Author Topic: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)  (Read 17059 times)

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Online Podaar

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #140 on: October 20, 2021, 06:55:18 AM »
Yeah, Secret Treaties is all kinds of win. Even Cagey Cretins...it fits the bands sense of humor so perfectly!  :lol

Career of Evil, Flaming Telepaths, Harvester of Eyes, ME 262, Astronomy. All classics.
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Offline nick_z

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #141 on: October 20, 2021, 08:45:42 AM »
A few musings on Tyranny and Mutation...

Hot Rails to Hell and 7 Screaming Dizbusters were my instant favorites from this, and both have held up well. Side 2 didn't grab me right away, but grew on me to where I love it almost as much as Side 1 now.

Teen Archer is one that I always liked, but never loved, until I saw them play it in 2000. Then I was like, holy crap this song is money!!  More killer bass work, and yet another killer lead riff.  I love how so many of their solos are almost like little snapshots, like they come to us in bite sizes rather than feeling the need to overdo them.  The breakdown at the end of the instrumental section is one of the best moments on the album, with the rhythm section allowed to shine with brief little solos.  And the way they come out of that last chorus and go back into the main riff and slow it down is so well done, and then, almost like they faked us out, they speed it up to end the song, before transitioning into Mistress of the Salmon Salt...Quicklime Girl!!!!

Incidentally, that 2000 show was unreal.  It was at Pops over on the east side (near all of the strip bars across the river in Sauget, IL) and they made up a lot of the set list as they went along. You could hear them talking in between songs deciding what to play next, and there were a few times when fan requests that were yelled out were played.  They played Unknown Tongue, The Vigil and Golden Age of Leather all at that show, three songs I never thought I'd see them play.  And the performance of Dominance and Submission, with the band singing "dominance" and then getting us all to sing "submission" was awesome.  And I remember a guy near us, some big dude who looked like one of those guys who rides around on a Harley every day, spent the whole show rocking out and drinking beer straight from the pitcher with his huge mitt wrapped around it.  :metal :metal

T&M is fantastic...both the more "urgent" Black side and the super-cool Red side. In fact, I'd say I prefer the latter. 7 Screaming Diz-Busters is a definite highlight, as is The Red & the Black, among the more aggressive tunes. I honestly like all of side B, but I agree with you Teen Archer is such a great performance from all band members.

For my taste, I still put Secret Treaties ahead of this, but not by much. One of my favorites from BOC, and certainly one of their most consistently good albums.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #142 on: October 20, 2021, 09:11:26 AM »
Yeah, Secret Treaties is all kinds of win. Even Cagey Cretins...it fits the bands sense of humor so perfectly!  :lol

Career of Evil, Flaming Telepaths, Harvester of Eyes, ME 262, Astronomy. All classics.

Hard to argue with that.  :tup :tup

T&M is fantastic...both the more "urgent" Black side and the super-cool Red side. In fact, I'd say I prefer the latter. 7 Screaming Diz-Busters is a definite highlight, as is The Red & the Black, among the more aggressive tunes. I honestly like all of side B, but I agree with you Teen Archer is such a great performance from all band members.

For my taste, I still put Secret Treaties ahead of this, but not by much. One of my favorites from BOC, and certainly one of their most consistently good albums.

 :coolio :coolio


Offline TAC

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #143 on: October 20, 2021, 09:17:57 AM »
When does the listening party start? Is there someone leading it?

Didn't we have a discography thread a couple of years ago?
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #144 on: October 20, 2021, 09:26:44 AM »
Are you guys saying that BOC literally rewrote songs and released them later as other (new) songs, or is it more like the main riff and/or song structure is so similar that it's basically the same song, but not officially?

It was more organic than simply rewriting a song from the first album. On their first tour they were support for other acts and had limited sets. Over time they began to speed up "I'm on the Lamb..." and play the main riff with heavier power chords rather then the plucky guitars on the first album. They liked it better because it would get the audience going. By the end of the tour it became their opening number and had rewrote the whole middle section to showcase the band's chops. I guess they figured it would make a good opener for the second album now that it hardly resembled the original.

Thanks, Greg.  That's the insight I was looking for.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #145 on: October 20, 2021, 09:52:16 AM »
When does the listening party start? Is there someone leading it?

Didn't we have a discography thread a couple of years ago?

