Boys Don't Cry [CD-single]

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
Cover of the Cure's 1980 Hit. Includes a CD-ROM Video Track.

Tracks:

Boys Don't Cry
Plastic Passion
10:15 Saturday Night
Accuracy
So What
Jumping Someone Else's Train
Subway Song
Killing An Arab
Fire In Cairo
Another Day
Grinding Halt
Three Imaginary Boys

Amazon.com

When Robert Smith's long-running group made this debut (actually the resequenced American version of the British Three Imaginary Boys), they weren't the Goth-and-reverb, new wave heroes they later became; they were just a trio of disaffected kids who didn't like what was on the radio, because it wasn't smart enough or dark enough. Smith's lyrics are bleakly sarcastic (as when he spells out the title of "Fire in Cairo") and literate (the single "Killing an Arab," a nihilistic sketch based on a scene from Albert Camus's The Stranger). The band matches them with swift, tingling arrangements that dodge skillfully around rock's machismo and self-indulgence, even when Smith launches into the occasional gnarled little solo. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews:

Only glimmers of the greatness to come.......2006-02-21

This is, not, technically the band's debut: that came in the British release of THREE IMAGINARY BOYS (which has a slightly different track lineup). But for us Yanks, this is the album that introduced Robert Smith and company. The multi-layered wash of guitar and keyboard is nowhere in evidence on this one, though. [Think stripped back angular post-punk new wave rock.]

There's plenty of experimentation here..some of it works (the shattering scream that ends the claustrophobic stalker tune "Subway Song"..just as you think the intended victim has safely escaped) some doesn't (the scattershot use of phrases from advertisements in "So What").

HIGHLIGHTS:
The title track is the closest you get to the sound the Cure would evolve into. Shimmering guitars collide with Smith's admission that this time he's hurt his girl too much and it's finally over for good. ("I try to laugh about it/Hiding the tears in my eyes") "10:15 Saturday Night" is the aftermath of that loss..Smith waiting for the phone call that will never come ("And I'm sitting/In the kitchen sink/And the tap drips/Drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip") Anti-conformity anthem "Jumping Someone Else's Train" sparkles ("The old ideal/Was getting such a bore/Now you're back in line/Going not quite quite as far..") "Killing an Arab" paints the detachment of the act itself ("I feel the steel b-u-t-t jump/Smooth in my hand..") and the realization of what he's done ("Staring at myself/Reflected in the eyes/Of the dead man on the beach")

LOWS:
The lyrical pastiche that comprises most of "So What" is NOT "brilliant"..it's simply oddball. I guess Robert's going for a sense that the world is nothing but noise without the woman he's lost ("Forget all the lies forgive me the wounds/And all the world was used to love/And yes we'd still be happy in another time/But so what?") but it's a theme he approached in "10:15 Saturday Night" in a much more memorable fashion. "Another Day" is plodding and dull. Surely there's another way to evoke boredom than with boring music?

BOTTOM LINE:
If the words "raw" or "stripped-back" in a music review raise a contented sigh in you, this will probably be up your alley. If it's the lusher productions of latter-day Cure (a la "Lovesong" or "Pictures of You") that do it for you, this may not hit the spot.

EDIT:
The lyric from "Killing an Arab" is spelled that way because an Amazon auto-censor keeps removing it but the lyric doesn't make sense without that word. Smith's referring to the b-u-t-t end of the gun. Amazon had been rendering it "I feel the steel..smooth in my hand" which might not convey the emotion properly.

Underrated Punk.......2005-10-07

This album is consistent from begining to end. Every track can be liked the first time you listen Boys Dont Cry. Most ardent punk fans inundate themselves with crashing wave of Sex Pistols, Ramones, New York Dolls, and possibly MC5. However, this album amalgamates raw punk with an ethereal quilaity thats present throughout the whole album. Get this album today.

