Boys Don't Cry (The Cure album)

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Boys Don't Cry
Compilation album by
the Cure
Released5 February 1980
Recorded1978–1979
GenrePost-punk
Length34:09 (CD version)
LabelFiction
ProducerChris Parry
The Cure chronology
Three Imaginary Boys
(1979) 		Boys Don't Cry
(1980) 		Seventeen Seconds
(1980)
Singles from Boys Don't Cry
  1. "Killing an Arab"
    Released: December 1978
  2. "Boys Don't Cry"
    Released: June 1979
  3. "Jumping Someone Else's Train"
    Released: November 1979

Boys Don't Cry is the Cure's first compilation album.[1] Released in February 1980, this album is composed of several tracks from the band's May 1979 debut album Three Imaginary Boys (which had yet to see a US release) with material from the band's 1978–1979 era.

Behind the scenes of these albums, Bill Smith was the mastermind behind the concepts for both covers, while Chris Parry assumed the role of producer for both projects. [2] Additionally, Pope played a crucial role in directing the music videos for "Killing An Arab" and "Jumping Someone Else’s Train," which were later featured in the 1986 video compilation. These behind-the-scenes efforts contributed significantly to the albums' artistic vision.[3]

Release[edit]

Boys Don't Cry was released on 5 February 1980 by record label Fiction. According to AllMusic, the album "[falls] somewhere between [an] official release and compilation", and was released "in hopes of increasing the band's exposure outside of the U.K."[4]

A new version of the title track was released in April 1986.[5]

In the majority of CD releases of the album, "Object" was swapped out for "So What", while the final scream in "Subway Song" was trimmed and "World War" was left out altogether.[6]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Q[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
The Village VoiceB+[9]

Boys Don't Cry has been generally well received by critics. Debra Rae Cohen of Rolling Stone wrote that the album "proves they can transcend their Comp. Lit. 201 (Elementary Angst) scenarios."[10] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice called the band's sound "dry post-punk, never pretty but treated with a properly mnemonic pop overlay", and was more reserved in his praise, adding, "I can look over the titles and recall a phrase from all but a few of these 13 songs. Intelligent phrases they are, too, yet somehow I find it hard to get really excited about them."[9]

In 2000, Boys Don't Cry was voted number 775 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[11] In 2003, the album was ranked at number 442 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[12] In a 2012 update of the list, it moved up to number 438.[13]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by the Cure (Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey and Lol Tolhurst)

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Boys Don't Cry"2:37
2."Plastic Passion"2:15
3."10:15 Saturday Night"3:40
4."Accuracy"2:16
5."Object"3:03
6."Jumping Someone Else's Train"2:58
7."Subway Song"1:54
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Killing an Arab"2:22
2."Fire in Cairo"3:21
3."Another Day"3:43
4."Grinding Halt"2:49
5."World War"2:36
6."Three Imaginary Boys"3:14

On most CD versions of the album, "Object" was replaced by "So What", the scream at the end of "Subway Song" was shortened and "World War" was removed.

Personnel[edit]

The Cure

Technical

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Boys Don't Cry
Chart (1980–1986) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] 60
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 71

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Boys Don't Cry
Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[17] Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Platinum 300,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Cure | Boys Don't Cry". 5 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Read Hard's Classic Pop-punk Picks #40: The Cure- Boys Don't Cry". Keep Track of the Time. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  3. ^ post-punk.com (5 February 2016). "The Cure | Boys Don't Cry". Post-Punk.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b True, Chris. "Boys Don't Cry – The Cure". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  5. ^ "The Cure – Boys Don't Cry (New Voice • Club Mix) (1986, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  6. ^ post-punk.com (5 February 2016). "The Cure | Boys Don't Cry". Post-Punk.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Back Catalogue". Q. No. 227. June 2005. p. 124.
  8. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "The Cure". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 205–06. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (28 April 1980). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  10. ^ Cohen, Debra Rae (21 August 1980). "Boys Don't Cry". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 244. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  12. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Boys Don't Cry – The Cure". Rolling Stone. 18 November 2003. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  13. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 79. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – The Cure – Boys Don't Cry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  17. ^ "French album certifications – The Cure – Boys Don't cry" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 9 July 2023. Select THE CURE and click OK. 
  18. ^ "British album certifications – The Cure – Boys Don't Cry". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 July 2023.

External links[edit]

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