Ciao, Baby: The Cult

I can't remember the first time I heard The Cult. It may have been at a dance after a football game; I can remember dancing to "She Sells Sanctuary" and "Love Removal Machine" in the gym at Salpointe Catholic High School, but whether or not that's the first time I ever heard them I can't be sure. I really got into them (as I imagine other people did) when Sonic Temple came out in 1989. For reasons I'm not sure I can entirely explain, "Firewoman" became an anthem of sorts for me and also became my nickname among friends of mine. As much as I loved "Firewoman", I really loved "Edie (Ciao Baby)", and that song still holds some sway over me. The image of Edie that's used on the cover of Edie:  Girl On Fire is also the image The Cult used for the single. I think it's fair to say I would never have had any idea who Edie Sedgwick was without that song...it's still a beautiful melody, great lyrics and epic. There's plenty of other good tracks on Sonic Temple-"Sun King", "New York City", and "Automatic Blues" are some of my favorites.

Over the years I've picked up other albums of theirs, including Electric, which was the album preceding Sonic Temple. When I heard The Cult were coming to the Rialto and that they would be performing Electric in its entirety, I thought,  "Oooh...'Wildflower'? 'Love Removal Machine'? 'Memphis Hip Shake'? The cover of 'Born To Be Wild'? Yes, please!" But, I also thought, "Hmmm. These guys must be in their 50's now. Am I going to be sorry I saw them?" I posted my concerns on  facebook, asking if I should see them, and an old friend of mine said, "YES. You want to see them. They've still got it."

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