Customer Reviews

Rare Cult (Ltd.Ed) (6CD)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

An exhaustive six disc (with first pressing containing a bonus disc) boxed set of rare and unreleased material by the Cult, "Rare Cult" is pretty much an extended love letter to the band's fans, collecting b-sides, radio sessions, leftovers and the "Peace" sessions. Organized chronologically, the set has a nice organic flow that follows the band's progress.

Being chronological, the set begins in the band's post-goth period, the "Dreamtime" and "Love" albums of the early '80s. A little over a disc of material is included, mostly drawn from radio sessions-- these tend to be pretty interesting and there's some great performances ("Spiritwalker") that capture the energy of the pieces better than the original studio performances did. A couple largely extraneous remixes are included and a few leftover tracks, in particular "Little Face" and "Judith", which were removed from "Love" when the band wanted to produce a harder edge to the album's sound. Both pieces are interesting (in particular "Judith", which is bizarre and atmospheric), but it's clear why "The Phoenix" and "Love" were substituted for them-- neither feel fully realized.

The next set of material is perhaps the most intriguing of the entire boxed set-- the Cult began working up material for an album tentatively titled "Peace" with the usual demos, radio session performances, and eventually recording an album. After hooking up with producer Rick Rubin, the band would re-record the material from these sessions as the "Electric" album, a record of stripped down rock music, so the opportunity to hear this material without Rubin's influence is intriguing, whether it be the sessions and promotion leading up to the album's recording or the album itself. Intriguingly enough, the best material on "Electric" seems to suffer pretty heavily ("Love Removal Machine" is just a mess), but the material I was less interested in on "Electric" ("King Contrary Man", "Peace Dog") seems to work out better here. I'm thinking it may be because not all this material was altogether suited for being stripped down rock, and it's nice to have the "Peace" album to compare (which I actually find to be superior to "Electric"). The real gem from these sessions is "Zap City"-- issued as a b-side, it's a fierce and explosive song that probably would have benefited from Rubin's production strategy, but even without, it's a fantastic piece. The set also includes a handful of tracks leftover from the Rubin sessions, some additional mixes but also a couple leftover tracks, many of which are worthwhile.

The set then turns to a series of demos cut during the "Sonic Temple" sessions-- it only includes pieces that were not included on "Sonic Temple". Some of these, remarkably, are of enormously high quality, but I suspect this is because of a sense of immediacy and urgency, building upon the heights of the stripped-back "Electric" approach ("Zodiac") rather than the somewhat overblown "Sonic Temple". Admittedly, some of hte pieces are a bit lacking in songwriting (notably "Yes Man", which is mind-numbingly irritating but also the rambling, endless "Lay Down Your Gun"), but these are demos and were wisely excluded from the album. Also of note from these sessions is "Star Child", the basis for "Star" on "The Cult" several years later.

"Ceremony", the much lamented follow-up to "Sonic Temple", is the next album and again, a series of demos are provided. The first two are most interesting in that they present the Cult with Billy Duffy on acoustic guitars and, while they feel like demos, both "Indian" and "Spanish Gold" get exciting and powerful readings in this fashion that really allows Astbury to shine. After these two, a few electric demos are provided-- similar to the material on "Ceremony", many of the pieces are intriguing but a bit overlong ("Host of Angels"). The most exciting piece on here is "Northern Man", an early version of fan favorite "The Witch", which even in this early stage was enormously powerful (although it definitely benefited from the lyrical rewrite). The set also includes a set of rerecordings that serbed as b-sides, including great acoustic versions of "Edie (Ciao Baby)" and "Heart and Soul" that really provide an opportunity for the pieces to breathe and fantastic "live in the studio" readings of "Love Removal Machine" and "Earth Mofo" (the latter in particular).

