Greatest Hits (The Cure album)

Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by the English rock band the Cure. It was first released in Japan on 7 November 2001,^[6] before being released in the UK and Europe on 12 November and then in the US the day after. The band's relationship with longtime label Fiction Records came to a close, and the Cure were obliged to release one final album for the label. Lead singer Robert Smith agreed to release a greatest hits album under the condition that he could choose the tracks himself. The band also recorded a special studio album released as a bonus disc to some versions of the album. The disc, titled Acoustic Hits, consists of the eighteen songs from the North American release re-recorded using acoustic instruments.

Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by the Cure
Released	7 November 2001
Recorded	1979–2001
Genre	Alternative rock post-punk gothic rock new wave goth-pop[1]
Length	68:08 69:26 (bonus disc)
Label	Fiction Polydor
The Cure chronology
Bloodflowers (2000) Greatest Hits (2001) Join the Dots (2004)
Singles from The Cure: Greatest Hits
"Cut Here" Released: October 2001 "Just Say Yes" Released: December 2001

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Alternative Press	[3]
musicOMH	(average)[4]
Q	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

History

Greatest Hits features select singles from the Cure's then-25 year history, along with the two new tracks "Cut Here" and "Just Say Yes".^[7] All songs were newly remastered by Tim Young at Metropolis Mastering specifically for the collection.

The UK and international editions of the album feature a similar track listing, with the exception of three songs that only appear on one or the other: the international release features "The Walk", while the UK release excludes it in favour of "The Caterpillar" and "Pictures of You".

In an effort to provide something new for the hardcore fans who owned the previously released songs, Smith arranged for the band and former member Boris Williams to re-record acoustic versions of the Greatest Hits. Only the select first pressings of Greatest Hits were bundled with the bonus disc of Acoustic Hits.

Greatest Hits was also released on VHS and DVD. The video track listing mirrors that of the North American audio CD, with the exception of "The Caterpillar", "Pictures of You" and "Close to Me (Closest Mix)" which appear as hidden Easter eggs. Six of the acoustic performances also appear on the DVD.

The first vinyl version of this album was released on Record Store Day 2017 (22 April 2017) as two LP picture discs by the label Elektra Catalog Group. A quantity of 3250 were pressed. The release does not include the content of the Acoustic Hits disc,^[8] which was given its own standalone release on standard black vinyl. On 5 July 2019, the album reached a new peak of number 19 in the UK Albums Chart following the Cure's headline set at that year's Glastonbury Festival.

Track listing

UK release^[9]

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Boys Don't Cry"	Non-album single (1979)	2:42
2.	"A Forest" (Shortened Edit)	Seventeen Seconds (1980)	4:44
3.	"Let's Go to Bed"	Non-album single (1982)	3:34
4.	"The Love Cats"	Non-album single (1983)	3:40
5.	"The Caterpillar"	The Top (1984)	3:42
6.	"In Between Days"	The Head on the Door (1985)	2:58
7.	"Close to Me" (Remix)	The Head on the Door	3:42
8.	"Why Can't I Be You?"	Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)	3:14
9.	"Just Like Heaven" (Remix)	Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me	3:32
10.	"Lullaby" (Remix)	Disintegration (1989)	4:11
11.	"Lovesong" (Remix)	Disintegration	3:28
12.	"Pictures of You" (Single Edit)	Disintegration	4:49
13.	"Never Enough" (Single Mix)	Mixed Up (1990)	4:28
14.	"High" (Single Mix)	Wish (1992)	3:35
15.	"Friday I'm in Love"	Wish	3:35
16.	"Mint Car" (Radio Mix)	Wild Mood Swings (1996)	3:29
17.	"Wrong Number" (Single Mix)	Galore (1997)	6:01
18.	"Cut Here"	Previously unreleased	4:10
19.	"Just Say Yes"	Previously unreleased	3:29

International release

1. "Boys Don't Cry"
2. "A Forest" (Shortened Edit)
3. "Let's Go to Bed"
4. "The Walk" Single release only
5. "The Lovecats"
6. "In Between Days"
7. "Close to Me" (Remix)
8. "Why Can't I Be You?"
9. "Just Like Heaven" (Bob Clearmountain Remix)
10. "Lullaby" (Remix)
11. "Lovesong" (Remix)
12. "Never Enough" (Single Mix)^[9]
13. "High" (Single Mix)
14. "Friday I'm in Love"
15. "Mint Car" (Radio Mix)
16. "Wrong Number" (Single Mix)^[9]
17. "Cut Here"
18. "Just Say Yes"

Bonus disc (Acoustic Hits)

Acoustic Hits, the bonus disc features newly recorded acoustic versions of songs.

