Customer Reviews
Wish the World Away - By: Steven Dedalus, 13 May 2007 
1992 must have been an unusual time to bein the Cure. After having released "Disintegration", a record that would eventually come to define the band, & having had to fight to get that album released, the world finally succumbed to the charms of the band. American success, hit singles, big tours, etc. However,in between 1989 & 1992, the entire musical climate had shifted, & the world into which "Wish" was released was very different from the times when "Disintegration" had appeared.
Faced with the prospect of being challenged by grunge, baggy, & shoegazing, the three major genres of the day, the Cure retreated into their own little soundworld, releasing an album that didn't rely on current trends or sounds, & as such has stood the test of time somewhat better than some of the contemporary music of the time. By not being allied to a particular sound, it still sounds relevant.
Much more guitar dominated than previously, guitars swirl & crashin a more confident way than they have on any previous Cure album. Opener, 'Open' rides a churning bass-line with all manner of melodic, but slightly disjointed guitars. Robert Smith's lyrics detail a particularly boozy night out, & the consequences that might arise from it. There is something satisfyingin the fact that the music possesses all kind of sonic touches, tones & textures, but the lyrics remain steadfastly earth-bound, dealing with a variety of subjects that frequently verge on the mundane. The music has it's headin the clouds, but the lyrics have their feet planted firmly on the ground.
There is also a sweeping romance to the album, with a number of the songs hinting at the simple pleasure of spending one satisfying day with a lover, doing nothingin particular, but praising the little things we all do. Once again, the music has a majestic sweep that echoes this theme, elevating the simple pleasures of the lyrics into high (melo)drama.
The major fault of the album is a general lack of focus. Unlike "Disintegration", which held together as a piece, every song sounding betterin the context of the one before & after, "Wish" is more of a collection of songs which don't have too muchin common, other than the points raised above. There is an unbalance of songs which are light to the point of being throwaway juxtaposed beside very heavy, emotionally taxing songs. One minute we're being told "Friday I'min love", & being introduced to the pleasure of watching someone eatin the middle of the night, & then the next minute, relationships are ending, & people are committing suicidein front of us. It's a slightly schizophrenic approach, that doesn't always work, & as such, "Wish" often sounds better when certain songs are skipped, depending on the mood of the listener.
Some of the songs are also very long & drawn out, the majority of which average out at around the five & a half minute mark, but due to the emotionally draining nature of some of the songs, they often feel much longer. This is quite a draining album, & is not for the faint hearted.
On the other hand, it has some of the best lyrics Robert Smith ever wrote, observing & celebrating the minutiae of life & presenting it to us as something new, & the band arein top form. It's just that it's not a particularly good introduction to the band, & it is possible to imagine this being a far stronger album if a bit of preening had been done, trimming down the length of certain songs, re-sequencing, & possibly dropping one or two of the songs (is 'Wendy Time' really necessary? I don't think so). But still a very strong album & worth checking out.
Wish Come TRUE!!! - By: bombamon, 29 Apr 2005 
I have been a life long fan of The Cure,...and this album is just sumblime.......... To me I regard it as the the finest alternative rock album ever made. It simply fascinates & evolves everytime you listen to it. By far the most amazing achievement from The Cure yet. A cohesive tapestry of the cure MAJIC. Just buy it.....
Very underrated - By: -meaulnes-, 16 Jul 2004 This album came outin 1992, when the Cure were pretty much past the peak of their popularity, & other musical styles, such as grunge & Britpop, were taking over our hearts & minds. Cure fans at the time responded to this album with their customary loyalty, but even they had a sense that something was not quite right, that the magic had faded slightly after the moody masterpiece, 'Disintegration'...
A fresh listen to this album reveals that it is blessed with its fair share of Cure magic. There is some exquisite sadness ('To wish Impossible Things', 'Trust', 'Apart'), a mysterious, dreamlike yet uplifting love song (the underrated 'High'), & a moment of pure pop, which is one of the best pop songs they've ever recorded ('Friday I'min Love'). The two brooding, guitar-driven nightmare visions that open & close the album ('Open' & 'End') rank among the best of the Cure's darker moments. There is also the obligatory emotionally wrenching tale of doomed love ('From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea').