THIS IS ACTUALLY 1000 STARS!.......2005-08-15

THE GUY WHO WROTE THE REVIEW ENTITLED "WHAT FUTURE LEGENDS ARE MADE OF..." IS SO RIGHT! THE CURE HAS RELEASED LIKE 13 ALBUMS BUT, BELIEVE ME, THIS IS THEIR BEST ONE! THE MUSIC IS QUITE PLAYFUL AND THEN IT COMES TO MORE SERIOUS MUSIC ("ANOTHER DAY," "THREE IMAGINERY BOYS") BUT I THINK THE PLAYFUL MUSIC IS THE BEST. I LOVE "FIRE IN CAIRO," "BOYS DON'T CRY," AND "SUBWAY SONG" (THAT ONE IS REALLY FUN IS A HALLOWEEN SORTA WAY), ALTHOUGH I WISH THAT THEY KEPT SELLING THE COPY WITH "WORLD WAR" ON IT. "WORLD WAR" IS EXCELLENT (I HEARD IT ON "THREE IMAGINERY BOYS (DELUXE EDITION).") THIS IS NOT ACTUALLY THEIR DEBUT, IT ACTUALLY COLLECTS THE LAST THREE SINGLES THAT THEY DID THAT WEREN'T INCLUDED ON 1979'S "THREE IMAGINERY BOYS," WHICH WERE "BOYS DON'T CRY," "JUMPING SOMEONE ELSE'S TRAIN," AND THE EXCELLENT SONG WITH AN UNPLEASANT TITLE BUT ITS ACTUALLY BASED ON THE NOVEL "THE STRANGER," "KILLING AN ARAB." THERE IS ALSO THE BEST SONGS FROM "THREE IMAGINERY BOYS," PLUS A REALLY COOL B-SIDE CALLED "PLASTIC PASSION" FROM THE "BOYS DON'T CRY" SINGLE. GET THIS NOW IF YOU'RE A FAN!!! I AM A 12-YEAR-OLD AND HAVE BEEN A FAN SINCE SEEING THEIR "END OF THE WORLD" MUSIC VIDEO. ANYWAYS, ENJOY THIS ALBUM.

A strong debut.......2005-05-09

Right from the start, The Cure was obviously a band to be reckoned with. While there has always been an attempt to categorize the band (e.g. "post-punk," "new wave," "gloom-and-doom") all one can really definitively say is that The Cure was, and still is, a terrific band with a unique sound.

Obviously The Cure is the brain-child of Robert Smith, who wrote all of the lyrics on all of their albums, probably most of the music as well, sings, and plays the guitars. "Boys Don't Cry" still holds its own as one of their better albums. It contains two of their best all-time songs: the infectious "Jumping Someone Else's Train," and the exotic "Killing an Arab." The latter, controversial because of its title, references the writings of Camus, and is about the inhumanity of war, and how those engaging in battle must become drone-like and de-humanize their enemy ("I'm a stranger, killing an Arab").

There are other gems in this album. The title track, though lighthearted, is irresistible. "Plastic Passion" is Robert Smith's ode to a female sex toy, and "10:15 Saturday Night" perfectly describes a young man's angst at that time, waiting by the telephone for a certain girl to call, while listening to the dripping of a faucet. I really like "Three Imaginary Boys" as well. Of course, Smith would soon start writing longer, more complex work, but "Boys Don't Cry" was an excellent starting point.

Footnote: I mention above two of what, in my opinion, are the all-time best Cure songs. The others, in chronological order, (again, in my opinion) are as follows: A Forest, Primary, All Cats Are Grey, Hanging Garden, Night Like This, Just Like Heaven, Lovesong, Pictures of You, Fascination Street, and From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea. These great songs, and, of course, dozens of other near-great ones, are the reasons that The Cure has been my favorite band since the early 1990's.

yes they do.......2005-03-22

I felt like I should give this a good review since I slammed Pornography. This is the best album the Cure ever recorded. It has the somber tone of the next three albums, but it is also upbeat and wistful, too. I wish they would have tried to reproduce what they did here again. I am sure they could have done it. The next best thing is the singles comp "Japanese Whispers."

