So why is The Cult’s Love on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
There’s something about “She Sells Sanctuary,” by far the best song on Love, that’s the perfect fusion of several musical genres and sounds that were at their peak of popularity in the mid-1980s.
There’s that U2 Unforgettable Fire/Josuha Tree guitar delay effect thing going, though titled in a more goth-y Sisters of Mercy direction. And then add in a heavy dose of the Def Leppard hard rock sound that they’d perfect on songs like “Animal” off the Hysteria LP.
The opening lyrics of “Rain” make me a laugh a bit in perhaps an unintended way (“Hot sticky scenes, you know what I mean…”) but quickly the song takes on a driving, epic quality that becomes very alluring to play through several times in a row.
“Phoenix” has a nice, almost proto-grunge vibe going, with big bombastic drums backing up Ian Astbury’s vocals intoning “I’m on firrrrre.”
Personal stuff that has something to do with The Cult’s Love
The Cult was one of the first bands I ever saw live. It was likely the tour in support of Sonic Temple and the venue was almost certainly Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York. I recall the concert being quite good, though I wasn’t really familiar with the band at the time, which had a little bit of a limiting factor on my enjoyment.
What’s interesting to me though is that when I listen to Love, it strongly reminds me of my junior high school years. Maybe the strong connection is due to my needing to study up on The Cult to keep up with my (at the time) more musically savvy friends. There’s something about that passionate devotion to music and the way the brain can absorb new information during our formative years where music gets hard wired to a certain time and place. Or something!
Some stats & info about The Cult – Love
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? British Bands, Hard Rock, Goth, Rock Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Love released? 1985
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #618 out of 1,000
The Cult’s Love on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from The Cult’s Love that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Like a desert sun that burns my skin, I’ve been waiting for her for so long.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.