The album helped bring the Cure into the American mainstream, becoming the band's first album to reach the top 40 of the Billboard 200 chart and achieving platinum certification. Like its predecessor, The Head on the Door, it was also a great international success, reaching the top 10 in numerous countries.
Directly after wrapping filming in August 1986 for The Cure in Orange, the band embarked on a spontaneous week-long holiday in Le Mourillon before moving on to Jean Costa's studio in Draguignan for a two-week pre-production session to refine demos recorded earlier that summer in London. Smith recounted that the demos were the result of soliciting each band member for their own musical ideas and getting "six or seven songs from each one" on a series of cassettes, before winnowing down to a shortlist via full-band vote, marking a shift from Smith's previous top-down control over composition.[18][19]
After Draguignan, The Cure decamped to the residential setting of Studio Miraval for the three-month album recording session, where according to Smith they emphasized spontaneity, "almost jamming the songs to get the right feel" and recording in one or two takes with minimal rehearsal. The band decided during the course of the session that they had an adequate surplus of strong material to justify releasing a double LP. Smith mixed the album with co-producer David M. Allen and engineer Michel Dierickx during sessions in December 1986 (Compass Point, Bahamas) and January 1987 (ICP Recording Studios, Belgium), respectively. [18][19][20]
Release
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was released on 26 May 1987 by Fiction Records in the UK and by Elektra in the US and Canada. Though a double album in its vinyl issue, it was released as a single CD and single cassette. One track, "Hey You!!!", was omitted from the original CD release because of the 74:33 Red Book CD time restriction, but was included on all cassette releases. A limited vinyl edition came with a bonus six-track, orange 12" featuring the songs "Sugar Girl", "Snow in Summer", "Icing Sugar" (Weird Remix), "A Japanese Dream", "Breathe" and "A Chain of Flowers."[21]
The album appeared in August 2006 in both single-disc and deluxe double-disc CD editions as part of a Cure reissue campaign. All editions notably included "Hey You!!!", marking the first time a complete version of the album was made available on CD. The second disc of the deluxe edition is composed of demos and live versions of album tracks, including a recording of "Why Can't I Be You?" from the final show of the Kissing Tour at the Wembley Arena.[21] Robert Smith stated on his website that there was so much material to draw from that he initially compiled a three-disc edition, with the third disc containing alternate studio versions of the album's songs. However, after discussing with family and friends, he decided that the two-disc edition was a better choice for release. Smith said that it was possible that his proposed third disc may surface as a leak or in a future release.[22]
Reception
In a contemporary review, Mark Coleman of Rolling Stone praised the album for its developed sound saying "The Cure is trying to deepen and refine an existing sensibility rather than reach outward to expand it".[23]
Chris Willman of Los Angeles Times observed, "For all its unevenness, “Kiss Me” is a welcome step away from the existential gloom-monster image the Cure has cultivated. The band still sounds like the Velvet Underground meeting Emo Philips in a dimly lit post-punk disco, but with an even wider variety of influences and instrumentation in the mix.", but was critical of the songs with longer running times, citing "Why Can't I Be You?" and "Just Like Heaven" as highlights.[24]
In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the record was "more accessible and ambitious". However, he nuanced :"Even if Kiss Me doesn't quite gel, its best moments... are remarkable and help make the album one of the group's very best."[25]
Slant Magazine was mostly positive of the album saying "with Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, the Cure gives the listener the kind of roller-coaster rush that only great pop can provide."[26]
^ abBarbarian, Lydie; Sutherland, Steve; Smith, Robert (1988). The Cure: ten imaginary years (1. publ ed.). London: Zomba Books/Omnibus Press/Fiction Books. pp. 107, 110. ISBN978-0-946391-87-5.
^ abTolhurst, Laurence (2016). "Chapter 17: Kiss Me". Cured: the tale of two imaginary boys. Boston: Da Capo Press. ISBN978-0-306-82428-9.
^"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 29 December 2023. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Kiss me kiss me kiss me" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
^Pinheiro de Almeida, Luis (14 January 1989). "Platinum in Portugal"(PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 2. p. 11. OCLC29800226 – via World Radio History.
