Customer Reviews

Club Ninja

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I received BOC's first album as a gift, and they've been my favorite band ever since. While Club Ninja has childish cover art, the music is superb. I confess that most new BOC songs sound lousy to me at first. Listening again, I am often mesmerized. Listen again to PERFECT WATER, MADNESS TO THE METHOD, and SPY IN THE HOUSE OF THE NIGHT. The songwriting and performances are haunting.

Sometimes BOC takes an irritating musical phrase and works it into a beautiful song, so even a hard core fan may not like it at first. Compared to Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, a punk band who "take a pretty tune and bury it alive". I like them, too. And BOC's hardest rock. BOC sounded like punk at times, e.g. Tyranny & Mutation, before punk was even born!

My brother has a degree in classical music (piano), and this album seems to be his favorite. It might be the best BOC album for a newcomer. Why not? Many people have no idea how many gorgeous songs BOC has created. I call them "love songs", like it or not. I attempted to make a tape of "BOC Love Songs", and ran out of tape. Who wants to hear 18 year olds sing about love? BOC's subject matter is obscure and something to ponder; it stays fresh.

This album never seems dated. Get it. If someone like Paul McCartney or Paul Simon put this many great songs on one album, it would hailed as genius, a breathtaking comeback.

I must also state that, as a long time Blue Oyster Cult fan I really cannot believe the bad rap "Club Ninja" receives from many other fans. I cannot for the life of me find fault with this cd. Every song rocks, every performance is outstanding, the mix is clear (especially considering this was released in late '85) and the production (by Pearlman once again) is pristine. It's true that many of the songs come from outside sources, but, really, so what? As long as they're on the mark I don't really care. 'White Flags' is a truly amazing all-time pearl from the Oyster; if this had been written by Eric or Buck I think it would easily be a setlist mainstay. Even those two badly titled ones (and you know which they are) are great, saved by the sheer power and majesty of BOC. I think another reason some fans  insist upon knocking "Club Ninja" is the fact that Lanier isn't on it. Well, he left the band. Tommy Zvoncheck, his replacement, is truly amazing though. Listen to his flourishes on 'Beat 'Em Up', 'Perfect Water', 'When The War Comes' and 'Madness To The Method' and tell me you don't agree! The concept of war is certainly more relevant today than it was at the time. All in all, "Club Ninja" is one of those great, vastly underrated masterpieces that will one day receive it's due. But why wait. Buy this cd and find out for yourselves here and now why this is one of Blue Oyster Cult's greatest recordings to date.

I'll never forget the first time I saw Club Ninja sitting in the music store racks back in '86. "How the mighty have fallen" I thought, responding only to the cover artwork that seemed to cater to the fourteen-year-old burn out and the album title that appeared to cash in on the popularity of the Ninja at that time. Once I finally got around to listening to this masterpiece, my mind was blown. Granted, one has to be interested in hearing an 80's style metal sound, complete with Def Lepard type couruses and a some standard heavy riffs, but beyond that, the music is very unique and tripped out (even by BOC's standards), and rocks to high heaven. BOC has always incorporated some of the contemporary pop conventions into their own sound, and far from cheapening the music, this attempt to stay current has always had a positive effect. On the other hand, many of the songs on this album retain the progressive, experimental feel that has marked BOC's music in the past. Songs like White Flags and When the War Comes (which contains a cameo vocal from Howard Stern and is based on a speech by Leon Trotsky), have this sort of acid rock, far out sound, while Madness to the Method has an open jam at the end that allows the drumer and the keyboardist to get it on a bit. Listening to Spy in the House of the Night and Beat 'em Up is like plugging your brain into an stack of marshalls on 11. Dancing in the Ruins was an attempt at a hit, containing a Burnin' for You style courus, but it's not too embarrassing to listen to, and Make Rock Not War is a decent tune. There's nothing wrong with an anti-war statement in my book, especially on an album that seems a little obsessed with the topic of war. Shadow Warrior is what you might call a title track, as it deals with the Ninja and his world view. This leads me to the lyrics, which in general are up to standard for BOC in their well written and thought provoking content. Some possible complaints about this album are that Albert Bouchard and Alan Lanier are missing and more than a couple of outside writers contributed material. All I can say is that Jimmy Wilcox and Tommy Zvonchek do an excellent job and if the band was running out of ideas at the time, they had the sense to accept some help in that department when it was needed. After all, the mid '80s were a pretty degenerate time in music, and I think BOC did a wonderful job of bucking the trend of mediocrity. Club Ninja may not be the best place to start listening to BOC (my vote would go to Agents of Fortune) but still, I would rank Club Ninja above The Revolution by Night, Fire of Unknown Origin and Secret Treaties. I know this is blasphemy, but we're all entitled to our opinions. Club Ninja is one of the best hard rock albums I've ever heard.

