James: I'm James VanOsdol and joining me on the phone...it's Robert Smith of the Cure. And Robert, apparently
rumors of the Cure's demise were greatly exaggerated?

Robert: Yeah, mainly by me.

James: As of right around the time of Bloodflowers you were saying that The Cure was pretty much calling it a day
and you were even entertaining the idea of a solo project.

Robert: Yeah. That hasn't been ruled out. In fact I'm almost certain that that will be the next thing that I do. But
the problem with the Bloodflowers promotion stuff was post-album, pre-tour. And I felt very differently when I
finished the tour last year. We played for seven months last year, and I would have played more. I loved it. I
thought it was my best year with the band. It was compounded by doing this acoustic version of the Greatest Hits
album this summer, which was really good fun. So I'm really enthusiastic about the band again, so I don't really
see a point in calling it a day yet.

James: And here you are with this greatest hits...you've been playing in one shape or form, in one way or another,
for 25 years. I'd imagine it would be pretty daunting to go into your library and say "which are the best songs to
represent our years together?"

Robert: Well I was constrained by...they were going to be picked from the singles, that much I knew. I think there
have been 37 or 8 singles now. So I had to discard every other one pretty much. It was difficult getting down to the
final running order. The first ten kind of pick themselves, and then I really had to fight for my inclusions because
everyone had their own opinion as to...I don't think I found a single person that's agreed with me. That's the beauty
of being the boss. You get to have the final say.

James: Along those lines, I suppose Galore and Staring at the Sea kinda flushed out some of the things that were
omitted on the Greatest Hits, like 10:15 Saturday Night or Fascination Street...

Robert: Originally, when this project was suggested to us, I wanted the Staring at the Sea and the Galore albums,
the two singles compilations, just to be kind of bound together and released as a double CD as a greatest hits
because that would please everyone in a way. And yet, I discovered that that would please no one. It had to be
reduced down to a single CD for various reasons, none of them very artistic, I would add. But I'm happy that I stuck
with it and got my way, because I think it's a good representation of that side of The Cure. I don't think in any way
it represents what I've been up to for the last 25 years. I think it's a small but significant part of what we have done.

James: Well lets talk about the acoustic tracks, you mentioned that. Here you are, going song by song doing new
versions of the greatest hits. Tell me, what was the inspiration to do that? Was that just kind of a way to bring a new
spin to all these songs?

Robert: It was mainly driven by the early realization that fans would probably be less than enthusiastic about a
greatest hits album, because we, as fans, are ourselves. Even with the inclusion of a couple of new songs, you still
kind of feel that most fans will have most of those songs already. So, we were trying to think of a way that we could
make the project more exciting, both for them and for us, and the acoustic album seemed like a good idea. It also
made the whole thing more worthwhile for us because we got to reinterpret some of our songs and it's just good fun.
We did it all in one go, in the order that you hear it. It's a bit like a mini-acoustic concert without an audience. We
recorded it so it pretty much mixed itself. So what you hear is what we played. We gave ourselves two go's at each
song and picked the one that we thought was the better performance. But it was a very long day...and I think it
slightly tails off towards the end, as one or two members of the band sounded a little bit the worse for wear.

James: And Boris played with you on these tracks?

Robert: Yeah, we started rehearsing a couple of weeks in advance of recording, and it quickly dawned on us that as
a five-piece, we were kind of lacking that drive. So we got Boris back to hit some weird percussion stuff. And it
really did make a difference. It kind of brought that whole rhythmic side alive. I think when you do that acoustic
stuff it sort of become, if anything, more important, those little percussive touches.

James: Along the lines of a greatest hits, is there one album in your 25 year library that you look at and say, "You
know it's not really a greatest hits album, but it sure sounds like it to me?" One of those albums that you think song
for song is as good a representation of The Cure as it can get.

Robert: That's tough because I've never thought the Cure as really one band. With the various line-up changes, and
also the way I've changed, it always feels like at least five bands that I've been in. I would honestly say that if I had
to pick one to save out of all the ones I've made, it would be Bloodflowers. It would be the last one we did because I
felt that lyrically and musically, that was the most accomplished, and actually represents most how I feel at the
moment. But it would because it's the most recent. And I'm not trying to promote it. I'm being very honest. I think
the three that I would keep, if I could keep three, they would be Bloodflowers, Disintegration and Pornography. I
think they're the three albums that mean the most to me. But then the Kiss Me, Kiss Me album is probably the
album, that in some ways, I'm fondest of because it was fantastic fun making it, and that was actually like the
breakthrough album for us. They all mean something to me for different reasons. It's very hard. I mean they're not
the kind of albums that have just been released because that's what I did. Each album came out for a very specific
reason and I felt something very particular at that time. So...it's tough. The first Cure album is the only one I would
quite happily forget about. The rest of them I've really enjoyed.

James: It's interesting that you mentioned Bloodflowers, Pornography and Disintegration, because when
Bloodflowers came out, it was really being heralded as the third piece to that puzzle.

Robert: Yeah, I think that's why with the greatest hits, it's a representation of one facet of The Cure. And like I've
said, it's a small but significant part. It's kind of the public face of the group...to the general public. But really, the
heartbeat of The Cure is contained in those three albums, I think.

James: What's next Robert? Is this the end? Will we see you on stage again?

Robert: Yeah. I'm pretty sure you will. I think my tact on this round of promotion is that we're going to be going for
at least another ten years, something along those lines.

James: I've got to say, a Cure show... I've seen you a dozen times. When you guys go on stage, you play for real.
You play...I can see calendar pages flying by because once you get on and start playing, you don't finish until you do
it all on stage.

Robert: Yeah. I must say, I think that last year completely changed my mind about the band. It was the best touring
year that we've ever had. I thought the shows were great and the audiences were fantastic. I mean, the response
was just unreal. I think it would be pretty foolish for me to walk away from that.

James: Well you know we love you in Chicago, Robert

Robert: Yeah, I most certainly do know that.

James: Well thank you for calling in. The Greatest Hits comes out next month with the acoustic CD, which is
absolutely a must have session. We do hope to see you back on stage here in town.

Robert: You will(??)

James: Robert Smith, thank you very much.

Robert: Thank you very much.