THE CURE レコード& CD

Review: Legendary emo indie outfit The Cure have played all over the world in their decorated careers but back in 1996 when they headed to Brazil, it was the first time they had been to the country since 1988. They were there for the 1996 edition of the Hollywood Rock Festival which they headlined in superb fashion and wowed their Latin American fans. Live Lullabies & Other Bedtime Stories is a special recording of that night that comes on nice yellow vinyl and features the likes of signature anthems like 'Boys Don't Cry,' 'Friday I'm In Love,' 'Just Like Heaven' and many more.

Review: A selection plucked from Robert Smith and co's 1984 Washington show, with a neat collection of tracks from what many would see as the band in their prime. The contrast between raw, speedy new wave anthems like 'Boy's Don't Cry' and '10:15 Saturday Night', the epic gothfest 'A Forest' and the cuter pop idiosycracities of 'The Caterpillar' show how quickly the Crawley gang evolved in their early days. Obviously, they had a long way to go after this, but many would say this is The Cure at their absolute finest.

Review: The Cure are one of those bands everyone should know, and do their best to try and see. With their roots in what was a nascent post punk sound, they quickly - like album two, quickly - turned to a darker, altogether weirder and artsier hybrid New Romantic sound before introducing clear pop sensibilities a little later. You can't help but feel they've carved out a completely unique place for themselves in the pantheons as a result. Of course, that's in retrospect and13 studio albums, 30 singles, and 30million unit sales later. But, as this collection of live recordings for broadcasting icon John Peel's BBC radio shows proves, even in their earliest incarnation there was something very different about Robert Smith and comrades. There's not a lot more that needs to be said, really. Perhaps aside from 'buy it'.