Seventeen Seconds [Digipak] [Remaster]

Performer: The Cure
Engineer: Mike Hedges; Mike Dutton
Producer: Robert Smith; Mike Hedges; Chris Parry
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: The Cure: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar, violin); Mathieu Hartley (keyboards); Simon Gallup (bass guitar); Laurence Tolhurst (drums). Additional personnel: Frank Bell (vocals); Porl Thompson (guitar); Michael Dempsey, Janet Smith (keyboards). Ensemble: Cult Hero. It's hard to believe that the Cure could release an album even more sparse than Three Imaginary Boys, but here's the proof. The lineup change that saw funkstery bassist Michael Dempsey squeezed out in favor of the more specific playing of (eventually the longest serving member outside Robert Smith) Simon Gallup, and the addition of keyboardist Mathieu Hartley resulted in the band becoming more rigid in sound, and more disciplined in attitude. While it is not the study in loss that Faith would become, or the descent into madness of Pornography, it is a perfect precursor to those collections. In a sense, Seventeen Seconds is the beginning of a trilogy of sorts, the emptiness that leads to the questioning and eventual madness of the subsequent work. Mostly forgotten outside of the unforgettable single "A Forest," Seventeen Seconds is an even, subtle work that grows on the listener over time. Sure, the Cure did better work, but for a new lineup and a newfound sense of independence, Robert Smith already shows that he knows what he's doing. From short instrumental pieces to robotic pop, Seventeen Seconds is where the Cure shed all the outside input and became their own band. ~ Chris True Within the space of two short years the Cure mysteriously transformed themselves from a more accessible Wire/Buzzcocks hybrid into the grandiose-haired gloom merchants they resembled for decades. While the international success of singles like "Boys Don't Cry" might have pointed to a continuation of the same formula, Smith decided to take the band into choppier waters. SEVENTEEN SECONDS marked the start of the Cure Phase II. Somewhat reminiscent of bands like Siouxsie & the Banshees (a group Smith played with for a few albums), SEVENTEEN SECONDS is not an album for the faint at heart. The addition of perennial favorite Simon Gallup on bass and the short-lived but effective Mathleu Hartley on keyboards expanded the Cure's previously sparse sound, adding layers of texture that complemented Smith's longer, less accessible songs. While "Play for Today" hearkens back to the bands poppier days, "Seventeen Seconds" and "Secrets" show that the band was not about to turn back from its new approach. "A Reflection" is eerily beautiful, but the album's true highlight is the perky-but-sad "A Forest." Perhaps one of the least-known but most influential records of the early 1980s, and a sign of things to come down the road.

Rolling Stone (p.79) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "[With] clipped guitars, staccato bass, drums that crackle with tension and icy background keyboards that hum like defective air conditioning." Spin (p.109) - "[The album] finds Robert Smith starting to get his 'Phantom of the Opera' on..." Q (6/00, p.65) - Ranked #65 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...A clean, contemplative, at times desolate guitar record that...tapped into a peculiarly suburban paranoia....their career as Goth ambassadors was launched." Uncut (p.124) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Poised and atmospheric, there's a Nick Drake-like organic clarity to SEVENTEEN SECONDS..."

Led by depressive pop prince Robert Smith, the Cure have taken their legions of fans on a journey from post-punk to gothic to new wave to art rock, stopping only for refills of hairspray along the way. An amazing band both live and in the studio, the Cure may have shifted its lineup numerous times, but Smith has remained a consistently fascinating rock icon throughout the changes. The group's most popular work (DISINTEGRATION, THE HEAD ON THE DOOR) was recorded in the 1980s, but it has held up incredibly well, leading to continued tours and albums despite exaggerated rumors of their demise.

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