Electric Peace

by The Cult

Overview

The roots of Electric lay in another album entirely, Peace, which was recorded with Love producer Steve Brown in a series of sessions that the band found increasingly pressure-filled and fraught with tension. A chance meeting with Def Jam supremo Rick Rubin at an American awards ceremony turned out to be the charm, resulting in the saucy chest-baring stomp of Electric. Rubin chucked all the old recordings for a series of new sessions, stripping everything down and essentially transforming Billy Duffy into the logical successor to AC/DC's Angus Young. Thankfully Ian Astbury decided not to become Brian Johnson, and while his macho yells can't help being cartoonish, he's clearly having fun throughout. Though both band and album caught a lot of flak for their perceived wallowing in dinosaur sounds and styles, the end result is still a fist-punching yelp of energy that demands to be heard at maximum volume in arenas, with a brusque punch in Les Warner's drums to match Duffy's power-chord action. "Love Removal Machine" is still the album's calling card, another in the series of instantly catchy Cult singles. "Li'l Devil" is almost as worthy, while other cuts like "Wild Flower" and "King Contrary Man" would have sounded good in 1973 and sound just as good in a new century. There are a couple of missteps -- "Peace Dog" starts good but ends up being what happens when the Doors are used as a model in the wrong way, while the version of the Steppenwolf classic "Born to Be Wild" should be taken out and shot. Otherwise, an enjoyable pleasure from start to finish -- even if Astbury sings "plastic fantastic lobster telephone" at one point. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	07/30/2013
Label:	Beggars Banquet
UPC:	0607618212513
Rank:	114089

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Wild Flower
2. Peace Dog
3. Lil' Devil
4. Aphrodisiac Jacket
5. Electric Ocean
6. Bad Fun
7. King Contrary Man
8. Love Removal Machine
9. Born to Be Wild
10. Outlaw
11. Memphis Hip Shake

Disc 2

12. Love Removal Machine
13. Wild Flower
14. Peace Dog
15. Aphrodisiac Jacket
16. Electric Ocean
17. Bad Fun
18. Conquistador
19. Zap City
20. Love Trooper
21. Outlaw
22. Groove Co.

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Cult   Primary Artist
Ian Astbury   Vocals,Trombone,Tambourine
Billy Duffy   Guitar,Lead Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Les Warner   Drums
Jamie Stewart   Bass,Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

Bruce Buchalter   Engineer,Engineer
Andy Wallace   Mixing,Engineer
Ian Astbury   Composer,Lyricist
Rick Rubin   Producer
George Drakoulias   Producer,Assistant Producer
Billy Duffy   Composer
Mars Bonfire   Composer,Lyricist
Keith Breeden   Design,Artwork
Tony Mottram   Photography
Rob Brimson   Photography
Renee Beach   Stylist
Pat Gilbert   Liner Notes
Peter Anderson   Photography