Blue Öyster Cult Discography: Curse of the Hidden Mirror

[Lowdz]

I do like Aldo Nova. Never  knew he played on a BOC album. Will check it out. I didn't hear anything by BOC after CE back in the day.

[KevShmev]

I cannot get on board with that assessment.  Maybe it's because the mixed tape that got me into the band had three songs from this - Take Me Away, Shooting Shark and Feel the Thunder, all of which are great) - or maybe it's because I first listened to this whole album with no predisposed thought of what B.O.C. is supposed to sound like, but I liked it a lot, and still do.  Okay, it's not a top 5 B.O.C. record, and yeah the electronic drums do sound a bit dated, but everything on this is at least good and more than half of it ranges from very good (Shadow of California and Veins) to great (the aforementioned three above).  I get why fans at the time probably didn't like it very much, but as someone who got into the band in the mid 90s, it sounded just fine to me.  It's not essential, but some of the songs on it definitely are.  Take Me Away and Shooting Shark are two of their best songs, by any measure, IMO.

But it's okay, Podaar...we're all wrong sometimes.

 

[Podaar]

But it's okay, Podaar...we're all wrong sometimes.

 

Oh don't I know it. You can probably tell by my write up that I was disappointed in myself for not finding enough enjoyment in it. I plan to revisit it, from time to time, once this thread is put to bed. I may be too immersed in the discography at the moment...not seeing the forest, as it were.

I'm happy to acknowledge that your taste may be superior! 

[KevShmev]

No, no, not superior; just different.   Plus, we obviously came at it from completely different angles, which played a huge part in our completely different reactions to it. 

[Lowdz]

Finished my listen and thought it was a decent album. Production-wise I like it, but not the drums. Could have done with a bit more umph in the guitars but its ok The Aldo Nova song is very good. Not the worst album I've listened to in the discog so far.
Its certainly "of its time" though, and trying to compete sound-wise with their contempories.

[King Postwhore]

I do like Aldo Nova. Never  knew he played on a BOC album. Will check it out. I didn't hear anything by BOC after CE back in the day.

Hell, I saw Aldo open for BOC

[Podaar]

Before we move on. What's everyone's opinion of "Let Go" from this album? I'm especially interested in Lowdz' and Kev's take on it.

[hefdaddy42]

Playing catch-up: finished Fire of Unknown Origin this morning.

It was OK.  Not bad (except for Joan Crawford WTF), but nothing special.

[Podaar]

Playing catch-up: finished Fire of Unknown Origin this morning.

It was OK.  Not bad (except for Joan Crawford WTF), but nothing special.

 

You may be the first person I've ever heard characterize "Joan Crawford" as bad. It's definitely weird but most people think that's the main ingredient in the awesome sauce.

Vive la différence

[KevShmev]

Joan Crawford is great!

As for Let Go, it's a good song.  I get the impression that they wrote it with it being an eventual live favorite in mind, where the fans would chant the "B! O! C!" part, but I doubt that ever came to fruition.

[hefdaddy42]

Maybe it's a frame of mind, wrong time/wrong song thing.

[Podaar]

As for Let Go, it's a good song.  I get the impression that they wrote it with it being an eventual live favorite in mind, where the fans would chant the "B! O! C!" part, but I doubt that ever came to fruition.

Probably because their fans are all 'stuck-up sticky beaks' like me. To me it just comes off as too low brow, like, "Hey, hey we're the Culters/People say we're Culting around/but we're too busy playing/to put anybody down" 

[KevShmev]

Eh, I doubt it.  I'd be surprised if that song was ever played live, since I could see them thinking it was never good enough to play live, and it's hard to become a live favorite when you, ya know, never play it live.

[Podaar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuK7iMG2mOk

It actually comes off a little better live. #whodathunk

Check out the second comment on the link! 

[Lowdz]

Before we move on. What's everyone's opinion of "Let Go" from this album? I'm especially interested in Lowdz' and Kev's take on it.

It doesn't rock enough - it sounds off because of that. Its like a big crowd participation track and the elements are there but they just didn't rock the guitars. That sterile weak production didn't help it but it comes across a bit 50s rock n roll.
and those backing vocals are   
There are much better songs on the album but they all suffer from that production - Dragon Lady being a prime example. They could have metalled that up a bit and it would have been a great track. Its all far too polite.

