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DISCID=e90f3c11
DTITLE=The Cure / The Top (Deluxe Edition) - Disc 2 of 2
DYEAR=1984
DGENRE=Rock
TTITLE0=You Stayed... (RS Home Demo)
TTITLE1=Ariel (RS Home Demo)
TTITLE2=A Hand Inside My Mouth (Studio Demo)
TTITLE3=Sadacic (RS Studio Demo)
TTITLE4=Shake Dog Shake (Studio Demo)
TTITLE5=Piggy In The Mirror (Studio Demo)
TTITLE6=Birdmad Girl (Studio Demo)
TTITLE7=Give Me It (Studio Demo)
TTITLE8=Throw Your Foot (Studio Demo)
TTITLE9=Happy The Man (Studio Demo)
TTITLE10=The Caterpillar (Studio Demo)
TTITLE11=Dressing Up (Studio Alt Mix)
TTITLE12=Wailing Wall (Studio Alt Mix)
TTITLE13=The Empty World (Live Bootleg)
TTITLE14=Bananafishbones (Live Bootleg)
TTITLE15=The Top (Live Bootleg)
TTITLE16=Forever (Version) (Live Bootleg)
EXTD=The Top (Deluxe Edition) - Disc 2 of 2\n2006 Rhino Entertainment 
EXTD=Company\n\nOriginally Released September 1984\nCD Edition Release
EXTD=d February 1989\nDeluxe 2CD Edition Released August 8, 2006\nRema
EXTD=stered 1CD Edition Released N/A\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Recorded in
EXTD= the midst of Robert Smith's tenuous tenure with Siouxsie and the
EXTD= Banshees, The Top is arguably the most hedonistic record the Cur
EXTD=e ever produced. Essentially Smith and Lol Tolhurst working with 
EXTD=studio musicians (this being the period when the Cure's lineup wa
EXTD=s never assured), it's an album obviously recorded under stress, 
EXTD=drink, and drugs. More wildly experimental musically than anythin
EXTD=g before it, it laid the foundations for the Cure's pattern of un
EXTD=pigeonholable albums that were to erase their reputation built by
EXTD= Pornography and eventually culminating in Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss
EXTD= Me. That said, it's still very much a Cure record. Heavy on the 
EXTD=percussion and quaint keyboard effects that were so big in the '8
EXTD=0s, the melodies ("The Caterpillar," "Shake Dog Shake") are unmis
EXTD=takably Robert Smith. The big change this time around is his abil
EXTD=ity to fuse the paranoia and neuroses of former work (Pornography
EXTD=) with his newfound use of pop melody and outside influences (i.e
EXTD=., world travels, sounds, instruments) to moderate success ("Wail
EXTD=ing Wall," "Piggy in the Mirror"). A more psychedelic descent tha
EXTD=n Pornography, The Top is a transition, never really feeling like
EXTD= a full-length release, but it does meld all former phases of Rob
EXTD= and co., which would fully gel on The Head on the Door. At best 
EXTD=an imperfect record, The Top is a necessary step in the evolution
EXTD= of the band. [A two-disc deluxe edition of the album was release
EXTD=d by Rhino in 2006. The first disc contained the album proper, wh
EXTD=ile the second featured 11 demos, a pair of alternate mixes, and 
EXTD=a handful of songs pulled from a live bootleg.] -- Chris True\n\n
EXTD=Amazon.com Product Description\nFirst released in 1984, this albu
EXTD=m is a dramatic musical transition for The Cure, integrating the 
EXTD=band's trademark dark textures with increased melodic and pop ten
EXTD=dencies. The Top features 4 previously unreleased songs. \n\nAMAZ
EXTD=ON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nBrilliantly Remastred Version of an Alrea
EXTD=dy-Amazing Album, August 22, 2006\nReviewer: Tom Ferguson "Music 
EXTD=Enthusiast" (Chickamauga, GA)\nI've read other customers' comment
EXTD=s about "Shake Dog Shake's" drum roll being edited. I've been lis
EXTD=tening to this album for sixteen years now and have NO idea what 
EXTD=they're talking about. It sounds perfect! \n\n"Bananfishbones" is
EXTD= indeed sped up, but another customer states that this is a corre
EXTD=ction of faulty original mastering. I think it sounds much liveli
EXTD=er now and can't believe what I've been missing all this time! \n
EXTD=\nAt any rate, this deluxe version is INCREDIBLE. The sound quali
EXTD=ty is nothing short of superb. If you liked 'The Top' the first t
EXTD=ime around, don't hesitate to purchase this one. You're in for a 
