The Cure’s ‘Wish’ Set for 30th-Anniversary Set Featuring 24 Unreleased Tracks

The Cure‘s 1992 album, Wish, will get a deluxe 30th-anniversary reissue on Oct. 7 when a remastered, expanded version is released in a three-CD set. The legendary doom rockers’ ninth studio album, originally released on April 21, 1992, would become the band’s best-selling album, hitting No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and spawning the singles “High,” “Friday I’m in Love” and “A Letter to Elise.”

The revamped version will come in a 45-track, three-CD edition with 24 previously unreleased tracks, including four that have never been issued on CD or in digital formats before. “The overall sound was in my head from the start,” singer Robert Smith said in a statement announcing the project he remastered along with Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. “We used a pretty small palette of sounds, as we did with [1989’s] Disintegration, but managed to create a lot of different kinds of songs with it. I think [1987’s] Kiss Me [Kiss Me, Kiss Me] was more of a reference than Disintegration.”

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A variety of editions will be released on Oct. 7, including three-CD, one-CD and digital formats, with a two-LP version set for release on Jan. 27, 2023.

The first disc contains the entire original remastered album, while the second contains 21 previously unreleased demos of songs — 17 instrumental first takes from 1991 and four studio vocal demos from 1990, including “The Big Hand,” “This Twilight Garden” and “Scared As You,” as well as unheard instrumentals “T7,” “Now Is the Time” and “Miss van Gogh,” among others.

The third disc collects four tracks from the mail-order-only 1993 cassette Lost Wishes, which have never been on CD or digital services before; it also contains previously unreleased song “A Wendy Band,” a previously unheard mix of the live favorite “From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea,” five rare 12-inch mixes, and an unheard live version of “End” from an October 1992 show in Paris.

“There’s a side to the album which I had kind of forgotten, a very gentle, yearning thing which is quite beautiful,” Smith said in the statement. “‘Trust’ is one of the best things we’ve ever done, I think, it’s played with great feeling, and ‘To Wish Impossible Things’ is another gorgeous, melancholic piece… in fact it could well be my favorite song on the record.”

When the sessions at The Manor studio in Oxfordshire, England, wrapped up, Smith said he felt like the album was everything he’d wanted, except for one thing. “In the studio control room, it all sounded excellent, but I got too busy sorting out our upcoming concerts to properly oversee the mastering,” he said. “It was too late to do anything about it; the album was out, and we were off around the world again. It has really bugged me for a very long time.”

The process of remastering the album earlier this year finally gave Smith the chance to address those qualms about the finished product. “It has taken 30 years, but finally, finally, my Wish has come true,” he said. The Cure will embark on a 44-date European tour in October.

Check out the Wish deluxe edition track list, and listen to “Uyea Sound (Dim-D Mix)” below.

CD1

1. “Open” (6:51)

2. “High” (3:37)

3. “Apart” (6:38)

4. “From The Edge of The Green Sea” (7:44)

5. “Wendy Time” (5:13)

6. “Doing The Unstuck” (4:24)

7. “Friday I’m In Love” (3:38)

8. “Trust” (5:32)

9. “A Letter To Elise” (5:14)

10. “Cut” (5:55)

11. “To Wish Impossible Things” (4:43)

12. “End” (6:45)

CD2 Demos – all previously unreleased versions

1. “The Big Hand” [1990 Demo] (4:38) [final version on B-side to “A Letter To Elise” 7”]

2. “Cut” [1990 Demo] aka “Away” (3:31) [final version appears on WISH]

3. “A Letter To Elise” [1990 Demo] aka “Cut” (5:01) [final version appears on WISH]

4. “Wendy Time” [1990 Demo] (5:13) [final version appears on WISH]

5. “This Twilight Garden” [Instrumental Demo] (3:25) [final version on B-side to “High” 7″]

6. “Scared As You” [Instrumental Demo] (2:33) [final version on B-side to “Friday I’m In Love” 12″]