After "Ceremony", the band recorded "The Witch", presented here in an extended mix (that quite frankly, adds little to the piece), one of the best recordings of their career and then turned their attention to what would be their last album before breaking up, simply titled "The CUlt". This set provides an opportunity for long-time fans to reconsider the album, Billy Duffy states in the liner notes that he considers it the "great, undiscovered Cult album", an assertion I would support. A pair of remixes of album tracks (including a brilliantly fractured remix of "Gone") and a pile of fantastic unreleased tracks shed new light on just how good this record was.

The bonus remix CD that the first prints of this came with are kind of... well, it's mostly dance mixes and the like. I'm glad I got the disc, but it's not something I largely feel a great need to listen to.

The boxed set comes housed in a big cardboard box surrounding three double digipacks all in basic black and includes extensive liner notes (culled in part from interviews with Billy Duffy) discussing the band's history, the material on here.

If there's a complaint, it's that the set is not quite exhaustive-- five tracks are only included on "The Best of Rare Cult", a real point of irritation for someone who went out and bought this box.

Let's be straight, years on after the release, odds are anyone reading this already got this box, but if you're a diehard Cult fan and you don't have this, you're really missing out, this set is exhaustive, and while all the music is not essential, there's certainly enough great material on here to make it a fine investment. Recommended.

Warning! This box set is not for the casual fan in the slightest! That said, let's get to it! At first glance of the song listings, you could almost become overwhelmed at the sheer amount of unreleased songs! Here is the states, Cult singles could be a hard thing to find, so many of the songs are new to me. Even with the odd remix or so, you find yourself almost listening to a whole new album each time! And as you listen, you begin to wonder why several are not on albums, as in my opinion some of these "throw away"songs outshine many of their record ready tunes. The discs(6 or 7) are done in order of release...almost, so if you find yourself drawn to Dreamtime or Love Cult, Discs 1&2 are for you, Electric, you get disc 3 (the lost peace album) and 4, which are my fav's personally, and disc 5 for Sonic Temple and Ceremony. 6 is historically important as you could see where the Cult MAY have gone after 1994, but as we now know-Beyond good and evil is where they went(YEAH!). The 7th disc is not important to the history of the Cult, but it does show the band sometimes playfully mixing songs. And for once, the remixes don't suck! All in all, the only reason I don't give this a 5 is because you find yourself with too much new stuff to deal with, like if you were a new fan and you bought all albums at once. Maybe releasing the seperatly would have been better, but I could be wrong. If you are hesitant (like I was when it first came out)I highly recommend the "Best of Rare Cult" first, as you get an idea of what your getting into.

...for Cult fans. Some of this material was released on a little known series of CDs about 10 years ago. It has been recompiled and rolled in with other material that never saw the light of day. Speaking as a long-time Cult fan, I can say that it is, almost without exception, incredible music. Undiscovered gems like Bob Rock's remix of "Sweet Soul Sister", the full-on psychedelic version of "Electric Ocean" (before Rick Rubin stripped it down for "Electric"), and a BBC Radio version of "King Contrary Man" in which Billy just melts the guitar strings, are guaranteed to put a smile of your face. Get it, and Rock ON!

Being a long time fan of the Cult, and having grown up witnessing most of their musical progression, I can truly appreciate the nuts-and-bolts nature of this exquisite package. Demos, B-sides, radio sessions, remixes, and studio outtakes comprise this comprehensive set. From the post-punk goth rock beginnings of the surreal Dreamtime era to their self titled 1994 release, you really get a sense of their direction, and formative processes. Some of the tracks, namely the radio sessions and demos, are a little slow and empty, but overall I think any true fan of this charismatic and distinctive rock band will appreciate what's been included. Musicians like myself can gain alot of insight into their song writing process, which can be inspiring. The package itself is sleek, and the box includes an 80 page booklet with a ton of rare photos. Sometimes not mentioned is a bonus cd called "Mixes" probably of limited quantity, which came tacked on to the the outside of the box. It contains some standard remix favorites as well as a couple rarities. In my opinion, this set is a must have for hard core Cult fans, but it may bore dabblers.

