The Cult of Ray

Frankblackfrancis, Frank Black

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 1996)
• Original Release Date: January 30, 1996
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002MAQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,515 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
It's a truly strange trick to be a subtle song-stylist and a raging guitar hero at the same time, but no one would deny Frank Black his eccentricities. While Kim Deal graduated from the Pixies to help define the new breed of radio pop called alternative with the Breeders, Black moved his former band's more radical notions from Boston to L.A., wined and refined them, and fashioned a sort of sunny left coast take on the Sonic Youth/Yo La Tengo brand of artsy New York guitar rock. Black's first two solo albums showed a wildly original writer and eclectic performer with a wide grasp of song forms and the distinctive voice to make them all his own.

The Cult of Ray, Black's third album (a tribute to fellow extraterrestrial Ray Bradbury), presents a slimmer, more stylistically consistent set of crunch-chord slams with a punk theme, including "Dance War," and "Mosh, Don't Pass the Guy," "Jesus Was Right," and "Punk Rock City." The album's missing eclecticism is more than compensated by Lyle Workman, whose muscle-bound lead guitar work is the stuff of Lou Reed's legendary sideman, Robert Quine. It even turns a so-so track like "The Creature Crawling" into a thrillingly exotic slink. Reaching a climax on the title track--with its furious punk riffing, soaring prog rock solos, and vivid but opaque lyrics--Black's Cult founds a curiously fruitful settlement in the vast sonic tundra between Green Day and Captain Beefheart. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Science Fiction Prog-Rock...Frank The Enigma, April 15, 2000

By	S. R Robertson "crap basket" (Oh Henry?) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Cult of Ray (Audio CD)

Mixing bizzare sc-fi oriented lyrics with a post-punk\prog rock style, Black creates this album, which, by some dumb reason, is often regected by critics. Don't listen to those critics. This is a very good, highly-creative album. Shades of paranoia, goofism, space obsession, and Ray Bradbury tributes run amok on "Cult Of Ray", resulting in something that is loud and raw. Frank invents a new genre-Science Fiction Rock. An awesome piece of art. Frank is the true enigma from a parallel dimension. ("The Marsist" is about the famous face on Mars and scientist Richard C. Hoagland, a.k.a. The Marsist. Listen to the album to contemplate the rest.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Criminally Underrated, October 16, 2001

By	Daniel Oz (Arad Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cult of Ray (Audio CD)

Too many people hold that Cult of Ray is a disappointment. Granted, Teenager of the Year is a very tough act to follow, but I think of CoR as somewhat of a Trompe Le Monde after Doolittle. While Teenager is definitely his masterpiece, CoR is one of the most unique moments in his discography. Remaining an amazingly melodic songwriter, he continues to stretch his experimentations in structure in beautiful, inspired rockers like "Cult of Ray" and "Men in Black", while "The Marsist" reaches a textural and rhythmic weirdness that should intrigue and excite any intelligent listener. His lyrics are also as clever as always, and yet the two instrumentals, tracks 7 and 10 are very rewarding to repeated listening. Perhaps the darker, more metallic sound of this album is what bothers some, but to me it is one of its highlights. I would definitely pick this over Black's next three Catholics efforts.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overall a good album, July 18, 2008

By	E. Weber "woodworker" (NH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It took me a little while to get into this album coming from "Teenager of the year". There are no bad songs but on average they are a little inferior to what I was used to hear coming from Frank Black.
Some tracks I enjoyed:
"Men in Black"
"You Ain't me"
"Mosh, Don't pass the Guy"
"Dance War"