1. "Boys Don't Cry"
2. "A Forest"
3. "Let's Go to Bed"
4. "The Walk"
5. "The Love Cats"
6. "In Between Days"
7. "Close to Me"
8. "Why Can't I Be You?"
9. "Just Like Heaven"
10. "Lullaby"
11. "Lovesong"
12. "Never Enough"
13. "High"
14. "Friday I'm in Love"
15. "Mint Car"
16. "Wrong Number"
17. "Cut Here"
18. "Just Say Yes"

Record Store Day 2017 release

Disc 1, Side A^[8]

1. "Boys Don't Cry"
2. "A Forest"
3. "Let's Go to Bed"
4. "The Walk"
5. "The Love Cats"

Disc 1, Side B^[8]

1. "In Between Days"
2. "Close to Me"
3. "Why Can't I Be You?"
4. "Just Like Heaven"
5. "Lullaby"

Disc 2, Side A^[8]

1. "Lovesong"
2. "Never Enough"
3. "High"
4. "Friday I'm in Love"

Disc 2, Side B^[8]

1. "Mint Car"
2. "Wrong Number"
3. "Cut Here"
4. "Just Say Yes"

Personnel

The following is the personnel for the Greatest Hits disc, and does not apply to the Acoustic Hits bonus disc.

• Robert Smith – vocals, guitar (all tracks)
• Porl Thompson – guitar (tracks 6-14)
• Michael Dempsey – bass guitar (track 1)
• Simon Gallup – bass guitar (all except tracks 1, 3, 4 and 5)
• Perry Bamonte – guitar (tracks 13-18)
• Matthieu Hartley – keyboards (track 2)
• Roger O'Donnell – keyboards (tracks 10, 11, 15-18)
• Lol Tolhurst – drums (tracks 1 and 2), keyboards (tracks 3-10)
• Steve Goulding – drums (track 3)
• Jason Cooper – drums, percussion (tracks 15-18)
• Boris Williams – drums (tracks 6-14)
• Andy Anderson – drums (track 5)
• Phil Thornalley – double bass (track 5)
• Saffron – backing vocals (track 19)
• Tim Young – remastering at Metropolis Mastering

Charts

2001–2002 chart performance for Greatest Hits

Chart (2001–2002)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10]	27
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11]	34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12]	5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13]	8
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[14]	38
European Albums (Music & Media)[15]	30
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16]	22
Greek Albums (IFPI)[17]	8
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18]	11
Italian Albums (FIMI)[19]	30
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20]	24
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[21]	18
Scottish Albums (OCC)[22]	47
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[23]	29
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24]	48
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25]	24
UK Albums (OCC)[26]	33
US Billboard 200[27]	58

2016 chart performance for Greatest Hits

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10]	27
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28]	17

Chart performance for Greatest Hits (2017 remastered reissue)

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Irish Albums (OCC)[29]	17
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[30]	33
Scottish Albums (OCC)[31]	58
UK Albums (OCC)[32]	48
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[33]	9

2019 chart performance for Greatest Hits

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[34]	21
UK Albums (OCC)[35]	19

2025 chart performance for Greatest Hits

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Greek Albums (IFPI)[36]	4

Chart performance for Acoustic Hits

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[37]	156
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[38]	110
Irish Albums (IRMA)[39]	65
UK Albums Sales (OCC)[40]	65
UK Physical Albums (OCC)[41]	53
UK Vinyl Albums (OCC)[42]	10
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[33]	22

Certifications

Certifications for Greatest Hits

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[43]	Platinum	40,000^
Australia (ARIA)[44]	2× Platinum	140,000^
Belgium (BRMA)[45]	Gold	25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[46]	Platinum	300,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[47]	Gold	25,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[48]	3× Platinum	900,000‡
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[49]	Platinum	1,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.