Disintegration is awesome, because it doesn't feel broken up at all. The whole album feels like one song, or maybe a symphony with multiple movements. Great stuff for a long car ride. And I'll never shut up about the underrated "Bloodflowers". I love that album. Don't care what anyone says.
"If someone knows only one song by The Cure, it's probably Just Like Heaven". Lol I wish! U.S. Radio stations seem to think that Friday I'm In Love is the ONLY song The Cure has ever written.
That's because it's the only song anyone cares about. The Cure is overrated, at best, and no one really wants to hear them except for this odd group of a few people that think this band is amazing.
One last thing that makes this song unique in pop canon: very, very few pop songs don't repeat the title ad nauseum. This little gem contains the title one time, as the very last line of the song in the final refrain. Brilliant!
It's not uncommon in album tracks. But execs like the song title of singles to be culled from the chorus, or refrain eg: "show me" or "run away with you" - and will often press for songs to be retitled as such. Easy to find or remember what's it's called. Of course we now have Shazam.
Few New Order songs even contain the title and there are many others either don't contain the title in the lyrics or only state it once or twice. So this is very far from unique. Don't believe the hype.
Ironically, most pioneers of goth didn't like to label themselves as goth, Robert Smith despised it, even Rozz Williams, the lead singer of Christian Death
When the keyboard hits I get transported to a different time and place. When the guitar layers overtop I know I'm in music heaven. Thank you The Cure for giving us this timeless music!!
I was 13 the first time I heard this song and I remember breaking down in the tears because it was so beautiful and sad. I immediately opened up the cassette cover and read the lyrics until I memorize them.
This song makes you feel like Spring has come even in mid-Winter. No matter how tired, weary, sad, angry or numb I am, I am restored and reinvigorated when I listen to this magnificent magical song, and reminded of deeper truths that cannot be fully expressed with words. (Almost Spring 2021)
I actually had to wipe a couple tears away when Trent Reznor inducted them to the Hall of Fame. That was super-emotional for me! This is the one song I can sort of play on guitar (I play keyboard and drums).
As much as I adore this song, in my opinion their following album "Disintegration" is as if they made an entire album of "Just Like Heavens". It is a flawless album. Of course the vibe is a complete 180° from "Just Like Heaven" as it is a purely blissful melancholy vibe from beginning to end that makes it the perfect rainy day album.
Robert was listening to a lot of The Cocteau Twins at the time, I remember reading an interview where he admitted as much. I saw The Cure on that tour. They opened the set with Plainsong if I remember correctly.
Great analysis. And yes, Robert Smith is one of the most incredible pop song writers hiding in plain sight. I would perhaps argue though the one Cure song everyone knows would be Friday I'm In Love. It's on every radio station's playlist in the UK.
I’m 61 and basically discovered The Cure only a few weeks ago - ashamed to admit that really but at their peak I wasn’t their target audience; although I knew Friday I’m In Love. I’m truly thrilled to discover their music. Robert Smith is just a month younger than me 😁
This song most powerfully and beautifully reminds me of being in love, being simply carefree and innocent, and that the world seemed innocent and friendly in that one moment of my youth. It made me cry to remember the simple joy that I felt in my heart back when I was innocent and free of worldly cares. This is truly the magic of life to immerse yourself into this one moment of only 3 1/2 minutes, and to remember the joy of being in love, without any other cares, to be happy and to simply be human.
This is the only song that makes me tear up - every bloody time! I so adore this song, it is pop perfection and beautifully sentimental without being soft - strange as angels
The best thing about the Cure was they never really sounded the same musically from Album to Album, Robert's voice was the only way to identify them back in the early 80's. I was blown away by Robert's Guitar playing on "Jumping some else's train" in '79 and "I'm Cold"....and then that voice kicked in.... and then I started paying attention to his lyrics....that guy could write songs...c'mon... "the innocence of sleeping children dressed in white and slowing dreaming, stops all time"... for a bunch of kids with no real future before them...these guys sure did make their mark on Music and Fashion . Read Lol Tolhurst's book if you're a Cure fan. I actually downloaded the Audible version and Lol read's his book to you...even cooler.
I was lucky enough to see all four of my favorite 80s artists within a year (The Cure, Depeche Mode, Morrissey, New Order). Of all 4 of them, I was most amazed by Robert Smith. His voice has not aged one bit!!! He still sounds like the recordings. It was an amazing year 🥲
I truly believe that part of why the song feels like it can go on forever is because of the structure of the song and how it doesn't have a chorus. Leaving us with the "always wanting more feeling" even when the song's already done. Having it on repeat is just a personal preference.
Oh god, that song reaches into my chest and pulls my heart out every time - perhaps more so as I get older. My late husband and I used to debate the "meaning" of the lyrics, but the ending that drifts out over a lonely highway, so melancholic and hopeful/hopeless just wrings out the tears.
@@bluegreenglue6565 What a lovely comment. Some songs are amazing. When I hear Living by Numbers by New Musik it brings back the smell of a pub called The Standard where I used to go in 1980. Sending love from the UK.
The song gives me goosebumps still as it soothed me during a painfully lonely adolescence...it truly was and will forever be a taste of what something "just like heaven" is like.
This is wonderful, and great side-by-side with Rick Beato's breakdown of this masterpiece. I would add that the magic of this song, I think, is that it captures the hopeful atmosphere of the '80s perfectly. There were dark possibilities (nuclear war) but also great hope for the future (new millennium approaching), and it was an exciting time to be a young person in love. The availability of synths and other atmospheric production elements to nearly all artists gave everyone a chance to find a dramatic mood, and so many bands swung for the fences with their compositions. Many connected. The Cure hit a grand slam.
I believe I bought this at Woolworths as well! Haha i bought music from there, Boots or the Record Box! Although sometimes I would cycle over to Venus Records in Farnham!
