| The Top | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by The Cure | ||||
| Released | 30 April 1984 | |||
| Recorded | Genetic, Garden studios, Trident, 1983 - 1984 | |||
| Genre | Gothic rock, post-punk, new wave, psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 40:55 | |||
| Label | Fiction (UK) Sire (U.S. original release) Rhino (2006 reissue) |
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| 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 | link |
| Pitchfork Media | (6.9/10) link |
The Top is the fifth studio album by British band The Cure, released in 1984.
Contents |
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". These three singles and their b-sides were compiled and became Japanese Whispers (1983). The Top is the first conventional studio album to follow this new side of The Cure. It marks a change from the upbeat synthpop of Japanese Whispers to a psychedelic, experimental sound.
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.
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").
All songs by Robert Smith, except where noted.
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Billboard 200 | 180 |