The Cult of Ray

The Cult of Ray is the third solo studio album by American musician Frank Black. Unlike his previous two albums, which had been produced by former Pere Ubu keyboardist Eric Drew Feldman, Black opted to produce The Cult of Ray himself.

The Cult of Ray
Studio album by
Frank Black
ReleasedJanuary 22, 1996 (1996-01-22)
Studio
GenreAlternative rock
Length41:40
LabelAmerican
ProducerFrank 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[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[2]
The Guardian[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
NME4/10[5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[6]
Pitchfork5.5/10[7]
Q[8]
Select4/5[9]
Spin4/10[10]

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
  • Frank Black – vocals, guitar (right channel)
  • Scott Boutier – drums
  • David McCaffery – bass
  • Lyle Workman – lead guitar (left channel)
  • Matt Yelton – backing vocals on "Men in Black", "You Ain't Me", "The Adventure and the Resolution" and "Dance War"
  • Nick Vincent – drums and bass on "I Don't Want to Hurt You (Every Single Time)"
Technical
  • Frank Black – producer
  • Matt Yelton – engineer
  • Billy Bowers – assistant engineer
  • Greg Fidelman – assistant engineer
  • Jim Champagne – assistant engineer
  • Eddie Miller – assistant engineer
  • Mike Baumgartner – assistant engineer
  • Ian MacPherson – assistant engineer
  • Andy MacPherson – mixing
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Inertia – design

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

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. "Frank Black Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  14. "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.
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