EXTD=completely new, amazing listening experience!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTO
EXTD=MER REVIEW\nAt least it starts off good..., August 17, 2006\nRevi
EXTD=ewer: Michael Stack (Watertown, MA USA)\nAn album that Robert Smi
EXTD=th has pretty much disowned, "The Top" is a record that pretty mu
EXTD=ch lives up to its reputation. The Cure were in a state of disarr
EXTD=ay, Simon Gallup having defected left Smith and Lol Tolhurst to h
EXTD=andle most of the instrument duties. And while it starts off well
EXTD= enough, the album's second side is another story. \n\nBut again,
EXTD= it does start nicely-- opener "Shake Dog Shake" with its railing
EXTD= drums, fierce riffing and frantic, powerful vocal is one of the 
EXTD=best, early, loud statements by the Cure. And it continues positi
EXTD=vely-- the crisp, clean, dancey "Birdmad Girl" and the moody, Mid
EXTD=Eastern tinged "Wailing Wall" are both great cuts with very uniqu
EXTD=e sounds. But after that, it's just one unmemorable cut (Bauhause
EXTD=sque "Give Me It") to another ("Bananafishbones"), with a bad pen
EXTD=chant for reedy synths ("Dressing Up") or on occasion, oddball re
EXTD=ed performances that distract from the piece (the otherwise fanta
EXTD=stic "The Empty World"). \n\nLike the rest of the Cure reissues, 
EXTD=this one comes remastered and with a second disc of unreleased ma
EXTD=terial, mostly demos that, while interesting, aren't fantatic, wi
EXTD=th a few low fidelity live tracks tacked on the end. Honestly, I 
EXTD=can't figure out why the live tracks sound so bad-- I've heard be
EXTD=tter bootlegs from the era. \n\nSo it's a nice set, but truthfull
EXTD=y "The Top" is an album everyone but the diehards can probably sk
EXTD=ip.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nNowhere near "The Top" for The
EXTD= Cure, August 16, 2006\nReviewer: R. C. Lanham "just another name
EXTD=less consumer"\nI'd have to agree with one of the other reviewers
EXTD= of The Top in that my review is a bit biased; which is unavoidab
EXTD=le since this album did not elicit much more of a response than a
EXTD= shrug of the shoulders from me when I first heard it about 20 ye
EXTD=ars ago. It's the older brother of the equally unstable 1996 rele
EXTD=ase Wild Mood Swings, and listening to the deluxe remaster of The
EXTD= Top only reinforces this for me. Both of these albums lack focus
EXTD= and consistency, and while they each have some flashes of near-b
EXTD=rilliance, they never really establish a theme and/or atmosphere 
EXTD=for the listener to grab onto. \nThe Top was originally released 
EXTD=in May, 1984 and represented yet another line-up change for The C
EXTD=ure (already the seventh in the first six years or so of the band
EXTD='s life). Because of this, it suffers from a lack of clear identi
EXTD=ty and direction. \nRobert Smith has claimed in past interviews t
EXTD=hat he played almost all of the instruments on The Top, in spite 
EXTD=of the musician credits listed on the album's sleeve. If that is 
EXTD=true, then it makes this an even more confusing effort by a supre
EXTD=mely talented, but obviously very unsure, artist. \nThe Top opens
EXTD= with "Shake Dog Shake", which is a decent enough song, but still
EXTD= a sub-par introduction by a band that has mastered the art of th
EXTD=e powerful album opener. Yes, this remastered 2006 edition has a 
EXTD=clipped drum intro to the song, but I believe this was an intenti
EXTD=onal edit. The drum roll sort of fades in for about three seconds
EXTD= before the rest of the music starts. The fact that it fades in w
EXTD=ould appear to be an intentional revision and not an oversight, i
EXTD=n my opinion. \nThe next two songs, "Birdmad Girl" and "Wailing W
EXTD=all" are two of the stronger tracks on the album and are as close
EXTD= as The Top gets to representing that unique and magnificent Cure
EXTD= sound that we all know and love. Along with "The Caterpillar", t
EXTD=hey are the only tracks from The Top that have stood the test of 
