Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult is easily the most creative & original "plain rock-n-roll" band there is. Nearly all of their songs deal with sci-fi themes, obscure drug references, etc. In fact many of the song titles are more interesting than the songs themselves!

I used to own a complete crappy vinyl collection of BOC, and sold them all when I was hard up for cash, figuring I would inevitably upgrade them to CD anyway. Well it was years before I started to build my BOC CD (haha that sounds cool!) collection (they don't turn up used very often), and during that time my roommate was a real BOC nut, and kept insisting that I work on getting them, dropping "hints" like buying me Extraterrestrial Live for Christmas and reorganizing my collection so there was a hole right where a BOC CD would fit (and that was QUITE a task, since I organize my huge collection alphabetically, it must have taken him at least an hour! I don't know what I filled the hole with, I think I bought Bolt Thrower or something just to spite him...) Finally, over time, I started picking up CD's here and there, until my collection now stands at 99.9% complete--there's another rare live album out there, I think, plus two songs from a soundtrack that I saw once and of course is now impossible to find...but heck, I think I'll just quit here. :-P

(Oh, and my apologies for not always typing out the stupid HTML code for the Ö, it looks REAL nappy on this plain text editor!)

"Blue Öyster Cult"

  1. "Transmaniacon MC" (3:20)
  2. "I'm on the Lamb but I Ain't No Sheep" (3:09)
  3. "Then Came the Last Days of May" (3:29)
  4. "Stairway to the Stars" (3:42)
  5. "Before the Kiss, A Redcap" (4:56)
  6. "Screams" (3:09)
  7. "She's as Beautiful as a Foot" (2:55)
  8. "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" (4:02)
  9. "Workshop of the Telescopes" (4:00)
  10. "Redeemed" (3:51)

I haven't listened to this one much, so it's kinda hard to comment on, except the sound production is a lot more sludgy than their later releases. But that's typical of debut albums... "Cities on Flame" has been covered by Iced Earth.

"Tyranny and Mutation"

  1. "The Red & The Black" (4:20)
  2. "O.D.'d on Life Itself" (4:50)
  3. "Hot Rails to Hell" (5:12)
  4. "7 Screaming Diz-Busters" (7:00)
  5. "Baby Ice Dog" (3:28)
  6. "Wings Wetted Down" (4:12)
  7. "Teen Archer" (3:57)
  8. "Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)" (5:07)

Haven't listened to this one much either...in fact, I ran across this CD in my collection and don't remember ever buying it!

"Secret Treaties"

  1. "Career of Evil" (3:54)
  2. "Subhuman" (4:37)
  3. "Dominance and Submission" (5:22)
  4. "ME 262" (4:45)
  5. "Cagey Cretins" (3:15)
  6. "Harvester of Eyes" (4:40)
  7. "Flaming Telepaths" (5:18)
  8. "Astronomy" (6:23)

I had a tape of this album long before I bought the crappy vinyl and thus it's one of the few early BOC albums I'm totally familiar with. (Though like Tyranny above, I can't remember where or when I bought the CD!) The song "Astronomy" was re-recorded for the Imaginos CD; it's also been covered (somewhat badly) by Metallica.

"On Your Feet or On Your Knees" (live album)

  1. "The Subhuman" (7:30)
  2. "Harvester of Eyes" (4:55)
  3. "Hot Rails to Hell" (5:55)
  4. "The Red & The Black" (4:33)
  5. "Seven Screaming Dizbusters" (8:54)
  6. "Buck's Boogie"--instrumental (7:04)
  7. "Last Days of May" (4:39)
  8. "Cities on Flame" (4:10)
  9. "ME 262" (8:13)
  10. "Before the Kiss (A Redcap)" (5:10)
  11. "Maserati GT (I Ain't Got You)" (8:59)
  12. "Born to be Wild" (6:36)

I used to have a couple tapes composed of BOC's three live albums all mixed together, so the songs on here are more recognizeable to me than the studio releases. It's kinda neat how they switched around on vocals, guitar & stuff a lot...no wonder their music sounds so unique! My favorite part, though, is Eric Bloom's little speech: "I know Lucifer so well I call him by his first name...I say, 'Hey Lou!'"

"Agents of Fortune"

  1. "This Ain't the Summer of Love" (2:20)
  2. "True Confessions" (2:56)
  3. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (5:08)
  4. "E.T.I. (Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)" (4:43)
  5. "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" (3:48)
  6. "Sinful Love" (3:28)
  7. "Tattoo Vampire" (3:48)
  8. "Morning Final" (4:14)
  9. "Tenderloin" (3:54)
  10. "Debbie Denise" (4:10)

I think it was real neat how Stephen King quoted "Don't Fear the Reaper" at the beginning of his novel The Stand, and how the miniseries opened with the song as well! An impressive way to stay true to the source, I must say! (Somebody told me the "Stand" version was actually re-recorded, but hell if I noticed any difference.)

