"The sparkle in your eyes keeps me alive."
While The Cult's penchant for changing styles as frequently as they released albums eventually transformed what was once a great rock band into a awkward caricature of itself (see Ceremony), in their mid-eighties heyday, they were a force to be reckoned with. Nowhere is this more evident than on their second album, Love, which combines the Gothic overtones and tribal rhythms of their early work as The Southern Death Cult, the hard rock histrionics of vintage Led Zeppelin, and some psychedelic jangle, all of which adds up to something far more distinctive and memorable than what so-called heavy metal bands were producing at the time. As for the recording itself, it is an interesting admixture of bright guitar-driven sheen and heavy 4AD-style gloom, providing Ian Astbury with a perfect backdrop for his Robert Plant-by-way-of-Jim Morrison vocals. In especially fine form is lead guitarist Billy Duffy, whose glittering, melodic guitar riffs pull the album together as a whole, but on songs such as "She Sells Sanctuary" and the title track, his contributions push the proceedings to an entirely different level. Love catches The Cult at a midway point between their Goth and ACDC fixations; as such, it stands as their shining moment, and what a moment it is.
Love (2009 Remastered Omnibus Edition)
1. Nirvana (5:27)
2. The Big Neon Glitter (4:52)
3. Love (5:31)
4. Brother Wolf Sister Moon (6:37)
5. Rain (3:57)
6. Phoenix (5:06)
7. Hollow Man (4:46)
8. Revolution (5:27)
9. She Sells Sanctuary (4:22)
10. Black Angel (5:25)
CD II: Singles
1. She Sells Sanctuary (Long Version) (6:57)
2. No. 13 (4:40)
3. The Snake (8:10)
4. Here Comes the Rain (6:19)
5. Little Face (4:54)
6. Revolution (Full Length Remix) (5:30)
7. Judith (5:29)
8. Sunrise (5:11)
9. All Souls Avenue (4:46)
10. She Sells Sanctuary (Howling Mix) (8:26)
11. Assault on Sanctuary (7:31)
CD III: Demos
1. Brother Wolf Sister Moon (7:54)
2. Hollow Man (5:48)
3. She Sells Sanctuary (5:21)
4. All Souls Avenue (4:56)
5. Little Face (5:45)
6. No. 13 (6:23)
7. Big Neon Glitter (6:34)
8. Waltz (Instrumental) (4:37)
9. Nirvana (Instrumental) (6:04)
10. Revolution (Instrumental) (6:50)
11. She Sells Sanctuary (Olympic Rough Mix) (7:04)
CD IV: Live 1985
1. Love (5:55)
2. Nirvana (5:05)
3. Christians (4:33)
4. Hollow Man (5:01)
5. Big Neon Glitter (4:46)
6. Brother Wolf Sister Moon (7:01)
7. Rain (5:12)
8. Dreamtime (3:10)
9. She Sells Sanctuary (5:35)
10. Go West (5:02)
11. Spiritwalker (5:36)
12. Horse Nation (3:17)
13. Phoenix (5:20)
Wow a boxed set out of one album! A fine selection from the lunar archives. Five stars. The Cult is a good band for that with all those mixes only available on 12" singles. Agreed on Ceremony they really fell off with that one. Most of their other albums are very good maybe Ceremony was some record contract filler or something. There was an Austrailian band that reminded me of the Cult alot, Kings Of The Sun they were called. Ahaha Zodiac Mindwarp was another Cult type band. Keep on rockin. [0]_[0]
ReplyDeletethis is a really nice box set, and the remastered sound is nice too. Word is "Ceremony" was Astbury's pet project. More Cult in the works soon
ReplyDeleteyou did it ! thx a million times VA !
ReplyDelete"Electric" will be next ? ;)
do you like "Sonic temple" ?
GREAT POST THANKS!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanx for this amazing post!!!
ReplyDeleteRemastered 'Electric' and 'Sonic Temple' will be very much appreciated!!!
douxee & iggy1, "Electric" and "Dreamtime" are in the works. "Sonic Temple" isn't my favorite, but I'll see if I can get that one up here or on WLIL! soon
ReplyDeletefrenzy, you're welcome
ReplyDeleteThis album (cassette: Love-Side 1, Electric-Side 2) was burnt to death by our gang of young drunks looking for 'I don't know what' every night in Puerto Rico a long time ago. Gracias for the memories, it's kinda blurry anyway. Saludos.
ReplyDeleteEl Isabelino, are you a "follower" of the blog yet? If not, I'd be truly honored if you would hit the 'follow' button at the top of the sidebar :)
ReplyDelete