Wild Mood Swings

Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by British alternative rock band the Cure, released on 7 May 1996 through record label Fiction.[1]

Wild Mood Swings
Studio album by The Cure
Released	7 May 1996
Recorded	1995–1996
Length	61:36
Label	Fiction (UK) Elektra (U.S.)
Producer	Steve Lyon Robert Smith
The Cure chronology
Paris (1993) Wild Mood Swings (1996) Galore (1997)
Singles from Wild Mood Swings
"The 13th" Released: 22 April 1996 "Mint Car" Released: 17 June 1996 "Strange Attraction" Released: 8 October 1996 "Gone!" Released: 2 December 1996

Release

Robert Smith has gone on record to say, "It's one of my top five favourite Cure albums."[2] Wild Mood Swings charted at number nine in the UK Albums Chart, staying on chart for six weeks, and charted at number 12 in the US Billboard 200.[3][4] Four singles were released from the album, the first being "The 13th", released in April 1996, followed by "Mint Car" released in June, "Strange Attraction" released in United States in October and "Gone!" released in Europe in December 1996.

"Jupiter Crash" was played on the 2004 Curiosa Tour, and "Want" was usually played as the third song during the 2000 Bloodflowers Tour.[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Chicago Sun-Times	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	B[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Houston Chronicle	[10]
Los Angeles Times	[11]
NME	7/10[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Spin	6/10[14]
USA Today	[15]

Wild Mood Swings received a mixed response from critics. A favourable review came from Trouser Press, which described the album as "a potent and sweeping dissertation on melancholy and tentative dreams denied", calling it "consistently compelling".[16] However, the album was the lowest-selling Cure album in 12 years, and it marked the beginning of a downward trend in the Cure's future album sales.[17]

Track listing

All songs by Bamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O'Donnell and Smith.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Want"	5:06
2.	"Club America"	5:02
3.	"This Is a Lie"	4:29
4.	"The 13th"	4:08
5.	"Strange Attraction"	4:19
6.	"Mint Car"	3:32
7.	"Jupiter Crash"	4:15
8.	"Round & Round & Round"	2:39
9.	"Gone!"	4:31
10.	"Numb"	4:49
11.	"Return"	3:28
12.	"Trap"	3:37
13.	"Treasure"	3:45
14.	"Bare"	7:57

Bonus track

No.	Title	Length
15.	"It Used to Be Me" (Japanese edition only - available worldwide as the B-side of "The 13th" single)	6:50

Personnel

The Cure

• Robert Smith – guitar, six-string bass, vocals, production, sleeve art direction
• Perry Bamonte – guitar, six-string bass, keyboard, sleeve art direction
• Jason Cooper – percussion, drums (except on "This is a Lie","Club America", "Mint Car", "Trap" and "Treasure"), sleeve art direction
• Simon Gallup – bass guitar, sleeve art direction
• Roger O'Donnell – keyboard, sleeve art direction

Additional personnel

• Jesus Alemany – trumpet
• John Barclay – trumpet
• Steve Dawson – trumpet
• Richard Edwards – trombone
• Sid Gauld – trumpet
• Will Gregory – saxophone
• Steve Sidwell – trumpet
• Mister Chandrashekhar – violin
• Sue Dench – viola
• Leo Payne – violin
• Audrey Riley – cello
• Chris Tombling – violin
• Ronald Austin – drums on "This is a Lie"
• Louis Pavlou – drums on "Club America"
• Mark Price – drums on "Mint Car", "Trap" and "Treasure"
• Ronald Austin – arrangements
• Sid Gauld – arrangements
• Will Gregory – arrangements
• Audrey Riley – arrangements

Technical

• Steve Lyon – production, engineering, mixing
• Paul Corkett – mixing
• Spike Drake – mixing
• Paul Q. Kolderie – mixing
• Tom Lord-Alge – mixing
• Alan Moulder – mixing
• Tim Palmer – mixing
• Mark Saunders – mixing
• Adrian Maxwell Sherwood – mixing
• Sean Slade – mixing
• Ian Cooper – mastering
• Andy Vella – sleeve art direction

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18]	5
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19]	12
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20]	17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21]	37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22]	10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23]	13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24]	2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25]	9
UK Albums (OCC)[26]	9
US Billboard 200	12[4]

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[27]	none	105,000[28]
United States (RIAA)[29]	Gold	500,000^^
Worldwide (IFPI)	N/A
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "The Cure : Official Site: Discography :: Wild Mood Swings". thecure.com. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Interview with Robert Smith" 28 September 2007
3. http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/Cure/
4. http://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-mood-swings-mw0000646830/awards
5. http://www.cure-concerts.de/main/2000.php "Cure Concerts Guide" 13 April 2009
6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wild Mood Swings – The Cure". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
7. Kim, Jae-Ha (19 May 1996). "The Cure, 'Wild Mood Swings' (Elektra)". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
8. Sinclair, Tom (10 May 1996). "Wild Mood Swings". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
9. Sullivan, Caroline (10 May 1996). "The Cure: Wild Mood Swings (Fiction)". The Guardian.
10. Vaziri, Aidin (5 May 1996). "The Cure Keeps Its Edge". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
11. Scribner, Sara (5 May 1996). "'Mood Swings' Strengthens Cure's Effect". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
12. Sutherland, Mark (4 May 1996). "The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
13. DeCurtis, Anthony (13 June 1996). "Wild Mood Swings". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
14. Hannaham, James (July 1996). "The Cure: Wild Mood Swings". Spin. 12 (4): 91. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
15. Gundersen, Edna (18 June 1996). "The Cure, Wild Mood Swings". USA Today. Archived from the original on 23 April 1999. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
16. Grant, Steven; Robbins, Ira; Reno, Brad. "TrouserPress.com :: Cure". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
17. Gerard, Chris (16 October 2013). "The Cure's "Wild Mood Swings" Revisited – Metro Weekly". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
18. "Australiancharts.com – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
19. "Austriancharts.at – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
20. "Listen - Danmarks Officielle Hitliste - Udarbejdet af AIM Nielsen for IFPI Danmark - Uge 20". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagen. 19 May 1996.
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
22. "Charts.nz – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
23. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
25. "Swisscharts.com – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
26. "Cure | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
27. "French album certifications – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
28. http://www.infodisc.fr/Ventes_Albums_Tout_Temps.php?debut=4250
29. "American album certifications – The Cure – Wild Mood Swings". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Wild Mood Swings at Discogs (list of releases)