Album Experiences...

Part Two - by Robert

The Top - 1984

"You know how there's the sound of a spinning top on that album? Well, I spent over twelve hours trying to get the right sound! Dave Allen took the rough with the smooth, and spent ages waiting because there was the possibility that I might come up with a good song. I did this sat on a studio floor surrounded by toys and instruments, thinking, what shall I play next? then Dave would come down and go, "are we going to do something this evening?" I would say, yes...and could somebody turn on the lights because I'm dying to go for a piss!"

The Head On The Door - 1985

"I felt happy, like I'd got through everything. Before, a lot of my needs were based around being dissatisfied with everything I ever did, and having a good group replaced a lot of what went before. The songs on the head on the door fell together and I felt vindicated. After watching all those other people who were really shit sell bucketloads of records, I couldn't understand how we'd failed to get through for so long. If we hadn't, I might have tried to do something else instead. But the record was a success, and everything we'd done up to that point was re-evaluated. Suddenly, we were an important group."

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me - 1987

"Well, I drove my car down a mountainside when we were in France, and nearly killed everyone. There we were, hanging upside-down in a ditch, and I could smell petrol. I thought we were going to blow up because Simon had a lit cigarette in his hand and I was too shocked and hurt to move! We nearly didn't live to see ourselves become popular in America, which was weird, and I guess J Mascis' version of 'Just Like Heaven' confirmed it."

Disintegration - 1989

"This is an excellent record, even though I was such a perfectionist and so miserable when I was making it. I had a serious mental picture of how I wanted the record to be and I didn't bother to explain myself to anyone else. My mistake. Now I explain, so that others can pick up the thread if I lose my way. I pretend to be a control freak, but retaining total control is like holding mercury - virtually impossible."

Wish / Show - 1992/93

"It was the swan song of that particular line-up of The Cure, which had been together for nearly a decade. And things like 'Show' - the live LP we did just after 'Wish' - showed that group at the height of its powers. Ultimately, when people started to leave, I could tell we were close to that dangerous point where we knew what everyone would play or say, and nothing would be said."

Wild Mood Swings - 1996

"I honestly think this was the best and most complete album I've ever made. Having a new line-up, and having discarded a methodology that I was over-familiar with, I've taken all the elements that I like about being in The Cure and thrown out the ones that I don't. Anyway, I've always thought every last thing we've ever made had been better than the things which came before it. It was the best year of my life making Wild Mood Swings, so there are happy endings."