Izdavač: Ostalo
Žanr: Alternativni Rok, Pop, Rok
Poreklo: Strani izvođač

Original, made in USA

Knjizica od 8 str.

knjizica 4 (potpis na cover-u) Cd 3 ima sitnih povrsinskih linijica koje ne uticu na reprodukciju zvuka, radi besprekorno

Studio album by the Cure
Released 2 May 1989
Recorded November 1988 – February 1989
Studio Hookend (Checkendon, England)
Genre
Gothic rock[1][2][3]alternative rock[4]dream pop[5]post-punk[6]art rock[7]
Length 71:45
Label Fiction
Producer
David M. AllenRobert Smith
The Cure chronology
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
(1987) Disintegration
(1989) Mixed Up
(1990)

Disintegration is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 2 May 1989 by Fiction Records. The band recorded the album at Hookend Recording Studios in Checkendon, Oxfordshire, with co-producer David M. Allen from late 1988 to early 1989. Following the completion of the mixing, founding member Lol Tolhurst was fired from the band.

The record marks a return to the introspective gothic rock style the band had established in the early 1980s. As he neared the age of 30, vocalist and guitarist Robert Smith had felt an increased pressure to follow up on the band`s pop successes with a more enduring work. This, coupled with a distaste for the group`s newfound popularity, caused Smith to lapse back into the use of hallucinogenic drugs, the effects of which had a strong influence on the production of the album.

Disintegration became the band`s highest charting album to that point, reaching number three in the United Kingdom and at number 12 in the United States, and producing several hit singles including `Lovesong`, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It remains the band`s highest-selling record to date, with more than four million copies sold worldwide. It was greeted with a warm critical reception before later being acclaimed, eventually being placed at number 116 on Rolling Stone magazine`s list of the `500 Greatest Albums of All Time`. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it the `culmination of all the musical directions the Cure were pursuing over the course of the `80s`.[8]

Background
The band`s 1987 double album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was commercially successful, with a sold-out world tour booked in its wake. Despite the international success the band was now enjoying, internal friction was increasing due to Lol Tolhurst`s increasing alcoholism at the time.[9] Keyboardist Roger O`Donnell (who had recently been touring with The Psychedelic Furs), was soon hired as a second touring keyboardist. As Tolhurst`s alcohol consumption increased, the other band members would tease Tolhurst, leading Smith to later comment that his behaviour was similar to that of `some kind of handicapped child being constantly poked with a stick`.[9][10] At the end of the Kissing Tour in support of the album, Smith became uncomfortable with the side effects of being a pop star and moved to Maida Vale (in West London) with fiancée Mary Poole. Regularly taking LSD to cope with his depression, Smith once again felt the band was being misunderstood and sought to return to its dark side with their next record.[11]

Recording and production
Smith`s anguish prior to the recording of Disintegration gave way to the realisation on his 29th birthday that he would turn 30 in one year. This realisation was frightening to him, as he felt all the masterpieces in rock and roll had been completed well before the band members reached such an age. Smith consequently began to write music without the rest of the band. The material he had written instantly took a dismal, depressing form, which he credited to `the fact that I was gonna be thirty`.[12] The band convened at drummer Boris Williams`s home and compared their individual demos that each member recorded, and they rated them `1 to 10`,[13] then the group met later at a second session and recorded a total of 32 songs at Williams`s house with a 16-track recorder by the end of the summer.[12] Of these 32 songs, 12 would make it onto the final album.

When the band entered Hook End Manor Studios, their attitude had turned sour towards Tolhurst`s escalating alcohol abuse, although Smith insisted that his displeasure was caused by a meltdown in the face of recording the band`s career-defining album and reaching 30. Displeased with the swollen egos he believed his bandmates possessed, Smith entered what he considered to be `one of my non-talking modes` deciding `I would be monk-like and not talk to anyone. It was a bit pretentious really, looking back, but I actually wanted an environment that was slightly unpleasant`. He sought to abandon the mood present on Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and the pop singles they had released, and rather recreate the atmosphere of the band`s fourth album Pornography (1982). Despite the serious subject matter of the album, O`Donnell commented in 2009 that the atmosphere in the studio was still upbeat during the sessions: `I remember very clearly laughing and joking and fooling around in the control room while Robert was singing `Disintegration`, and then all of us trying to be serious when he came in to listen back.[...] It was never a serious atmosphere in the studio, and when you think about the album and how dark it is, I`m sure people think we were sitting around slitting our wrists with candles and chains hanging from the walls.`[14]

While Tolhurst had contributed to the foundation of the song `Homesick` (according to O`Donnell),[14] his musical contributions to the album were marginal as his alcohol abuse rendered him more or less incapable of playing.[14] The other members, finally, threatened to quit if Tolhurst was not fired before the end of the recording session. When Tolhurst arrived to the mixing of the album, and then became excessively drunk, a shouting match ensued and he left the building furious; three weeks later, Smith decided to terminate his tenure with the band prior to the band`s upcoming tour. It was during this period that O`Donnell was asked by Smith to become a full-time member, instead of simply a touring musician.[15] Despite Tolhurst`s ejection from the group, Smith told NME in April 1989, `He`ll probably be back by Christmas. He`s getting married, maybe that`s his comeback.`[16] Tolhurst briefly reunited with the band in 2011 during the Reflection tour.

