The Cure have signed a three-record deal with Artist Direct:

Ross Robinson had the fever; now he's got The Cure.

Known for his production wizardry on projects with KoRn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Sepultura, At The Drive-In, and the red-hot punksters The Blood Brothers, Robinson fulfills a lifelong ambition to work with the legendary British band by signing them to his own imprint, I AM Recordings/ARTISTdirect Records.

"The Cure has been my favorite band for years and years", he says. "They were instrumental in my approach to production. It was The Cure that opened me up to a more sensitive, heartfelt type of music, and I've been extremely loyal to that feeling in every project I've done since then".

Led by charismatic singer/guitarist/songwriter Robert Smith, The Cure played a seminal role in launching Modern Alternative Rock after their emergence in the late '70s. In the years that have followed, the band has released a long string of hit albums and singles, during which their sound has constantly evolved, from the darkly ambitious early albums "Seventeen Seconds", "Faith", and "Pornography", into the more accessible, pop-inflected "The Head On The Door", and "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me", onto the landmark, "Disintegration", and hugely successful "Wish", through to their most recent Grammy-nominated "Bloodflowers".

The band's current lineup, which includes Smith, Simon Gallup on bass, Perry Bamonte on guitar, Jason Cooper on drums, and Roger O'Donnell on keyboards, and will begin work on its I AM/ARTISTdirect Records debut in London in July. For Robinson, the opportunity to finally produce The Cure represents his most exciting creative opportunity.

"I was backstage at KROQ's Weenie Roast years ago", he recalls, "where I noticed The Cure's road cases. I remember saying, 'If these cases are ever in a recording studio with me, and I'm producing these guys, then I'll just quit the business after that'. What could possibly follow producing The Cure"?

Answer: producing two more albums by The Cure, who have committed to three releases on I AM Records/ARTISTdirect Records. Robinson savors the thought: "Miracles", he concludes, "do happen".

I love the Cure and think Robert Smith is a big fat genius, but Grammy-nomination or no, Bloodflowers was pretty terrible. Let's hope the label change and an outside producer (outside of Robert Smith) can reinvigorate old Bob - I hope Robinson doesn't try to make the Cure sound like any of his other productions.