Average customer rating:

ALL THE DETAILS
Boys Do Cry
4 stars!
ALMOST PERFECT
Something fine

Boys Don't Cry
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Koch Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

The Brandon Teena Story
Boys Don't Cry
Better Than Chocolate: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
All She Wanted
The Raw & the Cooked

ASIN: B0000365PJ
Release Date: 1999-11-23

Tracks:

The Bluest Eyes In Texas - Nina Person/Nathan Larson
A New Shade of Blue - The Bobby Fuller Four
She's Got A Way - The Smithereens
Who's That Lady? - The Isley Brothers
Codine Blues - The Charlatans
Silver Wings - The Knitters
Who Do You Love? - Quicksilver Messenger Service
Tuesday's Gone - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Haunt - Roky Erickson
Dustless Highway - Nathan Larson
What's Up With That? - The Dictators
Why Can't We Live Together? - Timmy Thomas

Amazon.com

The soundtrack to Boys Don't Cry-- the true story of a young girl who assumed the identity of a boy to avoid the violence and crime of her past--includes everything from a haunting Bobby Fuller Four ballad ("A New Shade of Blue") to classic soul (the Isley Brothers' "Who's That Lady?") to revamped country (the members of X as their old-time country-band alter egos, the Knitters, performing Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings"). Also included are new tracks by '80s power-poppers the Smithereens and Shudder to Think guitarist Nathan Larson. Even more remarkable is the sultry new duet between Larson and the Cardigans' Nina Persson. Even weirder is the first new track in 11 years from original New York punk rockers the Dictators (a traditional barroom romp called "What's Up with That?"), which recalls the solo work of Dictator Scott Kempner more than the band's firepower of old). Round things off with Texas legend and ex-13th Floor Elevator Roky Erickson and a good-ol'-boy Lynyrd Skynyrd tune, and you've got a solid program without a bum steer (well, ok, just edit out Quicksilver Messenger Service's cover of "Who Do You Love?") --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews:

ALL THE DETAILS.......2005-01-04

I recently watched BOYS DON'T CRY for the first time and chastised myself for waiting so long. Outstanding cinematography, acting, and musical score/soundtrack. But there are some unusual descrepancies in the movie's soundtrack list and the tracks on the BOYS DON'T CRY soundtrack CD.

The movie soundtrack list had the following tracks noted but were not included on the CD:
Just What I Needed - The Cars
And It's All Right - The Dictators
Space _ Butthole Surfers
She's a Diamond - Opal
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Boy's Don't Cry - Nathan Larson
Fan Blades of Love - Ed Hall

And, very oodly, these tracks were put on the CD but were not in the movie:
What's up With - The Dictators
She's Got Away - Smithereens
Silver Wings - Knitters
Dustless Highway - Nathan Larson

I have put these facts on this site because I know them to be facts. I don't know if I'll ever figure out why they did it this way. I would have preferred that the CD contain all the tracks from the movie AND the ones that were left out for one reason or another.

If you think this opinion was a demonstration of common sense, please contact me because I don't seem to be running into people that posess very much common sense very often at all these days. I would be welcome to hear from you !! (...)

Boys Do Cry.......2004-02-10

I purchased the soundtrack after seeing the movie. The song Bluest Eyes in Texas caught me pretty heavily and puts a lump in my throat so big...
Looking at the tracks on it I was definately sold with The Knitters(although a different song was used in the movie) Roky Erickson and The Dictators all on one cd.
Was looking forward to the song Boys Don't Cry(The Cure's classic covered by Oleander) but the rest of the tracks make up for what is lost.

4 stars!.......2003-10-24

I bought this CD because I love the movie Boys Dont Cry. It is a good CD. I love The Bluest Eyes in Tx most. I was sad to see that alot of the songs that were important in the movie, were not on the CD tho. So I give it 4 stars instead of 5.
But over all it is a GOOD CD a must have for all fans or fans of the song.