"Spectres"

  1. "Godzilla" (3:41)
  2. "Golden Age of Leather" (5:51)
  3. "Death Valley Nights" (4:08)
  4. "Searchin' for Celine" (3:36)
  5. "Fireworks" (3:10)
  6. "R.U. Ready 2 Rock" (3:43)
  7. "Celestial the Queen" (3:24)
  8. "Goin' Through the Motions" (3:12)
  9. "I Love the Night" (4:23)
  10. "Nosferatu" (5:21)

Did you know the Japanese pronunciation for "Godzilla" is Godjira? Yes I know it sounds like a bad ethnic joke but it's true!

"Some Enchanted Evening" (live album)

  1. "R.U. Ready 2 Rock" (6:06)
  2. "E.T.I. (Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)" (5:16)
  3. "Astronomy" (8:27)
  4. "Kick Out the Jams" (3:03)
  5. "Godzilla" (4:15)
  6. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (6:07)
  7. "We Gotta Get Outta This Place" (4:40)

The band's 2nd live album, although with only 7 songs it's more like a mini-LP or EP. My guess is they rushed this out as a "quickie" after the success of their last two albums -- it's got 2 songs from Agents, 2 from Spectres, a VERY pretty version of "Astronomy", and two cover songs: MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" and the Animals' "We Gotta Get Outta This Place". (That last song, apparently, is a different version than what appeared on the crappy vinyl, but hell if I can tell any difference...)

Oh yeah...when I was building my BOC collection, I passed on buying this CD for a loooong time, since the fucker was there EVERY time I searched the used bins. As time went on, though, I saw it less and less frequently...and then not at all! In fact, it's gotta've been five or six YEARS since I last saw a copy used (by which time the rest of this collection was complete, so this album's omission stood out like a pus-filled rectum.) Finally it went to Buy-On-Sight priority, and when I finally saw it, I bought it. :-)

"Mirrors"

  1. "Dr. Music" (3:12)
  2. "The Great Sun Jester" (4:46)
  3. "In Thee" (3:47)
  4. "Mirrors" (3:44)
  5. "Moon Crazy" (4:02)
  6. "The Vigil" (6:25)
  7. "I Am the Storm" (3:42)
  8. "You're Not the One (I Was Looking For)" (3:14)
  9. "Lonely Teardrops" (3:41)

Hmm, a thoroughly uneven album. Half the songs are really good, while the other half (oddly interspersed between the good ones) totally SUCK! Especially that horrible "In Thee"...ugh!

"Cultösaurus Erectus"

  1. "Black Blade" (6:33)
  2. "Monsters" (5:10)
  3. "Divine Wind" (5:06)
  4. "Deadline" (4:27)
  5. "The Marshall Plan" (5:22)
  6. "Hungry Boys" (3:38)
  7. "Fallen Angel" (3:11)
  8. "Lips in the Hills" (4:25)
  9. "Unknown Tongue" (3:55)

I get a kick out of this album--ya gotta wonder what they were thinking when they came up with titles like "Lips in the Hills" and "Unknown Tongue"! Also the "Cultosaur" displayed on the album cover is so cuuute, where can I get one as a pet?

"Fire of Unknown Origin"

  1. "Fire of Unknown Origin" (4:09)
  2. "Burnin' for You" (4:29)
  3. "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" (4:48)
  4. "Sole Survivor" (4:04)
  5. "Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver" (3:16)
  6. "Vengeance (The Pact)" (4:40)
  7. "After Dark" (4:24)
  8. "Joan Crawford" (4:54)
  9. "Don't Turn Your Back" (4:02)

One of the most solid BOC albums there is, containing some of my favorite songs, esp. "Burnin' for You" (which has been covered by Iced Earth) and "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" (which was in the movie Heavy Metal, and boy did it fit the theme!) "Joan Crawford" is a riot as well: "Joan Crawford has risen from the grave!"--man, where DO these guys come up with their ideas??

"Extraterrestrial Live"

  1. "Dominance and Submission" (5:56)
  2. "Cities on Flame" (5:19)
  3. "Dr. Music" (3:40)
  4. "The Red and the Black" (4:39)
  5. "Joan Crawford" (5:17)
  6. "Burnin' for You" (4:50)
  7. "Roadhouse Blues" (9:06)
  8. "Black Blade" (6:17)
  9. "Hot Rails to Hell" (5:03)
  10. "Godzilla" (7:46)
  11. "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" (8:11)
  12. "E.T.I. (Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)" (5:20)
  13. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (6:42)

For some reason BOC's live albums sound even better than their studio work. It's also interesting to compare songs which are on more than one live album. "Roadhouse Blues" (a Doors song, but of course you knew that already) is particularly neat due to Eric Bloom's little speech about how the night before the concert he bought a six-pack of beer & put it on ice in his hotel room, thus explaining the "I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer" part. :)

"The Revölution by Night"

  1. "Take Me Away" (4:29)
  2. "Eyes on Fire" (3:55)
  3. "Shooting Shark" (7:09)
  4. "Veins" (3:57)
  5. "Shadow of California" (5:08)
  6. "Feel the Thunder" (5:47)
  7. "Let Go" (3:25)
  8. "Dragon Lady" (4:06)
  9. "Light Years of Love" (4:04)

I've read that a lot of BOC fans don't like this album. But for me it happens to be one of my favorites. Probably because this was the 1st BOC album that I ever purchased. "Take Me Away" (which Aldo Nova co-wrote & played guitar on) is a serious rocker, and "Shooting Shark" is a lovely, mellow tune.

