The Cure signed an international deal with Geffen Records in 2003 and then launched an extensive reissue campaign in 2004 with the rarities box set Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years); double-disc expanded editions of their earliest albums soon followed. Also in 2004, the band released its first album for Geffen, an eponymous effort recorded live in the studio. Heavier but not necessarily harder -- and certainly not gloomier than Bloodflowers -- The Cure was partially designed to appeal to a younger audience familiar with the band through their influence on a new generation of groups, many of which were showcased as opening acts on the Cure's supporting tour for the album. The Cure underwent another lineup change in 2005, as Bamonte and O'Donnell left the group and Porl Thompson came back for his third stint. This new, keyboard-less lineup debuted in 2005 as the headlining act at the benefit concert Live 8 Paris, then headed out on the summer festival circuit, highlights of which were captured on the 2006 DVD release Festival 2005. The Cure popped up on various festivals over the next two years, playing a more extensive European tour in early 2008, as they completed their 13th effort. Originally conceived as a double album, the record was split in half prior to its release, with the lighter, poppier material released first as 4:13 Dream in October 2008. After a three-year break, the group returned to the live circuit with their "Reflections" tour -- kicking off in Australia and seeing the return of original drummer and keyboardist Lol Tolhurst after some 22 years -- where they played their first three albums, Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds, and Faith, in their entirety. A career-spanning 150-minute headline slot at 2011's Bestival on the Isle of Wight was recorded and released that same year and the bandy to tour throughout 2012 and 2013, with festival shows in Europe and North America and headline shows in Latin America. In early 2014, Smith announced that they would release the follow-up to 4:13 Dream later in 2014, and would also follow their "Reflections" tour with another series of full-album shows, this time performing The Top, The Head on the Door, and Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me in their entirety. Touring and festival appearances would be more of a focus than creating new music in the 2010s, though they intermittently entered the studio to work on new material. More than a decade passed without a new studio album after 2008's 4:13 Dream, but the Cure released multiple live documents and other miscellaneous material, including 2018's Torn Down: Mixed Up Extras 2018, a continuation of their 1990 remix album Mixed Up, 2019's massive multi-media concert set 40 Live (Curætion-25 + Anniversary), and a deluxe 30th Anniversary edition of Wish in 2022 which included a wealth of previously unreleased demos and live material from the time of the album's creation.
The Cure Blue Sunshine Deluxe Edition The Glove 2006
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