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| Ceremony | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 September 1991 (1991-09-23) | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 63:38 | |||
| Label | Beggars Banquet,Sire | |||
| Producer | Richie Zito | |||
| The Cult chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Ceremony | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Q | [3] |
| Rock Hard | 9/10[4] |
Ceremony is the fifth studio album by Britishrock bandThe Cult, first released on 23 September 1991. The album reached no. 25 at theBillboard 200 charts in the US and no. 9 at theAlbums Chart in the UK, and was certified gold in the UK.[5][6][7]Ceremony spawned the singles “Wild Hearted Son” and “Heart of Soul”.
Ceremony represented a period of great turmoil within the band. Longtime bassistJamie Stewart had departed prior to recording, and the working relationship between vocalistIan Astbury and guitaristBilly Duffy was at an all-time low. The pair reportedly rarely agreed to appear at the studio together, opting to record their parts separately at different times.
The album was highly anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's previous worldwide successes with their 1987 albumElectric and its 1989 follow-upSonic Temple. It was heavily inspired byNative American culture.
The band was sued for $61,000,000 by the parents of the Native American boy pictured on the album cover.[8][9] In New York, the case against Warner Bros. Records was dismissed in February 1997 for lack of personal jurisdiction.[10] A separate case was filed in the District Court of South Dakota on April 10, 1995, but was terminated on May 16, 1995.[11][12]
The album reached no. 25 in theUS and no. 9 in theUK, while achieving platinum status in Canada and gold in the UK, but sales suffered with the arrival ofgrunge rock and time spent dealing with the lawsuit.[13][7] Some countries, including South Korea and Thailand, did not see the record's release until 1992 and it was unreleased in Turkey until the Cult played several shows in Istanbul in June 1993. It reached #16 on the USCashbox charts.[14]
All tracks are written byIan Astbury andBilly Duffy.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ceremony" | 6:27 |
| 2. | "Wild Hearted Son" | 5:41 |
| 3. | "Earth Mofo" | 4:42 |
| 4. | "White" | 7:56 |
| 5. | "If" | 5:25 |
| 6. | "Full Tilt" | 4:51 |
| 7. | "Heart of Soul" | 5:55 |
| 8. | "Bangkok Rain" | 5:47 |
| 9. | "Indian" | 4:53 |
| 10. | "Sweet Salvation" | 5:25 |
| 11. | "Wonderland" | 6:10 |
| Total length: | 63:38 | |
Both "Ceremony" and "Wild Hearted Son" begin withNative American Indian dances. "White" includes an excerpt fromLawrence Lipton's 1959 book 'The Holy Barbarians', which was later the name ofAstbury's band, formed in 1996. "Heart of Soul" begins with the lyric "Down and out in London, Los Angeles, and Paris too", which is a reference toGeorge Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London', with Los Angeles being where the band were based at that time.
"Wild Hearted Son" (UK#40, Canada #41) was the first officially released single, followed by "Heart of Soul" (UK#51). "Sweet Salvation" and "Heart of Soul" were both released as promotional only singles in Argentina in 1992, and "Ceremony" was released as a promotional single in Spain.
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] | 7 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] | 14 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] | 48 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[19] | 6 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] | 38 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] | 3 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] | 21 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] | 38 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[24] | 9 |
| USBillboard 200[25] | 25 |
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] | 57 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27] | 15 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[28] | 3 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[29] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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