[Jaq]

Revolution by Night has a top five BOC song in Shooting Shark, and a pretty damn good one in Take Me Away, but the production really, really does it no favors. It's so 80s it hurts to listen to these days, especially the drums. Honestly you could get by with just hearing the two songs I mentioned, Feel the Thunder, and Shadow of California and not really be missing a lot. The only BOC album I like less as a total album is Mirrors.

[The Dark Master]

 I'm guessing that after Fire Of Unknown Origin returned BOC to a level of success they had not seen in a while, they were eager to repeat that success.  The result of this is that  RBN suffers from the same paradox as Judas Priest's Turbo; the band was attempting to make an ultra-modern album and, in the process, dated themselves severely.  Listening to Revolution By Night  is like getting smacked in the face by the physical manifestation of the 1980's.  The electronic drums, the uber-slick ZZ Top Eliminator-esque guitars, and the layers upon layers upon layers of synthesizers mark this record out as something that could only have been made in the decade of excess.  It's unmistakable and unavoidable.  If the defrosted 80's "That Guy" from that Wall Street parody episode of Futurama has a favourite Blue Oyster Cult album, this would be that record.

Fortunately, and perhaps a bit surprisingly, the sound actually works for most of the songs on the album.  The silky guitars and synths give many of the songs a dreamy, almost lonely quality that actually seems suitable for most of the record.  Especially on the ethereal Shooting Shark, this effect is apparent, but it also works on several other songs, like the epic Feel The Thunder with it's ghostly organ sections,  the upbeat, driving Eyes On Fire, and even some of the heavier songs like Take Me Away.  Much of the album has that distinct sound of an 80's sci-fi/fantasy film score, like something from The  Neverending Story, Labyrinth or the 1986 Transformers film, or some really good, old school 80's anime, like Iczer One or Venus Wars.  And for me, that is certainly not a bad thing.

The main problem with this production is that there are some songs that sound like the should have been heavier, but simply aren't.  Dragon Lady is a prime example of this.  It's a great song, but despite the strong, driving rhythm, it sounds a bit too light.  The guitars in the riff should have been given just a bit more crunch, the drums and bass a bit more oomph.  Fortunately, the song still has a slew of great melodies and ripping solos, so I can't complain too much.  And that is true of the album as a whole.  Yes the production does seem to hold the music back in many place, yet the songwriting here is unquestionably as strong as anything by BOC.

Of course, there is the infamous Let Go.  Much like Joan Crawford, it seems to be stylistically at odds with it's own album.  Unlike Joan Crawford, Let Go just seems to fail at what it was trying to be, which was a big arena rock anthem.  The song just isn't rocking enough to serve this purpose, and instead just sounds like a generic limp and flaccid 80's pop song, having none of the ethereal darkness present on the rest of the record, nor the crunch and grit it sounds like it should have.

Overall, though, I do like this album.  I do like to go on my 80's nostalgia trips every now and again, and this album certainly serves that purpose, and the fact that it was made by Blue Oyster Cult automatically makes it better then most 80's pop-rock out there.  Most of the songs on here that are just excellent, and the only one I can honestly say I dislike is Let Go.  Really, though I think the fact that the record has BOC on the cover is probably it's biggest mistake.  Taken as simply an album of 80's music, it's great, and certainly well ahead of the curve of it's contemporaries.  But, much like Priest's Turbo, it just sounds out of place compared to other albums made by the same band.  That makes an objective judgment of the record difficult for the die hard fan, because it forces them to make an impossible choice; should Revolution By Night be judged as a BOC record, within the context of the discography of the band who made it, or on it's own, simply as music.  I think if you look at it from the viewpoint of the former, you may have some issues with it.  But from the viewpoint of the latter, it is highly enjoyable.

Now excuse me while I go watch some Miami Vice.......   

[Lowdz]

I'm guessing that after Fire Of Unknown Origin returned BOC to a level of success they had not seen in a while, they were eager to repeat that success.  The result of this is that  RBN suffers from the same paradox as Judas Priest's Turbo; the band was attempting to make an ultra-modern album and, in the process, dated themselves severely.  Listening to Revolution By Night  is like getting smacked in the face by the physical manifestation of the 1980's.  The electronic drums, the uber-slick ZZ Top Eliminator-esque guitars, and the layers upon layers upon layers of synthesizers mark this record out as record as something that could only have been made in the decade of excess.  It's unmistakable and unavoidable.  If the defrosted 80's "That Guy" from that Wall Street parody episode of Futurama has a favourite Blue Oyster Cult album, this would be that record.

