Standing on a Beach

Infobox Album
Name = Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea (cd-title): The singles
Type = Compilation album
Artist = The Cure


Released = May 6 1986
Recorded = 1978 to 1985
Genre = Post-punk, Gothic rock, Alternative rock, New Wave
Length = 45:44 (Vinyl edition) 60:40 (CD edition)
Label = Fiction Records Elektra Records
Producer = The Cure
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jgjueat04xu7 link]
*Robert Christgau (B+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=cure link]
Last album = "The Head on the Door" (1985)
This album = "Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea" (1986)
Next album = "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" (1987) "Standing on a Beach" (titled "Staring at the Sea" in cd-format) is a singles compilation released by the British rock band The Cure in May, 1986, marking a decade since the band's founding in 1976. The title is taken from the opening lyrics of The Cure's debut single "Killing an Arab".

Release formats

The album was released in three formats, vinyl record, compact disc and audio cassette.

The vinyl edition is a collection of all thirteen of The Cure's commercially released singles up to that point in chronological order.

The CD edition features the same tracks as the vinyl edition, but also includes an extra track each from four of the band's albums.

The cassette edition features the same tracks as the vinyl edition, but also contains all of the band's b-sides that had, to that point, not received a long-play release. This excludes "10:15 Saturday Night" from the "Killing an Arab" single, which was released on the "Three Imaginary Boys" album, "Plastic Passion" from the "Boys Don't Cry" single, which was released on the "Boys Don't Cry" album, and the five b-sides from the "Let's Go to Bed", "The Walk" and "The Lovecats" singles, which were released on the "Japanese Whispers" compilation album. However, the b-side "Mr. Pink Eyes" from the 12" version of "The Lovecats" was omitted from "Japanese Whispers", and so was included on this release.

These releases were accompanied by a VHS and laserdisc release, a music video collection named "".

All the b-sides on the cassette edition were also later released on the first disc of the "" compilation in 2004.

Track listing

Vinyl edition

#"Killing an Arab" (Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst, Michael Dempsey) – 2:22
#"Boys Don't Cry" (Dempsey, Smith, Tolhurst) – 2:35
#"Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:54
#"A Forest" (Smith, Tolhurst, Simon Gallup, Matthieu Hartley) – 4:53
#"Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) – 3:33
#"Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:13
#"The Hanging Garden" (Smith) – 4:21
#"Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:33
#"The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:28
#"The Lovecats" (Smith) – 3:38
#"The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:38
#"In Between Days" (Smith) – 2:56
#"Close to Me" (Smith) – 3:39

CD edition

#"Killing an Arab" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:22
#"10:15 Saturday Night" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 3:37 (from "Three Imaginary Boys", 1979)
#"Boys Don't Cry" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:35
#"Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:57
#"A Forest" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) – 4:53
#"Play for Today" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Hartley) – 3:42 (from "Seventeen Seconds", 1980)
#"Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 3:33
#"Other Voices" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:26 (from "Faith", 1981)
#"Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:13
#"The Hanging Garden" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:21
#"Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:33
#"The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:28
#"The Lovecats" (Smith) – 3:38
#"The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:38
#"In Between Days" (Smith) – 2:56
#"Close to Me" (Smith) – 3:39
#"A Night Like This" (Smith) – 4:11 (from "The Head on the Door", 1985)

Cassette edition

ide one - The singles

#"Killing an Arab" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:22
#"Boys Don't Cry" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:35
#"Jumping Someone Else's Train" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:54
#"A Forest" (Smith) – 4:53
#"Primary" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 3:33
#"Charlotte Sometimes" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:13
#"The Hanging Garden" (Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup) – 4:21
#"Let's Go to Bed" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:33
#"The Walk" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:28
#"The Lovecats" (Smith) – 3:38
#"The Caterpillar" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:38
#"In Between Days" (Smith) – 2:56
#"Close to Me" (Smith) – 3:39

ide two - The b-sides

#"I'm Cold" (Smith, Tolhurst, Dempsey) – 2:47 (from "Jumping Someone Else's Train")
#"Another Journey By Train" (Smith, Gallup, Tolhurst, Hartley) – 3:04 (from "A Forest")
#"Descent" (Smith, Gallup, Tolhurst) – 3:07 (from "Primary")
#"Splintered in Her Head" (Smith, Gallup, Tolhurst) – 5:16 (from "Charlotte Sometimes")
#"Mr. Pink Eyes" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 2:42 (from "The Lovecats")
#"Happy the Man" (Smith) – 2:45 (from "The Caterpillar")
#"Throw Your Foot" (Smith) – 3:33 (from "The Caterpillar")
#"The Exploding Boy" (Smith) – 2:52 (from "In Between Days")
#"A Few Hours After This" (Smith) – 2:26 (from "In Between Days")
#"A Man Inside My Mouth" (Smith) – 3:05 (from "Close to Me"/"Half an Octopuss")
#"Stop Dead" (Smith) – 4:02 (from "In Between Days"/"Close to Me"/"Half an Octopuss")
#"New Day" (Smith, Tolhurst) – 4:08 (from "Half an Octopuss")