Once again, great B-sides!
David Parker | burlington, vermont United States | 10/20/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Like the four other songs that didn't make the U.S. version of the new album, this single includes two non-album tracks that are better than most songs on the "The Cure". Goes to show you that the record company obviously exerted great influence on the band to release an album that never took REAL fans into account one iota. Via the singles or import albums, check out the other songs from these sessions (Going Nowhere, Truth Goodness and Beauty, This Morning and Fake) to see what I mean. All are Classic Cure: mid-tempo, melodic, and not out of place on anything from Disintegration to Wish to Bloodflowers. And NOT designed to sell albums to fans of fukking Interpol!"
Great B-sides from a great band
Brandon | Oakton, VA United States | 10/15/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'll keep this brief since it's only a 3 track disc. Basically if you have the "Join The Dots" B-side boxset, you know the Cure make some great B-sides, which in many cases are better than the album tracks. Alt.end is no exception; both bonus tracks would have been great on the Cure's last album. The last reviewer mentioned that a double album would have been appropriate--actually that was Robert Smith's original intention, to have one disc of upbeat tunes and one disc of downers. If you listen to all of the tracks from the last session, you can figure out how the double album might have sounded. Personally I like their down tracks more but the schizophrenic balance of happy & melancholy is what makes the Cure so unique. Anyway, if you are a Cure fan, a real Cure fan, then the two bonus tracks are a bargain at only a few dollars. If you only like their radio pop hits then you might want to stick with Galore or Staring At The Sea, but if that were the case you probably wouldn't be looking at this single in the first place."
Great Single b/c of the B-sides
C. Mackey | Somerville, MA United States | 10/14/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I swear to God, the Cure could've released a double album this time around and it would have been perfect. "Alt.End" is a decent song, and this is a slightly abridged version. "Why Can't I Be Me?" is unreal, just plain beautiful. There is some fantastic guitar work during the verses and the bridge... why isn't this on the album? should be the name of the single. "Your God is Fear" is classic pensive Smith. He does a nice yelling effect midway through and really stresses his point. Pseudo-Bloodflowers era Cure here, but with balls... great single."