Perhaps a better title would have been - A Secret History of The Cure. After 25 years of some of the most poignant and seminal music to ever grace the alternative airwaves, perhaps the biggest secret is that there was so much more. Over the course of 4 packed CDs, Join the Dots collects nearly every B-side, unreleased track, and soundtrack/ compilation contribution and then throws in a few remixes for good measure. There are many tracks on Join The Dots that were more than worthy of inclusion on an official release. In particular, tracks like 2 Late (B-side of Love Song-- recorded during the Disintegration Sessions) stands out as a killer track. Mixing the band's unique ability to conjure emotion in the most jaded goth, 2 Late is a sweet, catchy track that lingers long after the music has ended. A similar gem in the cache is the seething Burn. Recorded for the film The Crow, Burn is perhaps the edgiest track ever recorded by the band, with electronic elements that recall Skinny Puppy or Reznor, but the haunting, lilting vocals that could only be Smith's.

What you end up with is a virtual history of the band. From their raw, ground-breaking roots in the late 70's with such essentials as 10:15 Saturday Night, through the goth 80's period (see The Exploding Boy) and finally into their current and more uncertain present. Yes, there are signs that the greatness has been in decline for some time now, but there are also countless reminders of just how much has been borrowed from this rare and timeless act.

The liner notes and packaging are done with the utmost care. Smith himself apparently spent months working on the preparation- culling rare photos and personally sifting through the bands archives for worthy gems.

There's a little of everything here- from the sublime and super-rare Flexipop version on Lament to the three somewhat painful mixes of the Doors' Hello I Love You included on the second disc. Is this essential music? Probably not for the casual fan- for them the two recent best of compilations will probably suffice. But for the die-hards, this is a no-brainer, and for the curious looking to discover great music that has not (yet) been played to death on alternative radio, this is money well-spent.