Back in Your Day
My 16-year-old daughter writes a newsletter reviewing classic rock albums from a modern teenager's perspective. She's deeply knowledgable and funny, so if you're into classic rock at all, check her out! Her latest piece is on The Cure and here's her take on Disintegration as a taste:
Disintegration was recorded following the bandâs sold out world tour promoting their best selling record at the time, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Things seemed to be going pretty well for the band, seeing as though they were bigger than ever. But much like every rock group to find massive success before them, tensions were rising. This was mostly due to keyboardist Lol Tulhurstâs alcoholism that was getting increasingly harder to ignore, which explains why he doesnât actually appear on this record, despite being credited under âother instruments.â The band ended up hiring an alternative keyboardist to fill in for Lol around this time, Roger OâDonnell, who was fresh off a world tour with The Psychedelic Furs. Roger was later hired permanently, and Disintegrationwould turn out to be Lolâs final ârecordâ with The Cure.
But I wonât blame rising tensions entirely on Lol because it was partially Robertâs fault too. He was fast approaching the big three-o, meaning he was slowly falling victim to a bit of quarter-life crisis. He felt very strongly that all rock nâ roll masterpieces were created well before their respective artists turned 30, and well, Iâm gonna call B.S. on that right now because itâs totally not true. John and Christine McVie on Fleetwood Macâs Rumours, Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelinâs Physical Graffiti, literally every Rolling Stone on Some Girls, what do these people have in common? They were all over the age of 30. And those are just a few examples that immediately come to mind and wouldâve been relevant in 1989, I could probably name you at least a dozen more. So really he had nothing to worry about, but I guess he had no way of knowing that he was creating a rock nâ roll masterpiece of his own at the time.
Anyway, this worry led him to take an effective vow of silence during the making of Disintegration, with the exception of the time he spent recording vocals. I think this quote from Roger in 2009 pretty much sums up the vibe.
âI remember very clearly laughing and joking and fooling around in the control room while Robert was singing Disintegration, and then all of us trying to be serious when he came in to listen back.â (Roger OâDonnell, 2009)
Itâs good that the rest of the band was enjoying this time together because I gather that The Prayer Tour (promoting Disintegration) sort of put an end to the whole getting along thing. The tour was such a mess that somewhere along the way someone declared it would be their final tour. It wasnât, obviously, but I feel like that tells you all you need to know about how things were going.
Wow, all that and we havenât even gotten into the music! I guess we should do that. They open with Plainsong, the first of many long, sprawling, synth-driven ballads. Itâs absolutely gorgeous, epic, even. If you listen to music mostly while in the car, you might be missing that beautiful wind chime solo at the start. If you are, I totally recommend turning your volume up and taking a listen. I also love the delay effect theyâve got on Robertâs vocals here. I think this darker genre suits his voice so much better than that Clash-style post-punk they had going on with Three Imaginary Boys.
As Plainsong fades out, Pictures of You fades in. Itâs a perfect transition, like these songs were made to be listened to back to back. Iâd initially thought that shimmering sound effect that Pictures of You begins with was some sort of wind chime, like we heard in Plainsong, but Iâm just now learning itâs actually a very-heavily processed 12-string electric guitar. The inspiration for Pictures of You apparently came from a house fire that was quite literally breaking apart Robertâs pictures of his wife Mary Poole. These lyrics have always confused me a little because from what I can tell he and Mary had a pretty healthy relationship, at least for a crazy-famous musician and a non-musician, and to me this song communicates the end of a relationship. Maybe that part was fictional? Then again, heâs openly admitted to lying to journalists before, so who really knows. But regardless of lyrical inspiration, this is by far one of Disintegrationâs strongest tracks, and probably my favorite, although itâs hard to choose.
Iâll skip over Closedown for the most part (nice synth riff there) and talk about Lovesong next. (Buttondown doesnât like that I made that one word) Much like Alanis Morissette can make being in love your fault, Robert Smith has a way of making being in love sound like some devastating tragedy. There really isnât a secret sadder meaning here, itâs an honest to god love song ⊠despite being in A minor.
âIt's taken me ten years to reach the point where I feel comfortable singing a very straightforward love song.â (Robert Smith, 2009)
This is Disintegrationâs biggest hit in terms of streaming numbers, and while I donât think itâs my personal #1, I do enjoy it. I just find other tracks here a little more lyrically interesting, which is honestly a big part of The Cureâs appeal for me.
Track 6, Lullaby, is another stand out, and I say that because it literally does stand out. I wouldnât call it happy per-se, because its lyrics are as disturbing as ever, but it certainly has a sort of whimsical vibe to it. Itâs all in those fake strings. (Rogerâs synthesizers) Normally Iâd be advocating for real strings, but you absolutely couldâve fooled me here, I canât tell the difference. I think the whispering gives this song sort of an eerie energy as well, rather than sad. I believe this was The Cureâs highest charting single in the UK, which is a little shocking, but I get it. Although the US mustâve disagreed because it only reached #74 there.
Iâd like to take a moment for Simon Gallupâs bass line on Fascination Street. Itâs one of my favorites of his, and it totally makes the song. Itâd totally be my favorite Disintegration bass line if it werenât for another that Iâll get to soon. Fascination Street has kind of a confusing atmosphere. Itâs surprisingly heavy for The Cure, but itâs also sort of dance-y? I like it.
I think this recordâs namesake, Disintegration, deserves more love than it gets. This is definitely my favorite of Simonâs bass lines, and itâs not close. If you havenât taken a listen to his isolated bass here, I recommend doing so because it sounds unreal. Disintegration is the longest of these 13 tracks, but I donât think it overstays its welcome all that much. It isnât quite as heavy as Fascination Street, but itâs got a bit of that energy to it. Iâm not quite sure if that primary riff is a synthesizer or a keyboard, but I love it.
Disintegration closes with Untitled. Strangely enough, Robert calls this song a âhopeful song in a hopeless world.â I mean, I know he wrote the song, but Iâm a little confused as to why he would say that. To me, these lyrics arenât communicating any sort of hope whatsoever, but what do I know? It does however communicate resolution. A depressing resolution to a depressing album, but a resolution nonetheless, which makes it a perfect closing track in my mind.
Iâm not quick to call an album a 10/10. 10/10 albums are perfect all the way through. It canât have skips, it canât be too long, but it canât be too short either. Itâs gotta be truly perfect, all the way through. I think most people are way too generous when it comes to 10âs. Just because itâs a classic doesnât mean itâs a 10. Just because you enjoy it doesnât mean itâs a 10. But I can say with total confidence that Disintegration by The Cure is without a doubt a 10/10. Robert Smith can rest easy knowing he created his very own rock nâ roll masterpiece at 30. I doubt any of you have managed to avoid all of these songs, but if youâve yet to give this a listen all the way through, I would 1000% recommend it.
Highlights:
Pictures of You
Lullaby
Disintegration
Final Score:Â 10/10 (Perfect)
To read the full review, find her archive and/or subscribe, visit her site, Back in Your Day.
