Summary
The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord is the seventh full-length studio album by the electronic band Cabaret Voltaire. The album was released through Some Bizzare Records in November 1985. The album's title was shortened to The Arm of the Lord for the United States.[8]
| The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 October 1985[1] | |||
| Genre | New wave, synthpop, EBM | |||
| Length | 45:07 (original LP release) | |||
| Label | Virgin, Caroline Records | |||
| Producer | Cabaret Voltaire | |||
| Cabaret Voltaire chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 6/10[4] |
| MusicHound | 4/5[5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [6] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[7] |
Background edit
Cabaret Voltaire struggled with several censorship issues with Some Bizarre and Virgin Records upon the release of the album. The original title, The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, was forced to be shortened in the US to avoid reference to a former American white supremacist organisation. Musically, the album featured a more abrasive, sample-heavy sound than its predecessor and contained many sexual innuendos in the lyrics, to which Virgin Records took objection. Several speeches by Charles Manson were also mixed in between songs. Cabaret Voltaire were warned by their record label to produce a charting single or risk being dropped, so the group subversively released a music video for the track "I Want You", which Richard H. Kirk later admitted was about masturbation.
The album peaked at #57 in the UK,[9] securing Cabaret Voltaire's future with the label. However the group switched to EMI for the release of Code, their 1987 follow-up album.
Track listing edit
- "L21ST" – 5:33
- "I Want You" – 4:40
- "Hells Home" – 5:10
- "Kickback" – 5:37
- "The Arm of the Lord" – 1:44
- "Warm" – 3:21
- "Golden Halos" – 5:13
- "Motion Rotation" – 4:03
- "Whip Blow" – 4:57
- "The Web" – 4:49
- "Sleepwalking" – 8:24
- "Big Funk" – 8:09
11 and 12 are CD bonus tracks from the Drinking Gasoline EP.
Personnel edit
- Cabaret Voltaire
- Stephen Mallinder – vocals, bass, keyboards
- Richard H. Kirk – guitars, keyboards, tapes
References edit
- Fish, Mick (2002). Industrial Evolution: Through the Eighties With Cabaret Voltaire. SAF Publishing. ISBN 0-946719-46-2.
- ^ "Records". Number One. 12 October 1985. p. 43. Retrieved 10 May 2022 – via flickr.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Cabaret Voltaire". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958 – via Google Books.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). "Cabaret Voltaire". The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate Books. p. 231. ISBN 1-84195-615-5.
- ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). "Cabaret Voltaire". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 187–188. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Cabaret Voltaire". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 128–29. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Sinker, Mark (1995). "Cabaret Voltaire". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 67–68. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ discogs.com: Cabaret Voltaire: The Arm Of The Lord
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 89. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.