Fortunately, and perhaps a bit surprisingly, the sound actually works for most of the songs on the album.  The silky guitars and synths give many of the songs a dreamy, almost lonely quality that actually seems suitable for most of the record.  Especially on the ethereal Shooting Shark, this effect is apparent, but it also works on several other songs, like the organ parts of the epic Feel The Thunder,  the upbeat, driving Eyes On Fire, and even some of the heavier songs like Take Me Away.  Much of the album has that distinct sound of an 80's sci-fi/fantasy film score, like something from The  Neverending Story, Labyrinth or the 1986 Transformers film, or some really good, old school 80's anime, like Iczer One or Venus Wars.  And for me, that is certainly not a bad thing.

The main problem with this production is that there are some songs that sound like the should have been heavier, but simply aren't.  Dragon Lady is a prime example of this.  It's a great song, but despite the strong, driving rhythm, it sounds a bit too light.  The guitars in the riff should have been given just a bit more crunch, the drums and bass a bit more oomph.  Fortunately, the song still has a slew of great melodies and ripping solos, so I can't complain too much.  And that is true of the album as a whole.  Yes the production does seem to hold the music back in many place, yet the songwriting here is unquestionably as strong as anything by BOC.

Then, of course, there is the infamous Let Go.  Much like Joan Crawford, it seems to be stylistically at odds with it's own album.  Unlike Joan Crawford, Let Go just seems to fail at what it was trying to be, which was a big arena rock anthem.  the song just isn't rocking enough to serve this purpose, and instead just sounds like a limp and flaccid 80's pop song, having none of the ethereal darkness present on the rest of the record, nor the crunch and grit it sounds like it should have.

Overall, though, I do like this album.  I do like to go on my 80's nostalgia trips every now and again, and this album certainly serves that purpose, and the fact that it was made by Blue Oyster Cult automatically makes it better then most 80's pop-rock out there.  Most of the songs on here that are just excellent, and the only one I can honestly say I dislike is Let Go.  Really, though I think the fact that the record has BOC on the cover is probably it's biggest mistake.  Taken as simply an album of 80's music, it's great, and certainly well ahead of the curve of it's contemporaries.  But, much like Priest's Turbo, it just sounds out of place compared to other albums made by the same band.  That makes an objective judgment of the record difficult for the die hard fan, because it forces them to make an impossible choice; should Revolution By Night be judged as a BOC record, within the context of the discography of the band who made it, or on it's own, simply as music.  I think if you look at it from the viewpoint of the former, you may have some issues with it.  But from the viewpoint of the latter, it is highly enjoyable.

Now excuse me while I go watch some Miami Vice.......   

yup. That's what I was trying to say 

[Podaar]

Dark Master, at this instant I'm trying to hear the album from your perspective simply because I find your post persuasive.

Yes, "Take Me Away" is much better than I let on in my write-up, and then...and then, "Eyes on Fire" comes on and my eyes roll back in my head and a sharp pain begins just at the base of my skull. I get that I'm listening to this too much from the perspective of a metal guy but I can't be the only one who hears Wayne Newton's greatest hits when this comes on. "Tip your waiter. I'm here all week, folks."

You say that "Let Go" is the only stylistically odd track on this album but what about "Eyes on Fire" and "Light Years of Love"?

[The Dark Master]

Dark Master, at this instant I'm trying to hear the album from your perspective simply because I find your post persuasive.

Yes, "Take Me Away" is much better than I let on in my write-up, and then...and then, "Eyes on Fire" comes on and my eyes roll back in my head and a sharp pain begins just at the base of my skull. I get that I'm listening to this too much from the perspective of a metal guy but I can't be the only one who hears Wayne Newton's greatest hits when this comes on. "Tip your waiter. I'm here all week, folks."

You say that "Let Go" is the only stylistically odd track on this album but what about "Eyes on Fire" and "Light Years of Love"?

Eyes On Fire and Light Years Of Love still have that haunting, synth-heavy sound that meshes well with the rest of the record.  Yes, they are still certainly on the lighter side of the album, but they at least sound like they belong on the same record as songs like Take Me Away and Feel The Thunder.  So there is at least some stylistic consistency.  After all, every well balanced album needs some variance between light and heavy, fast and slow, so at least those songs have the same general sound and feel as RBN as a record.

