The Cult of Ray

The Cult of Ray
Studio album by Frank Black
Released January 22, 1996
Genre Alternative rock
Length 41:40
Label American Recordings
Producer Frank Black
Frank Black chronology
Teenager of the Year
(1994)Teenager of the Year1994		 The Cult of Ray
(1996)		 Frank Black and the Catholics
(1998)Frank Black and the Catholics1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
NME4/10[4]
Pitchfork5.5/10[5]
Select[6]

The Cult of Ray is a 1996 album by Frank Black (also known as Black Francis.) It is his third solo album released after the initial breakup of The Pixies. Unlike his previous two albums, which had been produced by former Pere Ubu keyboardist Eric Drew Feldman, Black opted to produce this one himself.

The album title is a reference to science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury. 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.[7]

Chart performance

The album peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Heat Seekers and number 127 on The Billboard 200 in 1996.[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Black Francis.

  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

A limited edition of the UK CD version contained a disc with four bonus tracks:

  1. "Village of the Sun"
  2. "Baby, That's Art"
  3. "Everybody Got the Beat"
  4. "Can I Get a Witness"

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).

  • Frank Black - vocals, guitar (right channel)
  • Scott Boutier - drums
  • David McCaffery - bass
  • Lyle Workman - lead guitar (left channel)
  • Matt Yelton - backing vocals on *
  • Nick Vincent - drums and bass on "I Don't Want to Hurt You (Every Single Time)"

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 39
US Billboard 200 127

Singles

Year Single Peak positions
UK
[9]
1996 "Men in Black" 37
"I Don't Want to Hurt You (Every Single Time)" 63
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

References

  1. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  3. ↑ Woodard, Josef (2 February 1996). "The Cult of Ray". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray (Epic)". Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray [American; 1996]". Archived from the original on 18 September 2004. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  6. ↑ Upton, Sam (February 1996). "Frank Black: The Cult of Ray (Epic)". Select: 80. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  7. ↑ Kowsky, Kim; Kass, Jeff (19 May 1995). "Student Dies After Youths Beat Him at High School". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Frank Black". Billboard.
  9. ↑ "FRANK BLACK – Artist – Official Charts". UK Singles Chart. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
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