CURE – CHICAGO 1984 (CD)

●1984
– January 30th / February 1st: Europe #1 (2 shows)
– April 25th – May 2nd: Europe #2a (7 shows)
《May 4th: “THE TOP” released》
– May 4th – May 31st: Europe #2b (22 shows) ← *Official CONCERT
– August 30th – September 3rd: Europe #3 (3 shows)
– September 30th – October 12th: Oceania (10 shows)
– October 15th – 17th: Japan (3 shows) ← *Official LIVE IN JAPAN
– October 22nd – November 17th: North America (20 shows) ← ★HERE★

[Previously released recording from the highly anticipated “Jacobs Collection”]
　This is THE CURE in 1984. After a thorough three-round tour of Europe, their largest voting bloc, they embarked on a journey to Oceania/Japan/North America. This Chicago performance is the 13th show of the “North American” leg, the final leg of their tour. It was a concert held approximately one month after their legendary first visit to Japan.

　This recording of such a show is a previously unreleased recording unearthed from the collection of Adam Jacobs, which has become a major topic of conversation, especially on social media. Jacobs is a recording engineer who has been based in Chicago since 1984, mainly working on indie rock and punk, but it seems he has only recorded for personal use and has not traded his work. It is said that he has recorded over 10,000 tapes over several decades.

　In recent years, Jacobs has been on hiatus from recording due to health reasons, but he decided to donate his tapes to the Internet Archive out of concern for their deterioration over time. Since the end of 2024, volunteers have been working to digitize them, and historical recordings that no one had ever heard before, including Nirvana before their breakthrough, are being released one after another. This work is the THE CURE edition of that “Jacobs Collection.”

[A vivid, direct feel, as if recorded at an outdoor festival with zero reverberation]
　Of course, it’s not just rare, but the sound is amazing that it’s generating buzz. In fact, this work is incredibly close and has no sense of distance. It’s not the type that you might mistake for a soundboard recording in terms of tone, but it’s full of density with absolutely no sparseness, and the contours are sharp. All the instruments form a wall of sound that comes at you, yet if you focus on the sound of each individual, the details of each note come to the surface.

　Robert Smith’s vocals, in particular, are incredible. You can feel not only every single word of the lyrics, but also the nuances and even the breath he breathes. The recording took place at “The Bismarck Theatre,” which is supposed to be an indoor theater, but this album sounds so vivid and direct, as if it were recorded at an outdoor festival with zero reverberation.

[A full show from 1984, different from the official ‘LIVE IN JAPAN’]
　This powerful sound presents a full show that is different from both ‘LIVE IN JAPAN’ and ‘CONCERT’. Here, let’s organize the setlist by comparing it with the official footage from their first visit to Japan, which took place just before this show.

● Seventeen Seconds (4 songs)
– M (★) / Secrets (★) / Play for Today / A Forest
● The Top (4 songs)
– Shake Dog Shake / Wailing Wall / Give Me It / The Caterpillar
● Others (3 songs + 10 songs)
– Pornography: Cold (★) / The Hanging Garden / One Hundred Years
– Others: Primary / Charlotte Sometimes / The Walk / Let’s Go To Bed / Happy The Man (★★) / Three Imaginary Boys (★) / Boys Don’t Cry / 10:15 Saturday Night / Killing An Arab (★) / Forever (★)
*Note: Songs marked with “★” were not included in the official video “LIVE IN JAPAN”. Songs marked with “★★” were exclusive songs that were only performed in 1984.

…And that’s how it is. With “SEVENTEEN SECONDS” and the latest album “THE TOP” as the two main pillars, it also broadly brings together songs not included on albums, such as the comeback singles “Let’s Go To Bed” and “The Walk.” Among them, “Secrets,” “Wailing Wall,” “Give Me It,” and “The Caterpillar” are particularly precious. The ultimate is “Happy The Man,” the B-side track from the single “The Caterpillar,” an exclusive song that only appeared in the 1984 setlist. It’s a truly concentrated set unique to 1984, condensing the breadth and depth of THE CURE’s music.

　Adam Jacobs, hailed as a “key figure in Chicago culture” thanks to his vast audience archive, has unearthed a new live album by The Cure from his collection. This is a cultural heritage-worthy new masterpiece, offering a raw, powerful sound of live performances that no one has ever heard before. Please enjoy it to the fullest.

★A superb audience recording of the Chicago concert on November 9, 1984. This previously unreleased recording, unearthed from the much-talked-about “Jacobs Collection,” boasts an intensely on-stage, vivid, and direct sound that is truly breathtaking. You can enjoy a fantastic full show, including rare tracks not found on the official “LIVE IN JAPAN” and the 1984-only performance of “Happy The Man.”

Disc:1 (48:24)
1. Intro
2. Shake Dog Shake
3. M
4. Secrets
5. The Wailing Wall
6. Primary
7. Cold
8. The Hanging Garden
9. Charlotte Sometimes
10. The Walk
11. One Hundred Years
12. Play For Today

Disc:2 (46:53)
1. Let’s Go To Bed
2. Give Me It
3. A Forest
4. Happy The Man
5. Caterpillar
6. Three Imaginary Boys
7. Boys Don’t Cry
8. 10:15 Saturday Night
9. Killing An Arab
10. Forever