"The Cure has never failed to amaze me, though as their sound progresses from strictly guitar to a more techno-ish quality, it loses some passion. Robert Smith makes a game out of falling in and out of love. His songs are a glimmer of hope seen through the eyes of a doubting Thomas. All in all, every album is, in itself, beautiful and brilliant. "The 13th" single is no less, though I am not a huge fan of remixes and forced habit. Simply to buy this album for the song "It Used to be Me", simply to spend the money for it is, in my opinion, worth it."
Buy it for "It Used To Be Me"
chernabog1 | Mansfield, OH USA | 09/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I can take or leave these 13th remixes. The song isn't that great to begin with. However, this is the only place that you can find "It Used To Be" which sounds more like a Disintegration B-side than one from Wild Mood Swings. A dark and moody song that is vintage Robert...vintage Cure. It is worth the price of the CD to be able to listen to that song over and over again."
Echoing the other reviews...
Kevin White | Keller, Texas | 05/13/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you're shopping for Cure single-CDs, I'll assume you've probably heard and probably own the song The 13th. If not, you can go hear a short sample of it by looking up the album "Wild Mood Swings" here at Amazon. It's a good song with interesting wordplay and crystal-clear production. I'm not sure I could tell a difference between the two "remixes" of it on this single (so if you were expecting the song to be taken in a new direction a la "Mixed Up", you'll be disappointed). But it's worth owning if you don't own it on "Galore" or "Wild Mood Swings".However, as the other reviewers have said, the strength of this disc for a Cure fan is its "B-sides", Ocean and It Used to Be Me. Ocean is vintage laid-back Cure contemplation, complete with mellow touches of that flanged guitar, cello, a gong, and Robert's "quiet" voice (with very subtle harmonization). It's sublime.It Used to Be Me is the most urgent Cure song I think I have in my collection. I see this as coming from the same direction as the song End from the 1992 album "Wish", if you recall that. It's Robert speaking directly of and to his rabid, worshipping fanbase. On It Used to Be Me, his voice soars and pleads in an unprecedented way. It's Robert being Robert, and it comes off as brutally honest and direct. I'm no longer a hopeless Cure fan, having long since moved on to hundreds of other bands, but there are some tunes that remain part of my current musical consciousness, and this single-CD contains three of them. This disc is well worth buying and keeping and deserves a place in your collection."
A FAVOURITE.(and angry too!)
Ron Flores is BEAKMAN1@AOL.com | somewhere buried under CDs in the United States | 08/23/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My review for this CD is mainly due to the fact that it holds one of my personal favourite Cure songs "It Used to be Me"(and "Ocean" is really good too, plus an alternate "the 13th"). Someone really ticked off Robert before they cut this one and it shows. Bob sings about being stuck in a dead end relationship and feeling striped of dignity and identity. And that he realizes how it changes him.Man, when will people learn, if you wrong this boy, he's just gonna turn around and write an angry song about you. gee. some people.Anyway. I dig this song. It's pure Electricity. I even enjoy it more than any song off of Wild Mood Swings. And I can't understand why it isn't recorded on there. Or even on a soundtrack, or a compilation. Or anywhere where more people can hear it. Darn it Robert. What's wrong with you. I just can't figure you out.Right now he'll be writing a song about me. An angry one."
The B-sides are worth it!
Ron Flores is BEAKMAN1@AOL.com | 10/02/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The remixes of "The 13th" I could really care less about, but the song "It used to be me" is one of the best, if not the best, Cure song on the market. This is a "must have" for any real Cure fan. Breathtaking........"