The Head on the Door
| The Cure
The Head on the Door
The Head on the Door is the sixth studio album by English alternative rock band the Cure, released in August 1985 on record label Polydor. Preceded by the single “In Between Days” which had reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart The Head on the Door was described by Melody Maker as “a collection of pop songs”, while PopMatters declared that it defined alternative rock. With its variety of styles, it allowed the group to reach a wider audience in both Europe and North America. In the United Kingdom, it became their most successful album to date, entering the albums chart at No. 7 on 7 September.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Classic Albums
July 16, 2017. Without a doubt, The Head On The Door was a milestone record for The Cure. One that signaled a new direction. If their previous period felt like a spy left to freeze out in the cold, here spring has sprung with its fair share of rainy days and chilly nights.
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Pitchfork
August 25, 2006. Saying that this is the Cure's most focused pop album-- . . . -- might seem like a massive compliment, but that designation turns out to be a bit tricky. The singles here were the band's most straightforward to date: . . . .
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The Quietus
August 24, 2015. It’s an album that feels like what it was - a full fresh start and raring to go.
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AllMusic
While the band always had a pop element in their sound and even recorded one of the lightest songs of the '80s, "The Lovecats," The Head on the Door is where they become a hitmaking machine.
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Treble Zine
September 11, 2016. The Head on the Door was The Cure’s most successful attempt at a pop album, and unlike being a collection of singles, it maintains its coherence through its varied experiments in sound.
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PopMatters
The Head on the Door, the Cure became Masters of the Form whose music had finally caught up to its image.
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Sanctuary Music
May 23, 2017. . . . 'The Head on the Door' is the most accomplished and accessible album produced by The Cure. Although it seems to represent the lyrical and musical maturity of the band it did, in many ways, come from out of the blue really.
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Cryptic Rock
August 26, 2015. . . . The Head on the Door is actually where The Cure’s finest moments started. Despite its usually being bumped into the sideline due to many critics’ exaggeration of Smith’s miserabilism, the band’s sixth album is the pinnacle of their creativity, and ultimately to highlight this is timely, in commemoration of its thirtieth anniversary
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Mark's Record Reviews
Finally admitting their escape from young adult angst, Rob and company reemerge as a full-grown happy pop band. Not dated synth dance crud, but clean solid sparkly guitar/keyboard pop rock. Real nice stuff.
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Ultimate Classic Rock
December 14, 2018. They try on a few different styles here, with the pop songs – especially the bouncy "In Between Days" – finding new radio-ready textures to cling to.
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George Starostin's Reviews
There's a good band... again. With solid pop compensating for all the darkness, they're back to being MASTERS OF NOTES again.
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Viberant
July 27, 2018. In all honesty this album was the true definition of alternative rock, everything the genre stood for and should sound like belonged in this album, a collection of songs that many would describe as The Cure’s best; weighing up alongside some of the best work to come out of the 80s.
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Amoeba Music Review
September 6, 2016. With this album, the band established a higher profile in the U.S. and in France (as well as in the UK); the album was certified gold in all three countries.
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Adrian's Album Reviews
November 23, 2008. This is easily the most melodic Cure album since 'Three Imaginary Boys'. It also sports the best sound, they've seemingly left their underground roots behind, although, Mr Smith still does his best lyrically.
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Louder Sound
April 23, 2019. With former Cure tour guitarist Porl Thompson now fully on board, their sixth album saw The Cure come of age as a focused, jangly, defiantly poppy outfit.
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Rolling Stone.de
August 28, 2015. "The Head On The Door" should remain the only and last airy album of the band, it has a special place in the Cure discography.
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Robert Christgau
In the wiggy abstraction of his self-regard, Robert Smith has evolved into a Brit art-pop archetype. Eccentric though his songs are, they offer nothing arresting in the way of imagery . . . , much less character or incident.
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Hard Rock
April 21, 2017. Anchored by stone cold classics “In Between Days” and “Close To Me”, The Head On the Door is the moment when The Cure became commercial juggernauts while retaining their unique identity.
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The Student Playlist
December 30, 2018. Boasting two truly excellent hit singles in the shape of the mellifluous ‘In Between Days’ and the irresistibly kinetic ‘Close To Me’, The Head On The Door represented The Cure’s big pop break-out, the moment that brought them to mainstream exposure with heavy MTV rotation.
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Virgins and Philistines
February 11, 2017. Quite a good album but not my favourite of theirs as to me the sound is indeed too polished and perfect.
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