All the girls I thought were cool in my school listened to The Cure so I decided to give them a listen. I was so surprised by Robert Smith's hooks and melodies. Great stuff. In my head I had imagined this dark and unapproachable sound similar to the other bands who were popular with the kid's that hung around the smoking section at my high school. I was completely wrong. These were beautifully tailored, pop sensible, masterpieces. Songs like Just Like Heaven, Boys Don't Cry, and Close To Me still play in my head and on my audio devices. Ha! I still remember hiding the fact that I liked "Love Song" from my male friends.
You're right about the subtlety of the guitar. it's what The Cure DON'T do which makes me love them. Just Like Heaven is such a romantic song, I fall in love with it every time I hear it
Listening to The Lovecats knowing about the drunkness is like hearing it for the first time again! hahaha. Great series, Warren. It's so fun to get some insight into songs and how they came to be. It's also interesting how songs get popular in different parts of the world in different times. I believe in Norway, Friday, I'm In Love is still played by a radio station every Friday.
I didn't think I could love the Cure more than I already do, but you kicked it up a notch. In the late 70s, I turned my back on arena rock and turned to bands like the Cure, the Jam, and Joy Division. These were bands that received no airplay in the US. I took slack for it as a drummer because these bands supposedly didn't have credible chops, but I started to favor hooks and melody over chops. Your analysis of what made songs like love will tear us apart, how soon is now, and just like heaven game-changers does a great job in illustrating how these newer bands contributed to music's progression.
Agreed! 👌🏼 Plus, of all the great songs in their catalogue, Robert never sounded more invested and more different than on that one. And that’s fucking saying something!
So, awhile back, one of my clients asked me to put her iPod in my pocket as she worked out. I forgot and she forgot, I had it for the wknd and ran through her playlists. This is when I discovered “Just like Heaven” loved it ever since. Thanks for breaking it down and for teaching me new terms like “Low Riff” & “Refrain.”
For years now I've said that I could trade places with anyone in the history of rock/pop it would be Robert Smith. He has had the most perfect career that I can think of. Able to effortlessly straddle that fine line between indie cred and pop success, he's made millions and millions of dollars (having Adele cover a Cure song on one of her multi-platinum releases didn't hurt) yet he's never been thrown into that crazy world of super-stardom that would drive anyone insane. I'm sure that once he wipes off the makeup and puts on a baseball cap he'd be able to walk down a street anywhere in relative anonymity. The Cure have never had a roller-coaster career, they reached a certain level of success in the 1980s and pretty much maintained a loyal fan base from there on. All of their albums sell well, they do massive sell-out tours whenever they want. It's just the perfect career. Well over 40 years since he started out, he's still relevant and loved by so many people all over the world. What more could you possibly want?
Really well said! The only complicating aspect might be their early days when they were doing a ton of drugs and Robert admittedly drove the other band members away, leading to him writing and recording on his own. Plus their fallout with Lol over his alcoholism. But after that, once most of them reunited and they added other great band members, it seems to have been smooth sailing. Not to mention that he's been married to the same woman for decades, and I believe he wrote Just Like Heaven about her. How often does that happen with the lead singer of a huge rock band?
As you pointed out in the video, l was very familiar with the song because of ‘’ les enfants du rock’’. This show was late at night in the 80s and l remember going to bed happy when l was a child with instrumental ‘’just like heaven’’ indefinitely playing in my head. It was an era when l actually enjoyed watching tv. It s a shame tv shows like this no longer exists in France. Thanks for the memories, l feel melancholic now
This song still brings tears to my eyes 36yrs later. Just do much emotion in this song. It is both beautiful and sad, and it still worms its way into my heart.
Thanks for posting. Incredible song and one of my all time favorite artists. Unique, authentic, and with their own style. Hard to beat the Cure for best enduring songs of the 80s for me!!
Fantastic Warren! I was a musical snob in the 80’s and didn’t allow much pop music into my ears. Then in the mid 90’s I had a young family, needed extra money so I joined a cover band that played this song. I hated it, thought it was stupid, til my first gig with the group. Average weeknight in the bar, some applause but mostly we were an interruption of conversation for the patrons. Then we play Just Like Heaven, I thought, “Here’s the last nail on this night”, instead the place woke up, dance floor jammed and the rest of the night was lit. After that, I thought, “Maybe there’s something to this one”. Cheers!
and trent reznor feeling like he's doing a big honor to induct one of his favorite bands. NIN and radiohead. 2 giants of art rock and they need to do a tour together.
Great selection. I saw The Cure twice, once in the mid-80s and again in the mid-2000s. They're still as brilliant now as they were then. There's certainly something almost indescribably special about The Cure. Among their many albums, The Head on the Door is loaded with gems, especially In Between Days. Thanks for the great video.
Already had been a fan of the Cure when this song came out - actually the entire double album of Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me has some great songs, and penmanship. This song more than any other before or since solidified my entire trajectory to become a songwriter.
@@Producelikeapro Warren, that whole era - I like to call it the second British invasion - was awesome. P. Furs, The Cure, Smiths, Bauhaus, it was all amazing music, and completely unlike what we had here in the states (or is it still referred to as "the colonies" - just kidding, err sort of). I think I ended up buying the LP, cassette, CD and downloads of Kiss Me. It really is THAT GREAT, and should be listened to in its entirety.
@@GeoZero - I was wondering if 'The Lovecats' was on the 'Kiss Me...' album, so I just checked and found out with surprise that it was released as a stand-alone track! :-O Seeing them perform that song on TV in '84 was my very first Cure experience; "What a weird guy!" I was thinking, and if anyone would've told me then that he and his mates would still be around 36 years later, I would've laughed at them! :-)
@@GeoZero Oh my, I bought the CD at least three time, cassette once, and iTunes twice (long story). You are spot on about the amazing explosion of way better music in the UK in the 80's.
I love this song for so many reasons. It conjures so many memories, including a doomed love affair that seemed to have been encapsulated in the lyrics. But my favourite memory of this song is sitting in a dive bar in Hong Kong when this came over the speakers… the intro played out & when the lyrics kicked in, everyone in the bar spontaneously silently sang out the “show me show me show me” … beautiful. Thanks Robert.
