Dreamtime (The Cult album)

Dreamtime
Studio album by
the Cult
Released31 August 1984 (1984-08-31)
StudioRockfield (Rockfield, Wales)
Genre
Length37:15
LabelBeggars Banquet
ProducerJohn Brand,[5]Joe Julian
The Cult chronology
Death Cult
(1983) 		Dreamtime
(1984) 		Love
(1985)
Singles from Dreamtime
  1. "Spiritwalker"
    Released: 11 May 1984
  2. "Go West"
    Released: 3 August 1984

Dreamtime is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Cult.[5][6] Released on 31 August 1984 by Beggars Banquet Records, it peaked at No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified silver by the BPI after having sold 60,000 copies. The first single, "Spiritwalker", peaked at No. 1 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. Dreamtime has subsequently been reissued (or in some cases bootlegged) in roughly 30 countries worldwide.

Lyrics to the song "Horse Nation" are taken almost verbatim from the non-fiction book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1970). "Spiritwalker" is a reference to shamanism, while "Dreamtime" is inspired by mythology of the Aboriginal Australians and 'Butterflies' is a reference to the Hopi ceremonial butterfly dance. "A Flower in the Desert" is a reworking of the Southern Death Cult's song "Flowers in the Forest".

The music of the album is characterized as dramatic, moody, dark psychedelic, with "crystalline guitar not that far off from what U2 was going after".[7] In 1985 Ian Astbury noted that the Cult were "like Big Country and U2, only better!".[8]

The record was originally being produced by Joe Julian, but after recording the drums, the band decided to replace him, and Beggars Banquet suggested John Brand. The record was ultimately produced by Brand, but guitarist Billy Duffy has said that the drum tracks used on the record were those produced by Julian, as band drummer Nigel Preston had become too unreliable by that time.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
  1. ^ Travers, Paul (21 May 2021). "The 16 essential goth albums you need to know". Kerrang!. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  2. ^ Rowley, Scott (21 June 2021). "10 goth albums you should definitely own". Classic Rock. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  3. ^ Lawson, Dom (26 April 2018). "The story of Love, or how The Cult divided their fans and defined their career". Louder Sound. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  4. ^ Gerard, Chris (7 April 2021). "The 100 Best Alternative Singles of the 1980s: 60 - 41". PopMatters. p. 4. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b Robbins, Ira; Fasolino, Greg. "Cult". Trouser Press.
  6. ^ Guides (Firm), Rough (June 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 1808. ISBN 978-1-85828-4-576 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Dreamtime - The Cult". roughtrade.com. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Cult Chat". The List. 1 November 1985. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  9. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Dreamtime - The Cult | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  10. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 464. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 203-204. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8 – via Google Books.