7. “To Wish Impossible Things” [Instrumental Demo] (3:33) [final version appears on WISH]

8. “Apart” [Instrumental Demo] (3:38) [final version appears on WISH]

9. “T7” [Instrumental Demo] (2:40) *

10. “Now Is The Time” [Instrumental demo] (2:20) *

11. “Miss van Gogh” [Instrumental demo] (2:48) *

12. “T6” [Instrumental Demo] (3:14) *

13. “Play” [Instrumental Demo] (2:28) [final version on B-side to “High” 12″]

14. “A Foolish Arrangement” [Instrumental Demo] (2:28) [final version on B-side to “A Letter To Elise” 12″]

15. “Halo” [Instrumental Demo] (3:06) [final version on B-side to “Friday I’m In Love” 7″]

16. “Trust” [Instrumental Demo] (4:02) [final version appears on WISH]

17. “Abetabw” [Instrumental Demo] (2:26) *

18. “T8” [Instrumental Demo] (2:17) *

19. “Heart Attack” [Instrumental Demo] (2:41) *

20. “Swing Change” [Instrumental Demo] (2:10) *

21. “Frogfish” [Instrumental Demo] (2:35) *

*Unreleased track

CD3: Lost Wishes/ Studio Outtakes/ 12” Remixes/ Live/ Rare/ Previously Unreleased

1. “Uyea Sound” [Dim-D Mix] (5:28 [from Lost Wishes MC 1993]

2. “Cloudberry” [Dim-D Mix] (5:22) [from Lost Wishes MC 1993]

3. “Off To Sleep…” [Dim-D Mix] (3:47) [from Lost Wishes MC 1993]

4. “The Three Sisters” [Dim-D Mix] (4:12) [from Lost Wishes MC 1993]

5. “A Wendy Band” [Instrumental] (3:47) *

6. “From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea” [Partscheckruf Mix] (7:36) **

7. “Open” [Fix Mix] (6:51) [B-side to High 12″]

8. “High” [Higher Mix] (7:15) [High 12″]

9. “Doing The Unstuck” [Extended 12” Mix] (5:54)

10. “Friday I’m In Love” [Strangelove Mix] (5:29 [“Friday I’m In Love” 12″]

11. “A Letter To Elise” [Blue Mix] (6:36) [“A Letter To Elise” 12″]

12. “End” [Paris Live 92] (8:38) **

*Unreleased track **Unreleased version

WISH 2LP Remastered by Robert Smith and Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Vinyl cut by Milles Showell at Abbey Road Studios

A1) “Open” (6:51)

A2) “High” (3:37)

A3) “Apart” (6:38)

B1) “From The Edge of The Green Sea” (7:44)

B2) “Wendy Time” (5:13)

B3) “Doing The Unstuck” (4:24)

C1) “Friday I’m In Love” (3:38)

C2) “Trust” (5:32)

C3) “A Letter To Elise” (5:14)

D1) “Cut” (5:55)

D2) “To Wish Impossible Things” (4:43)

D3) “End” (6:45)

LOST WISHES D2C Exclusive replica cassette EP

SIDE A

1. “Uyea Sound” [Dim-D Mix] (5:28)

2. “Cloudberry” [Dim-D Mix] (5:22)

SIDE B

3. “Off To Sleep…” [Dim-D Mix] (3:47)

4. “The Three Sisters” [Dim-D Mix] (4:12)

WISH 1CD – Original Album Remastered by Robert Smith and Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios

1. “Open” (6:51)

2. “High” (3:37)

3. “Apart” (6:38)

4. “From The Edge of The Green Sea” (7:44)

5. “Wendy Time” (5:13)

6. “Doing The Unstuck” (4:24)

7. “Friday I’m In Love” (3:38)

8. “Trust” (5:32)

9. “A Letter To Elise” (5:14)

10. “Cut” (5:55)

11. “To Wish Impossible Things” (4:43)

12. “End” (6:45)

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