I just had my new car stereo installed and needed a song that I could put on loop, turn down my window and announce my arrival at every traffic light. I always leaned much more towards pop than rock in those days. I wasn't into Iron Maiden and the heavy metal stuff. Nor was I a fan of the American rock bands such as Bon Jovi or Van Halen. The music was either cheesy, clichéd or too heavy. With heavy metal, I think it was the vocals that didn't appeal to me.
And then came Ian Astbury: a walking cliché, part hippy, part goth and a bit of a pretty boy. In the days before MTV and Spotify, there were music programmes on TV. There was The Chart Show, which I think went out on Saturday and might at some time have been repeated during the week. It was simply a video show with bits of information appearing on the screen sporadically. They seemed to like playing “Spiritwalker”, the Cult's single from their debut album Dreamtime. The song didn't have much impact on me back then or today. But the first time I heard "She Sells Sanctuary", I was hooked. It had this Oriental-influenced intro which sounded a little like Monsoon's Ever So Lonely. The guitar hook at the beginning was so strong, it just reeled you in. And then Astbury sings,
“Oh, the Heads that turn,
make my back burn…”
The lyrics are not the album's strong point. Astbury could be reading out his shopping list. It wouldn't matter. His voice, his delivery and his attitude are what count in spades here. And Billy Duffy's guitar and Nigel Preston's drums. "She Sells Sanctuary" is one of those songs that ticks the boxes for lots of different fans. I can just imagine the song being played out of a ginormously huge sound system at a student Indie club night and everyone going nuts. It made me pump up the volume in the car and, in the process, run my friend over as I was parking. I think my mate was OK. He just hobbled back into the car, his sniffles drowned out by the music.
After She Sells Sanctuary, the song “Rain” was released. It continued the same musical trajectory. Melodic pomp rock with walls of guitars and bags of attitude. In his review of Love, Eduardo Rivadavia puts his finger on something. He writes, “The album benefits from a wonderful sense of space, thanks in large part to guitarist Billy Duffy.” From the driving riffs of the opening track, "Nirvana" or "Big Neon Glitter", to the uplifting title track or the wonderful burst of guitars at the beginning of "Phoenix", this album has its own internal combustion engine powered by the combination of each member of the band. The sound might not be as tight and rocking as its successor, "Electric", but I think "Love" simply ages better. There is something pure and simple about it. To quote Vincent Van Gogh, “What is done in love is done well.”
Check out Love by The Cult
