the cult POX

1. "She Sells Sanctuary" (duh!)
2. "Wild Flower"
3. "Spiritwalker"
4. "Love Removal Machine"
5. "Rain"
6. "Phoenix"
7. "Moya" (live version from Live at the Lyceum
8. "The Witch" (version from Cool World soundtrack with Killing Joke sample, naturally.
9. "Dreamtime"
10. "Nirvana"

Every song on Electric minus the "Born to be Wild" cover. gah.

also, "She Sells Sanctuary."

i couldn't find a spot for 'rain'. it'd probably take 11th place, i guess

Just The Cult or we allowed to included things by (Southern) Death Cult too?

OK, never mind: I've checked and one way or another all of the following have appeared on records released by The Cult

Moya
Brothers Grimm
God's Zoo
Spiritwalker
Go West
Dreamtime
Bad Medicine
Bonebag
Ressurection (sic) Joe
She Sells Sanctuary

Fwiw "Rain" just fell off the end of my list too.

someone favours the early stuff ;)

death cult is fine btw, though i, myself am not thoroughly familiar with it

.

King Contrary Man -- Almost bubblegum, relentless, near perfect.
Phoenix -- I especially love the Stoogeness.
Nirvana -- Better than just about anything Cobain's crew put out.
Love -- Great rhthym cange-ups
Black Angel -- Excellent album coda, encapsulating
Brother Wolf Sister Moon -- Repetative, but not a single missed beat.
Lil Devil -- Delicious-o-Riffage-oPlenty
Bad Fun -- Those double kick drums rule, man!
Wild Flower -- Excellently crafted
Peace Dog -- Stop-start nature is a nice juxtaposition of their signature sound.

I like plenty off Dreamtime as well as a couple from the (Southern) Death Cult Era - but not when comparred to the output on Love and Electric. Sonic Temple sucked ass and haven't kept up with them since.

"someone favours the early stuff ;)"

I think I first saw Southern Death Cult supporting Theatre Of Hate (who I used to follow around all over the place whenever I wasn't too busy following Killing Joke or The Damned) and when Billy Duffy started working with Ian Astbury I started following them around quite a bit too and got to know them fairly well: I'm not saying that we were best mates and that we used to go on holiday together with our families or anything like that, but they knew my name, would always put me on the guest list if they knew I was going to a particular gig or help me to get in if I turned up early enough to help them to carry their gear in (this was my habit with a lot of bands at the time and was certainly how I got into the Lyceum when they were recording Dreamtime Live....), they would acknowledge me if they saw me in the audience during one of their gigs, stop to say hello if we bumped into eachother in the street or at anyone else's gig, and usually bought me a drink if I managed to engineer things so that they were nearer the bar than I was when they spotted me(!).

Unfortunately however, some time around early / mid '85 (around the same time that they fired Nige Preston) they apparently simultaneously discovered (a) America and (b) coke, and promptly dived headlong up their own areseholes, from which, to the best of my knowledge, they have yet to re-emerge.

haha stewart, i was reading the first paragraph you wrote and pre-empted the tragic ending

my introduction to the cult came with sonic temple, which is obviously the height of the bombast and 'headlong up own arseholes' mentality you're referring to (save for the mostly embarrasing ceremony). starting at that point made for a very interesting and surprising excursion into their back catalogue. my favourite records from the cult proper are easily the first three.

and christoff, love those electric tracks you listed also

listening to 'black angel' now, and finding it strangely affecting

Forgot to mention I had this piece in the OC Weekly last week:

http://www.ocweekly.com/music/music/one-door-closes-another-one-opens/27542/

good article

i'd always overlooked 'the witch'. lucky i've got a copy of it

The extended mix on the Rare Cult box set (yes I own it) is just ridiculously great.

i've got 'the love mixes'

that's about as much extended cult as i have access to, alas.

I am not scared to rep for Fire Woman.

as you shouldn't be. despite the overtly corny references to 'smokestack lightning' and what not

uh, those are what make it so great. those and all the rockstar posing in the video.

hi dere what is awesome - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuQXS-AP_to&mode=related&search=

damn those guys really know/knew how to look like a rock band

fuck 'dreamtime' is awesome. anyone played it recently?

I'm going to now. (btw Ned, your "Spiritwalker" song review link is placed under "Go West" on AMG...)

Hmmmm.

I played "Dreamtime" (the track) quite recently, but still maintain that the live version of the track on Lyceum shits all over it

Rain
The Phoenix
Nirvana
She Sells Sanctuary
Brother Wolf, Sister Moon
Love Removal Machine
King Contrary Man
Lil' Devil
Peace Dog
Wild Flower

^^ somebody's a fan of record's 2 and 3

and as far as dreamtime goes, the title track could be my least favourite cut on there. i really like the darkly melodic stuff like 'rider in the snow', 'flower in the desert', 'gimmick' and of course 'spiritwalker'.

real GRRRL is a dope track. Despite 'semen is pure, it's divine on your vine'

Good lord I did not need to read that lyric.

