Mike76

Although I completed the Banshees' discography long ago, listened to "Boomerang" at least 5 decades ago, and purchased "Anima Animus" when it was released, I never bothered to listen to the early works of the Creatures project until last week (what a coincidence) with "A Bestiary Of." I must say it was a nice discovery—stripped-down tracks with a tropical flavor that can remind one of certain things by Jon Hassel(?), and it’s certainly curious to hear Susanna's voice in such soundscapes so distant from punk. The cherry on top is the very personal and disconcerting cover of "Wild Thing" by The Troggs. I'm not sure I fully understood the review, but kudos to the reviewer for the digging and for revealing the connection between the cover and "Psycho"; I hadn't made that connection. Nevertheless, scattering his works with cinematic, literary, and artistic references is a hallmark of Siouxsie.

Read 4 or 5 decades ago twice (the first time I thought I didn't understand it), I must admit that I don't remember much, but I recall that it didn't particularly "captivate" me despite the second reading. You would have made me want to reread it if it weren't for the mountain of new readings I already have pending.

That our heroes weren't too convinced about this work is also demonstrated by the fact that several tracks from the album were missing from the setlist of the concert I attended in Treviso in October '96, including paradoxically the first two singles "The 13th" and "Mint Car." It's like a promotional tour without promotion. Having become a big fan of theirs with "Wish," I waited impatiently and with "curiosity" for their new release for four years, and in the end, it was a bit of a disappointment. I wondered if the mild disappointment was due to confronting a actually subpar work or just unmet expectations, perhaps a bit of both.
Looking at it with a clear mind, I would say, WHAT WORKS: "The 13th" and "Mint Car" are nice and snappy pop songs; maybe if I were their record label, I would have reversed their release order, reserving the quirky Mexican tunes for the second round and the more straightforward "Cure" as the first—anyway, they work for me; all the ballads are well-crafted, some a bit more conventional ("Treasure," "Bare"), others more creative ("This Is A Lie," "Jupiter Crash"), but all at a good standard. Among the other tracks, I would mention the pop of "Return," which has never said much to me on disc but which I reevaluated for its lively energy in a live setting.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: "Want" wouldn’t be bad in absolute terms, but The Cure have always been masters at opening tracks, and this is the weakest in their discography; okay, the lyrics are fine, but it sounds like a half-hearted melodrama. "Gone!" is a dreadful pseudo-jazz experiment, their worst single ever. The rest is filler or stuff that’s good at best as a b-side.
The rating? Anywhere between 2 and 3. As for my personal "ranking" in their discography, I prefer WMS only to "4:13 Dream."

Give me parts "already" if it's said "xà", anyway beautiful this!

In fact, the setting is not that accurate and the historical, geographical, and terminological mistakes are quite numerous (the use of coffee or the reference to the Louvre as a museum in late 1500s France, citrus groves in the foothill areas of the Alps and Pyrenees, the Apennines visible from the Brenta and the Friulian mountains from Venice, Italian terms like "zendaletto" and "avventurieri" used inappropriately, etc.). Furthermore, there is an excessive descriptive redundancy that can sometimes be frustrating (especially landscape descriptions and the protagonist's emotional reactions).
The fact that the character's state of mind influences the perception of a majestic natural landscape and vice versa is narratively effective; the problem arises when this device is used at least twenty times. That said, the debts of "I Promessi Sposi" to Mrs. Radcliffe are evident: a historical novel, a love story between two "pure souls" vigorously obstructed by the noble villain of the moment (and when this is finally overcome, an internal "principle" obstacle arises within the couple), the story of a rebellious woman forcibly sent to a convent by her parents, the various farewells to beloved places, etc. While the imagination is largely Radcliffe's, our national Alessandro deserves credit for providing a much more accurate historical reconstruction than the English writer.
The inclusion of poems and sonnets, the narrative intertwining, the characters’ personalities revealed through the description of their thoughts, the skillful use of clues doled out gradually to intrigue and stimulate the reader's imagination—the fact that the novel is mostly told from the point of view of the protagonist Emily but that in some chapters she "passes the baton" to secondary characters (as in the case of Blanche)—makes it an unpredictable read despite being undeniably "old-fashioned."
It is certainly a book of its time but, despite the over two centuries that have passed and the numerous plunders by authors who have modeled themselves after it, it can still be read enjoyably, also because, despite its daunting length (1000 pages), it is surprisingly fluid and well-written.

"The Graveyard and the Ballroom" - the cemetery and the ballroom, the style of ACR can be summed up in the title of their first work. Music that thrives on contrasts, physical and atmospheric, vital and deadly, danceable and sinister, black and white. "Memento mori" to dance to.
A great critic like Reynolds practically sunk them, labeling "To Each..." a flop, while I find it evocative, intriguing, and probably, for contemporary ears, it has stood the test of time better than the eternally renowned Joy Division.... Speaking of JD, I've always wondered who between Curtis and Topping started using that emphatic and cavernous vocal style first. It makes me think this vocal approach was suggested by Martin Hannett, but I might be wrong.

I haven't listened to him in ages, but I have a positive memory of him even though I can't understand the "dedication" to Gaddafi.

Some excellent tracks, especially The Walk, Lovecats, and Lament (also listen to the flexipop version on Join The Dots), but the issue lies in the overall coherence, with songs that don't connect much with each other and varying quality, common flaws for a compilation but noticeable in all the more pop-oriented albums by The Cure upon closer listening.

Psychedelic and whimsical album practically written and performed solely by Smith in the spare moments of the "Hyaena" recordings, but it's precisely this "part-time" production that makes it a less polished and more instinctive work with its own pros and cons. "Caterpillar" is for me one of the most beautiful tracks by The Cure, a girl who transforms into a butterfly and flies away from you... Thinking about it, it's really an odd sound for a hit single, with those bongos, that delicate guitar, and that off-key voice... courageous and talented Smith and Parry for believing that a track like this could work.

I envy the free time, consistency, passion, and patience of those who can sit in front of the television for 6 hours for 5 nights in a row, only to conclude that Sanremo is always the same shit. I’ve probably watched about an hour and a half scattered here and there, and it's probably because I always start with expectations at zero; I found a few positive things both in the television product and in the musical proposals. Colapesce & Dimartino’s song is nice, Willie Peyote's piece is far from my tastes but has a superb bass arrangement, La Rappresentante di Lista are passable, and Malika Ayane has a beautiful voice but the song is underwhelming. The stage was spectacular (kudos to whoever designed it), Ibrahimovic got the usual bullshit lines and it couldn’t have been any different, but I was impressed by the fact that a FOOTBALLER could perform with good facial expressions and without stuttering. Amadeus is good at what he does, which is presenting with a good rhythm while pretending to have fun and enthusiasm. Achille Lauro is the missing link between Renato Zero and Vasco Rossi; musically he stinks, but on TV, he works, adding a touch of “color.” Living in a musically isolated world, with Sanremo, I feel like I at least get a glimpse of the current trends in Italian culture.