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Recorded in the midst of Robert Smith's tenuous tenure with Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Top is arguably the most hedonistic record the Cure ever produced. Essentially Smith and Lol Tolhurst working with studio musicians (this being the period when the Cure's lineup was never assured), it's an album obviously recorded under stress, drink, and drugs. More wildly experimental musically than anything before it, it laid the foundations for the Cure's pattern of unpigeonholable albums that were to erase their reputation built by Pornography and eventually culminating in Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. That said, it's still very much a Cure record. Heavy on the percussion and quaint keyboard effects that were so big in the '80s, the melodies ("The Caterpillar," "Shake Dog Shake") are unmistakably Robert Smith. The big change this time around is his ability to fuse the paranoia and neuroses of former work (Pornography) with his newfound use of pop melody and outside influences (i.e., world travels, sounds, instruments) to moderate success ("Wailing Wall," "Piggy in the Mirror"). A more psychedelic descent than Pornography, The Top is a transition, never really feeling like a full-length release, but it does meld all former phases of Rob and company, which would fully gel on The Head on the Door. At best an imperfect record, The Top is a necessary step in the evolution of the band. [A two-disc deluxe edition of the album was released by Rhino in 2006. The first disc contained the album proper, while the second featured 11 demos, a pair of alternate mixes, and a handful of songs pulled from a live bootleg.]
CONDITION: NEW
TRACK LISTING
Disc 1
1. Shake Dog Shake
2. Birdmad Girl
3. Wailing Wall
4. Give Me It
5. Dressing Up
6. The Caterpillar
7. Piggy in the Mirror
8. The Empty World
9. Bananafishbones
10. The Top
Disc 2
1. You Stayed...
2. Ariel
3. A Hand Inside My Mouth
4. Sadacic
5. Shake Dog Shake
6. Piggy in the Mirror
7. Birdmad Girl
8. Give Me It
9. Throw Your Foot
10. Happy the Man
11. The Caterpillar
12. Dressing Up
13. Wailing Wall
14. The Empty World
15. Bananafishbones
16. The Top
17. Forever
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