Salva's sophomore release is a clear statement of the band's increasing musical maturity. It's more refined than their debut, and the band has apparently found its niche. Left To Burn is more focused and refined, and the instrumental and vocal performances are measurably enhanced - but you won't find quite the devil-may-care variety we saw in A Handful Of Earth. Imagine third-wave progressive rock with strong Jethro Tull influences and a strong 1970s prog influence and you'll have a good idea of what to expect. The lineup is the traditional rock ensemble, but the fact the band is now a quintet rather than a trio also plays into its more established sound. Rich textures are added by 'Trons, Moogs and Hammonds, mandolin, flute (samples) and French accordion…
Wisely, the Cure decided to start fresh upon signing with their new label in 2004 by cleaning house, remastering the old albums, and bringing their fans Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001. Not only is it the ultimate companion to the official releases, but it is, in a way, the new-super-deluxe-updated version of that cassette release of Staring at the Sea. Every B-side is included, in order, with cleaned-up sound, liner notes, and explanations by the man who made it all happen. All tracks, from "10.15 Saturday Night" (the B-side to the debut single "Killing an Arab") to covers of "Hello, I Love You," "Purple Haze," and "World in My Eyes," to entries from the Bloodflowers singles, are an indication that while the Cure made both strong albums and singles, they were not afraid to experiment along the way, and more importantly, they didn't let pride keep them from not making them available to those who were willing to look for them…
Another serious project in vein of Time Life Music, the "24 Golden Hits" is a compilation series of the world famous hits, released on CD circa 1987-1988. Here is the complete series packed into five boxes and each box was re-released separately. Each Volume-set contains the five discs and titled as "120 Golden Oldies". 600 "Golden" songs total and over than one day of the continuous listening!