Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to the Cure

• Artist: Various Artists
• Release Date: January 27, 2009
• Type: Collection (various artists), Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rock

Review

These tribute albums have become so ubiquitous and are so generally asinine that this one comes as a genuine, and at times quite moving, surprise. It's not just that the artists who contributed are clearly doing so without any of the usual ironic detachment, but also that many of them have clearly thought very carefully and often very insightfully about their arrangements and interpretations. Elizabeth Harper & the Matinee deliver a sweetly sad and admirably straightforward version of "Pictures of You," one that clears away the layers of gauzy, torpid psychedelia that characterized the (excellent) original version to create a song that has a very different spirit without sacrificing anything of its essence. Cassettes Won't Listen give "Let's Go to Bed" a slightly stiffer, more electro interpretation -- again, one that reveals a depth of regret and bitterness that was better hidden in the original. It should probably come as no surprise that Tanya Donelly would pick the slightly creepy "Love Cats" to cover, in a duet version with the gruffly insinuating Dylan in the Movies. Elk City turn "Close to Me" into a strangely detached disquisition on the obsession and self-disgust that animated the original, while Kitty Karlyle turn "In Between Days" into a brilliantly edgy slab of rough-and-ready pop-punk. Not every interpretation is equally brilliant, but every one of them shines an interesting new light on this powerful material. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Just Like Heaven	Boris Williams, Gallup, Robert Smith, Williams, Thompson, Porl Thompson, Laurence Tolhurst	Joy Zipper	(2:45)
The Lovecats		Tanya Donelly, Dylan in the Movies	(3:43)
Lovesong	Laurence Tolhurst, Williams, O'Donnell, Gallup, Thompson, Robert Smith	The Brunettes	(4:16)
In Between Days		Kitty Karlyle	(2:50)
Friday I'm in Love	Thompson, Porl Thompson, Robert Smith, Boris Williams, Gallup, Williams, Perry Bamonte	Dean & Britta	(3:49)
Jumping Someone Else's Train	Dempsey, Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst	Luff	(4:02)
Boys Don't Cry	Robert Smith, Dempsey, Laurence Tolhurst	The Submarines	(3:34)
Close to Me		Elk City	(5:16)
The Walk	Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst	Rosebuds	(3:28)
Pictures of You	O'Donnell, Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst, Williams, Gallup, Thompson	Elizabeth Harper & the Matinee, Matinee', Elizabeth Harper	(4:30)
Let's Go to Bed	Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst	Cassettes Won't Listen	(3:29)
Catch	Thompson, Williams, Gallup, Laurence Tolhurst, Robert Smith	Devics	(2:49)
A Night Like This		Julie Peel	(4:27)
10:15 Saturday Night	Laurence Tolhurst, Robert Smith, Dempsey	The Poems	(3:27)
A Strange Day	Laurence Tolhurst, Gallup, Robert Smith	Violet Clark, Grand Duchy, Black Francis	(6:21)
High	Perry Bamonte, Robert Smith, Thompson, Gallup, Williams	The Wedding Present	(7:15)

Credits

Joseph H. Spadaro (Producer), Joseph H. Spadaro (Audio Production), Gwen Marie Hysler (Audio Production), Kim Rosen (Mastering), Kim Rosen (Remastering)