I regard 'Wish' as the last great Cure album. It works as a kind of summation of their career up until 1992, & it's one of their most accessible albums, so it would be a good place to start for new fans. It beautifully represents all of the styles & moods that the Cure do so well, without any sense of dilution or inconsistency. Their two recent releases have shown a decent return to form, but looking back, 'Wish' was really the last dance for the classic Cure of the 'eighties & early 'nineties.
'Wish' - By: Annis, 30 May 2004 I've been a fan of the Cure for about a year, & on discovering that my friend had a copy of 'Wish', I hijacked it.
I got through 'Open' (one of the louder songs, with Robert sounding positively deranged at points), 'High' (which,in my opinion, shouldn't have gone on the greatest hits: it's not one of their best, just the poppiest on the album) & 'Apart' (slowed down & quite depressive, but very good) liking all the songs but being fairly indifferent, but it was 'From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea', 'Wendy Time' & 'Doing The Unstuck' which gave me a wake-up call as to how good 'Wish' actually is.
The guitar & bassline repeat most of the way through the song, matching the imagery of the lyrics perfectly. Suddenly, halfway through, the song slows right down, before building up to an amazing climax of the same guitar solo mixed with fantastic distortion effects, which make you wonder how the same band managed to release 'A Letter To Elise' (see below) as a single.
'Wendy Time' comes next, a mass of addictive distorted guitars & catchy vocals. According to the lyrics inside the liner there should be an extra verse to this song, but as it is quite long due to the guitar solos, it's not too much of a loss.
'Doing The Unstuck' is the definitive 'happy song'. With lyrics proclaiming 'It's a perfect day for letting go' & 'Kick out the gloom, kick out the blues, tear out the pages with all the bad news', it must be. It has possibly the most catchy chorus of all time.
'Friday I'm In Love', like 'High', is a catchy, poppy single which really isn't as good as much of the stuff on here. It's sugary & forgettable enough to be a good single, but after listening to it a few times you realise how superior many of the other songs are.
'Trust' is one which really grows on you after a while. It's a lot slower than most of the songs (the only tempos on this album seem to be 'fast & thrashy' or 'slow & depressive'--which isn't an entirely bad thing), & has a looped keyboard sequence which runs throughout. It takes a long time to start, but after a couple of listens you'll be hooked.
'A Letter To Elise' is the single that should never have been. It's slow & gloomy, but this timein a bad way, & sounds like the soundtrack to a weepy teen movie. Why the band didn't release 'Doing The Unstuck' instead is a mystery to me.
Next comes 'Cut', whichin my opinion is one of the best on here. It's very fast & thrashy ,but still manages to be very Cure-like. Features the most addictive bassline ever. This song is absolutely packed with drums & waily guitars of every description, slowing down as each verse comes in.
Everything is slowed right down for 'To Wish Impossible Things'. The sound is quite minimal, with echoing guitar/bassin the bckground, & a haunting viola melody winding its way throughout. Beautiful.
It's a case of 'save the best till last' here. 'End' has haunting lyrics sung with a reverse echo effect (mentionedin someone else's review), & a gorgeous guitar melody which repeats the whole way through. It builds up & up towards the end, then with squeals of guitar feedback & hissing, it ends abruptly.
I listen to 'Wish' at least twice a week. I really don't think it gets enough credit, beingin the shadow of 'Pornography' & 'Disintegration', which are very very good, but...not 'Wish'.
What an album !!!! - By: crazeetaxi, 02 Jul 2002 Wish was releasedin 1992 at a time when the British post-Madchester "shoegazing" guitar-driven music scene was enjoying great success & the grunge movement from America was also nearing it's height.
It's often said that most American guitar bands would be a lot better if they were actually British, & this album manages to capture the feel of both of the above scenes, while retaining it's own very English, very Cure feel, which of course only The Cure can do !!
