Your favorite album by The Cult?

So funny! I saw this thread - and thought I'd come in and ask if people would like to hear the demos from the Sonic Temple rehearsals here in Vancouver. Don't find many people with them.... Listening to them right now.

Anyways. I love Sonic Temple - but I vote Electric. It was an important album with regards to shaping how I developed musically as a song writer. I loved the less is more feeling I got from that album.

Plus it really opened my eyes to remixing/extending rock songs when they released all the mixes.

But Wonderland from Ceremony is probably the Cult song I've listened to most in my life. Many a night with it on repeat....

 

Love.

 

AC/DC fans like Electric. I love Love and that's it from The Cult

 

Yep. Great album.

 

I picked up Ceremony for £5 on an exc condition original vinyl yesterday after reading this thread. As is said i stepped off after Electric and only have their last 2 excellent releases so missed everything from Sonic Temple up to Choice Of Weapon. Have given Ceremony a couple of listens now and it is not bad at all. A few songs drag on a bit at lower tempo but there are some really good songs here. The vinyl sounds very good, nice mastering by George Marino on this. Not over loud and very crankable.

Having said that Choice Of weapon and Hidden City absolutely blitz it out the water though. I really want to get Beyond Good And Evil now as it seems very highly regarded here.

 

I don't have Ceremony on vinyl, it is not one you see very often. The album is rather long, over 60 mins., a lot of music to squeeze into the grooves, so I'm not surprised it is quiet, slim in the bass department too maybe?

 

It really was a toss up between two. Sonic & Love

I had to go with Love

 

Just uploaded my Cult collection to the car mp3 player for easy access last night by chance. Need a good listening through - great great band - been a while since they got more attention from me. (Although great gig last year in Belfast for the Hidden City tour)

Voted for Electric - but could easily have went for Beyond Good And Evil.

No bad albums in the bunch - something on everything.

Still to get a copy of Love - must sort that out immediately - no idea why its escaped from the collection.

 

I voted "Love" several days ago but I've have been monitoring this thread for feedback on the later albums. I'd never heard anything past "Sonic Temple". I decided to check out "Choice Of Weapon" first. I thought it was fairly good. Ian's voice sounded a little weary with time but there were several songs I liked. I just got done with "Beyond Good And Evil". Wow. I was taken by surprise here. Very strong. Loud, heavy guitars, powerful vocals and plenty of catchy melodies and hooks. I'll be listening to it again soon. It has set the bar high for the others that I'm going back and listening to for the first time. Thanks to those that tipped me off about it!

 

The one where they stopped b*llsh*tting themselves and others.

 

Sonic Temple was the first CD I ever bought. Never realised The Cult had other albums, lol. Will check them out on Deezer.

 

Haven't listened in a very long time but my favorite is Electric. Love is also great but almost an entirely different band! Don't have Sonic Temple but I'm familiar with some of it's songs.

 

I'll have to choose "some other" and go with Pure Cult - The Singles 1984 - 1995.

Sonic Temple was my first introduction during my college years. Remember purchasing a Sonic Temple promo poster at the student lounge. Regret not holding on to that one along with my Sabbath Cal Jam poster.

Just wish I could fine the ultimate CD version of ST if one exists.

 

For me it's "Electric" since it's a rockin' raw riff-fest. I do think the lyrics are often unintentionally funny, though, but that's part of its charm.

 

Huge fan of the Cult. I went with the 1994 self titled album. I didn't know what to think of it the first time I heard it but the more I played it the better it got.

I can understand why they weren't a bigger band, especially in America. The first four albums all sound SO different to each other, it's a cliche but they really do sound like they were recorded by four different bands. I love them all but I'm sure a lot of people were thrown by the constant changes in sound.

The greatest hits disc (Pure Cult: For Rockers, Ravers, Sinners and Lovers) is amazing, one of the very best compilations by any band.

Someone mentioned "The Witch," it's really a terrific song and I wish they had done more like it. Rare Cult has a wonderful ten minute version, that's the one I play the most. It features some of Billy's best playing.

I also think their later work (Beyond Good and Evil, Born Into This, Choice of Weapon and Hidden City) is very strong. Maybe not their very best but so many bands record poor material late in their careers and, for me, the Cult have largely avoided that.

I'm not too familiar with the pre Dreamtime material. I do have the Southern Death Cult and Death Cult compilations but I just don't listen to them very often. I'll have to try to dig into them again.

There hasn't been much discussion of the solo/side projects. I have some of them but haven't given them much attention. Does anyone have any favourites/recommendations?

 

What makes Pure Cult even more amazing is that it plays so well, given the huge differences of the song's parent albums.

Yeah, I've mentioned it a couple of times, it is a favourite song, and again very different from everything else they did. The long version originally appeared on the vinyl version of Pure Cult.

 

It is amazing for me to see the love the album Sonic Temple gets... i think that is the album that completely killed their evolution and momentum... no doubt many people bought it and were very dissappointed which is always hard to measure..

 

It sounds good on vinyl but now you mention it, maybe a little thin in the bass dept.

 

I really like Choice Of Weapon but you are right about Ian's voice. It sounds a but rough and strained on the cd on a few songs and he seems to be singing in a lower register a lot. I thought maybe he had lost a bit of his voice over the years and it had got deeper but it now seems to me that he was having some vocal issues recording this one, as his old voice was fully back to its best "yaay-ya" form on Hidden City.

 

Bob Rock. That has to be a pen name because if not, the irony would be off the charts. A truly wretched producer.

My vote goes to Love. I saw them live on the Electric tour and any band that can come out to Spinal Tap's "Big Bottom" is OK by me.

 

The latest album grows on me more and more. The Cult one day will pull it all together and release an album, that most fans know is in them. The sparks are always there that show the greatness. Still, I'll take something like this newish album track over 98% of what is being promoted and marketed to the masses at any moment these days.


Defend Paris

 

Well as a guitarist playing in RISE - The Cult Show, my opinion is probably swayed by a guitarists' point of view. Love, Electric, and Sonic Temple are where its at for entirely satisfying albums, but Ceremony is the one if you want to hear Billy Duffy playing at his absolute peak.

Personally the best Cult album IMO is Live at The Marquee, recorded in 92. This features the band playing without a second guitarist and Duffy as playing like a man possessed.

 

Electric (1987)