The Cure – Anniversary: 1978 – 2018 Live In Hyde Park London (Live) (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

The Crawley institution are in understandably fine fettle for this concert celebrating the anniversary of their first ever gig, under the name Easy Cure, in the West Sussex town’s Rocket pub in July 1978. Dwarfed by the boughs of two giant trees framing the Hyde Park stage, Robert Smith and the current lineup shake every goth banger out of their back catalogue for the occasion; 30 songs that are chapter and verse on disquiet, loneliness and yearning, but played here with muscular, life-affirming, almost Springsteen-esque brio. Smith can’t stop beaming.The Cure’s Robert Smith: ‘I was very optimistic when I was young – now I’m the opposite’.

In celebration of their 40 th anniversary, The Cure didn’t just hire out a little pub in their hometown of Crawley, Sussex – they hired out the whole of Hyde Park instead! What an epic location for an epic group. The recording of this concert on July 7, 2018 in London in front of a crowd of 65,000 people is a reminder that the style, sound, creativity, song- writing and atmosphere that Robert Smith and his gang bring to the table is like no other. With his mascara, lipstick and static hair-do, the lead singer of The Cure has never sung so well despite being only a few months off his 60 th birthday here. The concert journeys through four decades of hits (which are sometimes cold wave but are mostly pop) and you can really appreciate the breadth of their work, along with all those melodies that you recognise subconsciously and Robert Smith’s ability to just get on with it. Joined onstage by his long-time partner in crime Simon Gallup (bass), as well as Reeves Gabrels (guitar), Roger O’Donnell (keyboards) and Jason Cooper (drums), he sings some beautiful versions of Pictures of You, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, A Forest, Disintegration, Lullaby, The Caterpillar, Friday I’m in Love, Close to Me, Boys Don’t Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night and Killing an Arab. – Max Dembo

Tracklist:
1. The Cure – Plainsong (Live) (05:27)
2. The Cure – Pictures Of You (Live) (07:19)
3. The Cure – High (Live) (03:37)
4. The Cure – A Night Like This (Live) (04:30)
5. The Cure – The Walk (Live) (03:28)
6. The Cure – The End Of The World (Live) (03:34)
7. The Cure – Lovesong (Live) (03:39)
8. The Cure – Push (Live) (04:36)
9. The Cure – Inbetween Days (Live) (02:55)
10. The Cure – Just Like Heaven (Live) (04:01)
11. The Cure – If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (Live) (05:13)
12. The Cure – Play For Today (Live) (04:04)
13. The Cure – A Forest (Live) (06:47)
14. The Cure – Shake Dog Shake (Live) (04:38)
15. The Cure – Burn (Live) (06:27)
16. The Cure – Fascination Street (Live) (04:58)
17. The Cure – Never Enough (Live) (03:02)
18. The Cure – From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea (Live) (07:51)
19. The Cure – Disintegration (Live) (09:25)
20. The Cure – Lullaby (Live) (04:54)
21. The Cure – The Caterpillar (Live) (04:09)
22. The Cure – Friday I’m In Love (Live) (03:46)
23. The Cure – Close To Me (Live) (03:33)
24. The Cure – Why Can’t I Be You? (Live) (03:15)
25. The Cure – Thanks @ 40 (Live) (01:15)
26. The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry (Live) (02:53)
27. The Cure – Jumping Someone Else’s Train (Live) (03:17)
28. The Cure – Grinding Halt (Live) (02:56)
29. The Cure – 10:15 Saturday Night (Live) (03:29)
30. The Cure – Killing An Arab (Live) (04:25)