ALMOST PERFECT.......2002-09-10

I ENJOY ALL TYPES OF MUSIC EXCEPT GRUNGE AND CERTAIN TYPES OF RAP; ALL THE MUSIC IS GOOD BUT THE SCORE BY THE BEAUTIFUL CHLOE SEVIGNY AND THE OTHER GIRLS (AS ON THE VIDEO AT THE END) IS NOT INCLUDED ON THE SOUNDTRACK. I FEEL THAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AS SHE WAS THE MAIN ACTOR ASIDE FROM HILLARY SWANK. THIS SONG CAPTURES (TOTALLY) WHAT THIS YOUNG GIRL MUST HAVE GONE THROUGH IN HER SHORT TIME HERE ON EARTH; IT WAS SO TRAGIC (TEENA BRANDON'S STORY) AND TO BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE LIKE THESE TWO IGNORANT DUDS JUDGED HER WAS SO UNFAIR (NOT THAT I'M GAY OR ANYTHING) AND A SPARK WAS TAKEN FROM THOSE WHO ACTUALLY KNEW THIS YOUNG PERSON AND THAT SHE BROUGHT SUCH BELIEVABLE HOPE TO A FEW PEOPLE IS A BRIGHT FACT INDEED.

Something fine.......2002-02-22

For anyone who has seen the movie,(for me-12 times) this CD is a must to have. An excellent soundtrack with a beautifully balanced set of harmonies, with plenty of power: "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" is a strong opener,tugging full on at the heart strings when you REALLY listen to the lyrics,it does,in so many words, describe what Teena really must have felt and endured in her too short life.All of the songs though,I believe, are thought provoking, and each set of lyrics describe the different stages in her life. Depending on how freeminded you the listeners are,when you sit back you will imagine,like me,the sadness and hope of what Teena's life was all about.

All in all, a memorable CD, although I would have liked the title track "Boys Don't Cry" included on it.

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String Quartet Tribute to the Cure Whisper
Average customer rating:

It's a bunch of violins doing Cure. And?

There is no zero stars...

Forget about it!!!

Weak. Very, very weak.

At Last!

String Quartet Tribute to the Cure Whisper
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Vitamin Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
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Strung Out On U2 : The String Quartet Tribute

ASIN: B000063RVM
Release Date: 2002-04-09

Tracks:

Lullaby - Quartet Illumina
Pictures Of You - Quartet Illumina
Boys Don't Cry - David Stout Quartet
Love Song - Quartet Illumina
Hot Hot Hot - The Section
The Lovecats - David Stout Quartet
Bloodflowers - The Section
Maybe Someday - Quartet Illumina
Just Like Heaven - The Section
Zazen - The Section

Product Description

1. Lullaby
2. Pictures Of You
3. Boys Don't Cry
4. Love Song
5. Hot Hot Hot
6. The Lovecats
7. Bloodflowers
8. Maybe Someday
9. Just Like Heaven
10. Zazen

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

It's a bunch of violins doing Cure. And?.......2005-03-12

Ok, so, what the hey. The String Quartet tributes are popping up like bloody mushrooms after a spring rain, which isn't necessarily a good thing. Not that it's a bad idea -- many of the bands covered are probably well managed by these instruments -- but this one, and the two TOOL I also own, are not exactly inspiring. (And if you can recognize "Hot Hot Hot !!!" by ear without being told, you deserve an award.) Everything is played blandly, and, in some cases, fairly oddly -- many notes are played counter to what would conceivably work better.

The selections are crap; possibly, the group wanted a mix of everything, but it's all mostly new, and mostly music that isn't even suited to the instruments. I shudder to think what would have happened if "The Cure" came out before this one. Terrible songs played even worse, most likely.

But, if you simply like instrumental music, it's not bad. It's just not necessarily The Cure.

There is no zero stars..........2004-07-15

... so I give this one ill deserved star. I love classical music. In particular I love string quartets. The Cure is fantastic. I thought this piece of junk might be magical. Hah! The arrangements are boring. The pace is ponderous. These "tributes" completely miss the point of the original wonderful cure songs. The only selection that isn't utter trash is "Lovecats". It's actually pretty good. I actually did discard this useless CD after the second bleak listen.

