Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Boy's Don't Cry
2. A Forest
3. Let's Go To Bed
4. The Lovecats
5. The Caterpillar
6. Inbetween Days
7. Close To Me
8. Why Can't I Be You?
9. Just Like Heaven
10. Lullaby
11. Love Song
12. Pictures Of You
13. Never Enough
14. High
15. Friday I'm In Love
16. Mint Car
17. Wrong Number
18. Cut Here
19. Just Say Yes

Disc 2:

1. Boy's Don't Cry (Acoustic Version)
2. A Forest (Acoustic Version)
3. Let's Go To Bed (Acoustic Version)
4. The Walk (Acoustic Version)
5. The Lovecats (Acoustic Version)
6. Inbetween Days (Acoustic Version)
7. Close To Me (Acoustic Version)
8. Why Can't I Be You (Acoustic Version)
9. Just Like Heaven (Acoustic Version)
10. Lullaby (Acoustic Version)
11. Love Song (Acoustic Version)
12. Never Enough (Acoustic Version)
13. High (Acoustic Version)
14. Friday I'm In Love (Acoustic Version)
15. Mint Car (Acoustic Version)
16. Wrong Number (Acoustic Version)
17. Cut Here (Acoustic Version)
18. Just Say Yes (Acoustic Version)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10573 in Music
• Released on: 2003-09-15
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition

Amazon.co.uk Review
As Greatest Hits--and particularly the busking pavement jazz of "Lovecats"--reminds us, the best Cure singles were very often tangential exercises; halcyon playtime divergences offering a Goth-free contrast to some of the weightier studiousness of some of those early albums. Or, as smudged frontman Robert Smith says of this 18-track collection, "Songs that are sung with a smile." This wasn't always true--witness the refrigerated fogginess of the classic "A Forest", the Blair Witch Project of it's day. What this compilation does is focus attention on the Cure's perennial unpredictability--the nursery school bonkers-ness of "The Caterpillar", the breathless claustrophobia of "Close to Me", the New Order-lite of "The Walk", the brass-section embellished thrust of "Why Can't I Be You". Oddly, chart-wise, the Cure's Lost Weekend began immediately after "Friday I'm in Love", their most ebullient melodic moment and the ultimate clocking-off to kick-those-heels! anthem. But at least the inclusion of two new songs "Cut Here" and "Just Say Yes" (with Saffron from Republica) indicate that the Cure remain a healthy ongoing concern. --Kevin Maidment

CD Description
Career retrospective from the popular British goth rockers.Includes all their hits like 'Boys Don't Cry', 'Close To Me', 'The Lovecats' and 'Friday I'm In Love', as well as a brand new song, 'Cut Here'. This limited format includes a bonus disc of acoustic versions.

Customer Reviews

Why include an acoustic CD that isn't acoustic?
I have to say that I love 'The Cure' so the prospect of a new album (even if a complation) was exciting. However this album seemed to lack something. Each song had an instrument or effect missing somewhere that just took away a bit of its soul. Where were the alternating notes at the end of 'The Forest' ? - You can't do that Rob!

I bought this (rather than the DVD version available) because I was greedy for the acoustic versions of the songs, but was let down. To me an acoustic doesn't mean you remove the synth sounds & have a bass guitar thumping out. An acoustic is raw. They all just sound like a remix - 'The Forest' isn't really different at all.

I hate to sound so glum about a band I adore but I can't help thinking that the acoustic CD should have been left out altogether & instead other great hits included to make a double greatest hits album. 'A night like this, Three imaginary boys, Catch, Charlotte sometimes, Fascination street, Disintegration - Where are you!'

On a positive note 'Just say yes' with Republica's Saffron is a fantastic track that is just begging to be released.

If you have a DVD buy that instead.

Sorry Rob!

It could have been better
A combination of the two singles albums merging into one "Greatest Hits" album. A great start for new fans, and for the established fans, well there are three new tracks and a second bonus cd of acoustic numbers!
So why only two stars?
Well, I would not recommend this album to a newby Cure listener, as anyone who develops a taste for the music will rapidly outgrow this cd (and has anyone outgrown "Staring at the Sea"? didn't think so). As to the three new songs 1- they're new, they are not greatest hits, and 2- they are not worth buying a whole new album for. Well what about the acoustic second cd then? What about it. The Cure have performed MUCH BETTER acoustic stuff in the past. But more importantly The Cure are not an acoustic band. They are best electronic or, better still, live. Many Cure songs truly take meaning when heard and seen live, so why emphasise acoustic as part of their greatest hits?

Another great Cure compilation...
As with the recent Prince & Smiths compilations, this is an exercise in the lowest common denominator. The Cure albums for people who liked them a bit...

It ignores much of their awesome back-catalogue, what is enchanting about The Cure is the array of styles they explore...This feels like the end of something (the band, their contract?); apart from new tracks 'Cut Here' (new single) and 'Just Say Yes' (a duet with ex-Republica singer, Saffron)all these songs have been released before (see the lovely 'Staring at the Sea/Standing on a Beach' and 'Galore' compilations).

This edition does give a greatest hits acoustic set, in the manner of their 'Unplugged' performance, with ex-member Boris Williams returning to play percussion. It also chooses 'The Caterpillar' over 'The Walk', which is interesting. Sad to see 'Charlotte Sometimes', 'Killing an Arab' and 'Catch' being overlooked. Sadder to see the abysmal re-write of 'The Lovecats', 'Why Can't I Be You?'being selected...Still, 'Disintergration' is represented well and the many gorgeous popsongs are here ('Boy's Don't Cry', 'InBetween Days', 'Just Like Heaven', 'Friday I'm In Love', 'Mint Car'). A few of The Cure's decent Nineties tracks (when they went off the boil) are here, the goth-funk of 'Never Enough' and the dance-inflected- Bowie sound of 'Wrong Number' (an album in this mode would have been interesting!). Sadly, the late masterpiece 'Bloodflowers' is ignored- 'Maybe Someday' & 'There is no if...' would have fitted in nicely.

So, this would provide a good introduction to The Cure- though it ignores their darker albums (where is 'Pornography's 'A Strange Day', 'Faith's 'All Cats Are Grey', '17 Seconds' 'Play For Today'?)Fans will want this for the few new songs and the acoustic set- so it's another great Cure compilation to go with the others (and the many live albums!). It loses two-stars for 'Catch's ommision alone!!!