Pornography (album)
Encyclopedia
NME
reviewer Dave Hill wrote, "This record portrays and parades its currency of exposed futility and naked fear with so few distractions or adornments, and so little sense of shame. It really piles it on." Regarding the music, Hill wrote, "The drums, guitars, voice and production style are pressed scrupulously together in a murderous unity of surging, textured mood." Hill felt that Pornography was not meant to be analysed deeply; instead it should be listened to "en bloc as a dense wash of emotional colour [. . .] And, as such, it really works". Rolling Stone
gave the album one and a half stars, out of five. Reviewer J. D. Considine that The Cure's lyrics "[seem] stuck in the terminal malaise of adolescent existentialism". Considine concluded, "Backed by music that relies less on melody than thick slabs of heavily treated sound, Pornography comes off as the aural equivalent of a bad toothache". Blender.com reviewer Douglas Wolk stated: "It’s one long stare into the abyss, and horrifically intense: a slow whirlpool of bloodsucking guitars, with feel-bad hooks like “I will never be clean again.” The brilliant, winking final line: “I must fight this sickness/ Find a cure.”
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, fixing the glitch on "Siamese Twins", while CD Two contained demo and live tracks. The bonus disc contains never-before-heard songs (in demo format, all instrumental) and an alternative version (demo or live) of each song on the album. It also contains the song "All Mine" from the Curiosity cassette and the soundtrack from the movie Airlock that aired prior to the Cure concerts in 1982.
There also exists a one-CD reissue. It was released on 5 September 2005 in the UK and 4 April 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 due to the phasing out of production, being replaced by the more economic one-CD version.
The Cure's logo featured on their previous releases before the 1982 release of the album, was included on a sticker on the deluxe edition.
Side one
Side two
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reviewer Dave Hill wrote, "This record portrays and parades its currency of exposed futility and naked fear with so few distractions or adornments, and so little sense of shame. It really piles it on." Regarding the music, Hill wrote, "The drums, guitars, voice and production style are pressed scrupulously together in a murderous unity of surging, textured mood." Hill felt that Pornography was not meant to be analysed deeply; instead it should be listened to "en bloc as a dense wash of emotional colour [. . .] And, as such, it really works". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the album one and a half stars, out of five. Reviewer J. D. Considine that The Cure's lyrics "[seem] stuck in the terminal malaise of adolescent existentialism". Considine concluded, "Backed by music that relies less on melody than thick slabs of heavily treated sound, Pornography comes off as the aural equivalent of a bad toothache". Blender.com reviewer Douglas Wolk stated: "It’s one long stare into the abyss, and horrifically intense: a slow whirlpool of bloodsucking guitars, with feel-bad hooks like “I will never be clean again.” The brilliant, winking final line: “I must fight this sickness/ Find a cure.”
2005 re-release
Pornography was remastered by Chris BlairChris Blair
Chris Blair is a male badminton player from New Zealand. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games he won a bronze medal in the men's team event. Four years later at the 2002 Commonwealth Games he won a bronze medal in the mixed team event.-References:...
at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
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, fixing the glitch on "Siamese Twins", while CD Two contained demo and live tracks. The bonus disc contains never-before-heard songs (in demo format, all instrumental) and an alternative version (demo or live) of each song on the album. It also contains the song "All Mine" from the Curiosity cassette and the soundtrack from the movie Airlock that aired prior to the Cure concerts in 1982.
There also exists a one-CD reissue. It was released on 5 September 2005 in the UK and 4 April 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 due to the phasing out of production, being replaced by the more economic one-CD version.
The Cure's logo featured on their previous releases before the 1982 release of the album, was included on a sticker on the deluxe edition.
Track listing
All songs by Robert Smith, Simon Gallup and Laurence Tolhurst.Side one
- "One Hundred Years" – 6:40
- "A Short Term Effect" – 4:22
- "The Hanging Garden" – 4:33
- "Siamese Twins" – 5:29
Side two
- "The Figurehead" – 6:15
- "A Strange Day" – 5:04
- "Cold" – 4:26
- "Pornography" – 6:27
2005 "Deluxe Edition" Disc two: Rarities 1981-1982
- "Break" (group home instrumental demo) – 2:11
- "Demise" (studio instrumental demo) – 2:09
- "Temptation" (studio instrumental demo) – 4:00
- "The Figurehead" (studio demo) – 6:12
- "The Hanging Garden" (studio demo) – 5:29
- "One Hundred Years" (studio demo) – 7:00
- "Airlock: The Soundtrack" – 13:07
- "Cold" (live at Hammersmith Odeon 5/82) – 3:54
- "A Strange Day" (live at Hammersmith Odeon 5/82) – 4:05
- "Pornography" (live at Hammersmith Odeon 5/82) – 5:55
- "All Mine" (live at Hammersmith Odeon 5/82) – 2:54
- "A Short Term Effect" (live in Brussels 6/82) – 4:05
- "Siamese Twins" (live in Brussels 6/82) – 6:03
- "Temptation Two" (AKA LGTB)(RS Studio Demo) – 3:57
Personnel
- Robert SmithRobert Smith (musician)Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboard (One Hundred Years, The Hanging Garden, Cold, Pornography), vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
(Cold) - Simon GallupSimon GallupSimon Jonathon Gallup is an English musician and bassist of the post-punk band The Cure.-Early years:...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(A Strange Day, Cold, Pornography) - Lol Tolhurst - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, keyboard (One Hundred Years) - Producer: Phil ThornalleyPhil ThornalleyPhil Thornalley is a songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing the song "Torn" which Natalie Imbruglia later covered to great success for her 1997 debut album, Left of the Middle...
, The Cure - Engineer: Mike Nocito, Robert Smith
- Assistant engineer: Phil ThornalleyPhil ThornalleyPhil Thornalley is a songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing the song "Torn" which Natalie Imbruglia later covered to great success for her 1997 debut album, Left of the Middle...
- Photography: Michael Kostiff
- Sleeve design: Ben KellyBen KellyBenjamin Oliver Kelly is a former American football cornerback of the National Football League, Arena Football League and Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft...
Charts
| Country | Date | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| UK | May 1982 | 8 |