In their initial incarnation, the Cure were a spunky pop group with a punk snarl and an art school predilection for concept. From the opening futile self-pity of “10:15 Saturday Night” (presented in this expanded edition in both home and early band demo form) through the moody and haunting “Subway Song,” an absurd cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” (that leader Robert Smith never wanted on the album) and the goofy album instrumental coda of “The Weedy Burton,” Three Imaginary Boys hardly prepares the world for the artistic jump in sound and concept to come. But it remains a highly melodic and captivating album jammed with energetic highlights (“Fire in Cairo,” “Object”). Robert Smith would eventually drape his songs in Technicolor, but the high contrast black and white on display here shows off his sometimes obscured penchant for writing the clever and catchy quip. This British release was issued in the U.S as Boys Don’t Cry with several important track replacements, the addition of the U.S. title track and “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” (both included among the bonus tracks of poor-sounding live cuts and intriguing band demos).