courtesy of wikipedia
I remember the first time my oldest brother Lino bought the album Sonic Temple by The Cult, we were on our way to the Azores (Portugal) to visit family and we knew that it was going to be impossible to find anything in the Azores to listen to. I think I was six years old when he bought it, but I remember the fact that Fire Woman had amazed me to the point that I was hooked. I must have hit rewind a thousands times on my cassette player just to listen to that. This was the fourth release for the British rockers and it was the follow up to Electric (which is also an amazing album). It was the last album to feature long time bassist Jamie Stewart and the first to feature former Hall & Oates and Bryan Adams drummer Mickey Curry and of course Billy Duffy on guitars and Ian Astbury on Vocals. The album cover features Billy Duffy posing with his guitar as he obscures a picture of Ian Astbury in the background. The album was produced by rock mastermind Bob Rock who literally has the King Midas touch. Just look at Metallica and Motley Crue for example.
courtesy of wikipedia
Sun King kicks off the album with it’s hypnotic guitar intro that leaves you weaving around like a snake before the song just explodes into a pure rock and roll classic. Ian Astbury’s vocals remind you of a bluesy Jim Morrison. Fire Woman was the bread and butter of this album as it reached number two on the Modern Rock Track charts back in 1989 and it was the first single released from the album. The track starts off much the same as the first track with the amazing intro before it kicks off on a hi-octane ride that you’ll never forget. This is one of the songs where Curry’s drum ability really shines through on the record. American Horse starts off a little different than the previous tracks, but it’s one hell of a blues rock song that has swagger.
Edie (Ciao Baby) is the next track on the album and the song stems from Ian’s trip to New York when he was recording the Electric album. He was reading stuff about the fashion scene in New York and he became obsessed with the Velvet Underground and the Factory. So, if you didn’t guess it, the song is about Edie Sedgwick who was a tragic figure of the Factory era. The song starts with acoustic guitars and an orchestral background before it the electric guitars and drums kick in. The two elements blend in so flawlessly together as he sings the tragedy of Edie. Sweet Soul Sister starts off with the keyboards before Duffy chimes in on this straight up rock and roll track about Black Panther Angela Davis. Astbury’s vocals on this track are so full of soul (no pun intended) and the track is so bluesy especially in the breakdown when Stewart plays a funky bass line. New York City is a harder faster song with a punk flare and it’s no wonder when you have Iggy Pop singing backing vocals on the track. Automatic Blues is a balls out blues track that reminds me of Aerosmith’s Love In A Elevator. The start Soldier Blue has that real punk beginning to it that reminds me of something cheerleaders would want to listen to. I don’t actually know if cheerleaders listened to that, but it’s the first impression I got from it and I don’t know why. Wake Up Time For Freedom is another rock classic from The Cult and even though it’s not as amazing as Fire Woman, Astbury’s vocal abilities and Duffy’s guitar playing combined really make the song pop. I think everyone in 1989 was messing with the blues instead of what they were usually putting out as we heard Cinderella do it with Heartbreak Station and so The Cult do it in the beginning of the song Medicine Train. The song opens with a harmonica and some twangy guitar.
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Overall the album sounds amazing and that shouldn’t be a surprise since it was produced by Bob Rock. Rock seems to get the best out of every band that he works with especially during this time period. He had just finished working with Motley Crue for Dr. Feelgood and a year after this he was working with Metallica for The Black Album. This was by far my favorite album from this band and it’s been a hard album to beat in my opinion. I’m not saying The Cult hasn’t released anything good because Choice Of Weapon was a return to form in my opinion. I also feel that The Cult doesn’t get enough credit where credit is due. I am giving the album a grade of four stars out of five for 1989’s Sonic Temple.
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