Agents of Fortune

Blue Oyster Cult | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000256X
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,057 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Band Ever Meets Commercial Success!, April 28, 2000

By 

Ryan Costantino (Nowhere, Special) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Agents of Fortune (Audio CD)

This is Blue Oyster Cult's money maker to be sure. Their fifth album, the band was already known to a loyal "cult" following but with the release of "Don't Fear The Reaper" as a single and extensive radio play national fame was soon to follow. But this album is flawless (I am a little biased since BOC is my favorite band). Unfortunately fans of "Don't Fear The Reaper" who purchased other albums by the band under the pretense of getting a similar sound were apparently disappointed. The band has had limited commercial success, and are known for only a few semi-hit singles. "Don't Fear the Reaper", "Burnin' For You", and "Godzilla" are the only songs I can ever recall hearing by the band on my local classic rock radio station. But as with all their albums Agents of Fortune is a celebration of mythology, superstition, the occult and storytelling through lyrics. "This Ain't The Summer Of Love" is great. "True Confessions" is deceptively upbeat. "Don't Fear The Reaper" has got to be one of the most poetic and beautiful songs I have ever heard. "E.T.I." is just electric fun(Three Men in Black said don't report this...), "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" is about dark desire and betrayal, "Sinful Love" is one of my favorite BOC songs, about a sexually overbearing woman and her rebelious lover, "Tattoo Vampire" is just plain weird and was mentioned in the Stephen King/Peter Straub collaboration "The Talisman". "Morning Final" is about a murder in the subway, and presumably how death comes to us all. "Tenderloin" is about strange sexual appetites. "Debbie Denise" is about a loyal girlfriend, without any thoughts of her own. For any Blue Oyster Cult fan this album is a favorite, the lyrics are some of the best the band has ever put out, the music is enchanting and haunting at the same time. An essential purchase for any fan of rock and roll, past or present. Blue Oyster Cult, on tour FOREVER!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AS CLASSIC AS DRACULA!, October 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Agents of Fortune (Audio CD)

There has been a lot of attention paid to the 70's decade in recent years and this album deserves a lot of attention as one of rock's important albums...right up there with DARK SIDE OF THE MOON and LED ZEPPELIN-4. I welcome always to hear THE REAPER and TATTOO VAMPIRE, but my favorite in this effort is clearly MORNING FINAL, a subway saga penned by bassist/vocalist Joe Bouchard. DEBBIE DENISE is about as down-to-earth as I've heard B.O.C. get. THIS ALBUM STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE quintessential BOC album., March 19, 2000

By 

Mark Lahren (Bismarck, North Dakota USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Agents of Fortune (Audio CD)

This, their fourth studio album, would probably be the most listenable to newcomers to BOC. It is more slickly produced than their previous three. The entire album, while not really a concept album, still manages to convey a singular mood from beginning to end that is quite enchanting. All five members take turns on lead vocals on various songs, which gives each song a certain individuality, and keeps everything fresh. Finding a favorite song is difficult, as each one can be a favorite depending on what mood the listener is in. There is not an average song on here; all are above-average to classic. I go through phases with this album. Sometimes, "Morning Final" is my favorite song, sometimes "Don't Fear The Reaper", sometimes "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", and yes, sometimes I even play "True Confessions" over and over. "True Confessions" is possibly an under-appreciated song to some people. But after a few listenings, it becomes downright infectuous. It's funky and I love singing along to it. "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" is an awesome song. It exudes power with its driving bass line and is expertly constructed. "Morning Final" is more of a 'beautiful' song. It's not slow mind you, but its haunting music and lyrics stick with me every time I hear it. And "Don't Fear The Reaper"--well, you've likely already got your own opinion of that one. For me, it was the song that introduced me to the group, and I fell in love with it immediately at age 16.

Others will name different favorite songs, and I can't fault them for that. As I said before, they are all great in my mind, and anyone who hasn't heard it before will not be disappointed. Buy it and enjoy!

Oh, and by the way there is a Mobile Fidelity 'gold' CD release of this album also. There is a slight sound quality improvement with that release, but it is only slight, and will be worth the additional cost only to true audiophiles.

As an aside, I'll also mention there's a 'gold' 2 CD set of their self-titled first album along with their second album "Tyranny and Mutation", that is much more worth the additional cost of the 'gold' version. The difference between the gold version and the regular is much more evident with that set, and in that case I would definitely recommend the gold version.