Paris (The Cure album)

Paris is a live album recorded by The Cure at Le Zénith de Paris, in October 1992 during their Wish tour, but released in October 1993. The band announced the album in July 1993.^[8]

Paris
Live album by The Cure
Released	25 October 1993^[1]
Recorded	19–21 October 1992
Venue	Le Zénith de Paris, France
Length	57:37
Label	Fiction (UK) Elektra (US)
The Cure chronology
Show (1993) Paris (1993) Wild Mood Swings (1996)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Calgary Herald	B+^[3]
Hot Press	(favourable)^[4]
Rolling Stone	(favourable)^[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[6]
Vox	8/10^[7]

Paris was released at the same time as Show, which was recorded in the United States. The album features more cult classics like "The Figurehead" and "One Hundred Years" than Show, which is generally more single-friendly.

50% of the royalties earned by the album were given to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement charities in support of their international relief work.

In mid-1996, Billboard reported that Paris had sold 95,000 copies in the United States by that point, much less than the 213,000 copies of Show sold there by the same point.^[9] The magazine described the release of the album "within a few weeks" of Show as exemplifying the "unorthodox career path" that the band had taken.^[9]

Michele Kirsch of Vox praised the album's "top shelf sound engineers" and "good editing".^[7] Rating the album eight out of ten, he noted "there's nothing here that doesn't work."^[7]

Track listing

1. "The Figurehead" (Pornography) – 7:26
2. "One Hundred Years" (Pornography) – 7:15
3. "At Night" (Seventeen Seconds) – 6:39
4. "Play for Today" (Seventeen Seconds) – 3:50
5. "Apart" (Wish) – 6:37
6. "In Your House" (Seventeen Seconds) – 3:59
7. "Lovesong" (Disintegration) – 3:31
8. "Catch" (Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me) – 2:41
9. "A Letter to Elise" (Wish) – 4:50
10. "Dressing Up" (The Top) – 2:49
11. "Charlotte Sometimes" (stand-alone single) – 3:58
12. "Close to Me" (The Head on the Door) – 3:57

Personnel

• Robert Smith – vocals, guitar
• Simon Gallup – bass guitar
• Porl Thompson – guitar
• Boris Williams – drums
• Perry Bamonte – keyboard, guitar

Production

• Robbie Williams – production manager
• Howard Hopkins – stage manager
• Tom Wilson – keyboard tech and backstage coordinator

Charts

Chart performance for Paris

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	72
UK Albums (OCC)^[11]	56
US Billboard 200^[12]	118

References

1. "none". NME. 30 October 1993. p. 52.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Paris – The Cure". AllMusic.
3. Phillips, Shari (7 November 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
4. Brennan, Parick (17 November 1993). "Paris". Hot Press. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
5. Evans, Paul (23 December 1993). "Paris". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
6. "The Cure: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
7. "Mon Martyr" (JPG). thecure.nz. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
8. "Take the Cure Twice" (JPG). Thecure.nz. 10 July 1993. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
9. "Billboard". 30 March 1996. p. 77. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 71.
11. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
12. "The Cure Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 July 2023.