Lovesong (The Cure song)

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"Lovesong"
Single by The Cure
from the album Disintegration
Released 21 August 1989
Format
Genre
Length 3:28
Label Fiction; Elektra
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
The Cure singles chronology
"Fascination Street"
(1989)		 "Lovesong"
(1989)		 "Pictures of You"
(1990)
Music video
"Lovesong" by The Cure on YouTube

"Lovesong" (sometimes listed as "Love Song") is a song originally recorded by the English alternative rock band The Cure, released as the third single from their eighth studio album Disintegration in 1989. The song saw considerable success in the United States, where it was a number two hit (blocked by Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much") and the band's only top ten entry on the Billboard Hot 100; in the United Kingdom, the single charted at number 18.

Though the song has been covered by several artists, the most famous and successful cover is the 2004 version by American rock band 311, recorded for the soundtrack for the film 50 First Dates and also released as a single. This song was also performed by Adele on her 2011 album 21.

The Cure

Release

Upon release as a single, the song received worldwide success, and first peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the group's most successful single in the US to date. The song also charted at #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, #27 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart[1] and #18 on the UK Singles Chart. Robert Smith originally wrote the song for his long-time girlfriend and then fiancée, Mary, as a wedding present.

An instrumental demo version recorded by the band was featured on the second disk of the 2010 re-release of Disintegration.

A music video featuring the band performing inside a cave was also released with the single.

Title

Similar to the title variations of the Cure song "In Between Days", there doesn't seem to be a universally agreed-upon spacing method of the title of Lovesong, as it varies between "Lovesong" and "Love Song" on many official Cure releases. The original 1989 artwork for the album Disintegration uses "Love Song" on the track listing and "Lovesong" on the lyrics sheet: the revised art for the 2010 remaster of the album consistently uses "Lovesong". When released as a single in 1989, the cover artwork displayed the title as "Lovesong", while the printing on the disc itself read "Love Song" all three times. Subsequent releases of Paris and Galore both use "Lovesong" exclusively, while 2001's Greatest Hits compilation uses "Lovesong" on the track listing and "Love Song" within the liner notes. 2004's Join the Dots also uses "Lovesong" within the booklet presentation.

Track listing

7" single – Fiction (FISC 30 – UK)

  1. "Lovesong" – 3:24
  2. "2 Late" – 2:40

12" single

  1. "Lovesong" (Extended Mix)
  2. "2 Late"
  3. "Fear of Ghosts"

CD single

  1. "Lovesong" (Remix) (3:24)
  2. "Lovesong" (Extended Remix) (6:18)
  3. "2 Late"
  4. "Fear of Ghosts"

Official versions

  • "Lovesong" (Album Version)
  • "Lovesong" (Extended Mix)/(Extended Remix)
  • "Lovesong" (Remix)

The remixed version on the CD single is almost identical to the album version, but a careful listen to the bridge between the first and second verses can help distinguish between the two. On the Disintegration version, an electric guitar joins the keyboards in this section. The guitar part has been removed on the remix, and all you hear are the keyboards, accompanied by bass guitar and drums.

Personnel

311 version

"Love Song"
Single by 311
from the album 50 First Dates Soundtrack and Greatest Hits '93–'03
Released February 13, 2004
Genre Reggae rock
Length 3:28
Label Volcano
Writer(s)
311 singles chronology
"Beyond the Gray Sky"
(2003)		 "Love Song"
(2004)		 "First Straw"
(2004)
Music video
"Love Song" by 311 on YouTube

Love Song was released as a single by the band 311 and is featured on the soundtrack of the 2004 film, 50 First Dates. It is also featured on 311's greatest hits album, Greatest Hits '93–'03. While The Cure's original version hit number 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, 311's cover was more successful on the chart hitting number 1 on the chart. However, The Cure's original version was still more successful on the pop charts, peaking number 2 on the Hot 100 chart, while 311's cover peaked at number 59 on the chart. 311's cover was also very successful in the adult contemporary radio market hitting the top 10 on the Adult Top 40 chart at number 7. While The Cure's original version uses gothic rock elements, 311's cover is a love song with many reggae rock roots similar to their 2002 hit, "Amber".

Music video

The music video features 311 playing the song in a bar.

Track listing

  1. "Love Song"

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position[2]
US Billboard Hot 100 59
US Billboard Alternative Songs 1
US Billboard Adult Pop Songs 7

Other versions

The track has been covered by JES in various trance and acoustic styles, as well as The Brunettes for the 2008 American Laundromat Records tribute album Just Like Heaven – a tribute to The Cure. The song has also been covered by the bands A Perfect Circle (as a mashup with Diary of a Madman), Good Charlotte, The Deluxtone Rockets, Jack Off Jill, Snake River Conspiracy, Azam Ali/Niyaz, Ira Losco, Death Cab for Cutie, Anberlin, Seafood (who released their cover of the song as a single in June 2007), Fordirelifesake and Voltaire.

Solo artists have performed covers as well, such as Tori Amos during several live performances, most famously on the radio station KROQ-FM. Naimee Coleman included an interpretation of the song on her 2001 album Bring Down The Moon. Voltaire released an acoustic cover on his album Then and Again.

The song was covered by Captain during a BBC Radio 2 live session with Dermot O'Leary. The Big Pink provided a cover of "Lovesong" for The Cure tribute album Pictures of You: A Tribute to Godlike Geniuses The Cure, which was made available with the February 25, 2009 issue of NME.[3] Nina Sky covered this song on their 2010 EP The Other Side.

It was also covered by Maltese singer Ira Losco, found on her 2007 unplugged album Unmasked.

British singer Adele included a bossa nova[4] cover of the song on her second album, 21 in 2011, which peaked at #18 on Billboard Jazz Songs.

Japanese singer immi included a cover of the song on her debut album Switch.

Canadian musical duo Dala recorded their cover of the song on the 2005 album Angels & Thieves.

Brazilian singer Dinho Ouro Preto recorded a cover of the song on his third album, Black Heart in 2012.

Canadian psychobilly band The Brains recorded their version of the song in 2014 on their The Cover Up EP.

Performances on reality shows

Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol, performed the song on March 27, 2007 on the show, though his rendition was modeled directly after the 311 cover rather than the original Cure version. A studio version of Blake Lewis' take on Lovesong was put up on the American Idol official website and was later included on his Blake Lewis – EP, as well as in the American Idol Season 6: The Collector's Edition, the compilation of the studio versions of song performed by the finalists of Idol.

On twelfth season of American Idol, contestant Candice Glover performed Adele's version of the song, which was more stripped down than the original, in "Songs They Wish They Had Written" getting a standing ovation from all four judges, Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban, with Jackson going so far as saying, "one of the greatest performances in history, 12 years of American Idol!"

References

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/431916/311/chart
  3. ↑ 4AD Journal: The Big Pink Cover The Cure
  4. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/21-20110217

External links

Preceded by Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single (311 version)
May 1, 2004		 Succeeded by
"Cold Hard Bitch" by Jet
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