The album opens with “The Kiss.” It begins with almost four minutes of a slow, winding intro that captures the smoldering of passion/rage before the narrator reveals, “I never wanted any of this/ I wish you were dead.” The music on “Catch” and Smith’s singing is more melodic. The keyboards sound like violins and the narrator sings about a girl “he tried to catch.” On “Torture” Smith is louder, almost wailing, as he spends “one more treacherous night…with you.” “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep” uses Middle Eastern rhythms to create a dreamy soundscape and the narrator begs for the night to never end.
“Why Can’t I Be You?,” another single from the album, presents us with someone head over heels. “You’re so gorgeous I’ll do anything,” he shouts with glee. The music is big, brash and must be played loudly to dance to and fully appreciate. It’s followed by “How Beautiful You Are” where the narrator explains that he hates his love because “I understand/ that no-one ever knows or loves another” over a quiet arrangement led my an acoustic guitar.
On the bonus disc, tracks 1 through 9 are instrumental demos, tracks 10, 11 and 12 are three alternate studio mixes, and the remaining six tracks are live versions, which include O’Donnell as a member of the touring band. This disc allows the listener to hear the evolution of each song. Changes are noticeable from a demo to its final studio version and from an album cut being recreated in a live setting.
On Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, Smith’s lyrics present many facets of love while the band matches the intensity and emotion of the stories being told. The Cure demonstrates their growth and talent as artists, leaving no doubt while they were the leaders of alternative music before that genre became a brand name.
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