Cure Faith: Deluxe Edition CD

Additional Tracks

The Cure: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Simon Gallup (bass); Laurence Tolhurst (drums).
Engineers: Mike Hedges, Graham Carmichael, David Kemp.
This remastered edition features a 15-track bonus disc of rarities that includes numerous demos, studio outtakes, and live performances.
The Cure: Robert Smith (vocals, bass guitar); Simon Gallup (bass guitar); Laurence Tolhurst (drum machine).
Personnel: Robert Smith (guitar, flute, piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Laurence Tolhurst (drums).
Recording information: Australasia (08/1980-10/1981); Capitol Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (08/1980-10/1981); Morgan Studio (08/1980-10/1981).
Photographers: Andrew Douglas; Chantal Coves; Ralph Denyer; Peter Musebrink; Kerstin Stelter; Richard Bellia; Bunny Lake; Jill Furmanovsky; Porl Thompson.
Certainly not the "darkest" the Cure would eventually get, Faith is, as represented by the cover art, one of the most "gray" records out there. Melancholy and despondent (the feel of funerals and old churches just oozes from this record) without the anger that would over take Pornography, Faith comes off as not just a collection of songs, but as a full piece. "The Holy Hour," "All Cats Are Grey," and the spectacular "Faith" are slow atmospheric pieces that take the softer elements from Seventeen Seconds, and -- when sidled up next to faster tracks like the single "Primary" and "Doubt" -- paint an overall picture of the ups and downs contained within a greater depressive period. But it's not all gloomy keyboards and minimalist percussion, Faith is also a milestone for Robert Smith lyrically, branching out into questions of faith and spirituality he never quite touched on so well ever again. A depressing record, certainly, but also one of the most underrated and beautiful albums the Cure put together. They would not touch on this sort of lush sadness so well again until 1989's Disintegration. ~ Chris True
If you ever observed (or were) a pale depressed-looking teenager dressed entirely in black, sitting in the corner scribbling frantically into a marble bound notebook, then you already understand the Cure. In the 1980s, the Cure provided the soundtrack for an entire generation of misfit toys, and if SEVENTEEN SECONDS was a wake-up call for the dispossessed, FAITH is the daily affirmation. Scaled back down to a three-piece with the loss of keyboardist Hartley, the Cure is a lean, mean fighting machine, ready to rumble.
"Rumble" is the best way to describe the propulsive bass playing of Simon Gallup, whose rolling bass anchors both mid-tempo numbers like "The Drowning Man" and faster fare such as "Primary." While no new ground is broken ("Doubt" is basically a rewrite of "Play for Today"), FAITH is stunning in its simplicity and haunting beauty, as evidenced by "All Cats Are Grey" and "The Funeral Party." Even drummer and mascot Lol Tolhurst's minimal beats work to perfection next to the spare-yet-effective instrumentation of "Faith." This is quintessential Cure.
Part two of an unofficial trilogy that begins with 1980's Seventeen Seconds and ends with 1982's Pornography -- acknowledged as such by Rhino, who unloaded deluxe reissues of all three on the same day -- Faith now comes with the expected second disc of demos, outtakes, scarcities, and so-so-sounding performance material. The most noteworthy addition to Faith's original running order is "Carnage Visors," a sprawling funeral march that gradually fades in and then out after half an hour, as if it's only a segment from a piece that's being generated until the end of time. Its actual purpose: as a score to a film, made by Simon Gallup's brother, which preceded the band during some tour dates. Previously available only on the cassette version of Faith, it appears at the end of disc one, giving the album proper the feel of a double LP. (So, instead of the traditional, frenzied freak-out that you'd get at the end of some psychedelics-aSpin (p.109) - "'Primary' is as catchy as anything Ian Curtis managed."
Uncut (p.124) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]here's a warmth and meditative quality to Smith's production and songwriting..."
Alternative Press (11/01, p.104) - Included in AP's "10 Essential Goth Albums" - "...Epitomizes the Cure's sense of gravitas...It's short, but the earth stands still regardless."