LP Lookback: The Cult’s Fabulous 2nd Album ‘Love’ Turns 40 This Year

I posted my annual 40 year lookback playlist in March and this year it was all about 1985. I don’t think 1985 will ever rival say, 1971 or 1984, in terms of the vast amount of quality music that was released in that calendar year, but there were certainly some fantastic albums that hailed from that year. I find myself returning to those great albums from ’85 quite a bit of late (and admittedly, I’ve been dipping my toe into LPs from 1975 as well). As regular readers know, I already did a look back to Dire Straits landmark ’85 album, Brothers In Arms just a few months back. One album from that mid-decade year that keeps tugging at my shirtsleeve is the Cult’s fabulous second album, Love.

I’d love to tell you as a dandy, mullet headed college kid (and yes, my mullet was glorious!), that I was an early adopter on the Cult. I wasn’t. It wasn’t until I met the Rock Chick 15 years later that I discovered (or should I say, rediscovered) the Cult. A friend of mine, Young Goodman Brown, saw them play a smallish club here in Kansas City and I remember him telling me that singer Ian Astbury – and this was in the 90s after he got sober – said something in regards to my hometown, “I’ve never seen a city with more churches and more BBQ joints…” He wasn’t wrong, but I digress. So it’s obvious I knew who they were, I just never dove in. I was better than this guy I used to know who always confused them with the Cure…sigh. When I was in college, MTV was king and every hard rock band’s videos looked the same. A stark stage, fog machine working overtime, spandex pants, maybe hot chicks dancing around the perimeter. Sadly, MTV was how we heard new music, the radio in my college town was repressively Top 40. Pretty soon, numb on booze and youthful indifference I stopped paying attention to hard rock/metal bands which was too bad because the Cult were so much more than the color-by-numbers hard rock band I thought they were. I would certainly never put them in any Hair Metal category.

The Cult were originally Ian Astbury (vocals), Billy Duffy (guitar), Jamie Stewart (bass) and Nigel Preston (drums). In 1984 they released their debut album Dreamtime. Like all debut albums it was a band establishing it’s musical identity. By the time they recorded their second album Preston only ended up playing drums on a couple of tracks and session guy Mark Brzezicki (Pete Townshend, Big Country) played the lion’s share of the drums. It would be a trend for the Cult over the years, shifting drummers until finally John Tempsta nailed down the drummer’s chair. In truth, Jamie Stewart didn’t last much longer on bass guitar, he was gone by ’91’s overlooked gem Ceremony. The Cult these days is really just Astbury and Duffy.

I’m embarrassed to admit, I don’t think I heard Love in it’s entirety until I met the Rock Chick and she played it for me. That was, as mentioned, 15 years after the album was released. On one of our first dates she bought their greatest hits CD and from there had started picking up their LPs on CD one by one. I loved this album so much that I made a point to fly to Chicago to see them when they were playing the album in it’s entirety. This album hit me in the lower brain stem… and so few records do that any more.

Many, many a band has struggled with what Bono describes as “the difficult second album.” Maybe because the first album was still the Cult finding themselves musically and wasn’t a blockbuster hit, they didn’t have the pressure that many bands have on their second album, the notorious “sophomore slump.” Many bands have overcome the sophomore slump, but not many have done so in the fashion the Cult did with Love. There are going to be Cult fans out there who tell me I’m crazy, that Electric and Sonic Temple are the best of the Cult’s catalog, but to me Love is the best album the Cult ever did.

Everything seemed to come together on this album and it’s all seamless. They melded their Goth vibe from their early work, with hard rock and a touch of psychedelia. It’s their most complete work. The first single from the album, which dropped 40 years ago this May, was arguably their greatest song, “She Sells Sanctuary.” “Sanctuary” has everything you want – spectacular vocals, a driving beat, galloping electric and acoustic guitar. It is the perfect rock song. “The sparkle in your eyes keeps me alive” are lyrics I wish I’d written for the Rock Chick. The second single “Rain” was also spectacular. It’s got a great riff to run too. It’s music for a large room. This album may be Billy Duffy’s greatest on guitar. The third single, “Revolution,” is more midtempo but I’m blown away they put out this song in 1985… talk about a time we needed a revolution. I included it on one of my protest playlists…

Even beyond the three singles there are so many great tracks here. “Phoenix” is one of the best psychedelic rock songs you’re ever going to hear. I love the crazy guitar on that one. The album starts off with the great one-two punch of “Nirvana” and the epic “Big Neon Glitter.” “Brother Wolf Sister Moon” at almost six and 1/2 minutes is an epic journey to the heart of darkness. “Love” is all hard rock riffs and a beat that gets me on my feet every time I hear it… such a straightforward message, “C’mon now…Love, obviously, very soon, everybody.”

“Hollow Man” – a title that brings to mind T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men,” a poem I had to analyze in sophomore English – is one of the Cult’s best deep tracks. It’s just a great rock n roll song. Astbury shines on that one. “He’s just a hunter for the Devil…” The album ends with a dirge-like, ballad “Black Angel.” It’s the perfect ending for an album that takes you for a ride like a rock n roll tilt-a-whirl.

Love started a fabulous 80s run for this great band. It was followed up with Electric, produced by Rick Rubin, and then Sonic Temple. Unfortunately the Cult were one of the bands upended by Nirvana and the Grunge movement, but luckily for us these guys (mostly) hung together and continue to put out great music to this day. If you haven’t heard this one, or more likely, haven’t heard this one in a long time, it’s time to put this one on the stereo and crank it up as loud as it can go… maybe scare the neighbors… or maybe start growing a mullet…

Cheers!