Forget about it!!!.......2004-05-29

If you are a fan of the Cure, or if you are a fan of any string quartets, forget about it. This album (and all the rest of the String Quartet Tribute albums for that matter) is BS. I am a classical cellist and a huge fan of the Cure, and this CD just pisses me off. These guys are trying to make some profit off of some amazing original music. The sound is horrible, technically they areextremely average, and there is no spirit to the music. Some ass clown probably arranged all of these songs for a bunch of classical players who don't even appreciate the original artist. They play like a bunch of greedy dinguses, and they sound phony. Don't support these guys, just stick to the originals.

Weak. Very, very weak........2004-04-24

** Two stars generously given for the idea and production. **

Okay I'm not a fan of Cure covers, in fact I can't seem to think of one that I like, most of them make me mad that it was even attempted. I love strings and the fact that Roberts vocal lines arent attempted I thought this was going to be the missing link of Cure covers/tributes...

So when I first saw this album, my jaw dropped, I couldn't believe my eyes. Stared at it in awe for a minute, purely overjoyed, bought it and RAN to my car to listen to it. . . . Was interesting... Then I got it home, sat down and really listened to the entire thing, to be incredibly disappointed. It's not "BAD", it's a great idea, it was put together very good .. BUT .. The track selection is everything that is wrong with this. In my opinion, most of these songs were HORRIBLE choices. I don't think many of these work well with a string quartet. A few, yeah okay, aren't bad, but could have been much better with the proper tracks. They selected mostly the more upbeat pop singles, Just Like Heaven? Lovecats? C'mon...

This would have been INCREDIBLE if they did songs like Same Deep Water as You, All Cats are Grey, Kyoto Song, Sinking, If only Tonight we can Sleep, Faith, Apart... Things like that, slower songs. The upbeat pop songs, don't work for me with a quartet.

Great idea, wonderfully done, but terrible terrible track selection.

If I had heard this before I bought it, I wouldn't have, think about this before you purchase this.

I really thought this was going to be something special, like the Joy Division string Tribute which I HIGHLY recomend over this one, in fact go and get that right now if your looking for a string tribute.

At Last!.......2002-05-06

I've been waiting a long time with a fantasy that someone would do some symphonic versions of some Cure songs. While a quartet is less grand than a full orchestra, "Whisper" still does the trick, and the quartets here are nothing to be disppointed by.

The songs on this album are imaginative versions of Cure songs, arranged for string quartet. Duh, right? Well, this project COULD have been drums and guitar with a violin playing Robert's vocal parts...considering this, I give "Whisper" high marks, even though I wish other less-known but more appropriate songs would have made the album ("A Few Hours After This," "To the Sky," "Treasure," etc). Bonus points for the covering of two newer tracks, "Bloodflowers" and "Maybe Someday." The version of "Just Like Heaven," The Cure's most covered song, joins the ranks of such great covers as Deadsy's and Dinosaur Jr's.

As I say, the arrangements are very close to the original songs, but don't adhere so closely that you think "why bother?" Vocal melodies are approximated - not duplicated - by the strings, which is what I prefer. The arrangement of "Hot Hot Hot" varies the furthest from the original, making a surprisingly wonderfully sombre piece out of the original chintsy tune. Pizzicato figures in nicely on a few tunes, as well.

The original tune "Zazen" sounds more like a Cure pastiche than a Cure-inspired tune; you'll probably be placing different parts of it with different songs. However, as nice as this tune is, I'd much rather have heard another full cover than this. (Granted, I'd rather the track be on it than have only 9 tracks on the album).

Overall, I'd recommend this album to huge Cure fans (who else would buy a tribute album anyway?). While not meeting my hugely high expectations (full orchestra, rare songs), this cd does a LOT better than what could have happened (listen to the "Pride" tribute to U2 to know what I mean). A good, solid album. Maybe this is naive, but I recommend buying this album rather than bootlegging, just so that the industry knows how welcome a project like this is (can we get any more, perhaps? : )

Boys Don't Cry
Average customer rating:

The CORRECT song list

Track Listing

Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry
Manufacturer: Atlantic
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0001GGTIK