Cure Kiss Kiss Me Album

[Joke Grinman]

Allof these things needed to happen in order to get to the spot where Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me could even be created. Smith needed to burn himself out writing a full album a year between 1979 through 1985, and rapidly changing in sound from punk to post-punk to goth to acid-fueled psychedelia to breaking into the pop charts, not only to build upon his past work but also to free himself from the cycle of basically following the template Siouxsie and the Banshees had arrived at six months prior in almost each album. He needed to place in the charts, not to the point where he would lose his style chasing the sound of the moment, but place well enough to secure the kind of budget that would allow him the time and scope to create the album that, in my opinion, would be a blueprint for what The Cure would become over the next 20 years.

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me came out on Fiction/Elektra Records on May 26, 1987, almost two years after their previous album The Head on the Door. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me would fully redefine the band in a number of ways: it was their first top 40 album in the United States, their first double album, their first album to produce four singles, their first album where the music featured full band writing credits (although lyrics were still by Robert Smith only), and from this point forward the band would leave behind the one-album-per-year writing/recording cycle and would only release albums when the material was there instead of bowing to the constant pressure for product by fans or the industry. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me is the album where it became less about Robert Smith and more about The Cure as an actual band.

This was all pre-internet, so it was over twenty years before I discovered other fans had done the same thing. I had just never felt at home with the record in its original order, but sometime in my late thirties, after many deep dives through headphones and having worked at a few record stores for over fifteen years, I gained the musical background to fully appreciate the album and its original sequence. What strikes me now is how strong each song is individually that you can put together multiple versions and sequences for the album and have a solid single pop record, a record of love songs, a violent and angry album, or even a triple album odyssey when adding in the b-sides.

God is in the TV is an online music and culture fanzine founded in Cardiff by the editor Bill Cummings in 2003. GIITTV Bill has developed the site with the aid of a team of sub-editors and writers from across Britain, covering a wide range of music from unsigned and independent artists to major releases.

thanks for all your letters, suggestions and questions. i hope you find the enclosed questions and answer sheet informative; keep your weird and wonderful questions flooding in for the next edition. other suggestions have been noted and where possible will be included in the future. i regret that i cannot publish lyrics (texts); to do so would infringe music copyright.

....returning from the north american tour at the end of august for a well earned rest...getting together in early september to shoot the video for 'just like heaven' at pinewood studios in england, under the direction of tim pope, and introducing Mary as a new star to the small screen. on 19 september simon did the decent thing and married carol in horley, surrey...and now a period of rest, followed by preparation for the european tour...

did you write the following tracks with anyone / anything particular in mind?

a) faith

b) m

c) in between days

d) why can't i be you?

e) catch

f) the perfect girl

g) just like heaven

in november 1982 you were interviewed on the kid jensen show - the interview was followed by a session consisting of 'let's go to bed' and 'ariel' - will this number ever be available? how many more tracks have you recorded that have never been generally released? would you consider releasing another 'curiosity' type extended cassette?

'ariel' will be released in some form soon - possibly on a solo ep to be recorded in february. nothing really is kept - if it's not released at or around 'the time' it is usually forgotten - and dies. but yes - another 'curiosity' tape will occur when we either release a live album or favorite re-mixed songs or something like that - not until next year at the earliest...

why is 'three imaginary boy's' not available on compact disc?

because polydor have obviously preferred the 'boy's don't cry' album, and consider the 'three imaginary boy's' album too similar to justify release? ask them!

as the cure are one of the most frequently bootlegged bands, how do you feel about these illegal recordings? also, what is your reaction to unofficial merchandise?

bootlegs usually sound dreadful - but the group has no strong feelings one way or the other on the subject. unofficial merchandise is usually poorly designed - but the feelings here too, although more focussed, are still not strong.

when, how did roger join the line-up?

i wanted to have the option on less guitar playing / more singing and movement - so i delegated some parts to porl - he in turn needed someone to take over his role as keyboardist on stage. so roger, who boris met in 'the thompson twins' and who went on to join 'the psychedelic furs' - was asked to join. this took place in may. the last 'tube' (channel 4) was his first public appearance with the group, and he has adapted and slipped inside very well since!

