The Cult (album)
Encyclopedia
The Cult is the sixth studio album from English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 rock band, The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...

. It was released in October, 1994 on Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...

 and it is also the band's last album on Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

 in the USA. It is also commonly referred to as the "Black Sheep" record, due to the image of a Manx Loaghtan
Manx Loaghtan
The Manx Loaghtan is a breed of sheep native to the Isle of Man. It is sometimes spelled as Loaghtyn or Loghtan. It is characterized by a dark brown wool and usually having four or occasionally six horns....

 black sheep
Black sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...

 on the front cover. The record also features one of the very rare times when Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy have shared songwriting credit with anyone: bassist Craig Adams is credited as co-author of Universal You.

Musical style

The style of music on the album is more reminiscent of the grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...

, alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 music popular at the time, also, noise music, with its use of distortion and feedback.

Album information

Vocalist Ian Astbury
Ian Astbury
Ian Astbury is an English rock musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist for the rock band, The Cult.-Pre-Cult:...

 referred to the record as "very personal, and very revealing" songs about his life, with the subject matter ranging from sexual abuse at the age of 15, to the death of Nigel Preston
Nigel Preston
Nigel Preston was a British drummer . He was a founding member of The Cult. He also played and recorded with Sex Gang Children, Theatre of Hate, The Gun Club and The Baby Snakes...

 (friend and former drummer for The Cult), to his directionless years spent in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 in the late 1970s. But the record was barely noticed, only reaching US#69, and UK#21, and then quickly dropping out of sight. Reportedly it reached number one on the charts in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, but quickly dropped out of sight as well. The single "Coming Down (Drug Tongue)" (UK#51) was released with the band going on tour in support of the new album. Only one more single, "Star" (UK#65), was officially released. That song began life in 1986 as "Tom Petty" before being dropped by the band during rehearsals. In 1993 the song was resurrected once again as "Starchild", and was finally completed for the record in 1994 as, just simply, "Star".

"Be Free" was also released as a single both in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, as a promotional CD with a purchase of a party pack of Labatt Genuine Draft, and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

 as an extremely rare edited version along with the edit of "Coming Down (Drug Tongue)". "Sacred Life" was released as a promotional only single in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, and "Saints are Down" was released as a promotional single in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.

The Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n version contains an extra CD, with nine songs recorded live at the Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in November 1991.

Track listing

  • All songs written by Ian Astbury
    Ian Astbury
    Ian Astbury is an English rock musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist for the rock band, The Cult.-Pre-Cult:...

     and Billy Duffy
    Billy Duffy
    Billy Duffy is an English guitarist and songwriter, best known as the guitarist in The Cult.-Early days:He grew up in Manchester, where he began playing guitar at the age of fourteen...

    , unless otherwise stated
  1. "Gone" – 3:50
  2. "Coming Down (Drug Tongue)" – 6:36
  3. "Real Grrrl" – 4:25
  4. "Black Sun" – 6:23
  5. "Naturally High" – 4:23
  6. "Joy" – 4:46
  7. "Star" – 5:02
  8. "Sacred Life" – 5:47
  9. "Be Free" – 3:48
  10. "Universal You" (Astbury, Duffy, Craig Adams
    Craig Adams (musician)
    Craig Adams is a British musician, bass guitarist and songwriter. Over his career he worked with a variation of rockbands while also being part of a touring crew....

    ) – 5:17
  11. "Emperor's New Horse" – 4:22
  12. "Saints are Down" – 6:54


There is an advance promotional CD and cassette tape version, which uses unmastered versions of the tracks and slightly rearranges the tracklisting:
  1. "Gone" – 3:46
  2. "Coming Down (Drug Tongue)" – 6:12
  3. "Real Grrrl" – 4:21
  4. "Black Sun" – 6:16
  5. "Naturally High" – 4:13
  6. "Emperor's New Horse" – 4:17
  7. "Star" – 4:57
  8. "Sacred Life" – 5:39
  9. "Be Free" – 3:44
  10. "Universal You" (Astbury, Duffy, Craig Adams
    Craig Adams (musician)
    Craig Adams is a British musician, bass guitarist and songwriter. Over his career he worked with a variation of rockbands while also being part of a touring crew....

    ) – 5:08
  11. "Joy" – 4:44
  12. "Saints are Down" – 6:48

Personnel

  • Ian Astbury
    Ian Astbury
    Ian Astbury is an English rock musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist for the rock band, The Cult.-Pre-Cult:...

     – vocals, acoustic guitar
    Acoustic guitar
    An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...

    , guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , tambourine
    Tambourine
    The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....

  • Billy Duffy
    Billy Duffy
    Billy Duffy is an English guitarist and songwriter, best known as the guitarist in The Cult.-Early days:He grew up in Manchester, where he began playing guitar at the age of fourteen...

     – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

  • Craig Adams
    Craig Adams (musician)
    Craig Adams is a British musician, bass guitarist and songwriter. Over his career he worked with a variation of rockbands while also being part of a touring crew....

     – bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

  • Scott Garrett – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....


Additional personnel

  • Scott Humphrey
    Scott Humphrey
    Scott Humphrey is a Canadian record producer and mix engineer. He began his music career as a keyboard player and programmer. He is best known for his work with multiplatinum recording artist Rob Zombie and has co-written, co-produced and mixed all of his records up until 2007's Zombie Live...

     – keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

    , programming
  • Jim McGiueray – percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

  • Bob Rock
    Bob Rock
    Robert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...

     – guitars, bass, keyboard – various tracks, mixing
    Audio mixing (recorded music)
    In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

  • Mario Caldato, Jr. – mixing
  • George Marino (at Sterling Sound) – mastering

External links

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