Let Go, however has none of that.  It has none of the ethereal quality of the rest of the album.  It was an obvious attempt at an arena rock single, but it lacks the power to be so.  When much of the album sounds dreamy and lonely, Let Go tries to be loud and proud.  The problem is that the album was mixed for dreamy and lonely, thus Let Go lacks the necessary balls to be rock anthem.  I'm not sure if the song could be fixed just by a different mix, though.  Those backing vocals are just...... I dunno what that was all about.  There aren't many songs in the BOC catalog that I would actually call "bad", but Let Go certainly crosses that line.  The band was way out of their comfort zone with that one, and neither their traditional sound, nor the sound on this record, is well suited for what Let Go was trying to be.

[Podaar]

[The Dark Master]

[hefdaddy42]

Just started this album.  So far, me likey.

[KevShmev]

Another great post, Dark Master!   I especially like this part:

Fortunately, and perhaps a bit surprisingly, the sound actually works for most of the songs on the album.  The silky guitars and synths give many of the songs a dreamy, almost lonely quality that actually seems suitable for most of the record.  Especially on the ethereal Shooting Shark, this effect is apparent, but it also works on several other songs, like the epic Feel The Thunder with it's ghostly organ sections,  the upbeat, driving Eyes On Fire, and even some of the heavier songs like Take Me Away.  Much of the album has that distinct sound of an 80's sci-fi/fantasy film score, like something from The  Neverending Story, Labyrinth or the 1986 Transformers film, or some really good, old school 80's anime, like Iczer One or Venus Wars.  And for me, that is certainly not a bad thing.

I think these are excellent points.  Some might view those elements as un-B.O.C.-like, but they are what they are for this album.  I cannot imagine a song like Shooting Shark being on any other album of theirs, since the sound of this album is perfect for it.  Having them rock it up and taking away that dreamy element, as you called it, would rob the song of its soul and character.

I am always shocked that more love is not shown for Feel the Thunder.  That song rocks and sounds more like vintage B.O.C. than anything else on this record, so the diehards should love it more. It's always been a favorite of mine.

[hefdaddy42]

Overall, the album was OK.  I enjoyed it.  There were some definite low points (B! O! C!) but it was OK.  I would probably put it in the bottom half of the BOC albums I've heard thus far.

[KevShmev]

I wonder if Jaq has started swimming to that island he is gonna be on all by himself when the next album update is done...

[King Postwhore]

I played the crap out of Club Ninja and saw them 3 times on that tour.  Pick from a party after one of the show to follow during the Club Ninja part of the thread.

[Jaq]

I wonder if Jaq has started swimming to that island he is gonna be on all by himself when the next album update is done...

It's only a short swim from the Revolution by Night island if you wanna drop in, Kev. 

[KevShmev]

That's it, where's my paddle boat?!

[The Dark Master]

Another great post, Dark Master!   I especially like this part:

Fortunately, and perhaps a bit surprisingly, the sound actually works for most of the songs on the album.  The silky guitars and synths give many of the songs a dreamy, almost lonely quality that actually seems suitable for most of the record.  Especially on the ethereal Shooting Shark, this effect is apparent, but it also works on several other songs, like the epic Feel The Thunder with it's ghostly organ sections,  the upbeat, driving Eyes On Fire, and even some of the heavier songs like Take Me Away.  Much of the album has that distinct sound of an 80's sci-fi/fantasy film score, like something from The  Neverending Story, Labyrinth or the 1986 Transformers film, or some really good, old school 80's anime, like Iczer One or Venus Wars.  And for me, that is certainly not a bad thing.

I think these are excellent points.  Some might view those elements as un-B.O.C.-like, but they are what they are for this album.  I cannot imagine a song like Shooting Shark being on any other album of theirs, since the sound of this album is perfect for it.  Having them rock it up and taking away that dreamy element, as you called it, would rob the song of its soul and character.

I am always shocked that more love is not shown for Feel the Thunder.  That song rocks and sounds more like vintage B.O.C. than anything else on this record, so the diehards should love it more. It's always been a favorite of mine.

Thank you!  And yes, Feel The Thunder is a sorely underated BOC track, my favourite off RBN and a Top 10 BOC song in my book as a whole.   

