The Cure Show

As previously noted, captures the Cure at the peak of their musical and concert prowess.

An important element not mentioned is Boris Williams (formerly Thompson Twins) on drums - I view the Cure's peak musical period as that when he joined (Head On The Door) to when he departed (I believe Wish was his last album appearance). This drummer's solid performance is eclipsed by few - there are flashier drummers, but Williams does a bang-up job of nailing down the bottom end and providing a solid foundation for the Cure's rich textures and often-dense arrangements.

Furthermore, this is a documentary of the Wish tour - at the time, I was dumb enough not to see the tour, because at the time I (like many Cure fans) viewed Wish as a disappointing album. Seeing this video will prompt a huge reassessment of that view, I can assure you - Wish is by far the most advanced musically and technically of all the Cure's material - Disintegration may be a more satisfying listen, but in terms of theory/execution Wish is the winner, and virtually every strong track from that album is here - and the true measure of a rock band is do the songs improve when done live - the answer is an emphatic YES in this case.

Finally, unlike many concert videos that are abridged, this one is the entire show, from beginning to the aforementioned glorious finale - and as far as I know the Cure's policy of no overdubs (a dirty little secret of the live album/video music biz) is in force.

Special mention - the minor vocal rearrangement on the refrain of "Why Can't I Be You?" REALLY WORKS.

So, get it. View it. Usually you have to be a big fan of a band to sit through their whole concert video, but there are a few that are the opposite, and may make you a fan instead - Talking Heads/Stop Making Sense being the best example of the latter - but Show also will likely accomplish this. If you're already a fan who hasn't seen this one, treat yourself.

I bought this tape on a whim at a record store several years ago. I had heard of the Cure before, but wasn't that into them at the time. I put the tape in and was instantly in love! I watched it nonstop all weekend, and then went out and bought some of their albums. I built a huge collection, including rare overseas records and music vids. I have been a rabid Cure fan ever since, and I would recommend this show to everyone. I had the rare joy of seeing the Cure live at the Curiosa Festival here in Phoenix last year. It was all I hoped for, and more. I openly wept when Robert came out, it was a dream come true. They played a full two hour set for us, and they played everything from "Edge of the deep green sea" to "Charlotte sometimes" and much much more. Get this show, either on CD or tape, and watch it. You won't be disappointed!