- Ceremony (The Cult album)
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Ceremony Studio album by The Cult Released September 1991 Recorded 1991 Genre Hard rock Length 63:38 Label Beggars Banquet, Sire Producer Richie Zito The Cult chronology Sonic Temple
(1989)Ceremony
(1991)Pure Cult
(1993)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic [1]
Ceremony is an album by rock band The Cult, first released on 10 September 1991.
Contents
Album information
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 and its 1989 follow up Sonic Temple. It was heavily inspired by Native American culture. The band was sued for US$61,000,000 by the parents of the American Indian boy pictured on the album cover named Eternity Dubray, who was listed in 2008 as a janitor at Red Cloud Indian School, in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.[2]
The album reached #25 and achieved platinum status in the U.S., and reached #9 in Canada, but sales suffered with the arrival of grunge rock and time spent dealing with the lawsuit. Some countries, including South Korea and Thailand, did not see the record's release until 1992 and it was unreleased in Turkey until the Cult played several shows in Istanbul in June 1993.
Also, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy's working relationship was at an all-time low at this point, with the two reportedly rarely in the studio together, opting to record their parts individually. Astbury and Duffy were this time working with Todd Hoffman and James Kottak during the demo recordings, and during the actual album recording sessions with Mickey Curry, on drums, bassist Charley Drayton and various other performers.
Track listing
All tracks written by Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy.
- "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
- "No. 13"
- bonus track, in Eastern Europe and Asia
- "Bleeding Heart Graffiti"
- bonus track, in Eastern Europe and Asia
Track information
Both "Ceremony" and "Wild Hearted Son" begin with Native American Indian dances. "White" includes an excerpt from Lawrence Lipton'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#34, 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
- Ian Astbury - vocals, backing vocals
- Billy Duffy - guitar
Additional personnel
- Alex Acuña - percussion
- Mickey Curry - drums
- Charley Drayton - bass
- Tommy Funderburk - backing vocals
- Donny Gerrard - backing vocals
- Suzie Katayama - cello
- Mona Lisa - backing vocals
- Yvonne St. James - backing vocals
- Benmont Tench - organ
- Scott Thurston - synthesizer, piano
- Richie Zito - keyboards
- Mixed by Mike Fraser
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "Wrong Rite?". http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,310840,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
Ian Astbury · Billy Duffy · Mike Dimkich · Chris Wyse · John Tempesta Former members Les Warner · Ray Mondo · Nigel Preston · Jamie Stewart · Mark Brzezicki · Kid Chaos · John Webster · Chris Taylor · Eric Singer · Mickey Curry · Matt Sorum · Todd Hoffman · James Kottak · Charley Drayton · Michael Lee · Kinley Wolfe · John Sinclair · Craig Adams · Scott Garrett · Martyn LeNoble · Billy MorrisonAlbums Dreamtime · Love · Electric · Sonic Temple · Ceremony · The Cult · Beyond Good and Evil · Born into ThisLive albums Compilation albums Death Cult · Pure Cult: for Rockers, Ravers, Lovers, and Sinners · High Octane Cult · Pure Cult: The Singles 1984 –1995 · The Best of Rare CultBox sets Singles Collection: 1984-1990 · Rare Cult · Rare Cult: The Demos SessionsRelated articles Full discography · Death Cult · Guns N' Roses · Holy Barbarians · Jane's Addiction · Porno for Pyros · Ritual · Southern Death Cult · Theatre of Hate · Velvet Revolver · The Smiths · The WondergirlsCategories:- The Cult albums
- 1991 albums
- Beggars Banquet Records albums
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