Wild Mood Swings

Wild Mood Swings
Studio album by The Cure
Released 7 May 1996
Recorded 1995 - 1996
Genre Alternative rock, gothic rock,[1] new wave
Length 61:36
Label Fiction (UK)
Elektra (U.S.)
Producer Steve Lyon,
Robert Smith
The Cure chronology

Wish
(1992)		 Wild Mood Swings
(1996)		 Bloodflowers
(2000)
Singles from Wild Mood Swings
  1. "The 13th"
    Released: 22 April 1996
  2. "Mint Car"
    Released: 17 June 1996
  3. "Strange Attraction"
    Released: 8 October 1996
  4. "Gone!"
    Released: 2 December 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
Entertainment Weekly B [3]
Rolling Stone [4]

Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by British alternative rock band The Cure, released on 7 May 1996 through Fiction Records.[5] After Wish, it seemed The Cure was on the brink of being disbanded due to the departure of Porl Thompson and Boris Williams. Simon Gallup was also forced to take a vacation due to health problems, which narrowed the lineup down to Robert Smith and Perry Bamonte. Nevertheless, the two of them managed to keep things afloat long enough for Gallup to return once he recovered and convinced Roger O'Donnell to rejoin the band. This is also the first album featuring drummer Jason Cooper, who played on 9 of the 14 tracks on the album, because several drummers were auditioning for the job at the time it was being recorded.

The album was poorly received by many Cure fans, with Wild Mood Swings selling just one million copies worldwide compared to the estimated four million sales of Wish. As of 2005, US sales stand at 363,410 according to SoundScan. However, Smith has gone on record to say, "It's one of my top five favourite Cure albums."[6] Wild Mood Swings did, however, chart at number nine in the UK Albums Chart, staying on chart for six weeks, and charted at number 12 in the US Billboard 200.[7][8] The album went gold in the US.[9] Four singles were released from the album, the first being "The 13th", released in April 1996, followed by "Mint Car" released in June, then "Strange Attraction" released in United States in October and finally "Gone!" released in Europe in December 1996.

Wild Mood Swings also joins The Top as one of the least performed albums in the Cure's repertoire. On the 2008 4Tour, the band only performed "Want" at a few dates and "Club America" in Mexico City. "Jupiter Crash" was played on the 2004 Curiosa Tour, and "Want" was usually played as the third song during the 2000 Bloodflowers Tour.[10] "Want" was played during the band's headline set at Reading Festival 2012. "Mint Car" was also played on some of the festivals in 2012. All other songs were last played live at the 1996 Swing Tour, with a few festival performances in 1998 of "Treasure".

Track listing

All songs by Bamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O'Donnell and Smith, except where noted.

  1. "Want" – 5:06
  2. "Club America" (Bamonte, Cooper, Gallup, Smith) – 5:02
  3. "This Is a Lie" – 4:29
  4. "The 13th" – 4:08
  5. "Strange Attraction" – 4:19
  6. "Mint Car" – 3:32
  7. "Jupiter Crash" – 4:15
  8. "Round & Round & Round" – 2:39
  9. "Gone!" – 4:31
  10. "Numb" – 4:49
  11. "Return" – 3:28
  12. "Trap" – 3:37
  13. "Treasure" – 3:45
  14. "Bare" – 7:57
Bonus track
15. "It Used to Be Me" – 6:50
(Japanese edition only - available worldwide as the B-side of the "The 13th" single).

Personnel

The Cure
Additional personnel
Brass
Strings
Percussion
Production

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
scope="row" Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 5
scope="row" Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 12
scope="row" Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[13] 37
scope="row" New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 10
scope="row" Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 13
scope="row" Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 2
scope="row" Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 9
scope="row" UK Albums (OCC)[18] 9
US Billboard 200[8] 12

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-mood-swings-mw0000646830
  2. ↑ AllMusic review
  3. ↑ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292459,00.html
  4. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/wild-mood-swings-19980202
  5. ↑ "The Cure : Official Site: Discography :: Wild Mood Swings". thecure.com. Retrieved December 2013.
  6. ↑ http://imaginaryboys.altervista.org/english/cure/articles/youasked.htm "Interview with Robert Smith 28 September 2007
  7. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/Cure/
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-mood-swings-mw0000646830/awards
  9. ↑ "Gold and Platinum: Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
  10. ↑ http://www.cure-concerts.de/main/2000.php "Cure Concerts Guide 13 April 2009
  11. ↑ "The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Cure – Wild Mood Swings" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Cure – Wild Mood Swings" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2013.
  14. ↑ "The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2013.
  15. ↑ "The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2013.
  16. ↑ "The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2013.
  17. ↑ "The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2013.
  18. ↑ "Cure | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved December 2013.