Customer Reviews

Blue Oyster Cult

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OK ! Shame on me ! I've passed through the 70's without having heard one LP of BOC. Now, some 25 years later, disgusted by the actual music production, I'm going back to this period and listen actually to a lot of bands that have marked these golden years.

So I ordered the first record of Blue Öyster Cult, and once received, after having sent my children to bed and my wife to the Post Office, I turned the volume on. And I played it, and played it again. And it was still great music. In short, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT is obviously a rock'n roll classic with 10 songs ranging from good (Workshop of the Telescopes, Screams) to excellent (Redeemed, Stairway to the Stars) or perfect (Transmaniacon MC, Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll).

Anyway, a band able to write a song called - She's as beautiful as a Foot - can't be but praised.

A CD for your library.

Blue Öyster Cult are truly one of the greatest rock n' roll bands of all time. Between brilliant lyrics with subjects that range from the occult to biker anthems to campy sci-fi/horror flicks and B-movies, excellent song-writing, and shining guitar solos a la Don "Buck Dharma" Roeser, BÖC are the epitome of what rock n' roll is. Right up there with bands like Steppenwolf and Led Zeppelin. And yet, when you ask the common layman of they've heard of BÖC, they will often reply, "Yeah, they did that song about 'The Reaper'"? Unfortunately underappreciated, but not forgotten by true fans of great rock music and fine musicianship like myself. While later albums would solidify their sound, this is the album that started it, and it yields some of what should be considered the great classics of rock. Some call it early heavy metal, and it certainly did inspire some of the metal bands of today, but this is so beyond that genre. "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" is a song for the ages, launching hellfire and brimstone through six-strings of evil. "Transmaniacon MC," "Before the Kiss, a Redcap," "Then Came the Last Days of May," and "Workshop of the Telescopes" are amazing paragons of rock, appealing to the Satanist minions or the leather-biker barfly, this album sets them ablaze and screaming for more! The one flaw on this album is the song "I'm on the Lamb, but I Ain't no Sheep," which was eventually given a major facelift on the next album as "The Red and the Black," which is an improvement. It was still a good song, but the reworked version on the next album is far superior. But that song aside, and while on the suject of superiority, this album is one of the mother superiors of great rock n' roll! Get this album, and embrace the evil...

Born in the forment of the late '60s, Blue Oyster Cult had several years of experience jamming, writing and recording before their self-titled debut was released. The experience shows, as this album ain't the work of no spring chickens. From the very first track, the band establishes itself as a powerful musical force that blends a taste of acid rock, blues and heavy metal into a unique combination. Unique, but all rock and roll, penetrating the deepest crevaces of the listener's mind with it's moving vision.

The album begins with Transmaniacon MC - a good hard rocking song about motorcycles and the like -next giving way to a number about the Canadian mounties. Just when you think the music is starting to move into cliche ridden territory, it takes a sudden turn, as in the haunting ballad Then Came the Last Days of May. All the elements that were to characterize future BOC albums are in place here: First rate musicianship, creative use of studio effects, well written lyrics and a mystical, dream like atmosphere, to name a few. The effect on Then Came the Last Days of May, for example, in which the singer's voice seems to scatter around the speakers like a group of mice, is heard again during I Love the Night on "Spectres". As the album progresses, the listener becomes more involved. She's as Beautiful as a Foot is a tripped out and climactic moment - but only one of many. Screams is another great number. And who could forget Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll, one of the great heavy classics, a song that ranks up there with Iron Man or Dazed and Confused in it's hard rock intensity. By the end of the album, you will find yourself completely entranced. Reedemed, the last track, will surprise you with it's bluegrass sound in the begginning, but ends with a final psycadelic freak-out. And what are they singing about? In some cases it's clear, others not, but in either case it gives you something to think about.

It's been almost 30 years since this album was released, and I think anyone who appreciates good rock and roll can feel safe picking up a copy now. That's what I would call an album that's passed the test of time.

