The Cult of Ray

Last updated
The Cult of Ray
Fbray.jpg
Studio album by
Frank Black
ReleasedJanuary 22, 1996 (1996-01-22)
Studio
Genre Alternative rock
Length41:40
Label American
Producer Frank Black
Frank Black chronology
Teenager of the Year
(1994)		The Cult of Ray
(1996)		 Frank Black and the Catholics
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [2]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
NME 4/10 [5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Pitchfork 5.5/10 [7]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Select 4/5 [9]
Spin 4/10 [10]

The Cult of Ray is the third solo studio album by American musician Frank Black. Black opted to produce The Cult of Ray himself, after Eric Drew Feldman produced his first two albums.

Contents

The album title is a reference to author Ray Bradbury. [11] The album's final song is a tribute to Shazeb Andleeb, who was beaten to death at Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California (a school Black attended), in May 1995. [12]

Chart performance

The Cult of Ray peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and number 127 on the Billboard 200 in 1996. [13] [14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Frank Black

No.TitleLength
1."The Marsist"4:11
2."Men in Black"3:03
3."Punk Rock City"3:41
4."You Ain't Me"2:43
5."Jesus Was Right"2:59
6."I Don't Want to Hurt You (Every Single Time)"3:06
7."Mosh, Don't Pass the Guy"3:01
8."Kicked in the Taco"2:27
9."The Creature Crawling"2:53
10."The Adventure and the Resolution"3:02
11."Dance War"2:08
12."The Cult of Ray"3:46
13."The Last Stand of Shazeb Andleeb"4:40
UK limited edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Village of the Sun"3:32
2."Baby, That's Art"2:05
3."Everybody Got the Beat"1:51
4."Can I Get a Witness"3:59

Personnel

The core musicians employed on this album would eventually be dubbed The Catholics and would continue as Black's backing group for the following seven years (albeit with a changed line up).

Musicians
Technical

Charts

Chart (1996)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [15] 48
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [16] 23
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [17] 95
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] 71
Scottish Albums (OCC) [19] 41
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [20] 25
UK Albums (OCC) [21] 39
US Billboard 200 [13] 127
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [14] 1

Related Research Articles

<i>Pocket Full of Kryptonite</i> 1991 studio album by Spin Doctors

Pocket Full of Kryptonite is the debut studio album by the American rock band Spin Doctors, released in August 1991. The album initially sold a respectable 60,000 copies in late 1991 due to its growing hardcore fanbase, before several radio stations started playing the single "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" in mid-1992. The combined strength of the single along with the follow-up "Two Princes" led to the album's peak at Nos. 1 and 3 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers and Billboard 200 albums charts, respectively. It is currently the band's best selling album, and was certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA.

<i>Wildflowers</i> (Tom Petty album) 1994 studio album by Tom Petty

Wildflowers is the second solo studio album by American musician Tom Petty, released on November 1, 1994. The album was the first released by Petty after signing a contract with Warner Bros. Records and the first of three albums produced by Rick Rubin. The album was certified 3× platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America.

<i>Break the Cycle</i> 2001 studio album by Staind

Break the Cycle is the third studio album by American rock band Staind, released through Elektra Entertainment and Flip Records in 2001. It is Staind's most successful album to date and was the album that broke them into the mainstream. It was a huge international success for the band, as it spent three weeks at number-one position in the U.S. album charts and many weeks in the top-10 album charts of the Billboard 200, the UK and New Zealand. It sold at least 4 million copies in 2001. The album was certified 5× platinum by the RIAA for sales of over five million units in the US.

<i>Teenager of the Year</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Frank Black

Teenager of the Year is the second solo studio album by American musician Frank Black. The album was released in 1994 by 4AD in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. It was co-produced by Eric Drew Feldman, who also played keyboards and bass guitar on the album. Teenager also features work by several backing musicians, including Lyle Workman, Moris Tepper and Black's Pixies bandmate Joey Santiago.

<i>Pure Instinct</i> 1996 studio album by Scorpions

Pure Instinct is the thirteenth studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions, released in 1996. Reviewers criticized the album for having too many ballads and not enough hard rock or even rock.

<i>Life</i> (Simply Red album) 1995 studio album by Simply Red

Life is the fifth studio album by British pop and soul band Simply Red, released in 1995. The lead single "Fairground" became their first number 1 hit in the UK. Due to this success, the album also made #1 on the UK album chart. It also included "We're in This Together", the official theme song for Euro '96. This was also the last album to feature band members Fritz McIntyre and Heitor TP.

<i>Brand New Day</i> (Sting album) 1999 studio album by Sting

Brand New Day is the sixth solo studio album by English musician Sting, released by A&M Records on 27 September 1999. Promoted heavily by the success of the album's second single, "Desert Rose", the album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States. Upon its release, Brand New Day was a critical and commercial success, and hailed as commercial comeback for Sting.

<i>Alannah Myles</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Alannah Myles

Alannah Myles is the debut album by Canadian singer Alannah Myles, released on March 28, 1989. It includes the worldwide hit single "Black Velvet". The album was a big seller worldwide, and reached number one for two weeks in her native Canada, number 5 on the Billboard 200 in the US and number 3 in the UK Albums Chart. The album cover comes from a photoshoot by Canadian photographer Deborah Samuel.

