Bestival Live 2011

iTunes Review

This is The Cure’s entire performance as the headliner of the 2011 Bestival. It’s epic: 32 songs ranging from the band’s earliest days (“Boys Don’t Cry” and “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”) through the intensity of their mid-’80s period (“The Walk,” “In Between Days”) up through later material (“The End of the World”). It’s a career survey with lots of surprises. The four-day music festival held on the U.K.’s Isle of Wight came to a climax with this inspired set. The group’s extensive catalog lets Robert Smith and Co. wander through a myriad of moods. Keyboardist Roger O’Donnell returns and sets up lush sonic beds for the dreamy “Plainsong,” the eerie noir of “One Hundred Years,” and the sweet haze of “A Forest.” Hits are filtered through the set. “Lovesong” and “Just Like Heaven” pulse with muscular backing. (It can be argued the drums are too loud in spots.) Since the late ‘70s, The Cure has stayed true to its musical pursuits, becoming one of the world’s most acclaimed alternative bands.