One of my personal favorites!!! Dedicated to my Beloved Bride 👰 when our 17th wedding anniversary, 10 years ago ❤ It is a wonderful 🎵 song written by a wonderful song writer, Mr. Smith!!!
"Let's go to bed" was the first Cure song I ever heard here in the states. (in the days before MTV came to town and we only had the crazy little local tv channel playing videos) ((Yes, MTV used to play music 24/7 without commercials!)) "Roundabout" The kids learned about it watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. I knew it as a kid from the radio and hadn't heard it in years and still haven't listened to it again and can't stop humming it! That's some staying power.
Warren, you really nailed the guitar parts with your precise emulation of the sounds off the record. As I hear you play the parts I am reminded of how they fit into the recording. Thanks for your insightful description of the creation of a pop masterpiece.
As a teenager in the 80's listening to the Cure, we never thought snout any of these technicalities. I only knew that I felt so deeply emotional everytime i listened to them. My favorite band of all time along with The Clash. So lucky to have seen them live so many times in LA
First time I ever heard of the Cure and/or music was when they played this song at the MTV awards in 1989. I got 'hooked' and never let go. Still my favorite band ever. (And that says a lot coming from a metalhead)
My University English professor told the class that Robert Smith is the best poet of the 2Oty century.... I was the only person who knew what he meant, and brought in my book of *songwords* the next day. I got an A+!
Oh my.. Many young musicians in the 80's were in love with "Just Like Heaven". I remember in France when "Les Enfants Du Rock" (Kids of Rock) began on tv. It was spectacular. We just thought: "Wow, Robert Smith goes very far with that song.." And he did it, as you said, in an unconventional way. That song was & still is from another planet. Thanks for this great video!! ps: a lot of people in France discovered The Cure, thanks to the tv show and to this terrific song! Z
I had commented this on Rick Beato's channel but what I love about this song from a drummer's perspective is that the drummer never crashes on the one (downbeat). It's only the China cymbal that lands on the 2 with the snare after the tom fill. Then the China/Snare hits on "&2" "&4" rest "2". It's so subtle but makes the song very unique from just another standard pop song where you would hit the crash cymbals and bass drum on the one.
I always liked Robert Smith's voice, but this video was awesome because the voice track was separated out. 35 years as a fan of The Cure and tonight my appreciation increased even more. He really does have an amazing voice.
The Cure is incredibly popular but they have been somehow left out of many intellectual conversations about rock. Other than Disintegration and Pornography, they're not as cited as other alternative acts and I find it unfair. As you said, they are incredibly inventive and interesting and more than anything, despite flowing in different genres you know that The Cure has its own distinctive style
Back in 2016 my hubby & I had the absolute otherworldly pleasure of seeing 🎶The Cure🎶 in of course, a sold out concert in Cali. We were 10 rows from the stage & the entire experience was magical! From the lighting show of every song, to the sound engineering, to the band's on stage presence & mastery of playing their instruments, Robert Smith's vocals were pitch perfect! I swear you'd close your eyes & listen to the crowd's enthusiasm & just feel the utter happy vibe of every moment. Wish we could do it just 1 more time🙏but the memories were & are more than I could ask for [except meeting them VIP style😳] & definitely will bring happiness for the rest of my 'ol days. 🎶The Cure🎶 in concert was everything! ✌💖
Just Like Heaven is the great song, very memorable tune. My first fav Cure song is In Your House..Simon's cool bass playing and Robert's guitar. Robert is a great guitarlist, he got great melody in his playing.
Good on you, bro! I discovered them late in life, was able to see them locally here with Reeves Gabrels on lead, only have a "hits" CD but pretty much have every bit of every song memorized, like it so much!
wow is this a series? this might be one of your greatest videos, and I've watched LOADS of your stuff! this is interesting and informative on both a deep, and general level. great work! i need more of this!
That top 5 . . . WOW! Along with 'Just like heaven' and many other incredible classics that are sure to be in that top 40 chart. What a magical time for music it was, how things have changed so quickly. Loving this series btw 💕
What a pleasant surprise seeing you do a video essay on this song! I discovered it as a teenager around 2009 and it instantly became my favorite pop song of all time. I had no idea how popular it was at the time and I always considered “pictures of you” or “close to me” as their most recognizable song in the public eye. Anyway I was already becoming an enormous cure fan in the previous months and this song cemented Robert Smith as a legend in my mind up there with Eric Clapton and Radiohead and many more. Some songs just have that timeless quality and I hope there’s a teenager who hears it for the first time this year and falls in love with it too!
Just subscribed to your channel as I have been binge watching your analysis all day. Just like heaven is probably my favourite song of all time. I have a ticket to see The Cure live next November. So excited to finally get to see them live.
The Cure are a Big reference for modern indie and pop music, don't forget the amazing Simon Gallup with those incedibles bass lines!! you can "hear the cure" in so many songs today...
I love these videos. The best parts for me are when you play the actual riffs and spell out the music theory of the songs. In addition to the trivia it makes these videos more well rounded.
Great episode, I’m a huge Cure fan. In future episodes you should do Faith No More on the Angel Dust record. That record was hugely influential in metal in how it progressed for decades.
Justin Case with the possible exception of your grandmother, none of those are better than Smith. You could absolutely argue that they, as well as a few others, are as good as Smith though. I look forward to granny’s next album though!
hexxteria I’ve been a huge Pistols fan since middle school, and the more I age, the more I think I like PiL even more than the Pistols. But I don’t think Lydon, while underrated, can really compete with the insane amount of perfect tracks Smith cranked out.
I was never a big Cure fan but they were omnipresent when I was coming up and playing in my old band in the late 70's - 80's. They were everywhere. And despite not being the biggest fan, there are a few songs that I do love, including this one. I love these Songs That Changed Music videos. Thanks Warren!
