiece were filled with a new despair when they heard smith gushing;"Your'e so wonderfully,wonderfully, wonderfully pretty" on lovecats. People who loved the balance of kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, may have felt cheated when they couldn't find a trk similar to just like heaven on disintegration. It wasn't a case of bad judgement which rendered some tremendous trks as b-sides to WMS singles(adonais, waiting, a pink dream, ocean, and it used to be me). These trks are all more palatable to people who prefer the "goth" aspects of the cure, and all would have been more pragmatic singles, if they wanted to pandar to people who envision them draped in black from head to toe, sitting in the corners of candlelit rooms, and stylishly sipping blood red wine from 15th century goblets. This extremist view has contributed immearsurably to the cure being one of the most under-rated bands in history, despite massive sells, and a devoted fanbase spanning the globe. This is most unfortunate for a band that has musically explored punk sensibilities with trks like plastic passion, stripped down, atmospheric moods on 17 seconds, synth-pop, middle eastern tones, jazz flares, horns, flamenco, harps, oboes, dank cellar basslines, and spiraling guitar riffs, and much more. I begrudge no one having their favorite side of the cure, their favorite type of mood, as long as they never forget that it's just one aspect of a band which has consistently shown us many...and I love them all.

5 out of 5 stars

Unique, diverse, rich September 20, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Man oh man oh man; I cannot fathom these 1 star reviews by people. There must be SOMETHING they just DON'T get about this album, because it's brilliant. I won't go into specifics, but let me just say that I own every single Cure album and song ever released, from Three Imaginary Boys in '79 to Self-Titled in '04, along with the Join the Dots (B-Sides and Rarities) release in '04. In any case, my point is that I know ALL Cure. Everything. Many fans will compare this to other Cure releases such as "Disintegration" or "Pornography" or "Faith" or "Wish" and diss the heck out of it...just seems bizarre and strange to me. This album has so many eclectic features and and an incredible range of diversity, yet it is still held together by all things Cure. The songs are downright beautiful. For people to call this slosh and self-indulgent is just plain ignorant. To attack the lyrical content is downright immature. So what if he's singing about cheating? Each song is unique with a wide array of themes. Pay no regard to the bad reviews. You can trust me as someone who has everything The Cure has released that this is a more-than-worthy addition to your collection. I actually prefer the second half of the disc more than the first, but still love the first half as well. Do it up and treat your ears to a real work of art.

5 out of 5 stars

The Cure at their best! June 16, 2001
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This album is by far one of the best from The Cure. Robert Smith introduced Jason Cooper as his new drummer and brought back Roger O'Donnell. Obviously, this was another brilliant decision by a genius. With this new lineup, they made a fabulous album. Each and every song is different, beautiful, and has a brilliant message. This album truly is a wild mood swing. Each song makes you feel either happy (Return), depressed, in love (Jupiter Crash), heartbroken(Strange Attraction), discontent (Want), motivated (Gone), lonely,and lustful (13th). But those are just the moods of the album. The sound is incredible. They're fast and light, slow and dark, heavy, pretty much anything you can imagine is on this album. Even if you're not a Cure you should buy this because there is something in it for every music lover to enjoy.

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