Cure - 1989 - Disintegration

Expanding the latent arena rock sensibilities that peppered Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by slowing them down and stretching them to the breaking point, the Cure reached the peak of their popularity with the crawling, darkly seductive Disintegration. It's a hypnotic, mesmerizing record, comprised almost entirely of epics like the soaring, icy "Pictures of You." The handful of pop songs, like the concise and utterly charming "Love Song," don't alleviate the doom-laden atmosphere. The Cure's gloomy soundscapes have rarely sounded so alluring, however, and the songs -- from the pulsating, ominous "Fascination Street" to the eerie, string-laced "Lullaby" -- have rarely been so well-constructed and memorable. It's fitting that Disintegration was their commercial breakthrough, since, in many ways, the album is the culmination of all the musical directions the Cure were pursuing over the course of the '80s.

		1		Plainsong	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	5:12
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		2		Pictures of You	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	7:24
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		3		Closedown	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	4:16
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		4		Love Song	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	3:28
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		5		Last Dance [*]	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	4:42
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		6		Lullaby	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	4:08
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		7		Fascination Street	Gallup, Smith, Thompson ...	5:16
Composed by: Gallup, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		8		Prayers for Rain	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	6:04
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		9		The Same Deep Water as You	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	9:18
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		10		Disintegration	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	8:18
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		11		Homesick [*]	Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	7:06
Composed by: Gallup, ODonnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams
		12			Gallup, ODonnell, Smith ...	6:30

¡Aquí!

Pogues - 1988 - If I Should Fall From Grace With God

If Rum Sodomy & the Lash captured the Pogues on plastic in all their rough-and-tumble glory, If I Should Fall from Grace with God proved they could learn the rudiments of proper record making and still come up with an album that captured all the sharp edges of their musical personality. Producer Steve Lillywhite imposed a more disciplined approach in the studio than Elvis Costello had, but he had the good sense not to squeeze the life out of the band in the process; as a result, the Pogues sound tighter and more precise than ever, while still summoning up the glorious howling fury that made Rum Sodomy & the Lash so powerful. And Shane MacGowan continued to grow as a songwriter, as his lyrics and melodies captured with brilliant detail his obsession with the finer points of Anglo-Irish culture. "Fairytale of New York," a glorious sweet-and-sour duet with Kirsty MacColl, and "The Broad Majestic Shannon" were subtle in a way many of his previous work was not, "Birmingham Six" found him addressing political issues for the first time (and with all the expected venom), and "Fiesta" and "Turkish Song of the Damned" found him adding (respectively) faux-Spanish and Middle Eastern flavors into the Pogues' heady mix. And if you want to hear the Pogues blaze through some fast ones, "Bottle of Smoke" and the title song find them doing just what they've always done best. Brilliantly mixing passion, street smarts, and musical ambition, If I Should Fall from Grace with God is the best album the Pogues would ever make.

		1		If I Should Fall From Grace with God	MacGowan	2:20
		2		Turkish Song of the Damned	Finer, MacGowan	3:27
		3		Bottle of Smoke	Finer, MacGowan	2:47
		4		Fairytale of New York	Finer, MacGowan	4:36
		5		Metropolis	Finer	2:50
		6		Thousands Are Sailing	Chevron	5:28
		7		South Australia	Traditional	3:27
		8		Fiesta	Finer, Kotscher, MacGowan	4:13
		9		Medley	Traditional	4:01
		10		Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six	MacGowan, Woods	4:39
		11		Lullaby of London	MacGowan	3:32
		12		The Battle March Medley	MacGowan	4:10
		13		Sit Down by the Fire	MacGowan	2:17
		14		The Broad Majestic Shannon	MacGowan	2:55
		15		Worms	Traditional	1:01

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XTC - 1996 - Fossil Fuel-The XTC Singles 1977-1992 (2CD)

Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-1992 is a splendid double-disc set that runs through every one of the group's 31 A-sides, from the nervy "Science Friction" to the lush, sighing "Wrapped in Grey." Between those two songs, XTC's craftsmanship grows remarkably fast — based on the edgy pop of their new wave singles "Statue of Liberty," "This Is Pop," "Are You Receiving Me?," and "Life Begins at the Hop," it's hard to believe that they would later write the subtle, near-pastoral Beatles, Kinks, and Beach Boys pastiches of "Love on a Farmboy's Wages," "Great Fire," and "Grass." And those songs just scratch the surface of the terrific pop singles available on Fossil Fuel: "Making Plans for Nigel," "Ten Feet Tall," "Generals and Majors," "Towers of London," "Respectable Street," "Sense Working Overtime," "This World Over," "Dear God," "The Mayor of Simpleton," "King for a Day," and "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" are wonderful songs and forgotten classics. Although XTC continually made carefully constructed albums, they were a dynamite singles band, releasing songs that were tightly constructed and impossibly catchy. They never had hits, because their unabashed pop was never in fashion; plus, Andy Partridge's voice was too pinched and his lyrics frequently too cerebral. But XTC's music stands as some of the best and most influential pop of their era, and nowhere is that more evident than on Fossil Fuel.

		1		Science Friction	Partridge	3:14
		2		Statue of Liberty	Partridge	2:52
		3		This Is Pop?	Partridge	2:40
		4		Are You Receiving Me?	Partridge	3:04
		5		Life Begins at the Hop	Moulding	3:47
		6		Making Plans for Nigel	Moulding	4:12
		7		Ten Feet Tall	Moulding	3:13
		8		Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down	Partridge	4:20
		9		Generals and Majors	Moulding	3:41
		10		Towers of London	Partridge	4:38
		11		Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)	Partridge	3:36
		12		Love at First Sight	Moulding	3:07
		13		Respectable Street	Partridge	3:07
		14		Senses Working Overtime	Partridge	4:34
		15		Ball and Chain	Moulding	4:29
		16		No Thugs in Our House	Partridge	5:10
		17		Great Fire	Partridge	3:50
		18		Wonderland	Moulding	4:15
		19		Love on a Farmboy's Wages	Partridge	3:59
		20		All You Pretty Girls	Partridge	3:59
		21		This World Over	Partridge	4:45
		22		Wake Up	Moulding	3:40
		23		Grass	Moulding	2:42
		24		The Meeting Place	Moulding	3:13
		25		Dear God	Partridge	3:37
		26		The Mayor of Simpleton	Partridge	3:57
		27		King for a Day	Moulding	3:36
		28		The Loving	Partridge	3:54
		29		The Disappointed	Partridge	3:38
		30		The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead	Partridge	5:03
		31		Wrapped in Grey	Partridge	3:46

¡Aquí!