Rejoining the Cult

A record that was probably my favorite from my sophomore year of high school
has recently gotten the royal treatment. The Cult's Love album was reissued on October 20th by Beggars Banquet, in two different formats. There is a 2CD version called the Expanded Edition which contains the original album on disc one and all of the associated b-sides on disc two. If that wasn't enough, there is a 4CD Omnibus Edition which contains the same two discs as the Expanded Edition as well as a third disc of demos for the album, a fourth live CD from 1985, and a 48 page book.

Back in the day, I frankly loved Love. Looking back it is easy to see what a perfect transition it was in my own music tastes. Up to that point, I'd mainly listened to a lot of heavy metal with a sprinkling of some R&B from Prince and all the other Minneapolis bands he was involved with. I was just starting to listen to the likes of the Psychedelic Furs, Echo & the Bunnymen, and a whole lot of other 80s bands that were influenced by the likes of The Velvet Underground, The Doors, and Televsion. (It would be a year or two before I went to the source of influence for those 80s bands though.) The Cult was a perfect mix of goth, Led Zeppelin guitar riffs, and Ian Asbury's Jim Morrison fascination.

So, how does the album sit with me today? Well, I still like it. If it were released today I think I'd like, just not to the degree I did back then. I especially like the drumming Mark Brzezicki did on it. Mark was the drummer from Big Country, who also worked with Pete Townshend on some of his solo records. His drums are tribal, loud, and right out in front of the mix. Some very tight drumming. Of course, most will remember the guitar work from Billy Duffy and his signature riffs like that on "She Sells Sanctuary" which are also very nice.

As for the all the extra material, the b-sides are as I remembered. At the time I bought all of the 12" singles since I loved the record so much. But, most of the extra material wasn't that great. Other than "Little Face" all of the best material was on the record. A few b-sides like "All Souls Avenue" and "Judith" were decent. But others like "No. 13" sounded unfinished and "Snake Dance" was a vocal/guitar loop that just went on far too long. And the remixes were as bad as I thought they were back then. Time hasn't changed the terrible 80s dance floor treatment of "She Sells Sanctuary."

The third disc and its demos was something I hadn't heard before. These were quick, in-the-studio recordings, mostly of the tracks that would end up on the album. They aren't very different than the final product, but are interesting nonetheless. The fourth disc of a live show was much better than expected. Coming from a BBC broadcast of a Halloween show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London in 1985, the sound is great and the set is well done. I had heard from others that sometimes Cult's live shows left much to be desired. But this is a nice set all around.

If that weren't enough, if you order the Ominibus Edition directly from the Beggars Banquet website, you will get a bonus "disc" of MP3s. There are two live songs, including the great "Resurrection Joe" and "Revolution" from different nights of the Love tour. They performed these songs at the Halloween show that is on disc 4, but the BBC did not broadcast them (I don't know if they were recorded or not, most likely no since they aren't on the box set). Then, there are another 7 remixes of "She Sells Sanctuary" that come from a very limited 1993 release that is long out of print. And among the remixers are; Youth, Butch Vig, and J.G. Thirwell.

The Wrath of Khan (and BBQ)

For a couple of guys that seem to put out a new release about every other week, it seems like it has been a long while since a new slab of wax has been released from either King Khan or BBBQ (aka Mark Sultan). But, that has certainly changed this fall. Last month saw the release of The Almighty Defenders on Vice Records. This was a quick, one week recording session by a group of musicians that included The Black Lips, King Khan, and BBQ. Sometimes this group of guys have referred to themselves as the Death Cult, but that has been for purposes other than releasing music. The Almighty Defenders perform a mix of gospel and garage rock and for the few times they have played live, they do so in choir robes. The album is only available on vinyl or digital download (i.e. no CD).

That was just the warm up though as the King Khan & BBQ Show will release their third album, entitled Invisible Girl this week on In the Red Records. It will contain more of their mix of doo-wop and garage rock. There will also be a tour to follow.

If that wasn't enough, BBQ has finished his solo record. The record won't come out until next year because of all the other new releases, but a single of some b-side type material is planned for release on In the Red records this month. Finally, the label Die Slaughterhaus is planning for the release of a record by the Black Jaspers, a punk/garage outfit that King Khan was involved with a few years ago.