Customer Ratings & Reviews

Disintegration is widely acknowledged as The Cure's magnum opus; one of the greatest albums of all time, and an album so good it was both their commercial and critical peak. Wish, which immediately followed, was a clear step down, but it still had some very strong songs, and it still sold well. In that context, Wild Mood Swings as the next album had large shoes to fill, but it would have been a disappointment really no matter the circumstances. The songs lacked both strong melodies as well as depth, and sales and critics were both unkind to it. It's really an album only for Cure completists.

For most Cure fans, 1989's Disintegration represents the absolute pinnacle of Robert Smith's creative genius. However, the prior albums ranged from good to great, and the first post-Disintegration album (not counting Mixed Up), Wish, was less substantial but still had a few classics. Wild Mood Swings was a striking disappointment in 1996, and the passage of time has only made it less so because everything else The Cure has done since has maintained this downwards trajectory. This album is unnecessary except for a Cure completist.