Wild Mood Swings
Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by the Cure, released on 6 May 1996 on Fiction Records. It followed Wish and came before Bloodflowers, and it finds the band deliberately roaming across styles, much as they had on Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. Robert Smith said the title reflected how much ground the band covered lyrically and musically this time around.
That range is the reason to hear it. "The 13th" brings in mariachi, "Gone!" leans towards jazz, and "Mint Car" and "Return" are bright, jangling pop. Lighter songs sit right beside darker, more introspective ones, which gives the running order a jolting, patchwork feel. NME compared it to a compilation. It reached number nine in the UK and number 12 in the US, though it sold less than any Cure album in twelve years.
Wild Mood Swings: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 1:01:46Tracklist
- 1WantBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith5:07
- 2Club AmericaBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, Smith5:01
- 3This Is a LieBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:31
- 4The 13thBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:07
- 5Strange AttractionBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:19
- 6Mint CarBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith3:33
- 7Jupiter CrashBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:16
- 8Round & Round & Round…Bamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith2:39
- 9Gone!Bamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:32
- 10NumbBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:50
- 11ReturnBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith3:28
- 12TrapBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith3:38
- 13TreasureBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith3:45
- 14BareBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith8:02
- Produced by
- Steve Lyon, Robert Smith, Steve Lyon
- Recorded at
- St Catherine's Court (Bath, England), Haremere Hall (Etchingham, England), St Catherine's Court, Haremere Hall
- Recorded
- Late 1994–1996
- Mixed by
- Alan Moulder, Paul Q. Kolderie, Sean Slade, Tim Palmer, Mike “Spike” Drake, Steve Lyon, Adrian Sherwood, Paul Corkett, Robert Smith, Mark Saunders, Tom Lord‐Alge
- Engineered by
- Steve Lyon
- Label
- Fiction
- Length
- 1:01:46
Line-up
- Jason Cooper · drums (drum set)
- Susan Dench · viola
- Leo Payne · violin
- Audrey Riley · cello
- Chris Tombling · violin
- Robert Smith · vocals, guitar, lead vocals
- Louis Pavlou · drums (drum set) · guest
- Ronald Austin · drums (drum set) · guest
- Jesús Alemañy · trumpet · guest
- Steve Dawson · guest
- Sid Gauld · trumpet · guest
- Perry Bamonte · keyboard, guitar · guest
- Simon Gallup · bass guitar · guest
- Roger O’Donnell · keyboard · guest
- Mark Price · drums (drum set) · guest
- John Barclay · trumpet · guest
- Richard Edwards · trombone · guest
- Will Gregory · saxophone · guest
- Steve Sidwell · trumpet · guest
Singles
- “The 13th” · 22 April 1996
- “Mint Car” · 17 June 1996
- “Strange Attraction” · 8 October 1996
- “Gone!” · 2 December 1996
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1996 | 9 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1996 | 12 |
| Swedish Albums · 1996 | 2 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1996 | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1996 | 5 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1996 | 6 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) · 1996 | 6 |
| European Albums (Music & Media) · 1996 | 7 |
| Swiss Albums · 1996 | 9 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1996 | 10 |
All 22 charts
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1996 | 11 |
| Austrian Albums · 1996 | 12 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1996 | 13 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1996 | 13 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1996 | 17 |
| German Albums · 1996 | 17 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1996 | 17 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1996 | 18 |
| Finnish Albums · 1996 | 24 |
| French Albums · 1996 | 27 |
| Dutch Albums · 1996 | 37 |
| Scottish Albums · 1996 | 46 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States · 1996 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 6 May
Every year →More from The Cure
Full discography →The best of 1996
All of 1996 →More on Fiction
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1996-05-07 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 6 May 1996 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 6 May 1996 | |
| Wikidata | 7 May 1996 | |
| US release | 7 May 1996 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 6 May 1996 | earliest UK or European date |
11 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CA | Elektra | 075596174466 | other |
| 1996 | AU | Fiction | 706301501023 | other |
| 1996 | GB | Polydor | 731453179325 | other |
| 1996 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 6 May 1996 | XE | Fiction | 731453179325 | original |
| 7 May 1996 | US | Elektra | 075596174411 | other |
| 7 May 1996 | US | Elektra | 075596174428 | other |
| 2006 | XE | Fiction | 731453179325 | other |
| 17 July 2021 | XE | Fiction | 602435081175 | remaster |
| 17 July 2021 | XE | UMC | 602435081175 | other |
| — | — | Polydor | 00731453179325 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 2400x2400
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2400×2400 | native: native 2400x2400 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |