Here’s your ticket to some of the best (or, perhaps, most infamous) 7″ singles ever released! No adapter is required, although in my opinion the device pictured below is right up there with velcro as one of the best inventions of the 20th century.
45 RPM: The Cult’s “Lil’ Devil” [U.K. 7″]
The Cult’s Electric LP is a hard rock masterpiece, but it almost didn’t exist– at least not in the form that we know and love. After the success of the Love album, The Cult once again returned to the studio to work with producer Steve Brown. The band wasn’t happy with the resulting record, and ultimately decided to scrap the entire project. Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy were after a harder sound, and they decided to start fresh in New York City with a young Rick Rubin behind the board. The back-to-basics approach was exactly what songs like “Love Removal Machine” and “Wild Flower” needed, and soon The Cult would be headlining arenas across the United States.
As much as I like “Love Removal Machine” and “Wild Flower,” “Lil’ Devil” has always been my favorite song from Electric. It’s two minutes and forty-five seconds of pure, complete ass-kicking rock. It’s so simple that even I could play the bass line– hell, a second grader could probably play the bass line. That’s not meant as an insult to bassist Jamie Stewart, as it’s the song’s simplicity that makes it work so well. Throw in Duffy’s muscular guitar and Astbury’s gritty howl, and you have a perfect rock song. Even the tambourine sounds pissed off.
Flip the “Lil’ Devil” 45 over, and you’ll find one of The Cult’s greatest b-sides. “Zap City” was one of the songs originally recorded with Steve Brown during the 1986 Manor sessions, and the band knew it was too good to leave in the can. Virtually every song recorded at Manor was re-recorded with Rubin in New York, but history has shown no record of a second attempt at “Zap City.” Ian and Billy must have known that they got it right the first time.
![Lil' Devil [U.K. 7_]](https://analogkidblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/lil-devil-u-k-7_.png)
The Cult: Lil’ Devil [U.K. 7″]
Beggars Banquet Records, 1987
A-side: “Lil’ Devil” (Astbury/Duffy)
B-side: “Zap City” (Astbury/Duffy)
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
The Cult: “Love Removal Machine” (Astbury/Duffy)
The Cult: “Wild Flower” (Astbury/Duffy)
Both taken from the U.K. EP The Manor Sessions
Beggars Banquet Records, 1988
The Cult: “Love Removal Machine” (Astbury/Duffy)
The Cult: “Wild Flower” (Astbury/Duffy)
Both taken from the album Electric
Sire Records, 1987
The Analog Kid 
The Manor Sessions versions are so outrageously good. Electric sounded stiff and AC/DC-like in comparison, to me. Sonic Temple seemed to bring those two threads back together again, but the MS EP, for me, is the peak of The Cult.