Honestly, the more I think about this album, the more similarities I see between it and Judas Priest's Turbo, and I find myself thinking that there was probably a similar mentality behind the creation of both records.  I don't know much about the making of Revolution By Night, but I do remember reading a "History of Judas Priest" article a while back where one of the band members (can't remember whom) mentioned that when making Turbo, the band had seen other metal bands like Scorpions breaking big with a slicker sound in the 80's, and they felt that they could do the same.  I strongly suspect something similar happened in the BOC camp after FOUO.  Classic prog bands from the 70's like Genesis and Rush were having big, mainstream success in the early 80's by streamlining their sound and songwriting.  BOC probably saw that success and decided they wanted a piece of that pie.  I can hardly blame them for that.   RBN was a departure, true, but it's hardly a bad record, and it is, in fact, quite good.  I can certainly understand why a great many BOC fans dislike it, but for me, it is a sorely underrated album, a victim of it's time and sound, and the expectations that go with having "Blue Oyster Cult" on the record sleeve. 

[Podaar]

Honestly, the more I think about this album, the more similarities I see between it and Judas Priest's Turbo, and I find myself thinking that there was probably a similar mentality behind the creation of both records.  I don't know much about the making of Revolution By Night, but I do remember reading a "History of Judas Priest" article a while back where one of the band members (can't remember whom) mentioned that when making Turbo, the band had seen other metal bands like Scorpions breaking big with a slicker sound in the 80's, and they felt that they could do the same.  I strongly suspect something similar happened in the BOC camp after FOUO.  Classic prog bands from the 70's like Genesis and Rush were having big, mainstream success in the early 80's by streamlining their sound and songwriting.  BOC probably saw that success and decided they wanted a piece of that pie.  I can hardly blame them for that.   RBN was a departure, true, but it's hardly a bad record, and it is, in fact, quite good.  I can certainly understand why a great many BOC fans dislike it, but for me, it is a sorely underrated album, a victim of it's time and sound, and the expectations that go with having "Blue Oyster Cult" on the record sleeve.

Here is a quote from the late Allen Lanier when asked why he left the band for the first time in March of 1985:

“There were a lot of reasons. Everything seemed to be losing focus somehow. It was always that damn bugaboo about the definition of ‘What exactly is BÖC music?’ And it got to be so neurotic, in terms of analyzing. It was just nuts, you know? And then also, it was the kind of thing that everybody goes through. You start to see different types of trends happening in the music business and you say, ‘Well, we’ve got to do some of that kind of stuff.’ You know, the kind of thinking that is never, ever fruitful. Because you always come back to the truth of ‘What you can write is what you can write.’ It doesn’t matter what you try to do, it’s ultimately going to come down to who you are in the end.”

It think what it comes down to is sincerity. At the risk of engaging in magical thinking I think insincerity is a difficult thing to quantify but something that most people are tuned into. Some musicians have made the transition from one genre to another without a hitch and I may be wrong but it seems likely they were completely sincere. Phil Collins immediately comes to mind.

TRBN is largely guilt free when it comes to the idea of "fake it 'til you make it" but there are enough elements of it there to bring the whole effort down. In my mind, "Eyes On Fire", "Let Go", and "Dragon Lady" are insincere efforts. "Veins", "Feel the Thunder", and "Light Years of Love"  just show a lack of confidence. None of these (except "Let Go") are truly bad compositions but the combination the production method and calculated effort of making a modern hit record comes off as insincere.

Think of every BÖC hit (or minor hit) song and you'll begin to realize they only did well when the wrote true to themselves.

Which segues nicely into...

[Podaar]

“ A spectacle of awakening light
The soldiers are baffled but still they fight
Ooka chaka ooka chaka”

Club Ninja (1985)



Band members
Eric Bloom – stun guitar, lead vocals on 1, 3, 6, 8
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser – lead guitar, keyboards, lead vocals on 2, 4, 5, 9, co-lead vocal on 7
Joe Bouchard – bass, guitar, co-lead vocal on 7
Tommy Zvoncheck – synthesizers, piano, organ
Jimmy Wilcox – percussion, background vocals

Additional musicians
Thommy Price – drums
Phil Grande – guitars
Kenny Aaronson – bass
David Lucas, Joni Peltz, Dave Immer, Joe Caro – background vocals
Howard Stern – opening to "When the War Comes"

