''Ceremony'' is the fifth studio album by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...

, first released on 23 September 1991. The most popular songs on the album are “Wild Hearted Son” and “Heart of Soul”.

Album information

''Ceremony'' represented a period of great turmoil within the band. Longtime bassist Jamie Stewart had departed prior to recording, and the working relationship between vocalist

Ian Astbury Ian Robert Astbury (born 14 May 1962) is an English singer, best known as a founding member, lead vocalist and frontman of the rock band the Cult. During various hiatuses from the Cult, Astbury has fronted the short-lived Holy Barbarians in 1 ...

and guitarist

Billy Duffy William Henry Duffy (born 12 May 1961) is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist of the band The Cult. Early life Duffy was born and grew up in Manchester. He has Irish and Jewish heritage and ancestry. He began playing the g ...

was at an all-time low. The pair reportedly rarely agreed to appear at the studio together, opting to record their parts separately at different times. The album was highly anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's previous worldwide successes with their 1987 album ''

Electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

'' and its 1989 follow-up ''

Sonic Temple ''Sonic Temple'' is the fourth studio album by British rock band The Cult, released on 10 April 1989. The album features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Fire Woman" and "Edie (Ciao Baby)". ''Sonic Temple'' was the last album r ...

''. It was heavily inspired by Native American culture. The band was sued for $61,000,000 by the parents of the Native American boy pictured on the album cover. The album reached #25 in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and reached #9 in Canada, and achieved platinum status, but sales suffered with the arrival of

grunge rock Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

and time spent dealing with the lawsuit. Some countries, including

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, did not see the record's release until 1992 and it was unreleased in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

until the Cult played several shows in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in June 1993. It reached #16 on the US Cashbox charts.

Track listing

All tracks written by

and

. # "Ceremony" – 6:27 # "Wild Hearted Son" – 5:41 # "Earth Mofo" – 4:42 # "White" – 7:56 # "If" – 5:25 # "Full Tilt" – 4:51 # "Heart of Soul" – 5:55 # "Bangkok Rain" – 5:47 # "Indian" – 4:53 # "Sweet Salvation" – 5:25 # "Wonderland" – 6:10

Track information

Both "Ceremony" and "Wild Hearted Son" begin with Native American Indian dances. "White" includes an excerpt from

Lawrence Lipton Lawrence Lipton (October 10, 1898 – July 9, 1975) was a Polish-born Jewish American journalist, writer, and Beat poet, as well as the father of James Lipton. Early life Lipton was born in Łódź, Poland, the son of Rose and Abraham Lipschitz ...

's 1959 book 'The Holy Barbarians', which was later the name of Astbury's band, formed in 1996. "Heart of Soul" begins with the lyric "Down and out in London, Los Angeles, and Paris too", which is a reference to George Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London', with LA being where the band were based at that time. "Wild Hearted Son" (UK#40, Canada #41) was the first officially released single, followed by "Heart of Soul" (UK#51). "Sweet Salvation" and "Heart of Soul" were both released as promotional only singles in Argentina in 1992, and "Ceremony" was released as a promotional single in Spain.

Personnel

;The Cult *

- vocals, backing vocals *

- guitar ;Additional personnel *

Alex Acuña Alejandro Neciosup Acuña (born December 12, 1944), known professionally as Alex Acuña, is a Peruvian-American drummer and percussionist. Background Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands such as La Orquesta de los Hermanos Nec ...

- percussion *

Mickey Curry Michael Timothy Curry (born June 10, 1956) is an American musician. He has collaborated with singer-songwriter Bryan Adams since the early 1980s, but has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costell ...

- drums *

Charley Drayton Charles Leslie Drayton (born May 9, 1965) is an American multi-instrumentalist and producer, known primarily as a drummer. Artists he has recorded or performed with include The Cult, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Mi ...

- bass * Tommy Funderburk - backing vocals * Donny Gerrard - backing vocals * Suzie Katayama - cello * Mona Lisa - backing vocals * Yvonne St. James - backing vocals *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin ...

- organ *

Scott Thurston Scott Troy Thurston (born January 10, 1952) is an American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and session musician. He was a member of the Stooges, and of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in which he sang harmony vocals and played guitar, bass, ...

- synthesizer, piano *

Richie Zito Richie Zito (born August 21, 1952) is an American songwriter, composer and record producer from Los Angeles. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Zito has experienced success as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of ...

- keyboards ;Technical * Mixed by Mike Fraser

References

{{Authority control The Cult albums 1991 albums Beggars Banquet Records albums Albums produced by Richie Zito