Robert on Jason Cooper

[Ulrich]

This must be a problem with a band like The Cure, who changes its line-up so often. Which members of the band should get inducted in the Hall of Fame? It is much easier for bands like The Beatles and Queen, who had the same members through out their careers.

If only... ever heard about Queen on tour with their new singer(s)? 
And the Beatles did not have Ringo playing on their first single! Not to mention the member they left behind in Hamburg (Stu Sutcliffe). 

[tzare]

Hi, not an expert at all, but i really like Jason, i can't feel real difference with Boris and seems to play drums just fine, so i support him, and don't understand the hate.he is in the Band, Robert likes him, he seems to help the Cure's stability, which in the end is important if we want them to keep playing music.

for example, i find Gabrels sound , not bad, but way too 'electrical', and does not really fit sometimes, and he is quite different to how previous band members, like Pearl( i love how he plays btw) ,performed, but hey, he is in the band now, so all the support and i will eventually get used to his style.

[cheyler]

I agree with you, I've never been able to muster up any real enthusiasm to bash Jason.  He's a nice guy, he's able to be in the band and not wind up feuding with anyone, Robert obviously likes him.  I have to wonder if 'drummer in The Cure' is really such a coveted situation these days;  certainly not as coveted as it once might have been.  They don't play a lot of gigs, they don't record studio albums with any regularity, there's a whole lot of spare time for the guys to do basically whatever they want, they don't even have a record label at the moment.  There aren't going to be a whole lot of guys who are going to want a 'more-inactive-than-active' drumming position.  That eighty-date 'world' tour last year was serious work, their longest tour in eight years.  Do I think Jason can't put a stick wrong?  No.  I can't really complain though, because I don't know how to play drums!  Maybe I can put it this way.  Boris' playing goes into my ears more easily than Jason's playing, but very little of what Jason plays actually bugs me.  Just that bloody crash cymbal...  I'll mention Reeves because you mentioned Reeves.  When he first joined, I thought his playing was totally unsuitable and I stopped collecting and listening to shows from 2012 to 2014.  When I heard they were doing a tour, I downloaded some shows and surprise surprise!  They must have really worked on getting Reeves better integrated into the 'Cure Sound' during the second half of 2014 and 2015 because suddenly I really do think Reeves fits in well with The Cure.  I will ALWAYS miss Porl, but I have to admit to myself that he's never coming back.  And, unfortunately, I'll never be able to like The Cure as much as I once did because of that.  Actually, that last statement is unfair to Reeves.  I'm sort of saying that no matter what he does, EVER, it'll never be good enough for me.  I like Reeves, I really do.  He's a nice guy, he works hard, he's versatile, he's intelligent, and he's inventive.  The only thing I really cannot forgive is that he played with Bowie.  I'm sorry, but there ARE limits...

[Ulrich]

Hi, not an expert at all, but i really like Jason, i can't feel real difference with Boris

Now that is something I can't follow...
(I was against all the Jason bashing, but Boris has his own style!)

[tzare]

I think that we have to consider that the band has always been changing its members,and i really like all of them, all have contributed in one way or another to the band.
And even if I can't not appreciate the differences between Jason and Boris, or Boris and Lol, or Reeves and Pearl (besides the more 'electrical ' sound)  because my lack of musical knowledge, and others can, and are free to critic, of course, i think that the positives are more important than the negatives and that won't change anything, if Robert thinks Jason and Revees fit the band, they will be part of the Cure and this is what we have, so no point in bashing X member because 'reasons'. I was reading some comments yesterday on Youtube , and it was embarrassing, i mean, almost football hooligan level.

Btw, i wonder why there are almost no interviews with band members, i'd love to know more about them, even Robert does not appear often, i've been looking for recent material (i'm a bit late to the party , since i had not listened to Cure for 5-6 years now, and trying to update now)

Now that is something I can't follow...
(I was against all the Jason bashing, but Boris has his own style!)

i can't tell the difference, honestly, and not sure if i want, because sometimes ignorance means being happier 
And now that i am older, i just want to enjoy the band.
The only thing i have noticed, but couldn't say exactly what it is, is that both The Cure and 4:13 albums sound , strange, not 'clear', but i do not know if is due to how the records were mixed or another reason. And the live material i've heard, and the two times i've seen them live, 2008 and 2016 with Jason, they sounded great(i remember no keyboards in 2008, so some songs were a little different). I've only seen the band live with Boris once, and i enjoyed it too.

[Ulrich]

i can't tell the difference, honestly

That's a bit worrying. Listen to the excellent drum parts on the "Kiss Me..." album!

[tzare]

I love Kiss me album, it is excellent, my favorite album, and everything is great, but what should i compare it to? Live Kiss Me songs performed by Jason or songs from Bloodflowers/The Cure/4:13?

pd. just to improve my knowledge, i will still find Jason great (he looks a really nice guy, just like Perry, Roger or Simon )

pd2. the only thing i could say is the sound on old albums seems 'better': instruments can be appreciated more,  sound is clearer, that could be a reason to appreciate more the drums.

