Normally speaking, a box set of nothing but B-sides and unreleased tracks would only be of interest to rabid fans, but the Cure have never really been a "normal" band. While their longevity alone -- nearly 25 years -- is certainly the most obvious clue to their uniqueness, Robert Smith's true charm lies in his ability to craft memorable songs that inspire nothing less than emotional fervor in his and the band's fans. Over the years, the band's singles have achieved high sales and chart placings in numerous countries while the albums have become icons in themselves, with thousands of once gloomy teenagers being able to remember things based on when, say, Disintegration or Wish hit stores. While this successful output would usually be enough to cement a band's place in the big picture, Smith is also blessed with the ability to compile his work in a fashion that is second to none. For example, one of the best moves that he and the band made was back in 1986, when they decided to pad the cassette release of their 1986 singles collection Staring at the Sea with most of the B-sides dating back from 1978 (the remaining B-sides from the era were collected on the Japanese Whispers LP). Now in most cases, this would have been a minor annoyance, pulling away from the strength of the singles (and those singles were not only strong, but incredibly diverse) and filling space with songs that are put on the backs of singles for a reason. But in this case, the Cure were just as good (and in some cases more outlandish) at making B-sides as they were hits. Unfortunately, when it came time for the Cure to do it again in 1997 with the Galore collection, the B-sides were nowhere to be found. While neophytes may not have even noticed, those in the know were disappointed, to say the least. Where was "A Japanese Dream" or "Harold & Joe" or "2 Late"? Subsequently, fans had to hunt down singles, soundtracks, and compilations for these gems, while others were left in the dark as to what the band wasn't making readily available.
CD covers included
LINK part 1
LINK part 2
LINK part 3
LINK part 4
LINK part 5
Track list:
CD 1
101.10.15 Saturday Night
102.Plastic Passion
103.Pillbox Tales
104.Do the Hansa
105.I'm Cold
106.Another Journey by Train
107.Descent
108.Splintered in Her Head
109.Lament (Flexipop Version)
110.Just One Kiss
111.The Dream
112.The Upstairs Room
113.Lament
114.Speak My Language
115.Mr Pink Eyes
116.Happy the Man
117.Throw Your Foot
118.New Day
119.The Exploding Boy
120.A Few Hours After This
121.A Man Inside My Mouth
122.Stop Dead
CD 2
201.A Japanese Dream
202.Breathe
203.A Chain of Flowers
204.Snow in Summer
205.Sugar Girl
206.Icing Sugar (Weird Remix)
207.Hey You!!! (Kevorkian 12" Remix)
208.How Beautiful You Are (Clearmountain 7")
209.To the Sky
210.Babble
211.Out of Mind
212.2 Late
213.Fear of Ghosts
214.Hello I Love You (Psychedelic Version)
215.Hello I Love You
216.Hello I Love You (10sec Version)
217.Harold and Joe
218.Just Like Heaven ('Chuck' Remix)
CD 3
301.This Twilight Garden
302.Play
303.Halo
304.Scared as You
305.The Big Hand
306.A Foolish Arrangement
307.Doing the Unstuck (Saunders 12" Remix)
308.Purple Haze (Virgin Radio Version)
309.Purple Haze
310.Burn
311.Young Americans
312.Dredd Song
313.It Used to Be Me
314.Ocean
315.Adonais
CD 4
401.Home
402.Waiting
403.A Pink Dream
404.This Is a Lie (Palmer Remix)
405.Wrong Number (Smith Remix)
406.More Than This
407.World in My Eyes
408.Possession
409.Out of This World (Oakenfold Remix)
410.Maybe Someday (Hedges Remix)
411.Coming Up
412.Signal to Noise (Acoustic Version)
413.Signal to Noise
414.Just Say Yes (Curve Remix)
415.A Forest (Plati/Slick Version)
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