Listen on your own and then report back, dingleberry. :P :P

Offline TAC

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #146 on: October 20, 2021, 09:57:54 AM »
How far behind am I?

....ok well there's a softball down the middle.. :lol
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline TAC

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #147 on: October 20, 2021, 09:58:33 AM »
Actually, nevermind. I can't participate with the new DT album out.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #148 on: October 20, 2021, 10:05:31 AM »
I hear ya on that. Fortunately, most of the BOC albums are so ingrained in my head that I can do long and detailed reviews from memory, but I am listening to all of them fresh anyway.  Most of their albums were made back when albums were not super long, so easy to plow through one a day, for me anyway.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #149 on: October 21, 2021, 06:01:09 AM »
True Confessions is a steaming pile of horse manure, but the rest of Agents of Fortune is money.  It took me a long time to warm up to some of the songs on this one, but I got there eventually.  It almost feels like a Queen album, in the sense that there is a lot of variety and they kind of bounce all around stylistically from one song to the next. 

Offline nick_z

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #150 on: October 21, 2021, 08:56:48 AM »
Just adding more praise to Secret Treaties - I have re-listened to it in its entirety after a while, and it's as good as ever. The music, the lyrics, the vibe...it's "classic" and yet different. I enjoy all of it, including Cagey Cretins  :)

Regarding Astronomy and the comparison with the version on Imaginos - I'm sure the fact that I heard the Secret Treaties' version first has something to do with me preferring it. But that main, iconic riff in the chorus, and the change of pace for the ending...it's probably what I miss in the other version (which is incredibly cool for a bunch of other reasons, by the way)

As a bonus - I've also revisited On Your Feet or On Your Knees. Man, what a great live album to cap the first three-album run. All songs have tons of energy and are just fun to listen to.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #151 on: October 21, 2021, 12:59:01 PM »
I really like the albums I've heard from them, those being the s/t, Tyranny and Mutation, Secret Treaties, Mirrors, Cultosaurus Erectus, and The Symbol Remains.

Symbol Remains is great. They have very clearly been taking great care of their voices throughout the years. The Alchemist  :metal
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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #152 on: October 21, 2021, 01:24:41 PM »
True Confessions is a steaming pile of horse manure, but the rest of Agents of Fortune is money.  It took me a long time to warm up to some of the songs on this one, but I got there eventually.  It almost feels like a Queen album, in the sense that there is a lot of variety and they kind of bounce all around stylistically from one song to the next.


This Ain't the Summer of Love and Tattoo Vampire need to be twice as long as they are so that True Confessions and Debbie Denise could have been kicked to the curb. Otherwise, great album! Morning Final is criminally under appreciated, IMO.
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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #153 on: October 21, 2021, 01:46:16 PM »
This Ain't the Summer of Love and Tattoo Vampire are still staples in their sets.
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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #154 on: October 21, 2021, 03:07:50 PM »
Yes, Agents of Fortune is great too. I guess I agree it's not quite as good as what came immediately before and after, although I love how wonky it is overall. Plus, the mere presence of (Don't Fear) The Reaper elevates it...no matter how overplayed or parodied it is, it's a timeless classic. The album truly hits its stride with Reaper, E.T.I, and Vera Gemini...the latter is probably my second favorite on the album.

Hard to disagree that True Confessions and Debbie Denise are the low points on the record, although I don't hate either of those.

And yes, Morning Final is another definite highlight...the keyboards create a fantastic mood on that one.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #155 on: October 21, 2021, 06:34:59 PM »
I bought Agents of Fortune when I was a teenager and I couldn’t listen to it for a few year because Patti Smith’s vocals on The Revenge of Vera Gemini creeped me out.  :lol

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #156 on: October 21, 2021, 06:36:14 PM »
Just adding more praise to Secret Treaties - I have re-listened to it in its entirety after a while, and it's as good as ever. The music, the lyrics, the vibe...it's "classic" and yet different. I enjoy all of it, including Cagey Cretins  :)

Regarding Astronomy and the comparison with the version on Imaginos - I'm sure the fact that I heard the Secret Treaties' version first has something to do with me preferring it. But that main, iconic riff in the chorus, and the change of pace for the ending...it's probably what I miss in the other version (which is incredibly cool for a bunch of other reasons, by the way)

As a bonus - I've also revisited On Your Feet or On Your Knees. Man, what a great live album to cap the first three-album run. All songs have tons of energy and are just fun to listen to.