<i>Blue</i> (Simply Red album) 1998 studio album by Simply Red

Blue is the sixth studio album by British band Simply Red. It was released by East West Records on 19 May 1998 in the United Kingdom. Initially conceived as a cover album, it features production from lead singer Mick Hucknall as well as Andy Wright, Gota Yashiki, Stevie J, and Joe "Jake" Carter. Hucknall, Wright, and Yashiki are the only musicians featured in the Blue CD booklet's photography; this is a first for a Simply Red album, as all prior albums featured photos of the various band members credited.

<i>Dove cè musica</i> 1996 studio album by Eros Ramazzotti

Dove c'è musica is the seventh studio album by Italian pop/rock singer Eros Ramazzotti, released in 1996 on the BMG label. It is Ramazzotti's first self-produced album and the first without any involvement from long-time collaborator Piero Cassano. Dove c'è musica was Ramazzotti's most successful album to that point, topping the Albums chart in six countries including Italy and Germany.

<i>Now What?!</i> 2013 studio album by Deep Purple

Now What?! is the 19th studio album by English rock band Deep Purple. It was released on 26 April 2013 and produced by Bob Ezrin. A dedicated official web site was also created by the band to post updates about the album. It was the band's first studio album in over seven years as Deep Purple's previous studio album, Rapture of the Deep, was released in late 2005.

<i>Dark Eyes</i> (Half Moon Run album) 2012 studio album by Half Moon Run

Dark Eyes is the debut studio album by the Canadian indie rock band Half Moon Run, released through Indica Records in Canada on March 27, 2012. Their debut single "Full Circle" reached number 29 on the Canadian rock/alternative chart in 2012. The track was also used on the 'Horizon' trailer for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, shown during E3 2013. The album's second single "Call Me in the Afternoon" peaked at number 19 on the Canadian rock/alternative chart in 2013. In the United States, the album has sold 12,000 copies as of September 2015. The band also released a song entitled 'Unofferable' on the album's international release in July 2013.

<i>Blieve Im Goin Down...</i> 2015 studio album by Kurt Vile

B'lieve I'm Goin Down... is the sixth studio album by American indie rock musician Kurt Vile, released on September 25, 2015, on Matador Records. A deluxe edition, B'lieve I'm Goin (Deep) Down..., featuring six additional tracks, was released on the same day.

<i>The Duke</i> (Joe Jackson album) 2012 studio album by Joe Jackson

The Duke is the 18th studio album by English musician Joe Jackson. The album was first released on 22 June 2012 in Continental Europe by earMUSIC and was released in the US on 26 June by Razor & Tie Recordings.

<i>Hollow Bones</i> 2016 studio album by Rival Sons

Hollow Bones is the fifth LP studio album by the American rock band Rival Sons, released on June 10, 2016.

<i>Walls</i> (Kings of Leon album) 2016 studio album by Kings of Leon

Walls is the seventh studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released on October 14, 2016, through RCA Records.

<i>Lets Play Two</i> 2017 live album by Pearl Jam

Let's Play Two is a live album and concert film by American alternative rock band Pearl Jam. The album was released on September 29, 2017, with the concert film being released on November 17, 2017. The footage and songs were recorded at the band's shows at Wrigley Field during their 2016 tour.

<i>Roll with the Punches</i> (album) 2017 studio album by Van Morrison

Roll with the Punches is the 37th studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on 22 September 2017 by Caroline Records. It features Jeff Beck on guitar, and charted in the Top 10 in five countries, and the Top 40 in a further six, including the US.

<i>The Time Is Now</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Craig David

The Time Is Now is the seventh studio album by British singer Craig David, released on 26 January 2018. The album features guest appearances from JP Cooper, Bastille, AJ Tracey, Ella Mai, Kaytranada and GoldLink. The first single from the album, titled "Heartline", was released on 14 September 2017, through David's official YouTube account.

<i>Roxy: Tonights the Night Live</i> 2018 live album by Neil Young

Roxy: Tonight's the Night Live is a live album by Canadian musician Neil Young. The album is culled from live recordings made at the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, shows that celebrated the club's opening as part of Neil Young Tonight's the Night Tour 1973. Neil Young and the backing band he called the Santa Monica Flyers played two sets a night on September 20, 21, and 22, 1973, shortly after the band had finished recording Tonight's the Night. Because of that, almost the entire concert is made up of that album.

References

  1. ↑ Phares, Heather. "The Cult of Ray – Frank Black". AllMusic . Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  2. ↑ Woodard, Josef (February 2, 1996). "The Cult of Ray". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  3. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (January 26, 1996). "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray (Epic)". The Guardian .
  4. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (February 4, 1996). "Frank Black, 'The Cult of Ray', American Recordings". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. ↑ Cigarettes, Johnny (January 13, 1996). "Frank Black – The Cult Of Ray". NME . Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  6. ↑ Sherr, Sara (February 11, 1996). "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray (American)". The Philadelphia Inquirer .
  7. ↑ Schreiber, Ryan (February 1996). "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on September 18, 2004. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray". Q . No. 113. February 1996. p. 91.
  9. ↑ Upton, Sam (February 1996). "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray". Select . No. 68. p. 80. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  10. ↑ Salamon, Jeff (February 1996). "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray". Spin . Vol. 11, no. 11. p. 89. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ Buja, Ben (April 12, 1996). "The Cult of Ray". Washington City Paper . Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ Kowsky, Kim; Kass, Jeff (May 19, 1995). "Student Dies After Youths Beat Him at High School". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  13. 1 2 "Frank Black Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Frank Black Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Frank Black – The Cult of Ray" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Frank Black – The Cult of Ray" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Frank Black – The Cult of Ray" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frank Black – The Cult of Ray" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Frank Black – The Cult of Ray". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.