Product Description

2CD set. Official 32-track live album, recorded on the Isle Of Wight in September 2011 in front of 50,000 ecstatic fans! Includes "Just Like Heaven" ; "Friday I'm In Love" ; "Boys Don't Cry" ; "A Forest" ; "Why Can't I be You?" and more favourites.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6285 in Music
• Released on: 2011-12-05
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Double CD
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Review
When The Cure – the band Robert Smith formed with schoolmates in Sussex sometime in the late 1970s – played 2011’s Bestival back in September it marked their first UK show in some two years. But little had changed in the band’s world – unsurprising, really, as few contemporary bands can claim to have spanned features in Sounds, Smash Hits and NME (collecting a Godlike Genius Award along the way) with such enviable ease.

From the early 80s it took them no time to hollow out the energy of punk into something bleak and beautiful – and like all great bands they quickly created their own universe. Once the listener-in-waiting gets past this set’s awful bootleg-like cover – it might be a charity release, benefitting the Isle of Wight Youth Trust, but nothing can excuse this lazy effort – the sound quality is wonderful, immediately putting aside any fears of bootleg quality presentation in that department.

Punk allowed anyone to be a frontman, and Smith lets his singing do the talking here. It is the Gothfather and company’s fifth live album, their first since 1993, and captures their current vitality as a live band. Their two-and-a-half hour sets are frequently described as ambitious, which implies they might struggle to meet the demands of such a duration. But few can forget the number of hits they’ve had – easily enough to fill a lengthy performance. Close to Me, The Lovecats and Boys Don’t Cry all feature on what might seem a marathon listen to the casual fan; but to the hardcore crowd, this stirs memories without anyone losing the way back to their tent.

The opener, Plainsong, confirms rumoured changes in The Cure’s line-up, with the return of Roger O’Donnell on keyboards. These are presented to the fore of the mix, offering a very different sound following six years of the band operating as a trio. The brooding magnificence of A Forest threatens to overshadow the first half of the set, but it’s neatly pruned, as tight and otherworldly as its studio version. And the song’s in good company as the band casts a luxuriously hypnotic spell on the senses, getting through more material on two discs than most bands do across a career. From the scratchy dark funk of Play for Today to the half-awake sensuality of The Only One from their last album, 2008’s 4:13 Dream, it’s effortless.

Observant fans will acknowledge the first airing of The Caterpillar since 1991, but this is primarily a celebratory set of greatest hits to appeal to casual and obsessive fans alike. It confirms The Cure as an ongoing, still-vibrant concern.

--Tom Hocknell

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CD Description
The Cure played their only UK festival in 2011 at Bestival on the Isle Of Wight on Saturday 10th September on the main stage in front of 50,000 ecstatic fans. The Bestival crowd welcomed them with open arms and embraced an incredible two and a half hour long set that covered the breadth of The Cure's fantastic back catalogue, including many chart hits, fan favourites and a few surprises not played for many years. Sunday Best are very proud to be able to make this incredible moment available for purchase in its entirety as a double CD and digital download. All record label profits from the sale of this album will go to the Isle Of Wight Youth Trust at the request of Robert Smith himself. The Isle Of Wight Youth Trust is a charitable, independent and professional organisation offering counselling, advice, information and support services to young people aged 25 and under on the Isle of Wight and, in some cases, their parents or carers. Bestival has worked with the Isle of Wight Youth Trust for a number of years. Since the release of their last album, 2008's '4:13 Dream' and the band's year-long world tour there has been little news for Cure fans. Robert Smith had returned from that tour to be showered in plaudits including NME's Godlike Genius award, but then for 18 months he all but disappeared. He recorded a handful of guest vocals, for Crystal Castles and the Japanese Popstars and then, in early 2011, The Cure's management got a call from Bestival who wondered if The Cure might want to headline this year's event. "The Cure had pulled off the epitome of the 'festival set' akin to Bowie at Glastonbury 2000 or Macca at Glasto '04, and every bit as legendary [...] A show so perfectly constructed and immaculately representative of every phase and leaning of The Cure's career" - The Guardian; "Always underpinned by a sense of drama, the band revelled in the grand stage setting. The bittersweet, candid lyrics and warm, accessible hooks of songs such as 'Just Like Heaven' and rapturous encore highlight 'Boys Don't Cry' were joyous - truly the stuff of rock-and-roll icons" - The Telegraph; "the set of the weekend" - NME.com This album features a number of tracks previously unavailable on any official live Cure release, including 'The Only One', 'The Hungry Ghost', 'The Lovecats', 'The Caterpillar', 'Hot Hot Hot!!!', 'Why Can't I Be You?', 'Boys Don't Cry', 'Jumping On Someone Else's Train' and 'Grinding Halt'.