"Staring at the Sea" is a collection of singles from the band's albums from "Three Imaginary Boys" (released in America as "Boys Don't Cry," with a few variations) in 1979 up through "Head on the Door" in 1985. This album provides a fine panorama of the Cure's progression from a power (punk) trio (Killing an Arab, Boys Don't Cry), through the heavily synthesized sounds of Faith (Other Voices), the gothic, drum machine of Pornography (The Hanging Garden), to the Cure's most complex (and commercially successful) arrangements in Head on the Door (Inbetween Days, Close to Me). New fans will instantly fall in love with Boys Don't Cry, Love Cats, Caterpillar, Inbetween Days and Close to Me. "Killing an Arab" was the band's first single, and despite its name, is merely an adaptation of Albert Camus' "The Stranger," not a reflection of any racial animosity. "Charlotte Sometimes" is a gem on this album. It was never released on a full-length album, yet it is a favorite of many Cure fans; the studio version is a bit sluggish, though, and fans will find that songs like "Let's Go to Bed," "The Walk," and "Charlotte" (though cleverly appealing as mid-80s antiquities) are literally transformed by the performances of these songs in the live CDs "Show" and "Paris." This compilation is outstanding, though. New fans are encouraged to check out "Galore," which is a collection of more recent singles that most people are more familiar with, but when you are ready to fall in love with the Cure, and you will, this album should immediately become part of your CD collection.

This album, and Galore, is the perfect Cure purchase to start your collection, or for the casual fan who doesn't want all of the albums. The cd contains four "bonus tracks," which are singles that were only released as promotion only or in certain countries, but the tape's side b has a whole collection of b-sides that are unavailable unless you own the corresponding singles (which are impossible to find now). Throw Your Foot, The Exploding Boy are infectious and giddy tunes, while Descent, Splintered In Her Head, Happy The Man, and New Day are sombre and melancholy. The tape is called Standing On A Beach and it still has the same old man from the cd cover.

Pro: It culls all of The Cure's singles from their early period.
Con: If you want stuff like "Lovesong", "Just Like Heaven", and "Friday I'm In Love", it aint on here. That's all on "Galore", which picks up where this leaves off, chronologically.

Pro: Their early singles are excellent.
Con: But a lot of The Cure's best songs are non-singles. Buy this first. If you like it, buy all of the studio albums in which these songs come from.

So yes, this is an excellent compilation album. If you're new to the band, buy this and "Galore". It covers pretty much every single the band put out, even the ones that tanked.

"Staring at the Sea" is the better of the two, as their earlier singles are stronger overall (even though the band's most well known/successful singles came later in their career). From the Middle Eastern flavored punk of "Killing an Arab" to the shimmering, nocturnal pop of "A Night Like This", and everything in between.

And like a sandwich, there's some good stuff in between. The pure pop bliss of "Boys Don't Cry" and "Close To Me". The goth/new wave/pop masterpiece, "A Forest". The tribal gloom of "Other Voices". The tin pan alley, music hall romp of pop perfection that is "The Lovecats". The downbeat punk of "Play For Today" and "Primary". The minimalistic goth of "The Hanging Garden". The dated-but-still-fun synth pop of "Let's Go To Bed" and "The Walk". The jangly new-wave/punk mashup of "Jumping Someone Else's Train". And so forth..

With 17 songs, all of which range from 'good' to 'masterpiece', you can't really go wrong here. I would still recommend just buying all their studio albums, but this is a good place to start if you're not sure..

Best of the Best: A Forest, Primary, Charlotte Sometimes, The Lovecats, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Other Voices, Close To Me.

Thanks to the recent TV commercial for HP Digital cameras, I found myself really wanting to have some Cure in my life again and went looking for "Pictures Of You." Yes, at one time I had almost all the Cure CD's in my collection, but time and economics had weeded them away. "Staring At The Sea" offered me an opportunity to get a batch of other songs I remembered with fondness.

As dark and morose as The Cure's image had always been, their albums up to "The Head On The Door" frequently found them making dazzlingly brilliant singles. Hard to believe it, but Robert Smith was just as pop song smart as any New Romantic period hit maker, and in songs like "The Walk" or "Love Cats" he showed the kind of playfulness that many of his fans didn't always "get." Nonetheless, early efforts like "Killing An Arab" or "Hanging Garden" reinforced that dark depressive atmosphere that early Cure fans embraced so completely. Smith himself never had any problem with playing against preconceived notions of what a Cure song should be; I doubt a jazzy Robert ("Let's Go To Bed") was in any goth fan's must hear list.

I also found it ironic that the "Staring at the Sea" image of an old man was mirrored by the baby with the ice cream on "Galore." If you wanted to read more into it, you'd almost suspect Robert Smith was gently trying to remind listeners that he didn't mind playing to his more childlike nature when making music. While there has yet to be a comprehensive single disc collection of the Cure's best, a purchase of "Galore" and "Standing" will at least put all the singles at your fingertips.

The original tape (yes I said tape as in cassette - released in 1986) had all of these songs merely as Side A. Side B had 12 bonus b-side tracks which can be found on Join the Dots, released 19 years later. Until then, the analog version of Staring at the Sea was the only place to find such tracks as New Day, I'm Cold, Throw Your Foot and and Mr. Pink Eyes other than tracking down the original 45s and 12" records. This CD is The Cure in it's prime, but for an old fan feels like only buying half an album - and only the half I already have at that. If you want the B side of the tape, go buy Join the Dots instead.