POLL: The Cult's 'Electric'

The only Cult album so uniformly good that I still listen to the whole thing.

probably either trk 1 or 2, but it's been a long time since i've listened to the entire thing. can do without the "born to be wild" cover.

can do without the "born to be wild" cover.

Yeah, that's the weakest point.

re: uniformly good

this + "she sells sanctuary" is like all the cult i need.

I'd pull a few tracks from other albums too, but yeah, you have the right idea.

This might be a two-voter poll?

I gave up on the Cult when this album came out - too much cock-rock, not enough goth. Still have a soft spot for 'Dreamtime', not so much affection for 'Love' though.

I love this album! Went with "Lil' Devil" because of the riff. I agree that "Born To Be Wild" is the only blemish. This album and Love are both classic, IMO.

Lil' Devil, the best thing AC/DC did after Back in Black.

too much cock-rock, not enough goth

Fair point, but a fact I'm willing to overlook since the songs are so good. This is probably the finest pairing of Rick Rubin and a band wanting to be recorded by Rick Rubin ever.

Rubin couldn't get AC/DC to sound as much like AC/DC as the Cult does here. Well done Rick!

This is probably the finest pairing of Rick Rubin and a band wanting to be recorded by Rick Rubin ever.

(Danzig's first album is a close runner-up, btw)

This is probably the finest pairing of Rick Rubin and a band wanting to be recorded by Rick Rubin ever.

(Danzig's first album is a close runner-up, btw)

That's because Danzig's first album is trying to sound like this! "Twist Of Cain" is close to a hybrid of "Lil' Devil" & "Peace Dog."

Zany antics of a beat generation
In their wild search for kicks
Fighting, drinking, scorning convention
Making wild love, making wild love

ZANY

I like how this album is a tour of hard rock riffs- a boogie song, "Bad Love", the Kashmir rip-off "Aphrodisiac Jacket", a Who/BTO/AC-DC power-chorder with "Wildflower", a Keef riff, "Love Removal". All with lyrics even more idiotic than the originals. This record totally overtook the HC scene I was in at the time, flooring us because it was so damn fun. The BTBW cover seems like hedging, like they weren't convinced they were coming up with gargantuan riffs on their own. How wrong they were. If they felt they had to do a cover, I think "Black Dog" would have worked better. Still, the Cult's weak-ass Born to Be Wild was miles ahead of Billy Idol's "Mony Mony."

I may have mentioned this elsewhere on ILM, but I used this album to learn how to play guitar. THESE ARE RIFFS.

SOUL shaker

Tough goddamn toss-up between "Wild Flower" and "Love Removal Machine" (i.e. AC/DC's "Rock n' Roll Singer" versus "Start Me Up"). Gotta go with the former.

^^OTM. the more i think about it, the more WF vs LRM it becomes for me.

i knew dude was doing the doors thing now w/ Krieger & Manzarek, but check out his fat, beardy morrison:

(i mean, while fronting the cult)

You guys are all nuts. This is the Cult that I loved:

That's the thing about The Cult. Up to a point, they really excelled at whatever dish they dipped their spoon in. They write "Spiritwalker," they know exactly how to make it sound. Then they write "Lil' Devil," which would sound really silly if recorded in the same style. So the sound catered to the songwriting.

Eventually, they just started writing bad songs.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

What is a love removal machine, exactly?

I mean, I can guess - but surely it has that effect only if you are using it incorrectly.

The Cult were a pretty good live band when I saw them (just a few years ago!), but anyone who treats them as more than fun trash deserves, I dunno, whatever all those albums after 1990 were called. Lookin' at you, aging goths. "Boogie!"

"Love Removal", easy.

Best album in the world when I was 10.

aphrodisiac jacket for sure. that's got a great intro, great verse, and a great chorus.

Alex in NYC OTM but prolly LRM

a Who/BTO/AC-DC power-chorder with "Wildflower", a Keef riff, "Love Removal"...

Just a point of clarification - "Wildflower" isn't some generic Who/BTO (wtf?)/ACDC powerchorder - it's AC/DC "Rock'n'Roll Singer"

And LRM isn't just keefy - it's "Start Me Up"

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Couldn't have predicted that landslide.

was i on mars when this poll took place or was i actually the only one to vote for 'aphrodisiac jacket'? that song is fucking incredible. and 'wildflower' only has two votes. oh dear.

How did "Lil Devil" beat "Wildflower"? That makes zero sense.

And no love for "King Contrary Man" (which boasts the same riff as "Fight For You Right (To Party)"? Shameful.

I guess it's that day of the year, like every year, when I go nuts over how good Electric is.

I loved the hell outta these guys when I was a kid and I can still listen to Love every once in a long while and but man,this band -and especially this record- mostly makes me cringe now.

I can think of few records that teeter so precariously on the precipice between brilliant and boneheaded.

THIS. ALBUM. GODDAMN.

Yeah, it's like the smartest dumb album ever.