I am not a big live album guy, but that one has my favorite rendition of Them Came the Last Days of May, and the version of Before the Kiss, A Redcap is particularly outstanding as well.  :tup :tup

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #157 on: October 21, 2021, 06:36:52 PM »
I really like the albums I've heard from them, those being the s/t, Tyranny and Mutation, Secret Treaties, Mirrors, Cultosaurus Erectus, and The Symbol Remains.

Symbol Remains is great. They have very clearly been taking great care of their voices throughout the years. The Alchemist  :metal

I am hoping that one sounds better to me when I get to here in a couple weeks.  :)

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #158 on: October 21, 2021, 06:37:37 PM »


This Ain't the Summer of Love and Tattoo Vampire need to be twice as long as they are so that True Confessions and Debbie Denise could have been kicked to the curb. Otherwise, great album! Morning Final is criminally under appreciated, IMO.

I like Debbie Denise a lot.  It's kind cheesy, the melodies are nice, I really like the acoustic guitar bits, and that mellotron!!  :hefdaddy :hefdaddy

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #159 on: October 21, 2021, 06:38:29 PM »
This Ain't the Summer of Love and Tattoo Vampire are still staples in their sets.

Really? I am not sure they ever played either in the eight times I saw them between 1994 and 2002.  Possibly This Ain't..., but not Tattoo Vampire.  I would have remembered that.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #160 on: October 21, 2021, 06:39:31 PM »
Yes, Agents of Fortune is great too. I guess I agree it's not quite as good as what came immediately before and after, although I love how wonky it is overall. Plus, the mere presence of (Don't Fear) The Reaper elevates it...no matter how overplayed or parodied it is, it's a timeless classic. The album truly hits its stride with Reaper, E.T.I, and Vera Gemini...the latter is probably my second favorite on the album.

Hard to disagree that True Confessions and Debbie Denise are the low points on the record, although I don't hate either of those.

And yes, Morning Final is another definite highlight...the keyboards create a fantastic mood on that one.

Love me some Morning Final.  Just a great melody, and very tasteful playing throughout.  It really shows how well they can play when going for a lighter touch rather than dark and sinister.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #161 on: October 21, 2021, 06:39:50 PM »
I bought Agents of Fortune when I was a teenager and I couldn’t listen to it for a few year because Patti Smith’s vocals on The Revenge of Vera Gemini creeped me out.  :lol

Haha, I always thought her voice suited that song so well.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #162 on: October 22, 2021, 06:22:03 AM »
I bought Agents of Fortune when I was a teenager and I couldn’t listen to it for a few year because Patti Smith’s vocals on The Revenge of Vera Gemini creeped me out.  :lol

Haha, I always thought her voice suited that song so well.

The recording of it is so...in your ear too. If your listening in your car, it's like she's in the back seat leaning next to your head rest. Creepy, perfect!
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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #163 on: October 23, 2021, 01:55:05 PM »
I bought Agents of Fortune when I was a teenager and I couldn’t listen to it for a few year because Patti Smith’s vocals on The Revenge of Vera Gemini creeped me out.  :lol

Haha, I always thought her voice suited that song so well.

The recording of it is so...in your ear too. If your listening in your car, it's like she's in the back seat leaning next to your head rest. Creepy, perfect!

Yes, her voice seems disembodied, which contributes to the creepy vibe.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #164 on: October 23, 2021, 04:04:45 PM »
While doing some finish work for our grand, main floor remodel, I had occasion to do some BÖC listening. I ran through AoF, Spectres, and Mirrors.

I was struck by how much I enjoyed both AoF and Mirrors more than Spectres. My memory had both albums rated lower, but the reality was that other than the bookends of Godzilla/Golden Age, I Love the Night/Nosferatu, Spectres doesn't really do it for me anymore. The middle bits aren't bad, I just would rather listen to those other albums. :dunno:
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #165 on: October 23, 2021, 04:35:26 PM »
Spectres is unique in that they put (what I feel are) clearly the best songs in the first two and last two slots.  Tracks 3-8 all range from solid to good, but Godzilla, Golden Age of Leather, I Love the Night and Nosferatu all stand far above. Golden Age of Leather is one of my favorite BOC songs from any era.

