The Top (album)
The Top | ||||
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File:The Cure - The Top.jpg | ||||
Studio album by The Cure | ||||
Released | 30 April 1984 | |||
Recorded | 1983–1984 at Genetic, Garden Studios and Trident | |||
Length | 40:55 | |||
Label | Fiction | |||
Producer | David M. Allen, Chris Parry, Robert Smith | |||
The Cure chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Top | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Pitchfork Media | 6.9/10[3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Stylus Magazine | D+[5] |
The Top is the fifth studio album by English band The Cure, released on 30 April 1984 by Fiction Records.
Contents
2006 re-release
The album was re-released August 8, 2006 in the U.S. and August 14 in the UK.
The second disc has four previously unreleased tracks ("You Stayed", "Ariel", "A Hand Inside My Mouth" – lyrics from which were eventually used in "Inbetween Days" and "Six Different Ways" – and "Sadicic", which was repurposed as "New Day"), three live performances, and studio outtakes/demos of nine of the ten songs on the original album (and of "Happy the Man" and "Throw Your Foot", final versions of which were released as B-sides on the single "The Caterpillar"). A mastering error which resulted in "Bananafishbones" playing a semitone lower than intended was corrected on this 2006 re-release, with the correct pitch of the song restored.
Live performances
In April 2014, the Cure announced that in late 2014 they would be performing The Top, The Head on the Door and Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me in their entirety as part of their 3rd Trilogy tour.[6]
Track listing
All songs by Robert Smith, except where noted.
Original 1984 release
Side A
- "Shake Dog Shake" – 4:55
- "Bird Mad Girl" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 4:05[7]
- "Wailing Wall" – 5:17
- "Give Me It" – 3:42
- "Dressing Up" – 2:51
Side B
- "The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:40
- "Piggy in the Mirror" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:40
- "The Empty World" – 2:36
- "Bananafishbones" – 3:12
- "The Top" – 6:50
2006 "Deluxe Edition"
Disc one
- "Shake Dog Shake"
- "Birdmad Girl"[7]
- "Wailing Wall"
- "Give Me It"
- "Dressing Up"
- "The Caterpillar"
- "Piggy In The Mirror"
- "The Empty World"
- "Bananafishbones"
- "The Top"
Disc two
- "You Stayed..." (Robert Smith home demo 8/82) – 2:21
- "Ariel" (Robert Smith home demo 8/82) – 2:58
- "A Hand Inside My Mouth" (Des Dames Studio demo 8/83) – 3:40
- "Sadacic" (Olympic Studio Robert Smith demo 12/83) – 4:17
- "Shake Dog Shake" (Garden/Eden Studios Robert Smith and Andy Anderson demo 12/83) – 4:56
- "Piggy in the Mirror" (Garden/Eden Studios Robert Smith and Andy Anderson demo 12/83) – 3:40
- "Birdmad Girl" (Garden/Eden Studios Robert Smith and Andy Anderson demo 12/83) – 3:36
- "Give Me It" (Garden/Eden Studios Robert Smith and Andy Anderson demo 12/83) – 3:43
- "Throw Your Foot" (Garden/Eden Studios Robert Smith and Andy Anderson demo 12/83) – 3:31
- "Happy the Man" (Garden/Eden Studios Robert Smith and Andy Anderson demo 12/83) – 2:46
- "The Caterpillar" (Garden/Eden Studios Robert Smith and Andy Anderson demo 12/83) – 4:17
- "Dressing Up" (Genetic Studio guide vocal/rough mix 2/84) – 2:14
- "Wailing Wall" (Genetic Studio rough mix 2/84) – 4:59
- "The Empty World" (live bootleg - Hammersmith Odeon 5/84) – 2:47
- "Bananafishbones" (live bootleg - Hammersmith Odeon 5/84) – 2:57
- "The Top" (live bootleg - Hammersmith Odeon 5/84) – 7:13
- "Forever (version)" (live bootleg - Zenith Paris 5/84) – 4:58
Personnel
- The Cure
- Robert Smith - vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, organ, violin, harmonica, recorder
- Lol Tolhurst - keyboards
- Andy Anderson - drums, percussion
- Additional musicians
- Porl Thompson - saxophone (on disc 1 and 2), keyboards, guitar (on Live tracks on disc 2)
- Phil Thornalley - bass guitar (on Live tracks on disc 2)
Production
- Producers: Dave Allen, Chris Parry, Robert Smith
- Engineers: Dave Allen, Howard Grey
- Instrumentation: Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
Year | Chart | Position |
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1984 | The Billboard 200 | 180 |
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://whfs.cbslocal.com/2014/02/03/the-cure-announces-new-album-and-next-round-of-trilogy-shows/
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Sometimes spelled "Birdmad girl" like in the 2006 Deluxe edition, "Bird Mad Girl" is the title found on the original LP, on later re-releases as well as on The Cure's official website.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.