Customer Reviews
A good introduction to The Cure.... - By: P. Philips, 02 Sep 2008 
Staring at the Sea - The Singles
I bought this album in 1986 on cassette, & still play it occasionallly today. The cassette version had most of the CD's tracks on the A-side, while the B-side had a whole side of unavailable B-sides, which have been reissued on the 'Join The Dots' compilation. Still worth buying as in introduction to the early work of The Cure, & worth buying just for
standout tracks such as 10:15 Saturday Night, Boys Don't Cry, A Forest, Charlotte Sometimes, & The Lovecats.
A fantastic introduction to The Cure... - By: Dakota, 12 Apr 2008 
...but I do wonder why they insist on making a cd like this, with mostly singles from albums & then one or two non-album releases that you can't find anywhere else. This has some of my favourite ever songs on it, but if I were to buy this album, it would be for the two or so songs that I don't have - it's not reallly fair/value for money for long time fans.
Most played album In Antarctica - By: Darren Collis, 15 Oct 2007 
With the exception of 'the walk' which we skipped whenever we could, this was the album that kept the Captain & I awake while steering through Icebergs at night.
Killing an Arab is perfect if you forgive the title, 10.15 could be put on repeat play to clear the bridge, Boys Don't Cry has a melody hard to dislike, A Forest is menacingly brilliant & the closing trio of songs from the 'Head on the Door' album paint a rich & deep picture of the mind of the writers.
If you don't have a Cure album, you need this one plus thier last 'great' album 'Disintigration'.
Unless you are into bland pop - stick to the 70's & 80's Cure!
Darren Collis - Sea Shepherd Quatermaster
Best of early Cure - By: Pieter, 09 Mar 2003 The Cure, especiallly early Cure, is an acquired taste. This collection of singles presents their most accessible hits in chronological sequence for a tasty listening experience. Their sound is brooding, sometimes claustrophobic, as on Boys Don’t Cry & A Forest, often melancholic as on Charlotte Sometimes. But The Walk & The Love Cats have dancefloor appeal in their great rhythmic textures. My favourites are the sublime Inbetween Days with its soaring melody & the soulful, funky Close To Me. I regret the omission of another wonderful song, Pictures Of You, but I suppose it wasn’t ever released as a single. This might be considered heresy, but I enjoy their Mixed Up album of extended remixes even more with its spacious & elegant versions of these songs, plus Pictures Of You. In fact, when I compare those magnificent long versions of Inbetween Days & Close To Me to these originals, they sound almost flat & one-dimensional. I'm sure most Cure fans would disagree, but for me the Mixed Up extended mixes have an added charm & flow. The dance rhythms provide a hypnotic twist & do not in any way detract from the profundity of The Cure's music. But for the alternative rock fan, Staring At The Sea is a brilliant & rewarding collection of early Cure.
Ideal intro to classic Cure - By: , 01 May 2002 I'm an admirer of the Cure rather than a fully paid up fan, & don't own any Cure albums other than this, but among the 17 songs here are 5 bona fide masterpieces.
I hadn't heard "Killing an arab" for 20 years, & for me it's the absolute best Cure song ever - the arabian-style guitar, the brilliant guitar work, the atmosphere, the desolate lyrics. "10:15 saturday night" is another work in the same mould - wonderfully atmospheric, brilliant guitar breaks.
"A forest" must be the definitive Cure song - hypnotic bass, guitar & vocals & swooshy sound effects over a drum machine - a bit Doctor Who-ish in a way, & totallly - well, yes - brilliant. Then there's "The love cats" - a song which is virtuallly impossible to sit still to. Double bass & piano - your grandma would love it too. Finallly there's "Close to me", a song that's sounds as if it's been put together in the kitchen with string & sellotape, which is what gives it it's charm.
There's a lot of other songs on this album, but for me it's those 5 that make this compilation a must have.