EXTD=time and sound just as good some two decades later. Conversely, "
EXTD=Give Me It", "Dressing Up", and "Bananafishbones" are some of the
EXTD= poorest (and perhaps laziest) efforts in the history of the band
EXTD=. \nBecause of the unclear focus and generally themeless haze of 
EXTD=The Top, I feel comfortable in advising that only the more enthus
EXTD=iastic and loyal Cure fan should consider adding this one to thei
EXTD=r collection. It just does not offer very much to anyone else. \n
EXTD=The second disc of mostly home and studio demos provides little h
EXTD=elp, and is most interesting for the previously unreleased, but n
EXTD=one-too-special, handful of offerings. The most interesting of wh
EXTD=ich is the atmospheric "Sadacic" with one of the more confident v
EXTD=ocal tracks by Robert Smith up to that point of his singing caree
EXTD=r. The live material that closes the disc presents a nice samplin
EXTD=g of how the band sounded on stage at the time, and the version o
EXTD=f "Forever" is a particularly worthwhile listen with it's all-too
EXTD=-fitting schizophrenic climax to such a confusing album. \n2.5 ST
EXTD=ARS. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThis top is the place where 
EXTD=nobody goes, August 15, 2006\nReviewer: A. Cook "Mr. Pink-Eye" (N
EXTD=ew York, NY)\nThe Top is indisputably the Cure's most bizarre (th
EXTD=ough in some respects most representative) album. Now we have thi
EXTD=s 2CD remastering of an album long unavailable in the US, at roug
EXTD=hly the same price as the original import. The ten tracks are ind
EXTD=ulgent, noisy, and all over the map, yet the album maintains a Da
EXTD=rk Carnival unity: the frenetic drums and demented saxaphone rant
EXTD= of Give Me It could not be more different from the gauzy synths 
EXTD=of Dressing Up, but together they are a perfect heroin fix. Throw
EXTD= in Robert Smith's most flamboyant vocal gymastics and strange ex
EXTD=periments like The Empty World (a fife-and-drums number on the ni
EXTD=hilism of war) and you have an album (and a band) in the midst of
EXTD= a breakdown. But then that's what makes the Top such an interest
EXTD=ing trip. Only the Cure could bring you a record so simulataneous
EXTD=ly over the top and under the weather. \n\nA few notes on this re
EXTD=lease: \n\nDISC ONE (Remastering): \nThe drum roll at the beginni
EXTD=ng of Shake Dog Shake is indeed slightly shorter--intentionally s
EXTD=o, I believe. Bananafishbones is also noticably faster, correctin
EXTD=g a mastering problem in the original release. The remastering gi
EXTD=ves more space to atmospheric tracks like The Wailing Wall, and b
EXTD=rings out the brilliant percussion on the single, The Caterpillar
EXTD=. \n\nDISC TWO: \nAs with the previous reissues, this mostly char
EXTD=ts the development of the album tracks. Among the highlights are 
EXTD=a demo of A Hand Inside My Mouth with lyrics from Six Different W
EXTD=ays (HOTD album track) and a demo called Sadacic, which eventuall
EXTD=y became New Day (b-side). \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n"Ha Ha
EXTD= Ha"...Robert Smith Sings about His Bad Hair Life, August 14, 200
EXTD=6\nReviewer: Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York)\nI 
EXTD=believe that virtually all negative reviews are borne from prejud
EXTD=ice, and this one is no different. When I say "borne from prejudi
EXTD=ce" I mean that pre-formulated impressions or an innate inability
EXTD= to understand the artist's intent are usually a factor in develo
EXTD=ping negative opinions, so it is imperative that all negative rev
EXTD=iews be interpreted with the understanding that it is more than l
EXTD=ikely the reviewer is completely full of s#$%. Regarding "The Top
EXTD=," the fifth album credited to the Cure, I already had my mind ma
EXTD=de up about the record before I even heard it. In their earliest 
EXTD=years, I thought the Cure were an interesting band with little te
EXTD=chnical ability but a unique sensibility that set them apart from
EXTD= other bands. I sort of liked them for their first three albums. 