Production
Sandy Pearlman - producer, management
Paul Mandl - engineer, overdubs editor, programming
John Devlin, Toby Scott - engineers

------------------------

1.   "White Flags"     Leggatt Bros.   4:41
2.   "Dancin' in the Ruins"     Larry Gottlieb, Jason Scanlon   4:00
3.   "Make Rock Not War"     Bob Halligan Jr.   3:58
4.   "Perfect Water"     Donald Roeser, Jim Carroll   5:31
5.   "Spy in the House of the Night"     Roeser, Richard Meltzer   4:23
6.   "Beat 'em Up"     Bob Halligan Jr.   3:24
7.   "When the War Comes"     Joe Bouchard, Sandy Pearlman   6:02
8.   "Shadow Warrior"     Eric Bloom, Roeser, Eric Van Lustbader   5:42
9.   "Madness to the Method"     Roeser, Dick Trismen   7:25
Total length:  44:26
   
------------------------

Revölution by Night was deemed a commercial failure by, well, everyone and Columbia executives had lost confidence. Yet, they also had witnessed the reemergence of other 70’s bands like Aerosmith and Heart; everyone thought it was time for another resurrection story in rock. Sandy Pearlman pulled some strings and got a huge budget to pull out all the stops. Blame Boston for starting it all, if you wish, but there was a thinking in those days that the greater the effort, and money spent, the bigger the record.

The band’s confidence in their songwriting ability was face down in the mud. They struggled to write songs, so as the deadline for beginning rehearsals approached, they panicked and bought some songs. Pearlman seized the production reins for himself and brought in a musicians and engineers he’d been working with on the ponderous Imaginos sessions (we’ll get to that). Thus, when rehearsals began, Allen Lanier showed up to find Tommy Zvoncheck already working on the keyboards so he blew a gasket and walked out. No one was to see or hear from him for another couple of years. He literally moved to Florida and disappeared from the scene, thus ushering in the first incarnation of 3OC.

Catching up on drummer issues, Rick Downey had been fired not long after the Revölution by Night tour. Then they played a few dates with Albert Bouchard but refused to let him back in the band even though he’d taken responsibility for much of what happened and promised to behave. After a half-year lull in activity the band needed a drummer so Jimmy Wilcox, at the recommendation of Rick Derringer, was hired to play some warm up dates prior to recording. He was officially in the band but for reasons probably known only to Pearlman, Thommy Price, of Billy Idol’s band, play nearly all the drums during recording.

------------------------

This has been a difficult album for me to get a handle on. Much like Revölution by Night, I hadn’t really heard this album, in its entirety, until researching for this thread. Pearlman did a terrific job sound wise on this album. Sure, the 80’s lushness is there with the vocals and guitars being expansive yet they never go too far with the echo effects. By contrast, the synthesizers are crystal clear and Zvoncheck has a marvelous sense of the appropriate. The drums and bass are also very clear and loud enough in the mix to provide a terrific driving rhythm throughout.

All of the songs actually written by the band members are worthy of inclusion in the BÖC canon.

Perfect Water is a typically lush Buck Dharma song in the vein of “Shooting Shark” but adds in much more of his soulful leads…if perhaps a bit subdued. Spy in the House of the Night also plays to Buck’s strength having a nice boogie/pop vibe that he can lay some blistering leads over and the odd Meltzer lyrics echo the glory days of the band.

Pearlman’s Imaginos story rears its conspiracy bludgeoned head in the leering When the War Comes Home but the cheese is laid on a bit thick with a corny intro by Howard Stern and comical post verse refrain of “ooka chaka, ooka chaka.” If you can ignore those moments though, there are some interesting and unusual moments of instrumentation and clannish vocal harmonies. Again, Zvoncheck pulls off some terrific effects: like the bells during the scattershot ending. Pretty cool stuff.

The album ends with the double tap of Shadow Warrior and Madness to the Method. Both are similar in that they desperately try to be epic and largely succeed but both have curious moments like a pretty pedestrian lead guitar by Phil Grande on MttM only to be followed by a spectacular piano finale by Zvoncheck. Shadow Warrior rocks, and is in fact what the album is named after, but the lyrics are just this side of obvious. I get that Eric Van Lustbader is the leading writer of Ninja fantasy but not every writer automatically translates to a great lyricist. Oh, and once again Grande is asked to do some screeching lead guitars on top of doing all the rhythm guitars too. It just boggles the mind. I mean, you have one of the premier lead guitarists in the world, with Buck Dharma, but you opt to have Joe Cocker’s guitarist do the lead?