I mean, any record with "White Flags," "Dancin' in the Ruins," and "When the War Comes" is worth purchasing. And guess what? The only one with those three on it is this one. The good songs include the afore-mentioned "White Flags," (the band flirted with semi-progresive keys and solos and this one)the MTV hit "Dancin' in the Ruins," the somehow good yet still cheesy "Make Rock Not War," and the seriocomic "When the War Comes," what with the serious verses and the apparent "ooga-chaka"'s during the musical breaks. Unfortunately, there is filler. This comes in the guise of "Beat 'Em Up," the most derivative song I have ever heard from the BOC ("Imaginos" seems pretty good by comparison). However, this is a hard record to come by in many places, so you are advised to buy it on sight if you are a BOC fan.

Twelve years ago this tape stayed in my player from Reno to New Jersey. Rocks as hard as BOC has ever rocked. The first two cuts, in fact the entire first side(of the tape) shreds. How can "die hard" BOC fans hate this CD. ucking incredible. But hey, I LOVE Mirrors too. Both of these CD's are MUST HAVE for true BOC fans. Period. PERIOD!And by the way, I can see why Alan Lanier won't let BOC play anything from this album live, because he'd have a hard time matching the keyboards on this record, nothing against Alan, good to have him back, but lets not be jealous, one of my biggest disappointments is seeing BOC after this record came out and never hearing anything off this CD. Long live Club Ninja.

After more than a decade with just great albums, BOC fumbles the ball here. Outside writers by the score, and the loss of Allen Lanier as well. The album hit #63, (I can't believe it did better than "Revolution"), starts off good with "White Flags" and "Dancin' In The Ruins" #9 mainstream rock, but overall they miss more than hit! Two other tunes that were pretty good, "Perfect Water" and the Buck Dharma guitar workout "Madness To The Method". The heavy metal posture of "Make Rock Not War" and "Beat 'Em Up", just kill the flow.

I agree with the underrated tag. No, it's not Secret Treaties or Tyranny but it's still a finely produced piece. The sound is obviously a little different but what the hell. A couple of Eric's songs are a little juvenile but hey, he didn't write em. As for Alan not performing any of this material, I guess he changed his mind as Perfect Water is part of their usual set list now. BOC's sound has evolved over time similar to Rush. Nothing wrong with that as long as the material is decent. I like it and I think the record gets a bad rap undeservedly.

I'll try to make this brief (good luck, right?). I got into BOC after their first album was released and they've been among my favorite groups ever since. I've seen them live four times since way back when. Since updating all my albums to CD's, I bought this a few weeks ago and have played it about 50 times in my car since! All the tunes I almost forgot from this album came back with intensity. The power, the energy, the great rock melodies, and of course the heavy driving force that has always been this predominantly Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma led band is all there. I love this group and always have. Their music has never been for the faint of heart. This CD has superb music from start to finish, something a few of their other albums didn't quite have. It surprises the bleep out of me that any true BOC lover would find ANY fault with the music here, since to me it is now among my top 6 of all of theirs (their first 3 will always rank at the top!!!). At the price offered here, you BOC fans, if you have never picked this one up, should find plenty of great rock here to satisfy, again and again and again!