I heard about this box set about six months before is was going to be released. The idea that The Cult was back together was good enough, but the boys decided to give us this gift. And I don't even remember being good this year either.

Every disk in the set is great. But I am a fan of The Cult, and am a little bit prejudiced. Even though, I can't see a fan of great music not liking this set. It has alternate versions of all their big hits, so all you fans of Sonic Temple will get that. Plus all the unreleased tracks, and demos are great.

It is really good to listen to the tracks on this, and then the released version, so you can hear the evolution of the songs. The package is put together well, and the booklet included has alot of great detail.

And if your one of the lucky people who get the special seventh disk you get even more. It has remixes of 11 more songs!

I was rather skeptical of buying this box set a few years back, i already owned all of their cd's. Unlike most box sets, the songs here are almost completly different than the studio versions; in a good way. The Cults' electric is no longer metal but closer to the Love sound. My friend and I used to joke what if Electric was the only cd in the world, that would mean Outlaw would be popular, i detested that song. But, the rare cult version is stellar it sounds like it came right off of Love. If you are cult fan and feel like you have everything they have to offer, this is the box set for you. It is worth every penny, though the new price is a bit high. This box set is better than their studio albums.

This box set contains almost everything a Cult's fan should have.
It covers every period-except the beyond good and evil-with a huge dose of rareties, unreleased songs,....
It also proves that THE CULT was one the most creative band of the 80's, flirtin' with new wave goth, hard rock and heavy metal.
This item is not a "just for fan" box, although some songs might sound weird, unfinished or slightly out of tune for those who are not familiar with the band.
Hurry up, get it because something else is waiting around the corner...THE DEMO SESSIONS box(5 cd's), only this one is for CULT'S FANS ONLY, it is sort of the making of electric, sonic temple and ceremony.
But after all everyone should find its size, weither it's by getting the RARE CULT box, the best of THE RARE CULT or the DEMO SESSIONS box.
How big of a fan are you?

After having collected everything the cult have ever released, this was the icing on the cake. A rare look into the brilliance of the cult. Its great to have all of the B-sides and rare tracks on one compilation. The long lost Peace album (the original recording of Electric) is very interesting, to see the difference a producer made to the album. The peace recordings are very dance orientated as compared to the balls to the wall recording of electric. If you love the cult you have to have this box set, it is the best value cult purchace you will ever make.

Some of the b-sides and alternate takes are amazing. It makes you wonder how they never made it to albums or in some cases never even made it to b-sides.

The packaging is georgeous, the sleek black box and the book, fare better than the last box set of singles of theres. And if your lucky you will get the box that has the limited additional 7th CD of remixes.

Get it before its deleted or you will kick yourself for eternity.

I bought this box the month it was released back in 2000.
I was so impressed. This is the best box set I could imagine getting this year. It's amazing in scope and design. Also if you order early you can get a Bonus 7th Disc with the first run of pressings. That 7th disc contains previously released and hard-to-find extended remixes. The Booklet and discs are all perfectly chronological. The pictures in the book are great and show the bands evolution. The Text in the booklet is very informative, plus you get comments from Ian and Billy. You get all the info you need for each song. The box design is minimalist but easy to love. 3 Black cases 2 discs each. The book and then 7th disc in slip case. The discs are Black and just say Rare Cult - Disc 1, etc. This is so cool. Oh, the music. This is for serious Cult fans. Others might be bored here, but I am not. There are demos, B-sides and lots of unreleased wonders. So many songs! So Little Time. Thank You Beggars Banquet!

This is an unbelievable collection of some of the finest music to ever be produced. The Cult - in all its incarnations - has always been about feeling, conflict, emotional turmoil and change. This boxed set shows the odessey of their own evolution through the myriad of sounds of 70's, 80's and 90's sounds. The "Lost Album" is a must for any collector and the entire boxed set is a must for any fan of honest, pulse driving music. By far, this is one of the most unacknowledged bands of our time.