''Wild Mood Swings'' is the tenth studio album by English rock band

the Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

, released on 7 May 1996 by

Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...

Release

''Wild Mood Swings'' charted at number nine on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, staying on chart for six weeks, and charted at number 12 in the US ''Billboard'' 200. 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. "Treasure", "Jupiter Crash", "Mint Car", and "Want" have been played at various points since 2000, with "Want" being a set staple.

Reception

''Wild Mood Swings'' received a mixed response from critics. A favourable review came from ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'', which described the album as "a potent and sweeping dissertation on melancholy and tentative dreams denied", calling it "consistently compelling". 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.

Track listing

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

Personnel

The Cure * Robert Smith – guitar, six-string bass, vocals, production, sleeve art direction *

Perry Bamonte Perry Archangelo Bamonte (born 3 September 1960) is an English musician best known as a member of the rock band The Cure from 1990 to 2005, and again since 2022. Biography Born in London, England, Bamonte became a guitar tech for The Cure in ...

– guitar, six-string bass, keyboard, sleeve art direction *

Jason Cooper Jason Toop Cooper (born 31 January 1967) is an English drummer best known for his work with The Cure. Life and work Born in London, England, Jason studied drums at London's Drumtech (where he is now a patron and visiting artist). He first ca ...

– 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 Roger O'Donnell (born 29 October 1955) is an English keyboardist best known for his work with The Cure. O'Donnell has also performed in The Psychedelic Furs, Thompson Twins and Berlin, as well as having an active solo career. Background O'Do ...

– keyboard, sleeve art direction Additional personnel *Jesus Alemany – trumpet *John Barclay – trumpet *Steve Dawson – trumpet *Richard Edwards – trombone *Sid Gauld – trumpet *

Will Gregory William Owen Gregory (born 17 September 1959) is an English musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead keyboardist, producer, and composer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Early life Gregory was born in Bristol, the son ...

– saxophone *

Steve Sidwell Steven James Sidwell (born 14 December 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Sidwell was a product of the Arsenal academy, and after winning two FA Youth Cups, he had constructive loan spells at Brentfo ...

– trumpet *Mister Chandrashekhar – violin *Sue Dench – viola *Leo Payne – violin *

Audrey Riley Audrey Riley is an English cellist and string arranger, based in the UK. Career Riley trained at the Guildhall School of Music with Leonard Stehn. She was a cellist for Virginia Astley from 1983 to 1986 and a one-time auxiliary member of The Fa ...

– cello *Chris Tombling – violin *Ronald Austin – drums on "This is a Lie" *Louis Pavlou – drums on "Club America" *

Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from ...

– drums on "Mint Car", "Trap" and "Treasure" * Ronald Austin – arrangements * Sid Gauld – arrangements * Will Gregory – arrangements * Audrey Riley – arrangements Technical * Steve Lyon – production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing *

Paul Corkett Paul Corkett is a British record producer, engineer and arranger. Biography Paul got his start as an engineer in the mid-1980s, engineering singles and albums for bands as varied as ABC, the Chameleons, Twelfth Night and the Heart Throbs. He la ...

– mixing * Spike Drake – mixing *

Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones ...

– mixing *

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1963) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at The Hit Factory in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground f ...

– mixing *

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music fro ...

– mixing *

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock and alternative music. He mixed Pearl Jam's debut album ''Ten'' (1991) and tracks on U2's album ''All Tha ...

– mixing * Mark Saunders – mixing * Adrian Maxwell Sherwood – mixing * Sean Slade – mixing * Ian Cooper – mastering * Andy Vella – sleeve art direction

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1996 albums The Cure albums Elektra Records albums Fiction Records albums