OVERVIEW
Pornography is The Cure's fourth studio album, originally
released in 1982 and re-mastered and re-released in 2005. Recorded with the group on the brink of collapse, it represents the conclusion of the musical journey started with
Seventeen Seconds and Faith.
HISTORY
The most disturbing product of The Cure, it begins with despair and ends in chaotic
limbo. The opening lyrical line of the album is "It doesn't matter if we all die".
Despite the fact that very few critics in the British press gave the album a favorable review,
Pornography charted well in the UK and is now considered one of the key Gothic rock albums of all time.
Pornography is also the last Cure album to feature founding band member Laurence Tolhurst as the band's drummer. He became the band's keyboardist
and this also marks the first time he played keyboards on a release by The Cure.
In 2002, The Cure performed
this album live in its entirety, along with Disintegration and Bloodflowers, as part of the Trilogy concerts.
2005 RE-RELEASE
Pornography was remastered by Chris Blair at Abbey Road Studios and reissued
in the UK on 25 April 2005 (26th in the US) as part of Universal's Deluxe Edition series. The new edition featured a remastered
version of the album on CD One, while CD Two contained demo and live tracks. The bonus disc contains never-before-heard songs
(in demo format, all instrumental) and an alternate version of each song on the album. (Demo or Live) It also contains the
song "All Mine" from the Curiosity album and the
soundtrack from a movie that aired prior to the Cure concerts in 1982, "Airlock". Nothing is known about that movie.
There also exists a one-CD reissue. It was released on September
5, 2005 in the UK and
April 4, 2006 in the US. The CD features the original album, but does not contain the bonus disc. It is also released
in the standard jewel case, and not a box. In some countries, the "Deluxe Edition" has become a collector's item and the production
has phased out, being replaced by the more economic one-CD version.
TRACK LISTING
All songs by Simon Gallup, Robert Smith and Laurence Tolhurst.
Original 1982 release
- "One Hundred Years" - 6:40
- "A Short Term Effect" - 4:22
- "The Hanging Garden" - 4:33
- "Siamese Twins" - 5:29
- "The Figurehead" - 6:15
- "A Strange Day" - 5:04
- "Cold" - 4:26
- "Pornography" - 6:27
2005 Deluxe Edition
Disc one
Original album, as above
Disc two: Rarities 1981-1982
- "Break" (group home demo)
- "Demise" (studio demo)
- "Temptation" (studio demo)
- "The Figurehead" (studio demo)
- "The Hanging Garden" (studio demo)
- "One Hundred Years" (studio demo)
- "Airlock: The Soundtrack"
- "Cold" (live)
- "A Strange Day" (live)
- "Pornography" (live)
- "All Mine" (live)
- "A Short Term Effect" (live)
- "Siamese Twins" (live)
- "Temptation Two" (aka LGTB)
(RS studio demo)
PERSONNEL
- Robert Smith - guitar, keyboard (One Hundred
Years, The Hanging Garden, Cold, Pornography), vocals
- Simon Gallup - bass, keyboard (A Strange Day, Cold, Pornography)
- Laurence Tolhurst - drums, keyboard (One Hundred
Years)
PRODUCTION
- Producer: Phil Thornalley, The Cure
- Engineer: Mike Nocito, Robert Smith
- Assistant engineer: Phil Thornalley
ARTWORK
- Photography: Michael Kostiff
- Sleeve design: Ben Kelly
The album's artwork is the first in The Cure's output not to feature the logo for the group's name which was
used on their previous releases.
CHARTS