The Cure - Trilogy

When in late 1998 enigmatic Cure frontman Robert Smith announced his intention to record a final studio album; a swansong for one of the most successful alternative acts in the history of pop music, no-one was much surprised. Quite apart from the regularity of these kinds of statements over the previous decade, the band's prior album - 1996's confused and half-hearted effort Wild Mood Swings - seemed to suggest that Smith had finally lost his creative mojo. But the band's next album, Bloodflowers, eclipsed all expectations. Easily the band's finest studio release since 1989's Disintegration, Bloodflowers showed Wild Mood Swings for the transitional album it was (by no means the first in the band's history). But more than that, Bloodflowers was imbued with an indefinable essence; a completeness, a homogeneity, an emotional and thematic purity which transcended the album format in a manner which few bands manage to accomplish over their entire career. That Smith and Co. had managed it on two previous occasions, those being the aforementioned Disintegration and 1982's explosive Pornography, and that all three releases see Smith at his bleakest, speaks volumes about the lipsticked one's particular genius.

In fact, in Smith's own words, he always envisaged the three albums forming a notional 'trilogy' of albums; at the very least lyrically. But as the band toured in support of Bloodflowers, Smith realised just how well the albums worked together. And thus the Trilogy project was born; November 11 and 12, 2002 seeing the band take the stage at Berlin's Tempodrom for a three-hour-plus showcase of these three seminal albums. Played back-to-back and each in its glorious entirety, the shows were filmed especially for this dual-disc DVD release. A unique live experience, the result is a concert film that is, at least in my experience, unrivalled in its scope and its execution.

With Pornography the first cab off the rank, the gig begins with a bang; the guys launching straight into a blistering version of One Hundred Years. It’s a track that has appeared on nearly every live Cure recording that I’ve heard, and yet this is by far the best rendition of this dark masterpiece I have come across. The remainder of the album follows (in chronological order); this older material given a new lease on life in its live incarnation. Apart from One Hundred Years, highlights include A Strange Day with Simon’s crackly, overdriven bass riffs, and Cold with its deep interwoven synth chords. I’ve always loved Pornography, but hearing it here is like a revelation; like seeing something completely new and unexpected in a familiar painting.

The opening set, lasting just over 40 minutes, is followed closely by Disintegration, and the contrast between the closing of the former and the opening of the latter is amazing; the opening strains of Plainsong, the mixture of upbeat melodies and downbeat lyrics, temporarily dispelling the demons of Pornography. My favourite of the three albums on show, I am still impressed by the way Disintegration melodically dives and soars amidst its lyrical dark tales. Highlights of the set include the driving bass line and squelchy, enveloping feedback of Fascination Street, Bob’s mesmerisingly anguished entreat in Prayers for Rain, the rolling thunder they induce in The Same Deep Water as You and the unrelenting pop power and contrasting lyrical sadness that is Disintegration.

While Disintegration remains my favourite studio album of the three, Bloodflowers is certainly the most accomplished of Trilogy’s live sets; serving to clearly illustrate the relationship between Bloodflowers and its trilogy partners. Striking the perfect balance between Pornography’s raw power and Disintegration’s melodic complexity, Bloodflowers is perfect for the stage, and being the most familiar, the band attack the material with energy and aplomb. Highlights of this final set include the ebb and flow, the power and intensity, the sheer rock that is Watching Me Fall, Roger O’Donnel’s '60s styled keyboard solo from Maybe Someday, Bob’s screeching, desperate pleas and the driving rhythms of 39, and the wonder and the melancholy of the album’s title track. But even after all this, after more than three hours hard at it, that’s not the end of it. The band soon return for a two song encore; delivering superb renditions of If Only Tonight I Can Sleep and one of my all-time favourites, The Kiss.

Without doubt, Trilogy is the best concert film that I have ever seen. Quite apart from attempting a feat that is as far as I know quite unique, Robert and the gang have managed to deliver a live film that accurately conveys the emotion and the energy from the venue on the night. Intending to watch the three sets separately over three nights, I found myself sitting glued to the screen unable to drag myself away. As the encore finished at 1am on that first night, my heart raced as if I’d actually been there. What makes it so good? Well, I believe that the magic of Trilogy is the combination of two facets. Firstly, the majority of the songs played here have never been recorded live before, and hearing these versions for the first time instils them with a new life and vitality. Secondly, these three albums in particular are best heard as a complete work, not just singles sprinkled into a set-list. I made the observation for Pornography, but the same is true of the entire gig: in combination these elements are akin to revelation. The already powerful albums are enhanced not only by being played in the context of their trilogy partners, but by the vitality of the live experience.

Presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) Trilogy looks amazing. Filmed using high definition digital video cameras, and at times frenetically cut to match the pace and mood of each track, this is a professionally produced and fantastic looking live recording from start to finish. Varying widely over the course of the film, the image is at times dazzling sharp and at others intermittently grainy; particularly footage of the crowd and the odd long shot of the stage. This grain, however, seems to be dependent entirely on which camera source (and the number of individual cameras and angles displayed here is astounding) was used for the particular shot. For at most other times the image is crystal clear, in particular when the camera is on the band members themselves.

And believe me, when the image here is good, it is superb. Providing plenty of contrast, the depth of detail is excellent, with every hair on Bob's boofy head, every bead of sweat, every guitar string, every cymbal rib visible for all to see. Colours are full and vivid; painting your living room with deep reds, blues, sickly greens and yellows during the Pornography set, and adding more ethereal, more dreamlike oranges and purples during the Disintegration and Bloodflowers sets. As you might expect there's lots of black to be seen, be it the darkness sitting just out of beam-shot from the stage lighting, the darkness which envelopes the crowd, or the jet-black clothing of Bob and Co. Again the bountiful contrast level fills these spaces with a wealth of shadow detail.

In terms of the digital transfer, the normal film-to-video concert nasties are nowhere to be seen. The lighting is reproduced superbly, with no colour-bleed or posterisation affecting the criss-crossing shafts (of light) in the slightest; each beam perfectly graded from bright to black. So too the billowing smoke is rendered perfectly, and the aliasing that is normally to be found inhabiting guitar strings, cymbal edges and anything remotely horizontal, never making it past the German bouncers at the venue door.

Thankfully the layer changes are also well placed. On both discs they occur on or around the one-hour mark; between Pictures of You and Closedown in the Disintegration set on disc one, and at the end of the Bloodflowers set on disc two. In both cases there's a slight pause, but it's only crowd noise that suffers.

For your listening pleasure, Trilogy provides two soundtrack options; a crisp PCM Stereo mix for the audiophiles, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 track to give that expensive home theatre system a workout. And as the lights dim and the sound of an enthusiastic crowd surges up around you, as the band explodes into 100 Years and the reverberations shake your waters, you just know you are in for a wonderful surround-sound experience. For although missing out on a DTS mix, Trilogy sounds amazing. Balanced beautifully between the front and rear channels, the mix from the band is front-heavy, but with just the right proportion of rear channel reflections to simulate the acoustics of the venue. Between songs, the crowd roars to life all around you; the mix switching its emphasis slightly to the rear. Channel separation is also remarkably good, with the various stage positions of the band members - reflected in the board mix on the night - also replicated in front channels and their reflections at the rear. The oft bugbear of the live recording - audio synch - remains perfect throughout, and fidelity is also surprisingly good; even in the 5.1 mix. For example, a wayward string on Perry’s acoustic guitar is clearly and distinctly heard as it vibrates against a fret in Where the Birds Always Sing. The subwoofer also provides welcome accompaniment, adding depth to Simon’s bass riffs and punch to Jason’s ever-present kick drum. The result is an enveloping viewing experience that, combined with the impressive visuals, is almost as satisfying as being there on the night. Well, minus the sweaty Germans that is.

Only one 'official' extra feature is provided on the two-disc set: a set of interviews with all the band members made sometime after the recording of the Berlin shows. Questions posed range from the inception of the project, their preparation for the shows, how it felt to be on stage, their relationship with their fans, what the future holds for the band, and a number of other interesting topics. A great inclusion, it provides a good full-stop to the live experience, illuminating the sense of occasion that existed not only in the audience, but n stage as well.

Several other small inclusions can also be found as easter eggs, if you have a mind to look!

After using every single superlative in my rather limited vocabulary, what is there left for me to say? Trilogy is an amazing concert film that every Cure fan, whether casual or fanatical, is sure to love. A truly unique live experience, Trilogy is not to be missed.