Yet another review added to the website
Steve Hackett - Cured
new paths: Steve explores unknown territory with his fifth solo album. Thomas Jesse explains the situation way back in the early eighties
https://www.genesis-news.com/c…ed-album-review-s385.html
Thoughts on the review:
"Charisma met with criticism from many fans who demanded that Kim Poor’s paintings continue to be used for the cover artwork." -- I've never been a big fan of Kim Poor's paintings for Steve's albums (although there a couple I like). I actually like the CURED cover (front & back).
"Picture Postcard / Steve sings in a high falsetto" -- He doesn't sing falsetto here, but just sings at the (apparent) top of his natural vocal range.
"Steve Hackett showed courage when he decided to sing all songs himself. Unfortunately, he sings in a high pitched voice that sounds forced and soon tires the listener." -- I have to agree. He especially sounds strained on "Turn Back Time." He would sound much better on later albums.
Additional observation about the album: This is Steve's shortest album (in its original form), and may even be the shortest Genesis-related album overall. (I haven't done the math, but I think Side 2 of Ant's TWELVE album is longer than all of CURED. At any rate, I know Ant's song "The Meadows of Englewood" is!)
After the release of Cured, Highly Strung and then GTR, I was almost ready to give up on Steve. But then Bay of Kings pulled me back in.
As I get older, some of the harshly dismissive views I held in my youth haven’t stood the test of time.
Fifteen years after its release, I was playing Highly Strung in the car during a long late night drive. It might have been two years since I had previously listened to it. Something clicked and I thought, ‘Wow, listen to that guitar. This is a great album.”
I concluded my long-held initial views of the album were wrong.
While I can’t claim to have that same illuminating experience with Cured, I do have a much greater appreciation for the album now than when I was 17 or later on into my 20s.
I still don’t care for the cheap-sounding production values and weak vocals, but they also don’t seem to bother me as much as they once did.
Haven't heard that one for years. Thanks for this review, it made me play this record again.
It's an interesting album, for sure not his best, but it deserves its place in his catalogue. But his singing ....
While I can’t claim to have that same illuminating experience with Cured, I do have a much greater appreciation for the album now than when I was 17 or later on into my 20s.
I still don’t care for the cheap-sounding production values and weak vocals, but they also don’t seem to bother me as much as they once did.
That sounds familiar to me, although I am too young and did not experience the albums when they were released. Both Cured and Highly Strung didn't seem to be strong enough for me, but time has done its work so now I quite like Highly Strung and also Cured doesn't sound that bad after all.