The albums single, and minor MTV star, is Dancing in the Ruins, a song with more hooks than a Chinese phone book…ur, I mean more chins than a tackle box. A bit on the obvious side, this self conscious tune sounds just as if someone asked the song writers to pen a follow up to The Reaper. Joe Bouchard once said that he thought it was stupid to have Buck Dharma-ish song written by someone else and that they should have just had Buck do it. Still, it’s a good song and easy to sing along with. The video is notable for being the first time seeing Buck without a Ron Jeremy moustache!

The album opener is White Flags. Again, like the rest of the album, it has a great sound and some awesome keys, but due to a corny vocal performance by Eric Bloom it just invokes an image of Bill Murray’s ‘lounge singer’ skits on SNL. In fact, I’m not sold on Blooms performance on this entire album. He always tried to roll with whatever was going on but he’d been banned from playing guitar on this album (presumably that’s what Phil Grande was brought in to do) and maybe that removed him from the proceedings enough to keep him from feeling the vocals more.

The other two songs, Make Rock Not War and Beat ‘em Up are written by songsmith Bob Halligan Jr. who wrote the Judas Priest tunes Chains and Some Heads Are Gonna Roll. These recordings are completely unconvincing and lack the required level pugnacious attitude necessary to pull them off.

This is a weird record. Dated, over-produced but with overall clear sound, lacking in spontaneity and heart but still decent song writing and some terrific performances at times.

This is what Joe Bouchard had to say about leaving the band after Club Ninja:

I’d say Club Ninja was the big catalyst for me leaving the group… But then we started buying… the last straw was buying all those songs we didn’t need to buy, White Flags and stuff. I don’t know what happened with that song. Could have been the mix. We spent a year to complete it, 12 months from beginning to end on that record. At the end of 12 months and a ridiculous amount of money, the most money we had ever spent up to that time, I just said this is terrible. I don’t believe this; I’m leaving.

Later in the same interview he had this to say,

And anyways, we weren’t making much money at the time either. I just said to myself, hey, if you’re not making any money, and the music sucks, then there’s no reason to stay. I mean if the music was good and you weren’t making any money, all right, stick with it you know? My ideals were still there. I would have stayed for the love of the music alone.

So there you have it, Joe left after 15 years with the band and we’re left with Two Öyster Cult until they get Allen back in a year or so.

[Jaq]

Meanwhile, on the island with the Guys Who Love Club Ninja...

It's not perfect, don't get me wrong. Dancing In The Ruins sounds like what it is, namely someone in Columbia A&R telling some people to write a new Burnin' For You-though it redeems itself by being catchy as fuck and a great song when I saw them live. The two Bob Halligan songs are obvious attempts to get a hit by the guy who wrote a couple of songs that got Judas Priest a little radio attention (and Lee Aaron's version of Beat Em Up totally dusts this one.) You can practically smell the record label bending over the band and yelling at them to make a hit.

And yet...the rest of the album ranges from good (I like White Flags and don't care that outside writers wrote it, sorry Joe) to very good (I like Shadow Warrior and Madness to the Method a lot) to "really good except for some silliness" (When The War Comes), and then there's this: if I were to make a BOC song list, #1 would be Astronomy, #3 would be Shooting Shark, and #2..is Perfect Water. That song's sublime. Funny thing is, Club Ninja was largely regarded in my circles as a return to form for the band, and hey, they're touring with Rush, big things coming for BOC, just you watch!

Funny how that turned out 

[Podaar]

It's funny, I read your post, Jaq, and it very nearly echoes what I wrote. Thus, we don't disagree on the album experience but only on whether that's good thing or not. 

I don't like Club Ninja as an album experience but there are a few songs I've purchased individually.

[TAC]

At the time of it’s release my tastes had moved on to Triumph, Krokus, Savatage, Maiden, Dio, Queensrÿche, MSG, Y&T and this little known indie record called “Kill ‘em All” from some nobody band called Metallica.

I saw this over the weekend and I wanted to quote it. This is where I was in 1982 as well. I dabbled in BOC when I was young, but frankly, there was just so much better music out there, and I kind of forgot about them.

That said, I am enjoying this chronological history of the band. I'm just sorry I really can't contribute much.