Anyway, as I muttered on the Boris thread I revived (and yes they spelled his name wrong in the press release):

Boris Collaboration With Ian Asbury Announced

Southern Lord proudly announces an incredible collaboration between label artists Boris and Ian Asbury of The Cult and The Doors! This finely-crafted four-song mini release, simply entitled BXI, was tracked and mixed in Tokyo in late April. Asbury's vocals are a perfect match for Boris's straightforward, laid-back, but still raw and imaginative songwriting constructed for the EP; another intriguing display within the band's ever-morphing, extensive résumé of releases, tours and collaborations.

To see official CD, LP and digital release this September via Southern Lord, BXI will showcase the already unclassifiable rock of Boris in an entirely new light, and shows a new side one of rock and roll's most notorious singers. The release features three new original tracks, as well as a cover of The Cult's song "Rain", ethereally vocalized by Boris guitarist Wata. Art and design for the release was commissioned to Stephen O'Malley (Ideologic.org, SUNNO))), etc.).

Pitchfork briefly interrogated Boris drummer Atsuo about this collaboration this week. Check out this exclusive piece on the EP and find out how this collaboration came to light: http://pitchfork.com/news/39000-boris-team-with-the-cults-ian-astbury/

This past weekend, Ian Asbury made an unannounced appearance with Boris at the band's performance at Sydney, Australia's Vivid LIVE appearance, blowing fans away with this unexpected set which showcased some of the material from the BXI EP as well as a cover of the classic "The End", by The Doors.

BXI EP Track Listing:
1. Teeth and Claws
2. We are the Witches
3. Rain
4. Magickal Child

I hope they call it Asboris.

Bobury

I mean the band, since the album is obviously BXI as they state 4000 times in that press release.

Just a shame to waste a good mashed name opportunity.

xpost

Bobury works too! I think I have a shirt in that plaid.

i didn't like that boris collaboration much, but it was really endearing and kind of sweet to see how stoked, humbled and sincere astbury was about the project. he's much more articulate than i've ever given him credit for. perhaps because he's finally emerged from a coke-addled haze.

anyway, i'm listening to dreamtime now. i really love this album. transports me to a time and place that i was never a part of in the first place. anybody else enjoy it as much as i do?

you know what, the self-titled album holds up pretty well, or at least far better than i would have expected. i'm cranking it now and there are several high points: "Coming Down", "Real Grrl" and the oddly affecting "Saints are Down", for starters. it manages to set its sights on a bunch of alternative rock trends, which were popular at the time, without too much embarrassment.

and as a bonus, Astbury sounds great throughout.

"Real Grrrl"'s vacant, rambling lyrics actually work really well; the song seems to be describing sensations that are quite intrinsic, in-the-moment and difficult to communicate, and the lyrics and delivery are appropriately tongue-tied.

"Love" is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I really like "Electric" (a fun album so dumb it earned the band a little too much misplaced credit for being smart), but right now "Sonic Temple" is really hitting the spot. As usual, some great arrangements - where the solos go, when the intro comes back, transitional breakdowns - and some absolutely top-notch drumming from session dude Mickey Curry (who has also done great stuff for Sam Phillips and Bryan Adams). I don't think I've ever made it through much of the band's stuff after this album but "Sonic Temple" does such a great job splitting the difference between the sorta psych of "Love" and the boneheaded hard rock of "Electric." I recently reread an excellent 2010 interview with Ian Astbury in The Quietus, and he comes off so smart and self aware. Just a strange hybrid and intersection of different eras, this band.

https://thequietus.com/articles/05017-ian-astbury-interview-the-cult

His Baker's Dozen was good, too.

https://thequietus.com/articles/08923-ian-astbury-the-cult-favourite-albums

I saw the Cult live about 10 years ago and they were really good. They have had a pretty steady rhythm section now for quite some time.

These guys were really popular back in high school and college. Saw them open for Metallica. Last cd I got by them was Ceremony which I really did not dig.

Anyway, after seeing them live, I have picked up 3 of the later records. The self titled one from '94 is really good, maybe a bit long but they did a few different things on that record. Remember it coming out but never remember hearing any of the tracks at all when it was new.

I saw them do the "Love" album maybe that long ago. I actually thought they seemed bored. At the least I was bored. John Tempesta was playing drums, he's pretty good.

White is one of the all-time ridiculous songs. it hits a wall at about the 4-minute mark & just keeps going.

Anyway, The Cult are kind of a weird band to talk about. everybody seems to know about them, and yet they're never truly on anyone's radar. like a distant memory or something. also, few people will ever own up to liking them unreservedly. I suppose that's because they were always such dilettantes.

Yeah, they are a hard band to slot. Personally, one of their albums is one of my favorites of all time. Another one or two I enjoy a lot, when I'm in the right mood. And yet, despite this, I don't think I've ever listened to anything else they've done. Rare Cult, maybe.

I am secretly proud of the fact I got away with one of the longest reviews ever on the AMG.

I like Electric a lot, and Sonic Temple slightly less, and Choice of Weapon is really good too, as are the various bonus tracks from that era. I wish they'd made a whole album that sounded like "The Witch."

Love is my fave, Sonic Temple a sentimental favorite, Electric a not-that-guilty pleasure. I know all three albums inside and out. Everything else? Nada.

I wish they'd made a whole album that sounded like "The Witch."

Absolutely.

Bob Rock has produced a lot of crap, but damn, "Sonic Temple" sounds great and huge without coming off too 1980s tacky.