"If you only know one song by The Cure, to this day it will be this one." How about Friday I'm In Love? That was a bigger hit everywhere that Just Like Heaven charted, reached top 20 in the US and was just as catchy and poppy, making it likely to stick in people's memories (unlike, say, Lovesong, which charter higher than both in the US but doesn't get the same airplay today).
i think just like heaven gets a lot of play still (i hear it a lot in supermarkets and malls lol) but personally, boys don’t cry is the first song i heard by the cure.
@@Producelikeapro I'm happy you've brought up Robert Smith's amazing songwriting. I've been citing him for years, sometimes, strangely enough, to puzzled looks. Thanks for the validation, Warren! :)
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What are some of the songs you feel changed music?
Gucci Gang
She sells sanctuary by the CUlt and Really Small Town by one eyed oracle, who else? ;)
How much time you got heh heh heh.
head like a hole!! Do that one!!
Definitely smells like teen spirit. It is not really a metal song but it changed rock and metal both.
"I'll never write anything as good as this again"
_writes the album Disintegration_
Haha exactly! A master songwriter
Disintegration is awesome, because it doesn't feel broken up at all. The whole album feels like one song, or maybe a symphony with multiple movements. Great stuff for a long car ride. And I'll never shut up about the underrated "Bloodflowers". I love that album. Don't care what anyone says.
@@Aaron-zh4kj true
In my opinion, one of the best albums ever
@@Aaron-zh4kj "a symphony with multiple movements" - perfect description
Also, I agree that Bloodflowers is sooooo underrated. I love that album.
"If someone knows only one song by The Cure, it's probably Just Like Heaven". Lol I wish! U.S. Radio stations seem to think that Friday I'm In Love is the ONLY song The Cure has ever written.
I thought the same thing. Either that or Love Song.
That's because it's the only song anyone cares about. The Cure is overrated, at best, and no one really wants to hear them except for this odd group of a few people that think this band is amazing.
@@Bob_Saccamano wow you really didn't understand my comment at all, did you? Just needed an excuse to talk shit about an exceptional band then, huh?
True
Same here in NZ also x-))
Who else hearts drops whenever the keyboard starts in this song....
Absolutely love that opening keys line!
Every single time 😉
mine drops in the the first 3 secs of drums and bass. I love how it appears to trip over itself in the opening seconds.
10000000000%
One last thing that makes this song unique in pop canon: very, very few pop songs don't repeat the title ad nauseum. This little gem contains the title one time, as the very last line of the song in the final refrain. Brilliant!
Although I want him repeat that whenever I hear it. But that's the beauty of it.
It's not uncommon in album tracks. But execs like the song title of singles to be culled from the chorus, or refrain eg: "show me" or "run away with you" - and will often press for songs to be retitled as such. Easy to find or remember what's it's called. Of course we now have Shazam.
Few New Order songs even contain the title and there are many others either don't contain the title in the lyrics or only state it once or twice. So this is very far from unique. Don't believe the hype.
@@jennyjohn704 Hmm - I mean there are other exceptions. Maybe unique was the wrong word, as a binary. But it's rare. =)
Yepp, been listening to Show Me for last 30 odd years now find it's something else 😂
The early “goth” bands wrote some of the greatest pop songs of all time.
As people of a certain age will tell you, most of those bands had out about 4 albums before the 'Goth' thing was even invented...the Cure included
loff66 agreed!
Ironically, most pioneers of goth didn't like to label themselves as goth, Robert Smith despised it, even Rozz Williams, the lead singer of Christian Death
Patricio Luna that’s why goth was in quotation.
The cure has nothing to do with that goth bullshit
When the keyboard hits I get transported to a different time and place. When the guitar layers overtop I know I'm in music heaven. Thank you The Cure for giving us this timeless music!!
Yep, I am back in Germany, young, when this song came out.
this is truly one of the best songs ever written.
Agreed 100%!
Agreed ❤
I love playing the groove of “Pictures of You”...
Me too! I don't know why but it makes me want to lay in a field of flowers
Yes, so amazing John!
@@Mx.Pickle haha nice
Beautiful song
It's great simple bassline ....the drums sound amazing on this recording, but when do they not?
"I'll never write something this good again."
Opens their next album with 'Plainsong.'
Yes, Robert Smith is an amazing songwriter!
yes in my top 5
I was 13 the first time I heard this song and I remember breaking down in the tears because it was so beautiful and sad. I immediately opened up the cassette cover and read the lyrics until I memorize them.
Thanks ever so much for sharing
I love this song!
As someone who knows very little about music, I love this break down of why it sounds so good.
As an American I loved the British music of the 80s; The Cure was British music at its very best.
Thanks ever so much
This song makes you feel like Spring has come even in mid-Winter.
No matter how tired, weary, sad, angry or numb I am, I am restored and reinvigorated when I listen to this magnificent magical song, and reminded of deeper truths that cannot be fully expressed with words.
(Almost Spring 2021)
I actually had to wipe a couple tears away when Trent Reznor inducted them to the Hall of Fame. That was super-emotional for me! This is the one song I can sort of play on guitar (I play keyboard and drums).
I remember that as well. Great moment
As much as I adore this song, in my opinion their following album "Disintegration" is as if they made an entire album of "Just Like Heavens". It is a flawless album. Of course the vibe is a complete 180° from "Just Like Heaven" as it is a purely blissful melancholy vibe from beginning to end that makes it the perfect rainy day album.
Robert was listening to a lot of The Cocteau Twins at the time, I remember reading an interview where he admitted as much. I saw The Cure on that tour. They opened the set with Plainsong if I remember correctly.
They have so many great songs, but those are two spectacular albums. Two of the best from the entire 80s.
Not an unpopular opinion at all, and one I share.
Great analysis. And yes, Robert Smith is one of the most incredible pop song writers hiding in plain sight. I would perhaps argue though the one Cure song everyone knows would be Friday I'm In Love. It's on every radio station's playlist in the UK.
