The Top (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Top | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Studio album by The Cure | |||||
| Released | May 1, 1984 | ||||
| Recorded | Genetic, Garden studios, Trident, 1983 - 1984 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative Rock | ||||
| Length | 40:55 | ||||
| Label | Fiction | ||||
| Producer | David M. Allen, Chris Parry, Robert Smith |
||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
|
|||||
| The Cure chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Singles from The Top | |||||
|
|||||
The Top is the fifth studio album by British alternative rock band The Cure, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music).
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Top was the studio album to follow Pornography. After Pornography, Robert Smith found himself without his friend Simon Gallup, who departed the band due to a fight.
Smith then took a radical shift in his music. Just months after the bleak Pornography, the band released the single "Let's Go to Bed" which just featured Smith, Lol Tolhurst and session drummer Steve Goulding. Following this was "The Walk", and then "The Lovecats". All three were poppy and upbeat and featured little guitar, very different from the things they'd done in the four albums prior. The Top is the first album to follow this new side of The Cure.
Due to the conflicts and band lineup troubles, Smith wrote almost all of the music himself, and played almost all the instruments (except the drums). As such, this is closer to a Robert Smith solo album than any other album in the band's history, seen as experimental and transitional.[1]
The Top was The Cure's first studio album to chart in the U.S.
[edit] 2006 re-release
The album was re-released August 8, 2006 in the U.S. and August 14 in the UK. The first CD had the original album with remastered sound. Due to a mastering problem, "Bananafishbones" appeared on the original album at a slower speed than it was recorded, which lowered its pitch by a semitone. The 2006 remaster has restored the track to its original speed and pitch, making it nearly 15 seconds shorter.
The second disk had four unreleased tracks, live performances and studio outtakes of all ten songs on the original album (and it's two B-sides "Happy the Man" and "Throw Your Foot", from "The Caterpillar").
[edit] Track listing
All songs by Robert Smith, except where noted.
[edit] Original 1984 release
- "Shake Dog Shake" – 4:55
- "Birdmad Girl" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 4:05
- "Wailing Wall" – 5:17
- "Give Me It" – 3:42
- "Dressing Up" – 2:51
- "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
[edit] 2006 "Deluxe Edition"
[edit] Disc one
Original album, as above, but with the intro drum roll of "Shake Dog Shake" shortened, and "Bananafishbones" sped up one semi-tone, making it 2:59.
[edit] Disc two
- "You Stayed..." (Robert Smith Home demo) - 2:21
- "Ariel" (Robert Smith Home demo) - 2:58
- "A Man Inside My Mouth" (Studio demo) - 3:40
- "Sadadic" (Robert Smith Studio demo) - 4:17
- "Shake Dog Shake" (Studio demo) - 4:56
- "Piggy in the Mirror" (Studio demo) - 3:40
- "Birdmad Girl" (Studio demo) - 3:36
- "Give Me It" (Studio demo) - 3:43
- "Throw Your Foot" (Studio demo) - 3:31
- "Happy the Man" (Studio demo) - 2:46
- "The Caterpillar" (Studio demo) - 4:17
- "Dressing Up" (Studio alt mix) - 2:14
- "Wailing Wall" (Studio alt mix) - 4:59
- "The Empty World" (Live bootleg) - 2:47
- "Bananafishbones" (Live bootleg) - 2:57
- "The Top" (Live bootleg) - 7:13
- "Forever (version)" (Live bootleg) - 4:58
[edit] Personnel
- Robert Smith - vocals, guitar, bass, and keyboards
- Andy Anderson - percussion, drums
- Lol Tolhurst - keyboards
- Porl Thompson - saxophone on Disc 1 and Disc 2, keyboards and guitar on live tracks on Disc 2
- Phil Thornalley - bass guitar on live tracks on Disc 2
[edit] Production
- Producers: Dave Allen, Chris Parry, Robert Smith
- Engineers: Dave Allen, Howard Grey
- Instrumentation: Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Billboard 200 | 180 |
[edit] References
- ^ Chris True. All Music Guide review.
