FICTION RECORDS · FICSX 10

1 pressing £58+ Choose →

1. A A Forest 5:55
2. B Another Journey By Train 3:04

Running order of the main release. Pressings may split it differently.

• 4:43 The Cure - A Forest
• 9:45 The Cure - A Forest (1980) full 12” Single
• 3:55 The Cure - A Forest (7" Version) [Single (1980)]
• 3:08 The Cure - Another Journey by Train (1980)

Released on 28 March 1980 as the only single from the album [m=20278], it was the band's first chart single in the UK, reaching #31; the song was also a hit in the Netherlands, reaching #26. The 7" single edit is 3:54. It omits the initial guitar and keyboard introduction, removes a few bars between verses and fades out part way through the guitar solo ending. The 12" was the Cure's first 12" single release, featuring the full 5:55 LP version. Although presented as the "single" version, the 4:53 version included in 1986 on the [m=22482] (and "Staring At The Sea - The Singles") compilations varies slightly from the 7" single edit in that the ending guitar solo was restored to its full length. An early version titled "At Night" appears on some late 1979 bootlegs; it was filmed in Paris in December 1979 by the [Chorus](http://www.discogs.com/Various-Chorus-La-Premi%C3%A8re-%C3%89mission-Rock-DAntoine-De-Caunes/release/4775313) French TV show. The live recording from Rock Werchter Festival on July 5, 1981, is informally known as the Robert Palmer version, with Simon Gallup shouting 'Fuck Robert Palmer! Fuck rock'n'roll!' at the end of the song, as they were over their time limit and were being asked to leave the stage. Rumor has them playing a very long version of this, in order to not have to leave. Hence, the varied long versions they've played live since, ranging from around 7 minutes up to almost 17 minutes long. A "Tree Mix", new recording and remix in June 1990 for the [m=31938] compilation, was released as single in [December 1990](http://www.discogs.com/Cure-A-Forest/master/31926). By the late 80s, early 90s, the band found out that the original master tape for, specifically, "A Forest" was lost. Due to this loss, the band had to re-record the track for inclusion on their 1990 remix album Mixed Up. The original multitrack tapes of "A Forest" were reportedly stored in the offices of Fiction Records for a period and disappeared at some point. When the band decided to compile a remix album in 1990 (Mixed Up), they were unable to use the original master for "A Forest". Instead of remixing, as they did with other tracks on the album, they created a new recording. This newly recorded version is known as the "Tree Mix" and was released as a single in December 1990. The absence of the original master also impacted later releases. When the Seventeen Seconds album was remastered in 2005 (or 2006 for the single release), it was rumored that a second-generation copy was used for "A Forest".