Ir boys dont cry
I’m 61 and basically discovered The Cure only a few weeks ago - ashamed to admit that really but at their peak I wasn’t their target audience; although I knew Friday I’m In Love. I’m truly thrilled to discover their music. Robert Smith is just a month younger than me 😁
@@danc3693 - "Yay!" for you, Dan! :-)
@Brian Shelf - Same here in NZ also!
Just Like Heaven: "I'll never write anything as good as this again"
Pictures of You: "Hold my beer"
Haha Robert Smith is such an amazing writer! Thanks ever so much
Burn : "Am I a joke to you?"
Lullaby's lyrics: "Hold my beer"...
One of my other 17 favorite Cure songs
let’s just agree with the entirety of disintegration
I've always been a metal fan. I can't help myself. The haunting vocals along with the unmistakable talent of the band held my ear...and still do.
Agreed 100%!
We can love Maiden and Cure at the same time..
This song most powerfully and beautifully reminds me of being in love, being simply carefree and innocent, and that the world seemed innocent and friendly in that one moment of my youth. It made me cry to remember the simple joy that I felt in my heart back when I was innocent and free of worldly cares. This is truly the magic of life to immerse yourself into this one moment of only 3 1/2 minutes, and to remember the joy of being in love, without any other cares, to be happy and to simply be human.
This is the only song that makes me tear up - every bloody time! I so adore this song, it is pop perfection and beautifully sentimental without being soft - strange as angels
Thanks ever so much! Yes, it’s a beautiful song written about his wife!!
This one and Pictures Of You for me
The best thing about the Cure was they never really sounded the same musically from Album to Album, Robert's voice was the only way to identify them back in the early 80's. I was blown away by Robert's Guitar playing on "Jumping some else's train" in '79 and "I'm Cold"....and then that voice kicked in.... and then I started paying attention to his lyrics....that guy could write songs...c'mon... "the innocence of sleeping children dressed in white and slowing dreaming, stops all time"... for a bunch of kids with no real future before them...these guys sure did make their mark on Music and Fashion . Read Lol Tolhurst's book if you're a Cure fan. I actually downloaded the Audible version and Lol read's his book to you...even cooler.
Wow, didn't know he had a book out, thanks for the tip. . . .Lol.
Yes, Smith himself once said that it's his voice that makes a song a Cure song, first and foremost.
Pearl Thompson plays the guitar on I'm cold
@@leoscoo6135 According to the Cure Pearl's first Song he recorded with the Cure was playing the Saxophone in "Give me it" off the Top Album.
@@Timinator62 I mean the I’m Cold demo, Pearl Thompson was part of the Easy Cure lineup
I was lucky enough to see all four of my favorite 80s artists within a year (The Cure, Depeche Mode, Morrissey, New Order). Of all 4 of them, I was most amazed by Robert Smith. His voice has not aged one bit!!! He still sounds like the recordings. It was an amazing year 🥲
The late 70's introduced these fresh new talents we got to watch "grow up" over time. Entire genres of music were born. How I wish I could go back.
I truly believe that part of why the song feels like it can go on forever is because of the structure of the song and how it doesn't have a chorus. Leaving us with the "always wanting more feeling" even when the song's already done.
Having it on repeat is just a personal preference.
Yes, masterpiece! Thanks for sharing
Loved it Warren. Another one is There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths
Great song! I had heard it for the very first time only in 2002! :-)
Thanks Mage! YES!! Amazing!!
@@mightyV444 yes, truly amazing!!
Oh god, that song reaches into my chest and pulls my heart out every time - perhaps more so as I get older. My late husband and I used to debate the "meaning" of the lyrics, but the ending that drifts out over a lonely highway, so melancholic and hopeful/hopeless just wrings out the tears.
@@bluegreenglue6565 What a lovely comment. Some songs are amazing. When I hear Living by Numbers by New Musik it brings back the smell of a pub called The Standard where I used to go in 1980. Sending love from the UK.
This song feels so nostalgic, I always feel like crying when I listen to it
Me too! I love that it’s a beautiful song for his wife!
You're just like the dream - the way he sang this part nothing can be more innocent.
Beautiful vocal! Thanks ever so much!
@@Producelikeapro thank you so much for replying 🤓
@@Nesta98 you’re welcome
One of the greatest songs ever put out. Still gives me chills.
Absolutely! Agreed 100%!
You know the song is great when you get the chills from the instruments alone
The song gives me goosebumps still as it soothed me during a painfully lonely adolescence...it truly was and will forever be a taste of what something "just like heaven" is like.
This is wonderful, and great side-by-side with Rick Beato's breakdown of this masterpiece. I would add that the magic of this song, I think, is that it captures the hopeful atmosphere of the '80s perfectly. There were dark possibilities (nuclear war) but also great hope for the future (new millennium approaching), and it was an exciting time to be a young person in love. The availability of synths and other atmospheric production elements to nearly all artists gave everyone a chance to find a dramatic mood, and so many bands swung for the fences with their compositions. Many connected. The Cure hit a grand slam.
Agreed. Rick Beato's analysis of this song is just spot on perfect.
Remember buying this on 7", from woolworths. Possibly my most favourite song ever. Fills me with emotion, still makes me cry. ❤
I believe I bought this at Woolworths as well! Haha i bought music from there, Boots or the Record Box! Although sometimes I would cycle over to Venus Records in Farnham!
All the girls I thought were cool in my school listened to The Cure so I decided to give them a listen. I was so surprised by Robert Smith's hooks and melodies. Great stuff. In my head I had imagined this dark and unapproachable sound similar to the other bands who were popular with the kid's that hung around the smoking section at my high school. I was completely wrong. These were beautifully tailored, pop sensible, masterpieces. Songs like Just Like Heaven, Boys Don't Cry, and Close To Me still play in my head and on my audio devices. Ha! I still remember hiding the fact that I liked "Love Song" from my male friends.
