Standing on a Beach: The Singles

by The Cure

Standing on a Beach: The Singles cover art
  • Type: Compilation
  • Released: 6 May 1986
  • Label: Fiction
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 45:41
  • Community rating: 4.17/5 from 5 ratings

Artists on this release: David M. Allen, Matthieu Hartley, Chris Parry, Michael Dempsey, Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst, Mike Hedges, Phil Thornalley, Steve Goulding, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, Andy Anderson, Steve Nye, Simon Gallup

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Documenting The Cure's evolution from sparse post-punk minimalism to kaleidoscopic gothic pop, 'Standing on a Beach' collects their first decade of A-sides. The compilation seamlessly bridges Robert Smith's starkly depressive early work with the infectiously weird, synth-driven optimism that catalyzed their commercial breakthrough. Concurrently released on CD as 'Staring at the Sea', it is frequently cited as one of the most perfectly sequenced singles collections of the 1980s.

Genres

Descriptors: melodic, compilation, jangly, atmospheric, infectious

Tracklist

  1. Killing An Arab (2:22)
  2. Boys Don't Cry (2:34)
  3. Jumping Someone Else's Train (2:54)
  4. A Forest (4:53)
  5. Primary (3:33)
  6. Charlotte Sometimes (4:12)
  7. The Hanging Garden (4:20)
  8. Let's Go To Bed (3:34)
  9. The Walk (3:28)
  10. The Lovecats (3:38)
  11. The Caterpillar (3:38)
  12. In Between Days (2:56)
  13. Close To Me (3:39)

Credits

More from The Cure: full discography