''Electric'' is the third album by British rock 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's ...

, released in 1987. It was the follow-up to their commercial breakthrough ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

''. The album equalled its predecessor's chart placing by peaking at number four in the UK but exceeded its chart residency, spending a total of 27 weeks on the chart (the most successful run for an album by The Cult). The album marked a deliberate stylistic change in the band's sound from

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

to more traditional

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

, the producer on ''Electric'', had been specifically hired to remake the band's sound in an effort to capitalize on the popularity of hard rock and heavy metal in the 1980s. The album was featured in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''. In 2013 the album was re-released as a

double CD A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ' ...

set under the title ''Electric Peace'', with one disc featuring the originally released album and the second containing the entire ''Peace'' album recorded during the Manor Sessions.

Production

After the breakthrough success of their second album, ''

'', the Cult began working on a follow-up with producer Steve Brown. In the summer of 1986, they recorded twelve tracks at the

Manor Studio The Manor Studio (a.k.a. The Manor) was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. Overview The Manor and its outbuildings are listed Grade II on the Nati ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. These recordings, which came to be known as the Manor Sessions, were to make up a new album, tentatively entitled ''Peace''. However upon completion of the recording sessions, the band decided that they were unhappy with the sound, and began to look for a new producer. The band went on to choose Rick Rubin, who was known for producing albums for hip hop artists and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

. These new recordings, with a slightly different track-list and running order, became the album that was released. Engineer

Tony Platt Tony Platt is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with a diverse mix of artists, including, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Bob Marley, Iron Maiden, Shy, Buddy Guy, Foreigner, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sparks, Jazz ...

recalled that Rubin used

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

as a benchmark for the album's sound: Although all twelve of the Manor Sessions tracks were initially scrapped, four of them would turn up as

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

s to singles from ''Electric''. A further five of them appeared on a limited edition EP, and with the release of ''

Rare Cult ''Rare Cult'' is a limited edition, six-CD box set (early copies with a seventh bonus disc) from British rock band the Cult, released in November 2000. The chronologically-organized set contains 90 tracks (48 previously unreleased) of studio B-s ...

'' in 2000, the rest of the unreleased Steve Brown-produced tracks were made available, albeit in a limited edition format. They were finally made available on a mainstream release in 2013 as part of the ''Electric Peace'' release.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' wrote that "despite the hovering shades of Zeppelin,

Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. Born in Forfar in Angus, Scotland, ...

and others, ''Electric'' does more than pilfer bygone metal mayhem. It swaggers, crunches and howls, all right, but it does so with irreverence (not surprising with raunch expert Rick Rubin behind the board)." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' wrote: "As sensually gratifying as it is cornball retro-moronic, ''Electric'' can lay claim to one of history's worst versions of '

Born to Be Wild "Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is most notably featured in the 1969 fi ...

.'"

Track listing

All songs written by

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

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 guit ...

, except where noted. # "Wild Flower" – 3:37 # "Peace Dog" – 3:34 # "Lil' Devil" – 2:44 # "Aphrodisiac Jacket" – 4:11 # "Electric Ocean" – 2:49 # "Bad Fun" – 3:33 # "King Contrary Man" – 3:12 # "

Love Removal Machine "Love Removal Machine" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Cult. It was the first single to be released from the group's 1987 album ''Electric''. First recorded during a radio session, it had a different arrangement when it was record ...

" – 4:17 # "

" (

Mars Bonfire Dennis Edmonton (born Dennis Eugene McCrohan; 21 April 1943), also known by the stage name Mars Bonfire, is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter, best known for writing the hit song "Born to Be Wild" for Steppenwolf. Career Born Dennis Euge ...

) – 3:55 # "Outlaw" – 2:52 # "Memphis Hip Shake" – 4:01

"Manor Sessions"/''Peace'' track listing

''Electric'' arose from the sessions for the unreleased ''Peace'' album. ''Electric'' featured several rerecorded songs from the ''Peace'' sessions. Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6 and 10 below first appeared on ''The Manor Sessions'' EP in 1988. Tracks 7, 8, 9 and 11 were issued as B-sides to singles from ''Electric'' in 1987. The full ''Peace'' album was not released in its entirety until 2000, when it was included as Disc 3 of the ''

'' boxed set. In 2013, the ''Peace'' album was released as part of a two-disc set alongside ''Electric'', under the title ''Electric Peace''. # "

" - 5:16 # "Wild Flower" - 4:10 # "Peace Dog" - 5:09 # "Aphrodisiac Jacket" - 4:25 # "Electric Ocean" - 4:13 # "Bad Fun" - 6:24 # "Conquistador" - 2:53 # "Zap City" - 5:15 # "Love Trooper" - 3:55 # "Outlaw" - 5:07 # "Groove Co." - 4:13

Personnel

;The Cult *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Jamie Stewart –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Les Warner Les Warner (also known as Lez Warner) is a British born musician and producer, primarily a drummer best known for his work with The Cult. On the reverse of the ''Electric'' album, he is in the far right picture. He currently resides in Las Vegas ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Electric (The Cult Album) 1987 albums The Cult albums Albums produced by Rick Rubin Beggars Banquet Records albums