This song make me cry and laugh and dance and remember all at the same time. That doesn't happen often.
Ok, I really love that Warren's hair is looking more like Robert Smith's hair. His daughter's drawing in the back totally confirms lol
Now you get where my hair style comes from!! Haha
I dunno.. Im seeing more Chris Barrie (aka. Red Dwarf's Rimmer) with a bit of a 80s new wave 'do
@@MuckingMunt haha I don’t have a side parting like Rimmer!
Or is it ?
You're right about the subtlety of the guitar. it's what The Cure DON'T do which makes me love them. Just Like Heaven is such a romantic song, I fall in love with it every time I hear it
Listening to The Lovecats knowing about the drunkness is like hearing it for the first time again! hahaha. Great series, Warren. It's so fun to get some insight into songs and how they came to be. It's also interesting how songs get popular in different parts of the world in different times. I believe in Norway, Friday, I'm In Love is still played by a radio station every Friday.
Thanks ever so much Kat! Great comment!
The solo’d vocals give me the chills. Such a great performance!
Agreed, so amazing!!
I didn't think I could love the Cure more than I already do, but you kicked it up a notch. In the late 70s, I turned my back on arena rock and turned to bands like the Cure, the Jam, and Joy Division. These were bands that received no airplay in the US. I took slack for it as a drummer because these bands supposedly didn't have credible chops, but I started to favor hooks and melody over chops. Your analysis of what made songs like love will tear us apart, how soon is now, and just like heaven game-changers does a great job in illustrating how these newer bands contributed to music's progression.
Wow! Thanks ever so much John for sharing your insight! I really appreciate it!
The structure on this song is one of the all time best. Intro is absolutely nailed on.
Every instrument begins in a different first compases of the song. A great idea !!!!
I love this song, but my favourite has to be Lullaby. Man that song is dark!
Yep, Lullaby is a true masterpiece, what an atmosphere it builds.
And "a forest". Cachiest bassline ever.
Yes! So dark and I love it
I love Lullaby! Amazing song Pete
Agreed! 👌🏼 Plus, of all the great songs in their catalogue, Robert never sounded more invested and more different than on that one. And that’s fucking saying something!
So, awhile back, one of my clients asked me to put her iPod in my pocket as she worked out. I forgot and she forgot, I had it for the wknd and ran through her playlists. This is when I discovered “Just like Heaven” loved it ever since. Thanks for breaking it down and for teaching me new terms like “Low Riff” & “Refrain.”
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! The instrumental and riff is what makes this song my all time favourite from ANY band.
Thanks ever so much
The layering at the front of the song is pure genius. Great video !!!
For years now I've said that I could trade places with anyone in the history of rock/pop it would be Robert Smith. He has had the most perfect career that I can think of. Able to effortlessly straddle that fine line between indie cred and pop success, he's made millions and millions of dollars (having Adele cover a Cure song on one of her multi-platinum releases didn't hurt) yet he's never been thrown into that crazy world of super-stardom that would drive anyone insane. I'm sure that once he wipes off the makeup and puts on a baseball cap he'd be able to walk down a street anywhere in relative anonymity. The Cure have never had a roller-coaster career, they reached a certain level of success in the 1980s and pretty much maintained a loyal fan base from there on. All of their albums sell well, they do massive sell-out tours whenever they want. It's just the perfect career. Well over 40 years since he started out, he's still relevant and loved by so many people all over the world. What more could you possibly want?
Really well said! The only complicating aspect might be their early days when they were doing a ton of drugs and Robert admittedly drove the other band members away, leading to him writing and recording on his own. Plus their fallout with Lol over his alcoholism. But after that, once most of them reunited and they added other great band members, it seems to have been smooth sailing. Not to mention that he's been married to the same woman for decades, and I believe he wrote Just Like Heaven about her. How often does that happen with the lead singer of a huge rock band?
I love The Cure and I love this series!
Thanks ever so much Nicolás!!
Disintegration is one of my fav albums...pictures of you was a great tune too..whole album is awesome
Agreed! Masterpiece
I actually think it could have been the first album I ever bought 🤔
As you pointed out in the video, l was very familiar with the song because of ‘’ les enfants du rock’’. This show was late at night in the 80s and l remember going to bed happy when l was a child with instrumental ‘’just like heaven’’ indefinitely playing in my head. It was an era when l actually enjoyed watching tv.
It s a shame tv shows like this no longer exists in France.
Thanks for the memories, l feel melancholic now
Thanks ever so much!
Very well done. You and Rick Beato are my favorite music teachers.
You're very kind Keith!
“What makes this song change music?” The ultimate mash-up!
This song still brings tears to my eyes 36yrs later.
Just do much emotion in this song. It is both beautiful and sad, and it still worms its way into my heart.
Thanks for posting. Incredible song and one of my all time favorite artists. Unique, authentic, and with their own style. Hard to beat the Cure for best enduring songs of the 80s for me!!
Thanks ever so much!
Fantastic Warren! I was a musical snob in the 80’s and didn’t allow much pop music into my ears. Then in the mid 90’s I had a young family, needed extra money so I joined a cover band that played this song. I hated it, thought it was stupid, til my first gig with the group. Average weeknight in the bar, some applause but mostly we were an interruption of conversation for the patrons. Then we play Just Like Heaven, I thought, “Here’s the last nail on this night”, instead the place woke up, dance floor jammed and the rest of the night was lit. After that, I thought, “Maybe there’s something to this one”. Cheers!
Well said! Yes, it's a masterpiece!
thanks for sharing your experiences! Yes, I spent many years playing cavers to make a living!
@@Producelikeapro Ah! There was a time when it seemed a good living!
Seeing Ed and Phil from Radiohead at the R&R HOF giddy and bobbing their head tells you everything you need to know.
Haha agreed!!
and trent reznor feeling like he's doing a big honor to induct one of his favorite bands. NIN and radiohead. 2 giants of art rock and they need to do a tour together.