what are mattieu hartley, michael dempsy, andy anderson and phil thornalley doing now?

matthieu is married and writes occasional radio advertising jingles. michael went on to play with 'the associates' and 'the lotus eaters' and is now writing occasional tv advertising jingles (i think?). andy is playing with zeke manyika (i think?) and phil has gone back to his first love - producing.

the cure have unwittingly been put in various categories over the years, from 'punk' to 'goth' taking in 'new wave', 'pop' and 'rock' along the way. if you had to select a category to fit into, what would it be?

love music!

having completed the south american, north american, canadian and european tours, where will you go next? - have you made any plans to tour australia, new zealand, south africa or japan?

not yet no - still under discussion....

what are your personal feelings about the fuss made over 'killing an arab' in the usa?

i felt the whole 'issue' absurd and unnecessary and i am relieved that it has been concluded (and forgotten?)imaginatively and intelligently and with mutual satisfaction....(almost...)

several journalists have accused you of copying other groups musical styles - do you think this is the case (either consciously or sub-consciously)?

yes, sometimes we have consciously or unconsciously, used other peoples styles or re-interpreted some-one else's ideas - but this is inevitable if you live in an absorbing world - it is not musical - it can be lyrical, magical or otherwise - and is not a bad thing (the bits picked up are usually wrong - anyway.) -(so, unbeknownst 'bananafish bones' sounds more like j.d.salinger than 'in between days' looks like new order....)

a) i am delighted they no longer exist, and all it needs now is a runaway truck and morrissey looking

the other way..

b) it has to be someone doing it

c) as predictable as five star, and as boring

d) two out of three isn't bad....(?)

e) aaaagh!! non-entities inert...

where were the following video's shot?

a) catch - in an old ladies house in cannes, south france

b) the hanging garden - somewhere in surrey - maybe lol would pretend to know?

c) charlotte sometimes - virginia waters asylum - disused - surrey.

Listening to the album again, it struck me that I still love it, but the words of Josh Jackson quoted at the top of this post hung with me. It is a critique often levied against this album in favor of other works of the band. It's too "pop". It's too "commercial". It's too "upbeat". The comments aren't wrong, but I have to ask: is this a bad thing? Does being pop and upbeat make this a bad album? Whereas 1989's Disintegration is moody and dark and atmospheric, a return to - and prime example of - the gloomy-goth rock they're rightly famous for, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, is a departure from that sound. Lighter, more 80's pop-oriented, full of upbeat songs and sounds, and lots of horns. Like, all the horns. This album is just chock full of horns.

One thing The Cure does not get away from is the minutes of intro. On first listen, you could think that most of the songs on this album are instrumentals, and just when you're settling into that groove, Robert Smith starts singing. Right off, this is a dark, angry song. The synth in the background is melancholy, but the drums are angry, and just under a minute in the lead guitar snarls to life, clearly indicating the intent of this song. By the time we get to the 4 minute mark and Smith starts singing about tongues like poison, guts being pushed inside out, getting her fucking voice out of his head, and wishing she was dead (seriously, he howls "I wish you were dead" repeatedly to close out the song), there's no doubt that this song is dark and stormy and angry. The first lyrics are "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me..." Roll Credits! Makes you wonder what other albums would be titled if they used the first lyrics as the album title. Disintegration would be called "I Think It's Dark and it Looks Like Rain". Wordy, but fitting. The Pixies classic Doolittle would be "Got Me a Movie". Not bad; I could see it being the title of a Pixies documentary. The Offspring's underrated ignition would be called "Ahhhh fuck fuck fuck fuck!" IMHO, an improvement. An interesting way to start off the "more upbeat" album.

In 1996, The Cure released a new album called Wild Mood Swings, which may well be the spiritual successor to this album, as that is similarly criticized for being too upbeat, and largely forgotten, while Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me is criticized for being too upbeat, but its wild mood swings are largely forgotten. Where "The Kiss" starts with that raging guitar and drum intro, "Catch" slides right into Smith do-doing over some light synth and drums.

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