Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Studio album by The Cure
Released	25 May 1987
Recorded	1986-1987
Genre	Alternative rock, gothic rock, new wave, post-punk
Length	74:35
Label	Fiction (UK) Elektra (U.S. original release) Rhino (2006 reissue)
Producer	David M. Allen, Robert Smith
The Cure chronology
The Head on the Door (1985) Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987) Disintegration (1989)
Singles from Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
"Why Can't I Be You?" Released: 6 April 1987 "Catch" Released: 22 June 1987 "Just Like Heaven" Released: 5 October 1987 "Hot Hot Hot!!!" Released: 8 February 1988

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	link
Allmusic	link
Blender	link
Robert Christgau	(B) link
Pitchfork Media	(9.4/10) link
Rolling Stone	(favourable) 1987
Rolling Stone	2004
Slant	link
Stylus	(A-) link
Virgin Encyclopedia	link

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me is the seventh studio album by British alternative rock band The Cure. Released in 1987, this album helped put The Cure into the American mainstream, becoming their first album to reach the Billboard Top 40.

History

Though a double album, it was released as a single CD, and single cassettes. A limited vinyl edition came with an extra 6 track 12" (orange vinyl, featuring the songs ""Sugar Girl", "Snow In Summer", "Icing Sugar", "A Japanese Dream", "Breathe" and "A Chain Of Flowers"). One track, "Hey You!!!", was removed from the original CD release (due to the 74:33 redbook time restriction on the CD format at the time) rather than issue it as a 2CD set, but was included on all cassette releases.

Robert Smith has stated that he wrote the song "Shiver and Shake" about Lol Tolhurst's diminishing role in the band. This is also the last studio album band member Porl Thompson played keyboards on; he played guitar only on all subsequent studio releases. Special guest Andrew Brennan played the saxophone on "Hey You!!!" and "Icing Sugar."

Kiss Me continues to dominate the band's live set; the 2008 "4Tour" included performances of "The Kiss", "Torture", "Catch", "Why Can't I Be You?", "How Beautiful You Are", "Just Like Heaven", "Hot Hot Hot!!!", "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep", and "Shiver and Shake" at various shows.

2006 re-release

The album was re-released in August 2006. The first disc features "Hey You!", which had been omitted from previous CD issues, and the second disc is composed of demos and live versions of the songs on the first disc, including a recording of "Why Can't I Be You?" from the final show of the Kissing Tour at the Wembley Arena. It was released August 8, 2006 in the U.S. and August 14, 2006 in the UK.

Robert Smith stated on his website that there were so many missing tracks that he made three discs. One had the original album, one had demos of the B-Sides and unreleased tracks, and one had alternate tracks of the songs from the album. After discussing it with family and friends, he decided that the latter one was more qualified to be released. He said it wasn't impossible that the other disc may show up in a leak or another release.[1]

Track listing

All songs written by The Cure (Smith/Gallup/Thompson/Tolhurst/Williams)

1. "The Kiss" – 6:17
2. "Catch" – 2:42
3. "Torture" – 4:13
4. "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" – 4:50
5. "Why Can't I Be You?" – 3:11
6. "How Beautiful You Are..." – 5:10
7. "Snakepit" – 6:56
8. "Hey You!" – 2:22
9. "Just Like Heaven" – 3:30
10. "All I Want" – 5:18
11. "Hot Hot Hot!!!" – 3:32
12. "One More Time" – 4:29
13. "Like Cockatoos" – 3:38
14. "Icing Sugar" – 3:48
15. "The Perfect Girl" – 2:34
16. "A Thousand Hours" – 3:21
17. "Shiver and Shake" – 3:26
18. "Fight" – 4:27

The track "Hey You!" was omitted from early CD pressings due to time constraints.

2006 deluxe edition

Disc one

The first disc contains the original album, as above, including "Hey You!" as track 8.

Disc two: Rarities 1986–1987

1. "The Kiss" (RS instrumental home demo) – 3:40
2. "The Perfect Girl" (Studio instrumental demo) – 3:26
3. "Like Cockatoos" (Studio instrumental demo) – 2:11
4. "All I Want" (Studio instrumental demo) – 3:33
5. "Hot Hot Hot!!!" (Studio instrumental demo) – 3:49
6. "Shiver and Shake" (Studio instrumental demo) – 2:55
7. "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" (Studio instrumental demo) – 3:16
8. "Just Like Heaven" (Studio instrumental demo) – 3:26
9. "Hey You!" (Studio instrumental demo) – 2:32
10. "A Thousand Hours" (Studio rough mix) – 3:27
11. "Icing Sugar" (Studio rough mix) – 3:20
12. "One More Time" (Studio rough mix) – 4:36
13. "How Beautiful You Are" (live bootleg County Bowl Santa Barbara 7/87) – 5:22
14. "The Snakepit" (live bootleg County Bowl Santa Barbara 7/87) – 7:30
15. "Catch" (live bootleg NEC Birmingham 12/87) – 2:32
16. "Torture" (live bootleg NEC Birmingham 12/87) – 4:04
17. "Fight" (live bootleg Bercy Paris 12/87) – 4:30
18. "Why Can't I Be You?" (live bootleg Wembley Arena 7/87) – 7:43

Personnel

Line-up

• Robert Smith – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Simon Gallup – bass guitar
• Porl Thompson – guitar, keyboards, saxophone
• Lol Tolhurst – keyboards
• Boris Williams – percussion, drums
• Roger O'Donnell – keyboards on live songs from the Deluxe Edition

Guest musician

• Andrew Brennen – saxophone on "Icing Sugar" and "Hey You!"

Production

• David M. Allen, Robert Smith – production
• Sean Burrows, Jacques Hermet – assistant production
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing on "Just Like Heaven"

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1987	US Billboard 200	35
	UK Albums Chart	6
	Australia Top 40	9
	Austria Top 40	4
	France Top 50	2
	Germany Top 40	4
	Sweden Top 40	13
	Switzerland Top 40	3

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	"Just Like Heaven"	Hot Dance Music/Club Play	28
		Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	27
		The Billboard Hot 100	40
	"Why Can't I Be You?"	Hot Dance Music/Club Play	27
		Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	8
		The Billboard Hot 100	54
1988	"Hot Hot Hot!!!"	Hot Dance Music/Club Play	11
		Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	50