![Faith [Deluxe Edition]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0007XT8A8.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg)
Release Date: 26 April, 2005
Audio CD
Tracks
- Holy Hour
- Primary
- Other Voices
- All Cats Are Grey
- Funeral Party
- Doubt
- Drowning Man
- Faith
- Carnage Visors: The Soundtrack (Bonus Track)
- Faith
- Doubt
- Drowning
- Holy Hour
- Primary
- Going Home Time
- Violin Song
- Normal Story
- All Cats Are Grey
- Funeral Party
- Other Voices
- Drowning Man
- Faith
- Forever
- Charlotte Sometimes
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Rating 4.5
Not a good follow upThe perfect minimalism of Seventeen Seconds was a hard act to follow. Robert Smith's answer to that was to write a pretentious album about religion. I guess back then one had to deal with the demons of Catholicism. Now England is very secular and this theistic world seems very remote. When I first heard this album I probably only liked the U.K. hit "Primary" which they used to play a lot on KROQ too. I liked the emotion of the songs "The Holy Hour" and "All Cats Are Grey." But now listening to the songs this stuff seems childish and them just trying too hard. I remember at the time Crass and Public Image Limited tried to make statements about religion, and although they seemed powerful at the time, they are laughable now. While this album is a whole just as all their albums are, it yielded another standout track "Other Voices." The Cure also started wearing more makeup and hairspray at this time. Their new discovery of the funereal had an outward manifestation. Albums used to be short back in those days, so this CD offers the original, eight-song album on the first disc, along with "Carnage Visors," originally the B-side for the cassette version of Faith, on CD for the first time. The 15-song bonus disc includes four previously unreleased songs, and live performances from 1980-1981. Most of this stuff is rough. The live tracks from Faith are worthwhile. One of their best early songs "Charlotte Sometimes" was left off the album. That was a mistake.
Utter PerfectionSleek. Streamlined. Minimalist. Incredibly beautiful and surprisingly varied. Faith manages to capture the Cure at their creative peak. From start to finish, this album is nothing short of perfection. The words and vocals, the music, the production and engineering - they all fall right into place. Nearly all these songs can be considered Cure classics ( for the fans of the band who prefer the darker, more serious Cure to the upbeat, more pop oriented side). Primary. Other Voices. The Funeral Party. And my personal favourite The Drowning Man. All incredible. This remastered and expanded edition sounds terrific as well, which is icing on the cake. The original cd issue on the Elektra label just didn't sound quite right. There was distortion in many of the basslines, and the keyboards sounded hollow and tinny. This version corrects those mastering mistakes. The synths are warm and rich in tone, and the highs and lows in the mix are much easier on the ear. Granted, the subject matter isn't exactly "upbeat" but the messages are important, and certainly open to interpretation. Listen to the final, title track. The last words - "there's nothing left but faith" - can be seen as a sign of defeat or of hope, depending on how it is taken. The extras on the bonus disc are a revelation, tracking the evolution of the songs on Faith, from listening to the demos, the songs in their rawest form, to hearing the live versions, where they are performed with complete conviction, if not total technical proficiency. My favourite here has to be the often bootlegged, 10 minute version of the title cut "Faith" performed in Australia and originally featured on the b-side to the Charlotte Sometimes 12" single. "This is the last song it's called Faith" Robert says. Turn the volume up very loud and you can here one lone female scream, then the count-off "one, two, three, four" and the familiar beat kicks in, the mourful bassline, and Robert's signature guitar playing. This IS the Cure. VERY GOODExcellent Re-master. The first 5 tracks on CD 2 are really for those fans that are the most-obsessed. They give a very raw look at what these songs were to become. Boring for those who just want the ironed-out or live versions. I loved them as you can trace the raw elements to the finished works. |
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