EXTD=Then, during a trip to England in 1982, I found myself in a Londo
EXTD=n record shop on the day that the band's fourth album, entitled "
EXTD=Pornography," was released. Oh, lucky me. \nI hated that record. 
EXTD=To my ears, it sounded like somebody took the band's first three 
EXTD=albums and blasted them through a garbage compactor and into a ca
EXTD=nyon, resulting in an unbearable noise that never relented (you c
EXTD=an read my review for "Pornography" elsewhere, if you wish...). I
EXTD= never really forgave the band for this, and as a result, I more 
EXTD=or less abandoned them...which is why I never heard "The Top" unt
EXTD=il twenty years later. \nDo I think I missed much? No, unless I c
EXTD=an quantify the comedic aspect of listening to something so bleak
EXTD=, self-obsessed, and disorganized as if it were meant to be funny
EXTD=. I am sure that my attitude will only add to the alleged horror 
EXTD=that is experienced on a daily basis by Robert Smith and his uber
EXTD=-depressed fans, but parts of "The Top" are so `over the top' tha
EXTD=t I can't help but laugh out loud. The affectation of Smith's voi
EXTD=ce when he sings "Dressing Up" is one of the most un-deliberately
EXTD= funny moments I've ever heard. "Give Me It" shares the relentles
EXTD=s penchant for noise that made me hate "Pornography" so much, onl
EXTD=y it adds disgusting imagery into the mix, with lyrics like, "Sli
EXTD=t the cats like cheese, then eat the sweet sticky things. Suck Ha
EXTD=rder! Suck Harder! Suck your insides out..." \n"Piggy in the Mirr
EXTD=or" is meant to convey an emotionally harrowing moment of self-lo
EXTD=athing, but it comes off like another bad-hair day for Robert Smi
EXTD=th. The album never gets any more emotionally compelling than thi
EXTD=s, either, and the extra disk of `bonus' material adds little exc
EXTD=ept half-baked demo versions of songs that should never have been
EXTD= extrapolated on in the first place. The album's best track, "Sha
EXTD=ke Dog Shake," opens with a self-mocking "Ha Ha Ha" that more or 
EXTD=less defines my own attitude about the entire album; It's funny, 
EXTD=but it isn't `Ha ha" funny...or, at least, this is what my predis
EXTD=posed prejudice has me thinking about "The Top." C- Tom Ryan \n\n
EXTD=AMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nYes, Shake Dog Shake is cut, August 9
EXTD=, 2006\nReviewer: L. Gray\n4 stars for the album, 2 docked becaus
EXTD=e of the mastering screw up. \nAs the previous reviewer said... m
EXTD=y copy also has a couple of seconds or so missing from the beginn
EXTD=ing of Shake Dog Shake. That may not seem like much time, but it 
EXTD=does ruin the effect of the intro. Why, why, WHY can't these reco
EXTD=rd companies get these remasters right? We fans buy this stuff ov
EXTD=er and over and they keep screwing them up.\n\nHalf.com Album Not
EXTD=es\nProducers: Robert Smith, Chris Parry, Dave Allen.\nThe Cure: 
EXTD=Laurence Tolhurst, Andy Anderson, Robert Smith , Simon Gallup.\nR
EXTD=ecording information: 1984.\n\nThe virtual definition of a "trans
EXTD=itional album," the Cure's 1984 outing, THE TOP, was created duri
EXTD=ng a turbulent time in the band's history, during which the group
EXTD= nearly disintegrated, and Smith was occupying himself by filling
EXTD= in as guitarist for Siouxsie & the Banshees (see their album HYA
EXTD=ENA). THE TOP exemplifies Smith's restlessness, as fierce rock ("
EXTD=Shake Dog Shake," "Give Me It") mixes with PORNOGRAPHY-like gloom
EXTD= ("Wailing Wall") and quirky pop ("Birdmad Girl," "The Caterpilla
EXTD=r"), the latter of which the Cure would explore further on THE HE
EXTD=AD ON THE DOOR and KISS ME, KISS ME, KISS ME. Although this isn't
EXTD= one of the group's most consistent albums, it's invaluable as a 
EXTD=portrait of a band on the brink, and essential for hardcore Cure 
EXTD=fans.
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