Customer Reviews

Imaginos

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Why this album is out-of-print in America is beyond comprehension. From what I had gathered, it is one of the most revered and formidable albums Blue Öyster Cult had ever produced. It's been heralded as one of the best BÖC albums, and one of the best concept albums of all time. And yet, it's next to impossible to find. Why is this so? Unimaginable, because when I got my hands on a copy of this album, I was beyond impressed. This album brought dignity back to the BÖC name in the eighties (although the bad rap they got in the eighties for "Club Ninja" and "Revolution by Night" is so undeserved in my opinion...sure they weren't as great as the seventies albums, but they were still filled with great music). Recalling the songwriting skills of the departed drummer Al Bouchard, this album rocks with great anthems like "I Am the One You Warned Me Of," and the band's namesake "Blue Öyster Cult." The title track which closes the album is also a wonderful testament to the band's ability to produce music that is subtly eerie, yet as hard-hitting as the metal bands that they helped to inspire. Most notable on this album is the bold reworking of their "Secret Treaties" classic "Astronomy." Given a new sound, the new version lacks the climactic buildup the original had, but it still screams with power and still contains that warcry that made it a live spectacle. This version is much cleaner in terms of production quality and playing, and I love it just as much as the original. "Imaginos" is a brilliant epic that truly deserves more recognition. To hell with commercial success, for nothing can replace pure songwriting talent. Blue Öyster Cult are a band for the ages, and may their name live on in the minds of true fans like myself.

Imaginos is an album I have to be in the mood to listen to; it doesn't lend itself to casual persual. That said, there are some really great tracks on here, Astronomy (which completely owns the original IMO), IATOYWMO, Les Invisibles, and Blue Oyster Cult. These tracks can stand tall on their musical merit alone.

As for the lyrics, they are out there on the 'net if you Google them. When I found them I realized the actual lyrics were beyond anything I could imagine, and the casual listener is hard pressed to make much sense out of them. The BOC FAQ explains the story of Imaginos, which is begun in the liner notes, and I paraphrase below:

The Saga of Imaginos begins with the discovery of the New World by the Spanish. "To the Spanish, agents of a Catholic Sovereign, the New World was no place of grace ... anti-genesis, anti-Eden, seat of evil, pit of darkness ... the priests in the expeditions could imagine no place worse than this place ... visibly in the thrall of invisible spirits." These spirits: Les Invisibles - The Invisible Ones.

It is assumed that the Indians of the New World (in particular, the Aztecs and the Haitians) worshipped Les Invisibles (which we also assume to number seven).

If rich in its evil, the New World was also rich in its gold.
Greed overcame fear. Civilizations were wiped out (under the guise of religious purification), and Spanish power in Europe rose, fueled by the gold from the New World.

In the early 1800's, Les Invisibles cause the birth of a 'modified' child - Imaginos - in New Hampshire. His powers include the ability to see the future to some degree and to change his shape. Ignorant of his future role and billing himself as somewhat of an adventurer, he travels the Americas. During a sea voyage, the boat is shipwrecked near land. As Imaginos lies on the shore, seriously injured and dying, his friends, the survivors of the shipwreck, leave him alone to die "on a shore where oyster beds seem plush as down". The morning tide washes in and he drowns.

This shipwreck, however, was no accident. Knowing who and what he is and the role carved for him in future events, he agrees to become the Invisible Ones' agent on earth; he becomes one of the "Blue Oyster Cult", the servants of Les Invisibles. Les Invisibles, acting through the "oyster boys" (some kind of fish-like creature) resurrect Imaginos from the dead. He is now their agent, "unleashed to forge a new destiny; he is Imaginos called Desdinova."

"I Am the One You Warned Me Of" - Imaginos, reborn, fully aware of who and what he is.

In his later travels, Imaginos visits an Aztec temple, containing a mirror carved of blackest obsidian, tempered with blood.
Obviously a magic mirror, it is nothing less than the Magna of Illusion: the last song in the cycle. In it Imaginos, now playing the of an old English sea captain in the 1890's, takes the mirror from Mexico to England to give to his granddaughter on her birthday. Here its power causes evil and bloodshed to incubate in Europe, culminating in World War I.

"In the Presence of Another World" - Imaginos, the earthly agent of Les Invisibles, still aware of his former self, but now so much more, and forebodings of the evil to come. "The Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria" - the continuation of Les Invisibles' influence on earth - earlier, through corruption by gold, now through corruption by technology.

There are also are hints that Imaginos and Les Invisibles are extraterrestrial in origin (allusions to the galactic abyss, star clocks, modulating space).

OK, it may have started out as a great "concept album" in the mind of Sandy Pearlman. It may have grown into a Joe Bouchard solo album, which stretched out over multiple recording dates. It may have ended up as the "final" BOC album in 1988 because of the fact that Joe Bouchard was joined in sessions by Eric Bloom, Allen Lanier, Buck Dharma and Albert Bouchard.

So WHAT?

It's got the bone-rattling, truly unique "The Siege and Investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's Castle At Weisseria," featuring Joey Cerisano and Jon Rogers on additional lead vocals and the unforgettable shout/chant/refrain "CARPE DIEM" followed by doomsday crashing riff-heavy guitars, and the opening track "I Am the One You Warned Me Of," which is easily as good as any of the tracks on the early BOC albums.

