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The Cure
Faith (Deluxe Edition – Original Recording Remastered)

Rhino Entertainment Company

Posted: Wednesday, March 29, 2006
By: Jon Prusik

In my opinion, reissues and collector's edition double-discs seem more like a marketing tool as opposed to an effort to expand on the album. Yet this is one of the few times that fans and collectors alike get something sweet to snack on. The Cure’s double-disc reissue of Faith is full of supplementary material that certainly pleased (if not overjoyed) this longtime Cure fan.

Old and new fans alike are most likely already familiar with the original line-up of the classic Faith album and were happy with it as such, but this second go-around is worth the price of admission. Don’t forget that this is a re-mastered re-release and everything sounds that much better than the original product. I would’ve been happy with that right there, but they go one step further, right off the bat, by tacking on the dream-like epic instrumental, “Carnage Visors” directly after the last album track ends, which I’m sure some Cure fans did with their CD burners already, but isn’t it nice when the record company does it for you? Now I’m not tossing out my old cassette copy just yet, but the sentiment of convenience is conveyed.

As for the true extras they mostly comprise live tracks, which are all good, but the live version of “Faith” is especially tasty. The outtakes such as “Going Home Time” and “The Violin Song” and others like it on this disc are definitely some worthy instrumentals from that era. Not to go unnoticed, but there are a few rough sounding demos of tracks that sound similar to the finished album versions. That is the only cause to hit “skip” on the second disc, but then what would a disc of extras be without a few clunkers? Although there is an outtake of “Primary” that is of good sound quality and a very different take on the song which has it going on a slower tempo and different vocal approach, I can see why they scrapped the idea and revamped it for what we’ve known all these years as the second cut on this wonderful album. Also I must note that the live version of the rarity entitled “Forever” is a bit unlistenable for several reasons, one being that it's just an awful song. The sound quality of it, the composition itself… just an awful piece of music. Anyhow, the bonus disc ends with the well-known (among Cure fans) single, “Charlotte Sometimes,” which of course is an excellent way to go out on a bonus disc of extras from this era.

In closing, the booklet that comes with this reissue is full of good pictures and some insightful liner notes. Maybe not as good at the ones in the Three Imaginary Boys reissue, which spelled out a lot about that beginning time of the band and some notions most fans had for years. However, this booklet is worth the time to take a moment to review and wish you were old enough to be there.