Wild Mood Swings

Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by British alternative rock band The Cure, released in 1996 (see 1996 in music).

History

After Wish, it seemed The Cure was on the brink of being disbanded for good due to the departure of Porl Thompson and Boris Williams. Simon Gallup was also forced to take a vacation due to health problems, which narrowed the lineup down to Robert Smith and Perry Bamonte. Nevertheless, it seems the two of them managed to keep things afloat long enough for Gallup to return once he recovered and convince Roger O'Donnell to rejoin the band. This is also the first album featuring drummer Jason Cooper, who played on 9 of the 14 tracks on the album, because several drummers were auditioning for the job at the time it was being recorded. (See below.)

This album was poorly received by many Cure fans (selling just one million copies worldwide compared to the four million sales of Wish). As of 2005 US sales stand at 363,410 according to soundscan. However, Smith has gone on the record saying that "it's one of my top five favourite Cure albums.

A minor theme present on the album is the mocking of the excessive lifestyle of the 90s club scene. This is seen most in the tracks "Club America" and "Want".

Wild Mood Swings also joins The Top as being one of the least performed albums.

On the recent 2008 "4 Tour" the band only performed "Want" at a few dates and "Club America" in Mexico City.

"Jupiter Crash" was played on the 2004 Curiosa Tour.

Everything else hasn't seen much action since the 1996 Swing Tour, with a few festival performances back in 1998 of "Treasure".

Track listing

1. "Want" – 5:06
2. "Club America" (Bamonte, Cooper, Gallup, Smith) – 5:02
3. "This Is a Lie" – 4:29
4. "The 13th" – 4:08
5. "Strange Attraction" – 4:19
6. "Mint Car" – 3:32
7. "Jupiter Crash" – 4:15
8. "Round & Round & Round" – 2:39
9. "Gone!" – 4:31
10. "Numb" – 4:49
11. "Return" – 3:28
12. "Trap" – 3:37
13. "Treasure" – 3:45
14. "Bare" – 7:57Bonus track

15. "It Used to Be Me" – 6:50

(Japanese edition only - available world wide as a B-side in the "The 13th" single).

Personnel

• Robert Smith - bass, guitar, vocals
• Perry Bamonte - bass, guitar
• Jason Cooper - percussion, drums
• Simon Gallup - bass
• Roger O'Donnell - keyboard

Additional personnel

• Jesus Alemany - trumpet
• John Barclay - trumpet
• Steve Dawson - trumpet
• Richard Edwards - trombone
• Sid Gauld - trumpet
• Will Gregory - saxophone
• Steve Sidwell - trumpetStrings
• Mister Chandrashekhar - violin
• Sue Dench - viola
• Leo Payne - violin
• Audrey Riley - cello
• Chris Tombling - violinPercussion
• Ronald Austin - drums on "This is a Lie"
• Louis Pavlou - drums on "Club America"
• Mark Price - drums on "Mint Car", "Trap" and "Treasure"

Production

• Producers: Steve Lyon, Robert Smith
• Engineer: Steve Lyon
• Mixing: Paul Corkett, Spike Drake, Paul Q. Kolderie, Tom Lord-Alge, Steve Lyon, Alan Moulder, Tim Palmer, Mark Saunders, Adrian Maxwell Sherwood, Sean Slade, Robert Smith
• Mastering: Ian Cooper
• Arrangers: Ronald Austin, Sid Gauld, Will Gregory, Audrey Riley, Robert Smith
• Art direction: The Cure, Andy Vella

Singles

• "The 13th", released in April, 1996
• "Mint Car" released in June, 1996
• "Strange Attraction" released in United States in October 1996
• "Gone!" released in Europe in December 1996

Charts

Singles - Billboard (North America)

References