The Cure - The Greatest Hits Acoustic [Vinyl] (ONLINE ORDER ONLY)

Personnel: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass); Laurence Tolhurst (various instruments, keyboards, drums); Porl Thompson, Perry Bamonte (guitar, keyboards); Mathieu Hartley, Roger O'Donnell (keyboards); Michael Dempsey, Simon Gallup, Phil Thornalley (bass); Steve Goulding, Andy Anderson, Boris Williams, Jason Cooper (drums); Saffron (background vocals). Producers include: Robert Smith, David M. Allen, Steve Lyon, Mark Saunders, Mark Plati. By way of distinguishing GREATEST HITS from the other Cure collections on the market, let's first note that most of the doom and gloom for which the band is often derided is largely absent here due to the disinclusion of most of their early material. The bulk of this disc is devoted to mid-period cure classics such as the simultaneously innocent and randy "Let's Go to Bed," the breathless, horn-driven "Close to Me," and the bouncy, jazz-tinged "The Lovecats." To prove that the Cure didn't peter out after the Reagan era, GH reminds us that the transcendently effervescent pop gem "Friday I'm in Love" and the hard-driving rocker "Never Enough" stand as tall as the group's earlier efforts. A couple of attractive new tunes are tacked on for the benefit of those who've already got everything else here.

• UPC: 081227935252
• Format: Vinyl
• Label: Elektra
• Genre: Rock