Bloodflowers

Bloodflowers
Studio album by The Cure
Released 15 February 2000
Recorded 1998–1999 at St Catherines Court, Avon and RAK Studios, London, England
Genre Gothic rock, alternative rock
Length 64:29
Label Fiction
Producer
The Cure chronology
Wild Mood Swings
(1996)		 Bloodflowers
(2000)		 The Cure
(2004)

Bloodflowers is the eleventh studio album by English band The Cure, released in February 2000.

The album is seen as a sombre return to form by critics.[1] Robert Smith has expressed on several occasions that the album is the final part in his "trilogy" (the three albums he feels best define The Cure), the first being the 1982 album Pornography, and the second being the 1989 album Disintegration.

Content

The album is the last so far to feature extensive use of keyboards. The 2004 album The Cure uses keyboards much more sparingly and after the departure of Roger O'Donnell following the release of the album and the following tour, the band was stripped down to a four-piece, featuring no keyboards at all.

Release

Bloodflowers was released on 15 February 2000 by record label Fiction. No commercial singles were released from Bloodflowers, but two promotional singles were released to DJs and radio stations: "Out of This World", in January (Europe) and May (U.S.), and "Maybe Someday", in January (U.S.) and April (Europe). It was a moderate success, debuting at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, eventually selling 300,000 copies in America. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2001.

Live performances

In 2002, the band performed Pornography, Disintegration, and Bloodflowers in their entirety to a Berlin audience, and released the recording on DVD in 2003, titled The Cure: Trilogy.

On the 2007-2008 4Tour, the band played "Maybe Someday" at various shows. "Out of This World", "Watching Me Fall", "The Last Day of Summer" and "Bloodflowers" were last performed on the 2016 North American tour. "39" was played at the first London date of the 2016 World Tour (December 1, 2016) as part of the encore.[2] Except for the 2002 Trilogy shows in Berlin, the other songs have not been played since the 2000 Dream Tour. "Coming Up" and "Spilt Milk" have not been performed live at all.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
The Guardian[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
Melody Maker[8]
NME7/10[1]
Pitchfork Media7.5/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Uncut[12]

Bloodflowers received a generally favourable response from critics. Entertainment Weekly called it "one of the band's most affecting works",.[5] A less favourable review came from Trouser Press, which wrote "Bloodflowers feels like a forced recreation of the earlier gloomy classics. The album sounds completely uninspired, as Smith and company go through the motions of Cure-ness."[13]

Track listing

All tracks written by The Cure (Smith/Gallup/Bamonte/Cooper/O'Donnell). 

No. Title Length
1. "Out of This World"   6:44
2. "Watching Me Fall"   11:13
3. "Where the Birds Always Sing"   5:44
4. "Maybe Someday"   5:04
5. "Coming Up" (Bonus track on the Australian and Japanese versions of Bloodflowers. It also appears on all vinyl versions and Join the dots box set.) 6:26
6. "The Last Day of Summer"   5:36
7. "There Is No If..."   3:44
8. "The Loudest Sound"   5:09
9. "39"   7:20
10. "Bloodflowers"   7:31
Other tracks recorded
  1. "Possession" – was released in the Join the Dots box set.
  2. "Just Say Yes" – original version released on the Greatest Hits Demos & Rarities Microsite in 2001; rerecorded version released on the Greatest Hits CD.
  3. "You're So Happy (You Could Kill Me)!" – cover version with different music circulates P2P networks.
  4. "Heavy World" – instrumental on "Lost Flowers" demo; speculated to be released on the Bloodflowers reissue.
  5. "Everything Forever" – instrumental on the "Lost Flowers" demo; speculated to be on the Bloodflowers reissue.

Personnel

Production

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
2000 The Billboard 200 16
Top Internet Albums 2

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
2000 "Maybe Someday" Modern Rock Tracks 10

References

  1. 1 2 Long, April (8 February 2000). "Bloodflowers". NME. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  2. ↑ http://www.nme.com/news/music/cure-kick-off-wembley-residency-epic-31-song-marathon-set-1886390
  3. ↑ "Reviews for Bloodflowers by The Cure". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bloodflowers – The Cure". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  5. 1 2 Schinder, Scott (18 February 2000). "Bloodflowers". Entertainment Weekly: 86. Archived from the original on 1 April 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "The Cure: Bloodflowers". The Guardian. 18 February 2000.
  7. ↑ Hochman, Steve (12 February 2000). "The Cure, 'Bloodflowers,' Elektra/Fiction". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Beaumont, Mark (2 February 2000). "Goth-awful! [Bloodflowers - album review]". Melody Maker.
  9. ↑ Ott, Chris (15 February 2000). "The Cure: Bloodflowers". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  10. ↑ Kane, Peter (March 2000). "Winding Down". Q (162): 102.
  11. ↑ Berger, Arion (2 March 2000). "Bloodflowers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  12. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (March 2000). "Prophet of Bloom". Uncut (34): 78.
  13. ↑ Grant, Steven; Robbins, Ira; Reno, Brad. "TrouserPress.com :: Cure". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved July 7, 2016.

External links

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