Best of the 80's: Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by The Cure

Coming in at number 99 on the Best of the 80's list is this classic double album from The Cure.  Robert Smith's most ambitious album the full 17 tracks floats through the joy and despair of love and relationships.  It's heavy on instrumentation to set the mood of the album which carries from the opening of "The Kiss" through to the final "Fight" and once you are caught in the mood he never lets you out. 

Even with a pop gem like "Just Like Heaven" he never lets go of the layered, rhythmic sounds which drive this entire work.  The Cure would never again be so raw and powerful and Smith would never again be so lyrically naked as he is in these 17 tracks.

This rates as one of my favorite albums of all time and though it does not have the same drive for me at age 42 that it had at age 19 I still admire what Smith was able to construct.  No one has ever captured the feelings of being a confused, lustful, angry, and joyous young man like Smith does on this album.

I only ever listen to this album in full and it's usually because I'm at a point in my life where I need to vent some frustrations.  This album is like a roller coaster ride when you balance songs like "The Kiss" with songs like "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" and by the end of the ride I'm usually exhausted and empty of all the pent up emotions I had going in to the album. 

Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 5 out of 5 stars for Great.