The album opens up with Open. Ha ! Ha ! & guess what ? It ends with End !!! Such joviality from such a serious band !
Being serious, Open kicks off with a bass guitar intro that Peter Hook (New Order) would sell his grandmother for, then thumping drums come crashing in, finally the bass intro drops down to deeper booming notes, the lead guitar kicksin - & we're away !!! This song sets the scene for what remains the bands heaviest, almost purely guitar-driven album. The song is basically about getting extremely drunk, thankfully because it's The Cure this is handledin an extremely intelligent way (i.e. he's NOT singing "tequila, it makes me happy" like some other crappy band whose name I have forgotten did...). If you've ever got so drunk you fell over & puked then you'll identify with this & no doubt have a bit of a wry smile while listening to it.
Next up is a jangly pop tune called High which was a chart success & sees The Cure's patented 6-string-bass-as-a-lead-guitar sound make it's debut on this particular album.
Apart slows things down a little & features some very nice guitar sounds (the doors of the recording room were opened & the amplifiers were miked from outside, giving a very "spacey" sound).
From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea follows & has a killer lead guitar riff which repeats all the way through the song. The song stopsin the middle, except for the bass, accoustic guitar & a bit of percussion & suddenly everything kicks backin with the most amazing phazed guitar solo you will ever hear, which veers crazily from side to side between your speakers/headphonesin "surround sound" style. Very trippy, very funky, & it shows the bands love of Jimi Hendrix to full effect !! This is one of the greatest songsin The Cure's catalogue.
Wendy Time is clearly influnced a bit by what was the then recent Madchester movement & has funky-dancey drums & the obligatory Madchester style organ !!
Doing The Unstuck is the killer single that never was. It's a crime that this was never released instead of A Letter To Elise, which just didn't work as a single. There must be about 20 different guitars playing all throughout this song & it is really the most singalong style track on the album (especially the chorus), even more so than the next song which is....Friday I'm In Love.
Friday is a jangly pop trackin the mould of The Beatles, The Byrds, The Stone Roses, The La's - that kind of thing. It was a huge chart hit & it's amazing & you really should not need me to tell you how good it is.
Trust changes the album into a bit more of a serious mood, with it's almost classical piano. It's a bit of a pity that they used a keyboard to replicate the sound of an orchestra on here (although it's very authentic) it just doesn't sound as good as maybe having a string quartet or something on it. It's still a very welcome song, almost a reprise of Homesick from Disintegration.
A Letter To Elise has a touch of REM to it (in their accoustic-y with some lightly distorted guitar moments!) & maintains a very delicate feel, especially with the toy piano.
Cut is the hardest song on the whole album. Starting off with a deceptive viola (I think...?) introduction before very fast thrashy drums crashin & the whole song roars along with copious amounts of heavy feedback & wah-wah guitars. This is a very Nirvana-esque song, if Jimi Hendrix had played guitar for them.
To Wish Impossible Things rounds up the albums softer moments, built around a lilting 6-string-bass arpeggio & some light percussion. A viola driftsin & out of the song setting most of the mood. This song quite truly sounds like a sunset !
It's back to the hard stuff for the final song, End.
This is another song where a main lead-part is maintained throughout the song to catchy effect. This time an identical bassline & guitar line are synchronised to give an extremely meaty sound, with additional guitars soaringin majestically every now & then. The vocals also have a great reverse-echo effect used on them, which sees the words echoing before they have even been sung (there's probably a technical term for this, but I don't know it if there is one.) & the guitar soloin the middle is all reversed as well.
As with a few Cure albums this may not be the best choice as your first purchase, UNLESS you are heavily into guitar based music then go ahead & buy it right now. Otherwise, if you are looking for The Cure's moodier, more gothic or more synth-orientated albums this probably won't suit you.
Personally I happen to think this is one of The Cure's best 3 albums (Disintegration, Bloodflowers & this) so really the best thing you can do is buy all three of them.
