Glove Blue Sunshine CD

Though not officially a Cure album, the Glove's sole outing, 1983's BLUE SUNSHINE, received the deluxe remastered/reissued treatment along with a trio of mid-'80s Cure classics in 2006. This project, a collaboration between Cure mastermind Robert Smith and Siouxsie & the Banshees bassist Steve Severin, was released shortly before THE TOP, the Cure's most experimental record, and the Banshees' atmospheric HYAENA (which had Smith sitting in on guitar), and finds the duo indulging in darkly whimsical synth-pop tunes. Drawing their name from the Beatles' YELLOW SUBMARINE animated film, Smith and Severin offer up songs that echo both of their bands, while occasionally adding a swirling current of psychedelia, as evidenced on the propulsive "Like an Animal," featuring Siouxsie sound-alike Landray, and the playful "Mr. Alphabet Says," a kissing cousin to the Cure's "The Lovecats."

This project, a collaboration between Cure mastermind Robert Smith and Siouxsie & the Banshees bassist Steve Severin, was released shortly before THE TOP, the Cure's most experimental record, and the Banshees' atmospheric HYAENA (which had Smith sitting in on guitar), and finds the duo indulging in darkly whimsical synth-pop tunes. Drawing their name from the Beatles' YELLOW SUBMARINE animated film, Smith and Severin offer up songs that echo both of their bands, while occasionally adding a swirling current of psychedelia, as evidenced on the propulsive "Like an Animal," featuring Siouxsie sound-alike Landray, and the playful "Mr. Alphabet Says," a kissing cousin to the Cure's "The Lovecats."

This one-off collaboration between the Cure's Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees' Steven Severin resulted in an eccentric, and at times incompatible, mix of psychedelic sounds wrapped around alternative '80s pop. Writers Smith and Severin's more eccentric tendencies are as likely to evoke pictures of a carnival as a funereal march, but the backbone rests largely on tightly constructed tunes with occasional forays into the experimental. Jeanette Landray sings the majority of the tracks, while Smith takes the lead twice among a smattering of instrumentals. Standout tracks include the Middle Eastern-twinged "Orgy" and the more conventional "Mouth to Mouth." Smith's distinctive warbling on the first-class "Perfect Murder" takes the album directly into Cure territory, as do the instrumentals that could equally find a home on Seventeen Seconds. While musically diverse, the album's lyrics rarely stray from the dual themes of death and sex, furthering the gothic undertones so often heard in Smith's and Severin's previous work. Blue Sunshine's eclecticism makes this an interesting side note for longtime fans of the Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees, but a somewhat more inaccessible listen for others. [The 2006 reissue contains a bonus disc of remixes, alternate mixes, and demos that more than double the original running length of the album and present a definitive and complete look at the group's short history.] ~ Brendan Swift

A unique psychedelic collaboration between members of new wave luminaries of The Cure and Siouxie & The Banshees; includes "Sex-eye-make-up" and "Blues In Drag." 1990, German import.

The Glove: Robert Smith , Steven Severin (various instruments).

Personnel: Ginny Hewes, Anne Stephenson, Martin McCarrick (strings); Andy Anderson (drums).

Photographers: Steven Severin; Tom Sheehan.

Arranger: Steven Severin.

The Glove includes: Robert Smith, Steve Severin.

Additional personnel: Jeanette Landray (vocals); Ginny Hewes, Anne Stephenson, Martin McCarrick, Andy Anderson .

Rolling Stone (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n all-time lost classic....Full of wigged-out psychedelic adventures..."
Uncut (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] dreamy psychedelic pop record..."