The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes (UK Original 12" Single @ 45 rpm) Vinyl rip in 24 Bit/96 Khz + CD-format

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The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes (UK Original 12" Single @ 45 rpm) Vinyl rip in 24 Bit/96 Khz + CD-format

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Assumed wrongly by Polydor that this would be the Cure's first big hit, "Charlotte Sometimes" (recorded July 1981, released October 1981) was a single-only release (not appearing on a full-length until 1986's Staring at the Sea collection) that was more of its time than any other Cure single of the early '80s. A repetitive bassline coupled with gloomy keyboards and dryly produced drumming, "Charlotte Sometimes" was based lyrically on a children's book that Robert Smith was a fan of. What makes the tune notable (besides the downright embarrassing video) is its almost stereotypical gothiness, which the Cure never really saddled themselves with before this. While they had been merchants of gloom and doom extraordinaire for two previous albums, they never sounded so, well, maudlin. It has since become a fan favorite, and in the big picture fits in well between Faith and Pornography.–Allmusic

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The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes (UK Original 12" Single @ 45 rpm) Vinyl rip in 24 Bit/96 Khz + CD-format

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The song "Charlotte Sometimes" is based on Charlotte Sometimes, a children's novel by British writer Penelope Farmer, published in 1969.

Lyrics include "she was crying and crying for a girl who died so many years before" and "sometimes I'm dreaming where all the other people dance". It has dream-like rhythmic and melodic structures; recurring modal transitions, numerous harmonic suspensions and lamenting vocals create a feeling of inevitable drift into darkness. Originally a non-album single released in between Faith and Pornography, the song later appears on the 2005 reissue of Faith. A powerful live take was included on the Concert album.

The B-Side of "Charlotte Sometimes" is "Splintered in Her Head", which is also based on the novel. The mood of "Splintered in Her Head" is overall more disquieting, with metallic, distorted vocals and heavy percussion, foreshadowing the next year's Pornography. The Cure released a third song based on the novel, called The Empty World on the album The Top.

The ten minute live version of Faith on the B-side of the 12" version was recorded at the Sydney Capitol Theatre in August 1981 by the then Australian Broadcasting Commission's youth radio station 2JJJ. This version is reproduced on Disc 2 of the deluxe reissue of album Faith.

The music video for the song was filmed at Holloway Sanitorium, the location of several other high profile music video shoots in the 1980s. It features the character of Charlotte recreating scenes from the story in the presence of the band, while Smith mimes the words of the song.

The cover of the single is a distorted picture of Mary Poole, Robert's then-girlfriend and now-wife. The same picture was used again as the cover of The Cure's 1990 single Pictures of You, but in that case the picture was clear and undistorted.–Wikipedia

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The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes (UK Original 12" Single @ 45 rpm) Vinyl rip in 24 Bit/96 Khz + CD-format

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The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes (UK Original 12" Single @ 45 rpm) Vinyl rip in 24 Bit/96 Khz + CD-format

Close