Bloodflowers

Bloodflowers
Studio album by The Cure
Released 15 February 2000
Recorded 1998–1999 at St Catherines Court, Avon and RAK Studios, London
Genre Gothic rock
Length 64:29
Label Fiction
Producer Robert Smith, Paul Corkett
The Cure chronology

Wild Mood Swings
(1996)		 Bloodflowers
(2000)		 The Cure
(2004)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 69/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
Robert Christgau [3]
Dotmusic [4]
Entertainment Weekly A–[5]
NME 7/10[6]
Pitchfork 7.5/10[7]
Rolling Stone [8]
Spin 7/10[9]
Q [1]

Bloodflowers is the eleventh album by English band The Cure, released in 2000. The album is seen as a sombre return to form by critics[10] and fans alike. Robert Smith has expressed on several occasions that the album is the final part in his "trilogy" (the 3 albums he feels best define The Cure), the first being the 1982 album Pornography, and the second being the 1989 album Disintegration.

History

Bloodflowers is considered by many Cure fans to be a return to the band's roots after the stylistic departure of Wild Mood Swings. It is the third and final album in Robert Smith's "trilogy" of the three albums he feels most express The Cure. In 2002, the band performed Pornography, Disintegration, and Bloodflowers in their entirety to a Berlin audience, and released the recording on DVD in 2003, titled The Cure: Trilogy.

Bloodflowers was a moderate success, debuting at #16 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, eventually selling 300,000 copies in America. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2001.

The album is the last so far to feature extensive use of keyboards. The 2004 album The Cure uses keyboards much more sparingly and after the departure of Roger O'Donnell following the release of the album and the following tour, the band was stripped down to a 4-piece, featuring no keyboards at all.

On the 2007-2008 4Tour, the band played "Out of This World", "Watching Me Fall" (once in Mexico City on October 22, 2007), "Maybe Someday", and "Bloodflowers" at various shows.

"39" was last performed on the 2004 Curiosa Tour.

Except for the 2002 Trilogy shows in Berlin, the other songs have not been played since the 2000 Dream Tour, although "Last Day of Summer" was soundchecked for 2008, but never played.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by The Cure (Smith/Gallup/Bamonte/Cooper/O'Donnell). 

No. Title Length
1. "Out of This World"   6:44
2. "Watching Me Fall"   11:13
3. "Where the Birds Always Sing"   5:44
4. "Maybe Someday"   5:04
5. "Coming Up" (Bonus track on the Australian and Japanese versions of Bloodflowers. It also appears on all vinyl versions and Join the dots box set.) 6:26
6. "The Last Day of Summer"   5:36
7. "There Is No If..."   3:44
8. "The Loudest Sound"   5:09
9. "39"   7:20
10. "Bloodflowers"   7:31

Complete Session

  1. "Possession" – was released in the Join the Dots box set.
  2. "Just Say Yes" – original version released on the Greatest Hits Demos & Rarities Microsite in 2001; rerecorded version released on the Greatest Hits CD.
  3. "You're So Happy (You Could Kill Me)!" – cover version with different music circulates P2P networks.
  4. "Heavy World" – instrumental on "Lost Flowers" demo; speculated to be released on the Bloodflowers reissue.
  5. "Everything Forever" – instrumental on the "Lost Flowers" demo; speculated to be on the Bloodflowers reissue.

Promos

No commercial singles were released from Bloodflowers, but two promotional singles were released to DJs and radio stations.

Personnel

Production

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
2000 The Billboard 200 16
Top Internet Albums 2

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
2000 "Maybe Someday" Modern Rock Tracks 10

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Critic Reviews for Bloodflowers – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bloodflowers – The Cure : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: The Cure". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  4. ↑ Strickland, Andy. "Dotmusic – Album Review – The Cure – |Bloodflowers' (Fiction)". Archived from the original on 23 August 2000. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  5. ↑ Schinder, Scott (18 February 2000). "[Bloodflowers review]". Entertainment Weekly: 86. Archived from the original on 1 April 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  6. ↑ "NME Album Reviews – Bloodflowers – nme.com". nme.com. February 8, 2000. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  7. ↑ Ott, Chris (February 15, 2000). "The Cure: Bloodflowers| Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  8. ↑ Berger, Arion (2 March 2000). "Bloodflowers | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  9. ↑ Spitz, Marc. "Spin | Heavy Rotation | The Cure | Bloodflowers | Elektra/Fiction". spin.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Album Reviews - Bloodflowers". NME. 8 February 2000. Retrieved 13 November 2012.

External links