Faith

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Faith
Studio album by The Cure
Released	10 April 1981
Genre	Post-Punk Gothic rock
Length	36:54
Label	Fiction
Producer	The Cure, Mike Hedges
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Blender link Pitchfork Media (8.8/10) 2005 Stylus (A-) 2005
The Cure chronology
Seventeen Seconds (1980) Faith (1981) Pornography (1982)
Singles from Faith
"Primary" Released: 20 March 1981

Faith is the third album by British band The Cure, released in April 1981.

Overview

Faith is generally a brooding, atmospheric, and sombre album, although it has a flash of anger in the form of the song "Doubt", and some edge in the driving single "Primary". It is often seen as the mid-point in a 'Dark Trilogy' that begins with Seventeen Seconds and ends with Pornography. One of the songs on the album, "The Drowning Man", is inspired by the Gormenghast novels of Mervyn Peake.

It is the first album by The Cure to feature baritone guitar/six-string bass. The front cover, designed by future member Porl Thompson, is a picture of Bolton Abbey in the fog.

Carnage Visors

The song "Carnage Visors" (an antonym of rose-coloured spectacles), originally available only on the long-play cassette release, is the soundtrack of Carnage Visors, a short film by Ric Gallup, Simon's brother. It was screened at the beginning of shows in place of a support band on the 1981 Picture Tour, and featured animation of several dolls in different positions and stances. The film has since disappeared and only Lol Tolhurst, Robert Smith, and Simon Gallup own copies of it, though during a televised interview in the mid-1980s the host of the program surprised the band by playing a clip of the film on set.^[1]

2005 re-release

Faith was reissued in the UK on 25 April 2005 (26th in the U.S.) as part of Universal Music's Deluxe Edition series. The new edition features a remastered version of the album, as well as the song "Carnage Visors" on disc one, while disc two contains demo and live tracks, as well as the non-album single "Charlotte Sometimes". It features a few never-before-heard tracks (in demo form, all instrumentals) while each song on the first disc (except "Carnage Visors") has an alternate version on the second disc, whether it be a demo or live rendition.

There also exists a one-CD reissue. It was released on 5 September 2005 in the UK and 4 April 2006 in the US. The CD, released in the standard jewel case, rather than a digipak, features the original album, but does not contain the bonus disc. It also excludes the song "Carnage Visors".

Track listing

All songs by Simon Gallup, Robert Smith and Laurence Tolhurst.

Original 1981 release

1. "The Holy Hour" – 4:25
2. "Primary" – 3:35
3. "Other Voices" – 4:28
4. "All Cats Are Grey" – 5:28
5. "The Funeral Party" – 4:14
6. "Doubt" – 3:11
7. "The Drowning Man" – 4:50
8. "Faith" – 6:43

Long-play cassette bonus track

9. "Carnage Visors" – 27:51

2005 Deluxe Edition

Disc one

Original album, as above

(including "Carnage Visors" as track 9)

• A later one-CD re-issue that features only the first disc, excludes "Carnage Visors".

Disc two (Rarities 1980-1981)

1. "Faith" (Robert Smith home demo) - 2:56
2. "Doubt" (Robert Smith home demo) - 1:09
3. "Drowning" (group home demo) - 1:52
4. "The Holy Hour" (group home demo) - 4:48
5. "Primary" (studio out-take) - 4:22
6. "Going Home Time" (studio out-take) - 3:31
7. "The Violin Song" (studio out-take) - 3:38
8. "A Normal Story" (studio out-take) - 3:04
9. "All Cats Are Grey" (live) - 5:37
10. "The Funeral Party" (live) - 4:38
11. "Other Voices" (live) - 4:45
12. "The Drowning Man" (live) - 5:48
13. "Faith" (live) - 10:23
14. "Forever" (live) - 9:19
15. "Charlotte Sometimes" (single) - 4:13

Personnel

• Simon Gallup - bass
• Robert Smith - guitar, keyboard, 6-string bass, bass, Vocals
• Lol Tolhurst - drums

Production

• Producers: The Cure, Mike Hedges
• Engineers: Mike Hedges, David Kemp
• Assistant engineer: Martyn Webster

Charts

Singles - Billboard (North America)

References