Seventeen Seconds

by The Cure

Robert Smith has said that he loathed Three Imaginary Boys, even whilst the band were recording the album, and thought of Seventeen Seconds as the first Cure album. The period between the debut and Seventeen Seconds is when he took control of the group from their manager, Chris Parry, who had both produced the debut (instructing them to record everything they’d written) and came up with the idea for the sleeve. There was plenty of change going on during this time. Unknown Pleasures came out a month after Three imaginary Boys. Smith was listening to Bowie’s Low. The band toured with Siouxsie and the Banshees in late ’79 and Smith ended up on guitar for them. Post-punk was taking shape and Smith’s vision for his band was clear. Unfortunately for Michael Dempsey, this didn’t involve him, and Smith brought in Simon Gallup in his place, as well as Matthieu Hartley on synths. He then went in to produce Seventeen Seconds with Mike Hedges and the difference between it and the debut is stark.

The songs are so spare and the production owes a fair bit to Martin Hannett, with Lol’s rhythms stripped back and metronomic, complemented by whooshing electronics. Guitars are restrained and efficient, but never soulless, and Robert largely sings within himself. The atmosphere this creates is icy and direct; the album is very consistent in this respect, which you could see as a positive or a negative but was perfect for this point in the band’s progress, serving almost like a manifesto. The structure of the album works better over two sides, with the instrumentals acting as preludes for each half. Listening on tape, I used to think of Seventeen Seconds as four big tunes propping everything else up, especially because of their placement as tracks 2 and 4 on each side.

The upbeat Play for Today is exhilarating, especially after the Warszawa-lite of A Reflection. It showcases the new improved Cure really well, especially Gallup’s more rhythmic basslines, as compared to Dempsey’s flourishes. In Your House is really simple in a good way and the guitar tone is really clean. I also like it in its live form, slightly sped up with a different melody and lyrics. Gallup’s fuzz bass and Lol’s funereal drumming on At Night make that tune another standout. I’ve grown to love the other tunes over the years too, though. M is about the most melodic song on the album, with an unusually busy bassline. Behind the thwack of Lol’s treated drums, Three is pure atmosphere with ominous piano, the sound of radio interference and Smith about as low in the mix as he can be. The title track was another grower, capturing Robert in a state of hopelessness, which indicated where they’d go with Faith.

Finally, A Forest is the band’s best tune and probably in my top five by anybody. I never, ever tire of it and pretty much always play it multiple times. Why is it so good? It makes the hairs on my arms stand up when Simon’s bassline drops in and again when Robert’s guitar solo begins. The instrumental section following the verses is both tense and exhilarating, climaxing in Smith’s cry of “again and again” over rare tom rolls. Then, my God, that solo: so full of expression and restraint at the same time. It is a gutsy choice of arrangement to strip back the music as Smith works his way up the fretboard, leaving only Gallup’s iconic bassline to see the track out.

A Forest was the first thing I looked for when Mixed Up came out. That version is good but way too layered and, just like in pretty much every live performance of this tune that I’ve seen, the guitar solo is a jumping off point into rocking out. Not on Seventeen Seconds. Here, it’s all about control, and this pretty much sums up what Robert Smith had achieved on this remarkable record.