[dsanchez]

Someone once said a band is only as good as its drummer... and when you look at The Cure, the height of the band was in 1989 (or 1992 if we talk about live concerts). There was something different in Boris that made The Cure the band that is it now. Don't get my wrong, Jason is a respectable and very good drummer and I love The Cure concerts and I saw them last year and I think they're terrific, but the band was never the same after Boris's departure.

I recently saw Slowdive and you had to see the passion of the drummer, how the -already- great songs are even greater live. You could see how a drummer can make a difference in a band (and I don't talk about The Cure now)



An article worth reading

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2007/oct/23/drummers

[Oh No]

I never was a big fan of Cooper to be honest. The Cure used to have this sense of intelligence in the rythm, even when Lol played, it was minimal, to the point. Jason doesnt have that. But I recently watched a show they did to promote WildMoodSwings and his style made sense with these songs. Especially the upbeat ones like Round and Round. It's actually excellent!

[Ulrich]

I love Kiss me album, it is excellent, my favorite album, and everything is great, but what should i compare it to?

Try and focus on Boris' inventive drum patterns next time you listen. You can of course compare to live versions with Jason if you wish to do so...

Someone once said a band is only as good as its drummer...

Who? I guess it was a drummer... 

[dsanchez]

Someone once said a band is only as good as its drummer...

Who? I guess it was a drummer... 

Bobby Gillespie, singer from Primal Scream

A band that doesn’t have a reliable, secure, expressive, and dynamic drummer is a band that has a weak foundation. It’s a band that doesn’t have a backbone. And when you think about it, no one can survive well without a backbone

http://teach2teach.com/2016/11/3-sturdy-reasons-drummer-back-bone-band/

[Ulrich]

Bobby Gillespie, singer from Primal Scream

He claims it's his quote, but it's probably not. 

Never liked them, is their drummer to blame? 

[cheyler]

Now that is something I can't follow...
(I was against all the Jason bashing, but Boris has his own style!)

i can't tell the difference, honestly, and not sure if i want, because sometimes ignorance means being happier 
And now that i am older, i just want to enjoy the band.


I go back and forth, sometimes I think "This sucks and everybody needs to know it right now!" and sometimes I think "It's just...different.  Enjoy it differently."  That doesn't work all that often though, unfortunately.  They are really playing well live at the moment, so I'm hoping there's a live album in the offing.  If not, the recording of the Mountain View show is good enough for me!

[tzare]

Try and focus on Boris' inventive drum patterns next time you listen. You can of course compare to live versions with Jason if you wish to do so...

I've done this, and yes, drums are great, but the whole album is genius. I find it difficult to concentrate on the drums alone though, the songs just flow and the instruments melt into each other , but yes, the parts i could 'isolate' are great.
That said i tried to listen to the latest albums,with Jason,  and i don't know, maybe it is the mixing or how the albums were edited, but sound kinda dull, maybe that is the way is meant to be, but instruments on Bloodflowers, The Cure and 4:13 are difficult to listen them individually, those albums do not sound crisp, clear. So hard to appreciate the drums, too much noise. Very different than the previous studio albums.

Someone once said a band is only as good as its drummer... and when you look at The Cure, the height of the band was in 1989 (or 1992 if we talk about live concerts)

I do not think it is due to the drummer, but just the music. After Wish the albums are different, not necessarily worse, but each album before WIsh had its own unique personality, that is why i find so difficult to choose one over another, because Faith has nothing to do with Kiss Me or Disintegration or The top. However from Bloodfowers and on, all albums sound kinda 'samey', not as inspired, maybe. I don't think that Jason is the cause, but more of a victim of the sound that Robert is pursuing with the last records.

I go back and forth, sometimes I think "This sucks and everybody needs to know it right now!" and sometimes I think "It's just...different.  Enjoy it differently."  That doesn't work all that often though, unfortunately.  They are really playing well live at the moment

Well, if they are playing well now then jason is doing well too. I guess. I didn't follow the band that much lately, and didn't have info about the reasons some members went and others came,  so i am updating myself with info so i may be wrong, but it seems that Jason was really 'amateur' when joined the band so his role was probably just play whatever he was told, instead of having a more active input like Boris that had experience. ANd he has probably kept that role, just following Robert's directives.

That said, i also read that Perry wasn't a great guitarist, but many, including myself, really liked him so i still think that people are unfair with Jason compared to other members of the band.  Imagine yourself , young, being able to play in the band of your dreams, i would do everything Robert told me to do 

[Ulrich]

I've done this, and yes, drums are great, but the whole album is genius. I find it difficult to concentrate on the drums alone though, the songs just flow and the instruments melt into each other , but yes, the parts i could 'isolate' are great.

Wow, that was quick! Thanks for taking the time and glad you were able to enjoy Boris' drumming! 

That said i tried to listen to the latest albums,with Jason,  and i don't know, maybe it is the mixing or how the albums were edited, but sound kinda dull, maybe that is the way is meant to be, but instruments on Bloodflowers, The Cure and 4:13 are difficult to listen them individually...

Jason's drumming on the title track for "Bloodflowers" is very good (imho)!!
Also there are good drum tracks on e.g. "The Promise". I agree the production/mix on "4:13" is a bit "unclear".