There's also a remake of two songs from the second album ("Tyranny & Mutation"), "Astronomy" and "Subhuman" (which is retitled "Blue Oyster Cult" here).

Sometimes it pays to focus on what an album IS as opposed to what it ISN'T.

This one will shake the fillings loose from your teeth. It may be a patchwork quilt but it rocks like a mother, and the fact that it's back on CD is worth celebrating.

You will hear various opinions about this 1988 studio album from Blue Öyster Cult. It's genius, twenty years in gestation and six years in the making. It was an Albert Bouchard solo project but the label insisted on labelling it as a Blue Öyster Cult album. It's a concept album. And so forth.

To me, it's simply a superb comeback, and this great band's best studio outing since "Secret Treaties". For `comeback', let me explain. I regard the BÖC's first three (`black and white' albums) as sheer genius, far and away my favourite heavy metal, dark, original, hugely innovative and professional. Then came the mega-hit `(Don't Fear) The Reaper', and the "Agents of Fortune" album packaged around it. Though not a `bad' album as such, this was a sad disappointment after what had come earlier, both in the studio and in the stunning live double, "On Your Feet Or On Your Knees".

Subsequently, the BÖC tried to regain its original inspiration, but, for a long time, they never really succeeded. Then came "Cultosaurus Erectus", definitely their best studio production since "Treaties". With "Imaginos", they went one better - here, we are very nearly back to the pre-commercial BÖC of the early seventies.

Lyrically, "Imaginos" is a concept album themed around a science-fictional/mystical storyline penned by mentor Sandy Pearlman from the late sixties. This, in fact, is largely beside the point. What we have here is a fine suite of nine tracks. BÖC lay down their credentials and intent from the first cadences of `I Am The One...', and maintain the quality right through to the closing notes of the title track.

There isn't a weak cut on this remarkably original album, but highlights include `Astronomy' (originally slated for "Imaginos", included, spectacularly atmospherically, on "Treaties", and back here in very different but excellent form), and `Blue Öyster Cult' (a very much evolved version of `The Subhuman' from the same album).

This is the band's best album since the mid-seventies, and reminds us that, at their best, BÖC must be rated as one of the very finest rock bands.

Imaginos is far and away my favorite BOC album. With subtly eerie lyrics, beautiful instrumentation, and powerful vocals, this album "has it all." I don't know why it's so hard to find, but any true BOC fan will go nuts over this masterpiece. This truly is a Mona Lisa of an album. It's a work of love and passion. Even a casual listen to it will make that readily apparent. Not only do the guys in BOC do a great job, their session musicians they invited for certain songs like "Imaginos" most certainly did this legendary band justice. This is a real treat to listen to. Simultaneously heavy, powerful, and elegant, this album hit a grand slam with me, and I'm certain it will with most music enthusiasts with even mildly similar musical tastes. Viva Blue Oyster Cult!

blue oyster cult,s imaginos was originally released in 1988.imaginos was originally going to be drummer albert bouchards first solo album, after being ousted from blue oyster cult in 1981 after a performance at the famous castle donnigton music festival.so fast forward a few years to late 1987 or early 1988 columbia wanted a reunion of the original blue oyster cult.so it came to be that all the members of blue oyster cult contributed somewhat to the imaginos project. there were many other guest musicians playing on imaginos.so imaginos isn,t really an 100% blue oyster cult album,although all the vocal parts and some guitar parts are blue oyster cult.some b.o.c.fans don,t like this period or album too much.i like this album i think it is an interesting concept that seems to tell a story of dark forces surrounding a magical mirror found in an underground chamber of jade.for me the strongest tunes are;i am the one you warned me of,les invisables,in the presence of another world [creepy and cool],magna of illusion,blue oyster cult and the 1988 remake of astronomy.as a b.o.c. i find this album very enjoyable and a must for the collection!!turn out the lights burn candles and listen to in the presence of another world or les invisables!

I was a soldier in U.S. Desert Storm when I first heard this glorious heavy metal album. After the war was over, I made an aggressive attempt to find the CD. A good lady on the Internet found a copy of the CD and I have enjoyed it ever since. I enjoy the CD as a whole and really have no favorites. There continues to be a controversy in my home state of Alabama on whether to put up the Confederate Flag. Let me end this once and for all: don't fly the Confederate or the Union Flag...fly THE BLUE OYSTER CULT FLAG! CARPE DIEM! IMAGINOS!

From the moment I first heard this album I was totally blown away. The songs are great and the production is amazing. I was a bit sceptical about a re-working of the incredible `Astronomy` but I think it works really well. Its a shame they had to leave it a decade for the next album. I did hear that there were some songs left off the album, hopefully they might surface someday. Anyway, any true fan of great rock music will love this record. Now can anyone tell me where I can get hold of another copy on CD?

I bought this cassette back in 1988 when it first came out and I couldn't stop listening to it. I've been looking for it in CD for a long time now and I recently recieved it. It never gets old to listen to even if the lyrics are hard to figure out (Or what the story is about?) If you have not got this recording, I suggest you do so ASAP You won't be sorry.

I bought this album when it came out in the 80's, and absolutely loved it. I have since bought it on cd, and must say that i still really enjoy it. I have read some of the bad reviews on here about this album. I must say that to a BOC purist i can see why they might not like it, but i still think this is a way underrated album.