"Club Ninja"

  1. "White Flags" (4:41)
  2. "Dancin' in the Ruins" (3:58)
  3. "Make Rock Not War" (3:56)
  4. "Perfect Water" (5:28)
  5. "Spy in the Hose of the Night" (4:19)
  6. "Beat 'em Up" (3:22)
  7. "When the War Comes" (6:01)
  8. "Shadow Warriors" (5:39)
  9. "Madness to the Method" (7:25)

Easily the worst album BOC has ever made (Mirrors comes awful close, though) and the last studio record I picked up on CD, ostensibly to fill up the collection.

"Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 3/27/86" (King Biscuit Flower Hour; CDR bootleg)

  1. King Biscuit Flower Hour intro/commercials
    "R.U. Ready 2 Rock"
    "White Flags"
    "Take Me Away" (total = 22:38)
    commercials
  2. "Dancin' in the Ruins"
    "The Shadow Warrior"
    "Burnin' for You" (total = 16:44)
    commercials
  3. "Godzilla"
    "Wings of Mercury"
    "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (total = 18:26)
    KBFH end credits
  4. "Astronomy '88"--short version, w/ Stephen King intro (5:58)
  5. "Astronomy '88"--long version, w/ Stephen King intro (7:07)

The equivalent bootleg title for this one is Shadow Warriors, which I did find artwork for and was planning to print out, but that's on hold for right now. This particular recording comes direct from the original crappy vinyl that was sent to radio stations for the KBFH broadcast, and the guy responsible for this vinyl rip did one HELL of a good job in minizing the surface hiss and other pops & cracks...I can't hear any at all!!! Each of tracks 1-3 represents a full side of the vinyl (yes...it's a 3-sided vinyl, I didn't believe it at first either) with all commercials and radio announcements included. It's an A+ quality show, but has the obvious drawback of being performed while touring for their suckiest album in history, and doesn't include the complete show. What it does have is a totally rare and unreleased song, "Wings of Mercury", which had been planned for inclusion on the Hear N' Aid LP, but got yanked.

The Shadow Warriors bootleg included 3 extra live tracks from another venue, but they don't appear here. Instead, I've got two versions of the 1988 rerecording of "Astronomy"...with the Stephen King introduction!! WHOOHOO!!!! Unfortunately, the "short" version is very defective, and skips all over the place. (The "long" version is perfect, though.) The guy who sent me this said he would look into the problem, but I never heard from him again. Not sure what I'm going to do about that yet.

"Imaginos"

  1. "I Am the One You Warned Me Of" (5:03)
  2. "Les Invisibles" (5:31)
  3. "In the Presence of Another World" (6:25)
  4. "Del Rio's Song" (5:33)
  5. "The Siege and Investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria" (6:43)
  6. "Astronomy" (6:47)
  7. "Magna of Illusion" (5:52)
  8. "Blue Öyster Cult" (7:18)
  9. "Imaginos" (5:46)

This fantastic album was over 20 years in the making--in fact "Astronomy" originally appeared on Secret Treaties (and the radio would play a version with an introductory narrative by Stephen King, which wasn't on the CD itself, dammit!) It started out as a solo project by drummer Alan Bouchard and producer Sandy Pearlman, but the record company would only release it as a BOC album so they got the rest of the band to perform on it. And lots of others as well--the guitar credits include Aldo Nova, Joe Satriani, Robbie Krieger of The Doors, etc. Although it's hands-down the best album BOC ever made, it was nearly ten years before they put out another one. The Story of Imaginos makes for some pretty good reading, too.

"Heaven Forbid"

  1. "See You in Black" (3:16)
  2. "Harvest Moon" (4:55)
  3. "Power Underneath Despair" (3:30)
  4. "X-Ray Eyes" (3:47)
  5. "Hammer Back" (3:34)
  6. "Damaged" (4:21)
  7. "Cold Grey Light of Dawn" (3:50)
  8. "Real World" (5:08)
  9. "Live for Me" (5:18)
  10. "Still Burnin'" (3:38)
  11. "In Thee" (3:40)

Hmm...not sure how to evaluate this one. "See You in Black" starts out auspiciously, a fast rocker evocative of Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath; the rest falls back on trademark BOC weirdness, similar to Secret Treaties or Cultosaurus Erectus. Maybe I have to listen to it more, but I've found that if BOC doesn't grab me right away, it probably won't later... And wtf is up with the re-recording of "In Thee"?? One of the band's worst songs EVER...though I will admit, this acoustic, semi-live version does sound better than the track on Mirrors.


Previous Band Back to Index Next Band