Music
Disintegration was Smith`s thematic return to a dark and gloomy aesthetic that the Cure had explored in the early 1980s. Smith deliberately sought to record an album that was depressing, as it was a reflection of the despondency he felt at the time.[17] The sound of the album was a shock to the band`s American label Elektra Records; the label requested Smith shift the release date back several months. Smith recalled `they thought I was being `wilfully obscure`, which was an actual quote from the letter [Smith received from Elektra]. Ever since then I realised that record companies don`t have a fucking clue what The Cure does and what The Cure means.`[18] Despite rumours that Smith was one of the only contributors to the record, he confirmed that more than half of the dozen tracks on Disintegration had substantial musical input from the rest of the band.[18]

Disintegration is characterised by a significant usage of synthesizers and keyboards, slow, `droning` guitar progressions and Smith`s introspective vocals. `Plainsong`, the album`s opener, `set the mood for Disintegration perfectly`, according to biographer Jeff Apter, by `unravelling ever so slowly in a shower of synths and guitars, before Smith steps up to the mic, uttering snatches of lyrics (`I`m so cold`) as if he were reading from something as sacred as the Dead Sea Scroll.`[19] Smith felt the song was a perfect opener for the record, describing it as `very lush, very orchestral`. The album`s third track, `Closedown`, contains layers of keyboard texture complemented with a slow, gloomy guitar line. The track was written by Smith as a means to list his physical and artistic shortcomings.[19] Despite the dark mood present throughout Disintegration, `Lovesong` was an upbeat track that became a hit in the United States. Ned Raggett of AllMusic noted the difference from other songs: `the Simon Gallup/Boris Williams rhythm section create a tight, serviceable dance groove, while Smith and Porl Thompson add further guitar fills and filigrees as well, adding just enough extra bite to the song. Smith himself delivers the lyric softly, with gentle passion.`[20]

Much of the album made use of a considerable amount of guitar effects. `Prayers for Rain`, a depressing track (Raggett noted: `the phrase `savage torpor` probably couldn`t better be applied anywhere else than to this song`) sees Thompson and Smith `treating their work to heavy-duty flanging, delay, backwards-run tapes and more to set the slow, moody crawl of the track.`[21] Others, like the title track, are notable for `Smith`s commanding lead guitar lines [that are] scaled to epic heights while at the same time buried in the mix, almost as if they`re trying to burst from behind the upfront rhythm assault. Roger O`Donnell`s keyboards add both extra shade and melody, while Smith`s singing is intentionally delivered in a combination of cutting clarity and low resignation, at times further distorted with extra vocal treatments.`[22]

While the album mainly consists of sombre tracks, `Lovesong`, `Pictures of You` and `Lullaby` were equally popular for their accessibility.[19] Smith wanted to create a balance on the album by including songs that would act as an equilibrium with those that were unpleasant. Smith wrote `Lovesong` as a wedding present for Mary Poole. The lyrics had a noticeably different mood than the rest of the record, but Smith felt it was an integral component of the album: `It`s an open show of emotion. It`s not trying to be clever. It`s taken me ten years to reach the point where I feel comfortable singing a very straightforward love song.`[23] The lyrics were a notable shift in his ability to reveal affection. In the past, Smith felt it necessary to disguise or mask such a statement. He noted that without `Lovesong`, Disintegration would have been radically different: `That one song, I think, makes many people think twice. If that song wasn`t on the record, it would be very easy to dismiss the album as having a certain mood. But throwing that one in sort of upsets people a bit because they think, `That doesn`t fit`.`[17] `Pictures of You`, while upbeat, contained poignant lyrics (`Screamed at the make-believe/Screamed at the sky/You finally found all your courage to let it all go`) with a `two-chord cascade of synthesizer slabs, interweaving guitar and bass lines, passionate singing and romantic lyrics.`[19][24] `Lullaby` is composed of what Apter calls `sharp stabs` of rhythmic guitar chords with Smith whispering the words. The premise for the song came to Smith after remembering lullabies his father would sing him when he could not sleep: `[My father] would always make them up. There was always a horrible ending. They would be something like `sleep now, pretty baby or you won`t wake up at all."[19]

Track listing
All lyrics are written by Robert Smith; all music is composed by Smith, Simon Gallup, Roger O`Donnell, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, and (officially, in credits) Lol Tolhurst

Disintegration track listing
No. Title Length
1. `Plainsong` 5:12
2. `Pictures of You` 7:24
3. `Closedown` 4:16
4. `Lovesong` 3:29
5. `Last Dance` 4:42
6. `Lullaby` 4:08
7. `Fascination Street` 5:16
8. `Prayers for Rain` 6:05
9. `The Same Deep Water as You` 9:19
10. `Disintegration` 8:18
11. `Homesick` 7:06
12. `Untitled` 6:30

Personnel
Robert Smith – guitars, vocals, keyboards, six string bass
Simon Gallup – bass
Porl Thompson – guitars
Boris Williams – drums, percussion
Roger O`Donnell – keyboards
Lol Tolhurst – other instrument
Production

Robert Smith – production, engineering
David M. Allen – production, engineering
Richard Sullivan – engineering
Roy Spong – engineering