Great selection. I saw The Cure twice, once in the mid-80s and again in the mid-2000s. They're still as brilliant now as they were then. There's certainly something almost indescribably special about The Cure. Among their many albums, The Head on the Door is loaded with gems, especially In Between Days. Thanks for the great video.
Man, this is one of the best songs of the 80s! So amazing to see you break it down in its glories! Cheers!
It's a masterpiece!
@@Producelikeapro Definitely!
Thank you so much for covering this song. It really is that good, to this day. Such beautiful songwriting. Where has all the good music gone?
Already had been a fan of the Cure when this song came out - actually the entire double album of Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me has some great songs, and penmanship. This song more than any other before or since solidified my entire trajectory to become a songwriter.
Me as well! I bought Primary the day it came out from 'The Record Box' on Fleet High St!
@@Producelikeapro Warren, that whole era - I like to call it the second British invasion - was awesome. P. Furs, The Cure, Smiths, Bauhaus, it was all amazing music, and completely unlike what we had here in the states (or is it still referred to as "the colonies" - just kidding, err sort of). I think I ended up buying the LP, cassette, CD and downloads of Kiss Me. It really is THAT GREAT, and should be listened to in its entirety.
@@GeoZero - I was wondering if 'The Lovecats' was on the 'Kiss Me...' album, so I just checked and found out with surprise that it was released as a stand-alone track! :-O Seeing them perform that song on TV in '84 was my very first Cure experience; "What a weird guy!" I was thinking, and if anyone would've told me then that he and his mates would still be around 36 years later, I would've laughed at them! :-)
@@GeoZero Oh my, I bought the CD at least three time, cassette once, and iTunes twice (long story). You are spot on about the amazing explosion of way better music in the UK in the 80's.
I love this song for so many reasons. It conjures so many memories, including a doomed love affair that seemed to have been encapsulated in the lyrics. But my favourite memory of this song is sitting in a dive bar in Hong Kong when this came over the speakers… the intro played out & when the lyrics kicked in, everyone in the bar spontaneously silently sang out the “show me show me show me” … beautiful. Thanks Robert.
The first Cure song I ever heard. Still one of my favorite songs. Great video, great series. Thank you Sir.
Thanks ever so much!
One of my personal favorites!!! Dedicated to my Beloved Bride 👰 when our 17th wedding anniversary, 10 years ago ❤ It is a wonderful 🎵 song written by a wonderful song writer, Mr. Smith!!!
That’s amazing to hear! Congratulations
Possibly my favourite pop song. I could dance all night to it. So cool and touching.....thanks for another great video Warren!
Thanks ever so much!!
"Let's go to bed" was the first Cure song I ever heard here in the states. (in the days before MTV came to town and we only had the crazy little local tv channel playing videos) ((Yes, MTV used to play music 24/7 without commercials!))
"Roundabout" The kids learned about it watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. I knew it as a kid from the radio and hadn't heard it in years and still haven't listened to it again and can't stop humming it! That's some staying power.
Thanks ever so much for sharing Lisa! You Rock my friend!
Warren, you really nailed the guitar parts with your precise emulation of the sounds off the record.
As I hear you play the parts I am reminded of how they fit into the recording.
Thanks for your insightful description of the creation of a pop masterpiece.
Thanks ever so much! I really appreciate it
As a teenager in the 80's listening to the Cure, we never thought snout any of these technicalities. I only knew that I felt so deeply emotional everytime i listened to them. My favorite band of all time along with The Clash. So lucky to have seen them live so many times in LA
Love this format. Keep 'em coming! I learn so much...
Thanks ever so much Aaron!
First time I ever heard of the Cure and/or music was when they played this song at the MTV awards in 1989. I got 'hooked' and never let go. Still my favorite band ever. (And that says a lot coming from a metalhead)
My University English professor told the class that Robert Smith is the best poet of the 2Oty century....
I was the only person who knew what he meant, and brought in my book of
*songwords* the next day.
I got an A+!
Wow! Amazing to hear Olivia!
Oh my.. Many young musicians in the 80's were in love with "Just Like Heaven". I remember in France when "Les Enfants Du Rock" (Kids of Rock) began on tv. It was spectacular. We just thought: "Wow, Robert Smith goes very far with that song.." And he did it, as you said, in an unconventional way. That song was & still is from another planet. Thanks for this great video!! ps: a lot of people in France discovered The Cure, thanks to the tv show and to this terrific song! Z
I've been practicing this song on the guitar for a few days now, I love jt!
Fantastic! Yes, love this song and guitar riff!
I had commented this on Rick Beato's channel but what I love about this song from a drummer's perspective is that the drummer never crashes on the one (downbeat). It's only the China cymbal that lands on the 2 with the snare after the tom fill. Then the China/Snare hits on "&2" "&4" rest "2". It's so subtle but makes the song very unique from just another standard pop song where you would hit the crash cymbals and bass drum on the one.
Thank you, Pearl Thompson, for that iconic most unique pop guitar riff that ever was recorded on tape.
Marvellous! Thanks ever so much for sharing Dorian!
I absolutely love your channel!!! Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful!!!
Thank you for being there....
Wow!! Thanks ever so much!
I always liked Robert Smith's voice, but this video was awesome because the voice track was separated out. 35 years as a fan of The Cure and tonight my appreciation increased even more. He really does have an amazing voice.
Thanks ever so much! Yes, I’m a huge fan of Robert Smith!
please please how did you seperate his voice from track? we want more of it
Very interesting video, Warren! A fantastic song by The Cure.
The Cure is incredibly popular but they have been somehow left out of many intellectual conversations about rock. Other than Disintegration and Pornography, they're not as cited as other alternative acts and I find it unfair. As you said, they are incredibly inventive and interesting and more than anything, despite flowing in different genres you know that The Cure has its own distinctive style
Indeed! Certainly not by me! I’m a huge fan of The Cure! Massively influential band!!
Hi Frank, Thanks ever so much my friend!