Having bought the excellant 'heaven forbid' 3 yrs ago i have been slowly been building my b.o.c collection.learning quite quickly that 'club ninja'was best to be avoided i thought i would never buy,but as i worked on purchaseing from there self titled debut right through to 'imaginos' i was pleasantly surprised by each and every release, before even playing 'club ninja' i had already convinced myself that the cd would not let me down as indeed 'mirrors' and 'revolution by night' also received bad reviews and of which both cds i would also give a four star rating.'method to madness'is my favorite track from the cd but 'spy in the house of night','dancin in the ruins'and 'perfect water' should also be hailed as classic b.o.c (just read the majority of reviews below) it cant be denied.i cant believe that in 20 yrs of buying rock music i let b.o.c pass me buy as they are the most consistant yet underrated bands i have ever come across.

If you've read my review on BOC's Revolution By Night, you'll know my opinions on how the abscence of Albert Bouchard affected the music. It's no different here. The obvious culprit is the drumming. Tommy Price and Jimmy Wilcox are credited here. I'm not certain who plays on what, but I'm going to go by Tommy Price's drumming on Imaginos and say he's probably responsible for the better drumming on here.

Al's absence is noticable not just in the drumming. It's felt in the songwriting as well, being a strong contributor to that. There are areas where the music falls completely flat and I feel that would be fixed by Al's presence.

That being said, this is still a damn good recording by BOC, shortcomings and all. Most people have probably heard Dancing in the Ruins at some point, if they're old enough. I hate that this is viewed as an attempt to recreate the success of Burning for You. But people are prone to drawing comparisons that are superficial at best. Whichever way you look at it, it's a great song.

So are, basically, the rest of the songs on here. This album continues in the vein of RBN, in that it features a heavy does of Buck's guitar work and that's just something you can't fault. White Flags has the feel of classic BOC meeting with modern new wave like Modern English's Melt With You. Shadow Warrior is just a bad ass song about ninjas, hence the album title.

Perfect Water and Method to the Madness are shining examples of Buck's guitar work and singing. The sweet, melancholy opening chords of Water lead into yet another awe inspiring, epic BOC song, creating beautiful imagery related to the song's theme of what it would be like to drown beneath the waters, but find an amazingly beautiful world there. That theme applies to the song itself, drowning in the beauty of it. Madness features one of Buck's most ripping solos, showing up the so called Guitar Shredders to come after him.

What you can fault is, again, the drumming and faltering parts. Joe's When the War Comes Home is slightly ruined by an ending where the drumming just seems lost. Okay, the Ooga Chaka's chanted throughout the song don't help and keep the song from reaching the level of excellence it's so close to achieving.

Some of the song lyrics, while not being absolutely horrible, are a bit silly or out of place. Make Rock, Not War and Beat Em Up are written by the same person and are just below BOC's general standard of excellence. There are parts that shine, to be fair. But they often feel like some frat boy's attempts at meaningful lyrics. Spy In THe House also has a couple lines that are out of place.

The worst lyrics though, sadly come with Buck's Method. It's a shame to have such amazing, shredding guitar work interlaced with almost dimwitted lyrics. Buck has often gone back and forth in his lyrical content, usually writing something amazing, only to follow that up on occasion with something utterly banal.

I can relate in some way. I write things of depth and follow that up with things that are just utterly reprehensible. But at least I know their place and have enough sense of what's appropriate for a piece. An example of when silly lyrics working would be on "My name is Lufa" off his home recordings. (If I haven't said it already, order these now! Ignore the steep price, it's worth it.) This song is a spoof of My Name is Luka and is utterly hilarious.

But here, it just does not work. The music sounds like it should be about something epic, a war with the gods or something similar. But instead there are lines that include the words "hormone warzones" and "stick it here, stick it there." I'm sure you can deduce the meaning.

So, again, an album filled with a lot of the usual, amazing work you would expect from BOC, marred by less than stellar drumming, lousy lyrics and a sense of being incomplete on certain songs. If you overlook the shortcomings though, you'll still find an album that easily surpasses so many bands best efforts, even on the lesser songs.