Electric is the pivotal third album by 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...

. Released in 1987, the album marked a deliberate stylistic change in the band from a Gothic rock

Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...

 to a hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 band. Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin

Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...

, the producer on Electric, had been specifically hired to remake the band's sound. The album was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...

.

The "Manor Sessions"

After the breakthrough success of their second album, Love

Love (Cult album)

Love is an album by English rock band The Cult, released in 1985 on Beggars Banquet Records. The record has been released in nearly 30 countries worldwide, and sold an estimated 2.5 million copies. It gave The Cult commercial success in the UK and abroad...

, the Cult began working on a follow-up to build on their success. In the summer of 1986, they recorded twelve tracks at the Manor Studio in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

. These "Manor Sessions" were overseen by Steve Brown, who had produced Love. The twelve tracks were to be the basis of a new album, tentatively entitled Peace. However, on completion of the recording sessions, the band decided that they were unhappy with the sound, and looked for a new producer.

The band went on to re-record the entire third album with producer Rick Rubin, with a slightly different track-list and running order. These new recordings became the album that was released, Electric.

Although all twelve of the "Manor Sessions" tracks were scrapped initially, four of them would turn up as B-sides to singles from Electric. A further five of them appeared on a limited edition compact disc EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

. Eventually, with the release of the Rare Cult (boxed set) in 2000, the rest of the unreleased Steve Brown-produced album was made available.

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...

, except where noted.

1. "Wild Flower" – 3:39
2. "Peace Dog" – 3:35
3. "Lil' Devil" – 2:48
4. "Aphrodisiac Jacket" – 4:10
5. "Electric Ocean" – 2:50
6. "Bad Fun" – 3:33
7. "King Contrary Man" – 3:32
8. "Love Removal Machine
   Love Removal Machine
   "Love Removal Machine" is a rock song recorded by 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, was recorded for the band's third album, Peace. When that album was scrapped, it was...
   
   " – 4:17
9. "Born to Be Wild
   Born to Be Wild
   "Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude...
   
   " (Mars Bonfire
   Mars Bonfire
   Dennis Edmonton , 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....
   
   ) – 3:55
10. "Outlaw" – 2:52
11. "Memphis Hip Shake" – 4:00

"Manor Sessions"/Peace track listing

All tracks appeared on Rare Cult in 2000. Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, and 10 first appeared on The Manor Sessions EP in 1988. Tracks 7-9, and 11 were issued as B-sides to singles from the Electric album in 1987.

1. "Love Removal Machine
   Love Removal Machine
   "Love Removal Machine" is a rock song recorded by 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, was recorded for the band's third album, Peace. When that album was scrapped, it was...
   
   "
2. "Wild Flower"
3. "Peace Dog"
4. "Aphrodisiac Jacket"
5. "Electric Ocean"
6. "Bad Fun"
7. "Conquistador"
8. "Zap City"
9. "Love Trooper"
10. "Outlaw"
11. "Groove Co."

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
• 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...
  
  
• Jamie Stewart
  Jamie Stewart (The Cult)
  Jamie Stewart was bassist of the 1980s British post-punk/hard rock group The Cult. He played bass guitar and keyboards on each of The Cult's first four albums and rhythm guitar on tour in 1987.After leaving The Cult, Stewart worked as a record producer in Canada...
  
   – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Les Warner
  Les Warner
  Les 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...
  
   – 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 ....
  
  

In popular culture

• The song "Love Removal Machine
  Love Removal Machine
  "Love Removal Machine" is a rock song recorded by 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, was recorded for the band's third album, Peace. When that album was scrapped, it was...
  
  " appeared on Guitar Hero: World Tour.
• The song "Bad Fun" appeared on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
  Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
  -External links:* on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine...
  
  .
• The song "Wildflower" was featured in the soundtrack to the British film The Business
  The Business (film)
  The Business is a 2005 British drama/crime/gangster film written and directed by Nick Love. The film stars Danny Dyer, Tamer Hassan and Roland Manookian all of which were in Love's previous film The Football Factory. It also stars Geoff Bell and Georgina Chapman...
  
  .
• The song "Lil Devil" was featured in the film Less Than Zero
  Less Than Zero (film)
  Less Than Zero is a 1987 American drama film loosely based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name. The film stars Andrew McCarthy as Clay, a college freshman returning home for Christmas to spend time with his ex-girlfriend Blair and his friend Julian , who is also a drug addict...
  
  . Rick Rubin also produced the film's soundtrack. It also appears at the beginning the episode Table Stakes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
  CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
  CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
  
  .
• The song "Aphrodisiac Jacket" was featured in the film White Water Summer
  White Water Summer
  White Water Summer is a 1987 American drama film directed by Jeff Bleckner.-Plot:School is out for the summer, and a group of young teenagers go on a hike with Vic, an experienced guide. One teen, Alan, butts head with Vic during the film as Vic's attempts to teach life lessons annoy Alan. The more...
  
  .