The Cure - A Site Just Like Heaven

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Standing On A Beach/Staring At The Sea information

 
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OVERVIEW
 
Standing On A Beach is a singles compilation by The Cure, released in May 1986, marking a decade since the band's founding in 1976. The title is taken from the opening lyrics of The Cure's debut single "Killing an Arab", which was released prior to their debut album, making these four words the first Cure lyrics ever heard on record.
Standing on a beach with a gun in my hand. Staring at the sea, staring at the sand...

Released: 13 May 1986

Recorded: 1978 to 1985

Genre: Post-punk, Gothic Rock,
        Alternative Rock, New
        Wave

Length: 45:43 (Vinyl edition)
         60:40 (CD edition)

Label: Fiction Records
        Elektra Records

Producer(s): The Cure

RELEASE FORMATS

The album was released in three formats, vinyl record, compact disc and audio cassette.

The vinyl edition is a collection of all thirteen of The Cure's commercially released singles up to that point in chronological order.

The CD edition features the same tracks as the vinyl edition, but also includes an extra track ("10:15 Saturday Night", "Play For Today", "Other Voices" and "A Night Like This") each from four of the band's albums. This version is also available under the name Staring at the Sea, with an identical track listing.

The cassette edition features the same tracks as the vinyl edition, but also contains all of the band's b-sides that had, to that point, not received a long-play release. This excludes "10:15 Saturday Night" from the "Killing an Arab" single, which was released on the Three Imaginary Boys album, "Plastic Passion" from the "Boys Don't Cry" single, which was released on the Boys Don't Cry album, and the five b-sides from the "Let's Go to Bed", "The Walk" and "The Lovecats" singles, which were released on the Japanese Whispers compilation album. However, the b-side "Mr. Pink Eyes" from the 12" version of "The Lovecats" was omitted from Japanese Whispers, and so was included on this release.

These releases were accompanied by a VHS and laserdisc release, a music video collection named Staring at the Sea: The Images.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl edition

  1. "Killing an Arab" (Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst, Michael Dempsey) - 2:22
  2. "Boys Don't Cry" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) - 2:35
  3. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) - 2:54
  4. "A Forest" (Smith, Tolhurst, Simon Gallup, Matthieu Hartley) - 4:53
  5. "Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) - 3:33
  6. "Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) - 4:13
  7. "The Hanging Garden" (Smith) - 4:21
  8. "Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst) - 3:33
  9. "The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst) - 3:28
  10. "The Lovecats" (Smith) - 3:38
  11. "The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst) - 3:38
  12. "In Between Days" (Smith) - 2:56
  13. "Close to Me" (Smith) - 3:39

CD edition

  1. "Killing an Arab" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) (from single, 1979) - 2:22
  2. "10:15 Saturday Night" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) (from Three Imaginary Boys, 1979) - 3:37
  3. "Boys Don't Cry" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) (from single, 1979) - 2:35
  4. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) (from Three Imaginary Boys, 1979 - 2:54
  5. "A Forest" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) (from Seventeen Seconds, 1980) - 4:53
  6. "Play for Today" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) (from Seventeen Seconds, 1980) - 3:42
  7. "Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) (from Faith, 1981) – 3:33
  8. "Other Voices" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) (from Faith, 1981) - 3:27
  9. "Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) (from single, 1981) - 4:13
  10. "The Hanging Garden" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) from Pornography, 1982 - 4:21
  11. "Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst) (from single, 1982) - 3:33
  12. "The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst) (from single, 1983) - 3:28
  13. "The Lovecats" (Smith) (from single, 1983) - 3:38
  14. "The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst) (from The Top, 1984) - 3:38
  15. "In Between Days" (Smith) (from The Head on the Door, 1985) - 2:56
  16. "Close to Me" (Smith) (from The Head on the Door, 1985) - 3:39
  17. "A Night Like This" (from The Head on the Door, 1985) – 4:11

Cassette edition

Side one - The singles

  1. "Killing an Arab" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey)
  2. "Boys Don't Cry" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey)
  3. "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey)
  4. "A Forest" (Smith)
  5. "Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup)
  6. "Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup)
  7. "The Hanging Garden" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup)
  8. "Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst)
  9. "The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst)
  10. "The Lovecats" (Smith)
  11. "The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst)
  12. "In Between Days" (Smith)
  13. "Close to Me" (Smith)

Side two - The b-sides

  1. "I'm Cold" (from "Jumping Someone Else's Train" single, )
  2. "Another Journey By Train" (from "A Forest" single, )
  3. "Descent" (from "Primary" single, )
  4. "Splintered in Her Head" (from "Charlotte Sometimes" single, )
  5. "Mr. Pink Eyes" (from "The Lovecats" single, )
  6. "Happy the Man" (from "The Caterpillar" single, )
  7. "Throw Your Foot" (from "The Caterpillar" single, )
  8. "The Exploding Boy" (from "In Between Days" single, )
  9. "A Few Hours After This" (from "In Between Days" single, )
  10. "A Man Inside My Mouth" (from "Close to Me"/"Half an Octopuss")
  11. "Stop Dead" (from "In Between Days"/"Close to Me"/"Half an Octopuss")
  12. "New Day" (from "Half an Octopuss")

 
 
                The Cure chronology
 
The Head On        Starting At The         Kiss Me Kss Me
 The Door              Sea: The                Kiss Me
                        Singles
 
   (1985)                 (1986)                 (1987)