The Cure
Disintegration (Deluxe Edition)
Elektra/Rhino
By Al Kaufman
By the time The Cure released Disintegration in 1989, they were bonafide superstars. Their 1987 release, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, led by the singles “Just Like Heaven” and “Why Can’t I Be You,” propelled them from the favorite band of the lost and disenfranchised youth to a band your younger, Cyndi Lauper-loving, sister might enjoy. All of a sudden they were a pop band. The Cure built on that success with Disintegration. “Pictures of You,” “Lovesong” and “Fascination Street” all scored major radio airplay, and the band went on to tour stadiums before self-destructing and, like almost every ’80s band, reuniting every once in a while with different lineups and lesser success.
If Disintegration can be considered the Cure’s swansong (they have since released four albums of new, spotty material), then it should also be considered the album in which Robert Smith and the boys grew up. Listening to this album 21 years later is not an embarrassing act. While Pornography may be considered by many to be the Cure’s high water mark, it does not hold up as well over time. Songs geared for black mascara wearing youths sound silly to those same people after they have grown up and joined the establishment. But Disintegration sounds like an album made by adults, for adults. Yes, there is still angst and inner-turmoil, but what adult does not have that? With its textured, swirling melodies and mood-setting instrumental openings, the album sounds richer and more expressive than previous outings without all the teenage whining and self-loathing. In fact, the album is so rich that the record company wanted them to go back and remix it, worried that the lengthy intro and overall downbeat nature would scare off radio executives looking for a hit. Thankfully, the Cure had enough clout at the time to stick to their guns and prove their record company wrong.