My fresh listen of Mirrors is coming tomorrow most likely, but I will say in advance that this has some good stuff. I knew it was the red-headed stepchild of their 70s albums, and it is certainly the least best of the lot, but there are a handful of songs on there I would call really good or great.  Definitely a few throwaways, too, IIRC.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #166 on: October 24, 2021, 04:27:48 PM »
I am very fond of Spectres. I gave it a fresh re-listen for this, of course, and I still love it. Another "uniquely-BOC" album. Godzilla is not among my very favorites here, actually, despite being a fun song/staple of live shows and having a pretty awesome subject matter  :biggrin: Golden Age of Leather, I Love the Night and Nosferatu surely are, though. What an amazing group of songs.

Of the middle pack, I'm not too crazy about R.U. Ready 2 Rock and Going Through The Motions (fun listens, though), but I really enjoy Death Valley Nights, Searching for Celine and Fireworks...they all have these interesting moods, oscillating between playful, nostalgic and vaguely eerie.

My remastered version has some bonus tracks - among those, Night Flyer is pretty good. What's the story behind that track? I could dig up my CD to check liner notes, but I'd rather rely on the BOC scholars in the thread  :)

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #167 on: October 24, 2021, 05:53:41 PM »
Ya know, I have little memory of those bonus tracks.  When I do these re-listens, I try to stick to the proper albums, most of the time anyway.  I can talk about all day about the album tracks, but the bonus tracks is where I get lost. :lol :facepalm:

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #168 on: October 25, 2021, 05:16:16 AM »
I've never heard of it, Nick. I'll pull up Spotify and see if I can find it.

edit: I found it. I don't know of any story behind it. It sounds like one of Buck's solo efforts that he would occasionally bring to the band. I think the lyrics are about trying to talk his SO into to stealing a lot of money and then escape on a midnight flight...that sounds like Buck too, IMO.

Also, IMO, they were right to leave it off the album. Oh boy, howdy, they were right.  :biggrin:
« Last Edit: October 25, 2021, 05:29:29 AM by Podaar »
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #169 on: October 25, 2021, 07:04:53 PM »
I checked it out as well.  Decent at best, forgettable at worst, so yeah I agree that leaving it off of the proper album was very wise.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #170 on: October 25, 2021, 07:07:11 PM »
Meanwhile, my favorite BOC album is next: Cultosaurus Erectus.  :coolio :coolio

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #171 on: October 26, 2021, 05:21:46 AM »
Wait a minute Kev. I thought you were running this listening/pajama party. You've not mentioned your Mirrors listen.
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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #172 on: October 26, 2021, 06:11:29 AM »
Damn, you are right. Way to keep me honest. ;)

Mirrors is one I did not get till around five years after I got in the band.  The friends I had were BOC fans (who helped get me into the band) all said it was not worth getting, and that was back before we had the internet (later 90s) and it wasn't so easy to just anything and everything, so I just never got it, but once I heard the live version of In Thee on Heaven Forbid, I wanted to hear the original, so I said to hell with it and bought Mirrors.  It was a pleasant surprise. 

On the one hand, it was clearly a drop-off from their other 70's work, but it has some great stuff.  The Vigil is one of their best songs ever; the structure of that song is masterful. The Great Sun Jester is almost as good.  Lonely Teardrops, which feels like their attempt to do a yacht rock song :lol, is so damn fun and catchy, I can't but love it.  The original In Thee is also great of course, and I like the title track a lot.  Dr. Music is also pretty solid. The other three songs are all just okay.  All in all, while somewhat of a hiccup, they still gave us some great songs.

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #173 on: October 26, 2021, 06:20:34 AM »
I've only listened to a compilation album (The Essential BOC) to get a nice overview of their catalogue and the big hits. Is Agents Of Fortune a nice starting place to go next?
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Blue Oyster Cult official thread (listening party late Oct/early Nov 2021)
« Reply #174 on: October 26, 2021, 06:22:54 AM »
I've only listened to a compilation album (The Essential BOC) to get a nice overview of their catalogue and the big hits. Is Agents Of Fortune a nice starting place to go next?

That is tough to say as it took me decades to really get into that album, and track 2 is so awful that it could turn you off of the band right away.  I would say start with any of their other 70s albums first (except Mirrors), or even Cultosaurus Erectus (my favorite) or Fire of Unknown Origin, both of which have great songwriting, while both possessing that streamlined, more accessible production.