This is the another installment in my series of favorite records. The list so far is here.

While my music tastes are anchored in the country, classic and blues rock of the late 60's and 70's, the mid-eighties was a wonderful time for rock and roll. During the 80's alternative rock bands like The Replacements, REM, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk and others created an entire new genre and catalog of music that was different than anything we had heard before. I recall hearing some of the best music on WRVU during my graduate school years of 1982-85.

No band of that era grabbed me more than The Cure. They made several records that are candidates for this list, but I'm going to pick their 1989 record Disintegration.

This record epitomizes the dark, brooding and occasionally ever-so-hopeful music that I discovered and enjoyed so much during the 80's. Pictures of You is a wonderful song by any standard. Love Song is another classic from this record. Last Dance is another brooding, enchanting number, with a great guitar track behind Robert Smith's unique and compelling voice.

Lullaby is a great song too. But the song that put this record on this list is Fascination Street. It's about as haunting as a song can be.

Every one of the other songs on this record is somewhere between very, very good and excellent. The Cure made sad records, happy records (sort of), alternative records and almost pop records during the 80's. This record is a great combination of all of that and more.

Technorati Tags:
top 50 albums, record reviews