First of all, to the music fan in NJ, Eric Bloom does not sing "Cities on Flame", Al Bouchard does. Anyway, this first offering from BOC is very good for a first album. The production is obviously not that good, but the songs are. With the exception of "Screams" and "She's As Beautiful As A Foot", I think every song is at least very good. My favorites are "The Last Days Of May" and "Before The Kiss, A Redcap". Incidentally, the live version they now do of "TLDOM" is incredible and contains an extended guitar solo by Buck Dharma. In short, if you are a BOC fan, you need this cd in your collection.

Simply a classic early heavy metal recording from the first true metal group from the states.The tracks range from pop melodies such as Redeemed,The Last Days Of May,and Stairway to the Stars to metal intelligence such as Screams,Workshop of the Telescopes,and Transmaniacon MC. Of course Cities on Flame will always stand tall as the definitive heavy rock classic!

BLUE OYSTER CULT is a classic in every sense of the world. With some killer tunes like the bluesy, emotionally-charged "Then Came the Last Days of May" and just plain bizarre "She's as Beautiful as a Foot," an apparent carry-over from their Soft White Underbelly days. With this record, the band recorded an album for the ages that any weird rock fan can appreciate. Other standouts that are also weird beyond belief are "Workshop of the Telescopes" and "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep," which would re-surface on the next record, TYRANNY AND MUTATION, in a faster, more streamlined form. This second version will live out the rest of its days as "The Red and the Black," a true BOC standard. This version rules, as well, so check it out.

Remember how we reacted to the Stones' HONKEY TONK WOMAN? "They're so good, they sound sloppy!" Remember? Blue Oyster Cult somehow manages the same feat on their first album. Cuts 1,2,6,7 ("Transmaniacon MC", "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep", "Screams", and, "She's as Beautiful as a Foot") all share that, "Hurry before someone hears us!" quality that is just simply irresistable. Cut 3, the ultimate dope dealer ballad, "Then Came The Last Days of May", is both rockin' and intelligent. Who knew Buck Dharma could warble! And his fiddle. Those notes stretch out forever. Cuts 4 and 5, ("Stairway to the Stars", and, "Before the Kiss, a Redcap"), capture the hard rock zeitgeist of the 70's with astonishing acuity. Their vivid imagery begs the brain to recall dangerous crusin', and those hedonistic keggars. Cuts 8 and 9 have long been regarded as touchstones. "Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll" wanders in and out of the seminal "Bucks Boogie" as it showcases BOC's drummer in a medium length solo. Perhaps the last effort of its kind. "Workshop of the Telescopes" is both psychadelic and heavy. No small achievement! It remains BOC's early standard-bearer. The final cut, #10, is something of a lagniappe. Decidely country/pop, it's a fun fairy tale that would probably work well at Tex's midnite karaoke. Quite simply, quite amazing. And it sounds like it was recorded in dads newly carpeted basement!

Blue Oyster Cult is quite simply one of the most under rated bands in rock and metal music history. The Black and Blue concert tour they had with Black Sabbath was one of the ten best concert tours of all times, and I had the pleasure of hearing this band play live four times under the guise of Soft White Underbelly. They are one of the very few bands I've heard that actually sound BETTER live than on their studio recordings - a true testiment to their ability and style.

This album is not to be missed, anyone with a half way decent stereo system should buy this disc for "Then Came the Last Days of May" alone - this is an incredible song where instruments and vocals seem to float around the room in eerie harmony, how they managed this using 1972 recording technology is beyond me. Not to be missed!

this is the definitive blue oyster cult album, a have to have for any fan of BOC. My favorite tracks inlude Workshop of the Telescopes, Then came the Last days of May, and Before the Kiss a Redcap. This album os one of the best they ever published, and the cover art is awsome.

It certainly doesn't sound like a first album. The ideas are great, and the sound mature, heavy, yet flexible and flowing naturally, like a river. This is easily classic rock, even though not as well known. Fantastic guitar on 'I'm on the Lamb...', ominous darkness in 'Screams', great feelings in the quiet but unsettling 'Last Days of May', and really heavy rock in 'Cities on Flame' and 'Transmaniacon MC'. So much to enjoy in this CD. The two highly original closing tracks 'Workshop of the Telescopes' and 'Redeemed' alone can get you high... A brilliant album!