"Intellectual" is where you have everything wrong.
If the Cure isn't in the conversation then it isn't intellectual
@@gergc4871 Robert Smith is highly intellectual and The Cure's music is cerebral in the extreme
Back in 2016 my hubby & I had the absolute otherworldly pleasure of seeing 🎶The Cure🎶 in of course, a sold out concert in Cali. We were 10 rows from the stage & the entire experience was magical! From the lighting show of every song, to the sound engineering, to the band's on stage presence & mastery of playing their instruments, Robert Smith's vocals were pitch perfect! I swear you'd close your eyes & listen to the crowd's enthusiasm & just feel the utter happy vibe of every moment. Wish we could do it just 1 more time🙏but the memories were & are more than I could ask for [except meeting them VIP style😳] & definitely will bring happiness for the rest of my 'ol days. 🎶The Cure🎶 in concert was everything!
✌💖
Just Like Heaven is the great song, very memorable tune. My first fav Cure song is In Your House..Simon's cool bass playing and Robert's guitar. Robert is a great guitarlist, he got great melody in his playing.
Absolutely! Thanks ever so much
Genius! Robert Smith 🤔 his voice has Never changed.
Yes! Huge fan
Love your dissection of this legendary song!
Thanks ever so much Stan!
Ahhh shivers !! Thank you for this gem Warren and Produce Like A Pro. Cure Burn !
Thanks ever so much
I never knew why I love this song so much. Thank you for me giving me a lot of reasons!
Thanks ever so much!
I’m actually doing a cover of “Just Like Heaven” as you speak. This is a great breakdown for me right now. Wow!
Fantastic David!!
link please?
Good on you, bro! I discovered them late in life, was able to see them locally here with Reeves Gabrels on lead, only have a "hits" CD but pretty much have every bit of every song memorized, like it so much!
wow is this a series? this might be one of your greatest videos, and I've watched LOADS of your stuff! this is interesting and informative on both a deep, and general level. great work! i need more of this!
That top 5 . . . WOW! Along with 'Just like heaven' and many other incredible classics that are sure to be in that top 40 chart. What a magical time for music it was, how things have changed so quickly. Loving this series btw 💕
Just want to say I really like the editing on this video. Also love The Cure. Would enjoy another type of video like this in the future. Cheers!
Thanks ever so much Richard!!
What a pleasant surprise seeing you do a video essay on this song! I discovered it as a teenager around 2009 and it instantly became my favorite pop song of all time. I had no idea how popular it was at the time and I always considered “pictures of you” or “close to me” as their most recognizable song in the public eye. Anyway I was already becoming an enormous cure fan in the previous months and this song cemented Robert Smith as a legend in my mind up there with Eric Clapton and Radiohead and many more. Some songs just have that timeless quality and I hope there’s a teenager who hears it for the first time this year and falls in love with it too!
I really like this new series Warren! Now I have you and Rick Beato :)
You're very kind my friend!
Easily *my* two favourite YT channels also :-)
Me too
New subscriber here .
This is Big Mama.
Be well 🇦🇲✌🏽😍
Just subscribed to your channel as I have been binge watching your analysis all day. Just like heaven is probably my favourite song of all time. I have a ticket to see The Cure live next November. So excited to finally get to see them live.
That's going to be an amazing show!
The Cure are a Big reference for modern indie and pop music, don't forget the amazing Simon Gallup with those incedibles bass lines!! you can "hear the cure" in so many songs today...
Agreed Ricardo 100%! I love Simon's Bassplaying!
I love these videos. The best parts for me are when you play the actual riffs and spell out the music theory of the songs. In addition to the trivia it makes these videos more well rounded.
Thanks ever so much Dan!
Great episode, I’m a huge Cure fan. In future episodes you should do Faith No More on the Angel Dust record. That record was hugely influential in metal in how it progressed for decades.
One of my fav bands of all time and one of my fav songs of all time. Thanks for making this video. Now I've got a huge smile on my face.
Thanks ever so much!
Yes!!!! You simply cannot beat Robert Smith when it comes to songwriters.
Agreed 100%!!
@@Producelikeapro Paul McCartney?
@@MrJohndl I'll do you one better, Johnny Rotten
Justin Case with the possible exception of your grandmother, none of those are better than Smith. You could absolutely argue that they, as well as a few others, are as good as Smith though.
I look forward to granny’s next album though!
hexxteria I’ve been a huge Pistols fan since middle school, and the more I age, the more I think I like PiL even more than the Pistols. But I don’t think Lydon, while underrated, can really compete with the insane amount of perfect tracks Smith cranked out.
One of my most favorite songs!! I drop my life to dance EVERYTIME ANYWHERE!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Nice, one of my favourites. The cure played on a loop in my teens.
Yes!! Such an amazing band!!
I was never a big Cure fan but they were omnipresent when I was coming up and playing in my old band in the late 70's - 80's. They were everywhere. And despite not being the biggest fan, there are a few songs that I do love, including this one. I love these Songs That Changed Music videos. Thanks Warren!
"If you only know one song by The Cure, to this day it will be this one."
How about Friday I'm In Love? That was a bigger hit everywhere that Just Like Heaven charted, reached top 20 in the US and was just as catchy and poppy, making it likely to stick in people's memories (unlike, say, Lovesong, which charter higher than both in the US but doesn't get the same airplay today).
i think just like heaven gets a lot of play still (i hear it a lot in supermarkets and malls lol) but personally, boys don’t cry is the first song i heard by the cure.
What a tune, thanks for covering it in such detail Warren!
You're very welcome!!
The look on Ed O'Brien's face at 11:13 whilst watching The Cure perform live is priceless. - chaz
For us Gen Xers The Cure mean so much!!
@@Producelikeapro I'm happy you've brought up Robert Smith's amazing songwriting. I've been citing him for years, sometimes, strangely enough, to puzzled looks. Thanks for the validation, Warren! :)
@Luke Without any doubt!