Customer Reviews

The Revolution By Night

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album is for the imaginative. The creative mind appreciates music that permeates. Revolution By Night will take you on a journey through your own mind, and it will clean out the cobwebs. To do the album justice, you have to contemplate it, and not just have it playing in the background. Calling BOC's songs "haunting" doesn't really describe it, because they are not depressing. A better term might be "probing," because they explore areas you've never been within yourself, and it's a very worthwhile exploration.

I don't believe in touting certain songs in reviews, because that spoils the joy of discovery by each listener. These songs will grow on you. Many will say BOC's first few albums were their best. Personally, I feel they reached their peak in the early '80s, and this was their crowning achievement.

I'm a music aficionado who listens to thousands of albums from thousands of artists in all genres. Blue Oyster Cult is one of the ten greatest groups ever, in my estimation, and this album is likewise among the best ten of all-time.

I'm no kid, just didn't want to create an account. At this point, 1983, B.O.C. was putting out their first studio record in 2 years, new drummer Rick Downey was in, original drummer & songwriter Albert Bouchard -out. On RBN, Bruce Fairbarn's (Loverboy, Aerosmith) production was too slick, very 80's, and a bit dated in spots. But overall, there are some real gems here. The two best tracks are "Take Me Away", which features some guitar from guest Aldo Nova, and a killer vocal from Eric Bloom. Then we get the ultra-cool "Shooting Shark", with lyrics by Patti Smith, and a great melodic vocal from Buck Dharma, this tune had session man/"American Idol" judge Randy Jackson on the "slap" bass. From there, it's spotty. "Eyes On Fire" is way too corny, and sounds like a bad Billy Joel outtake, not good at all. "Veins" has a cool and interesting Richard Meltzer lyric/storyline but the music is all mucked-up with electronic drums,(dated) and dopey synth effects - same goes for "Shadow Of California". After the misfire "Shadow", we get Eric Bloom's "Feel The Thunder"- not bad, but not great either. "Let Go" is totally stupid, but in an odd straight-rock-anthem way, is a lotta fun, and makes you laugh. "Dragon Lady"(co-written by Blotto !) comes off bland-although The Tubes may have done well with it...Don't listen to other folks who don't get "Light Years Of Love", it's a classic ballad sung by bassist Joe Bouchard, with lyrics by Helen Wheels. This song is one of Joe's best, it's soaring melody, beautiful wordplay, and imagery will take you into the outer limits...the 5th dimension, where the speed of light between 2 hearts collide. Dig it. Hoagie out. BOC rocks- On Tour Forever!

When people think of Blue Oyster Cult, its usually 'Don't Fear the Reaper' or 'Godzilla'. If there was an album in their prolific career that all of their works should be compared to, its 'The Revolution By Night'. The musicianship throughout this album is nothing short of spectacular. 'Take Me Away' and 'Shooting Shark' both enjoyed some airplay, but faded quickly. Too often, people mistakenly criticize the style variation on this album for lack of focus. Each song is well thought out and well produced. The only fault that could be found is in the trite lyrics. If you are looking for lyrical epiphanies, this ain't your album. If you want a high energy, melodic kick-ass (save for two ballads) album, it will be the best 10 bucks you've spent in a loooong time.

I don't think that "The Revolution By Night" is the best album B.O.C. ever made, but it's certainly not their worst album, either. I have mixed feelings about the sound of the album. I hate the syn-drums, but I like the way the synthesizers sound...a comfy synthesizer sound. Overall, one of their better sounding albums...at least in my grumble opinion. Bruce Fairbairn, the late GREAT Bruce Fairbairn,that is... produced it.

In terms of songs, there are some real gems, along with a few duds. Unlike many other peoples who have reviewed this album, I happen to really LIKE "Light Years Of Love". I'll agree that Joe Bouchard's vocal is a bit awkward, but the lyrics are gorgeous and the production is beautiful. I like the Spanish guitar solo, love the sound of the synthesizers and I even like Downey's drumming on it. It's a nice little ballad!

Eric Bloom gives another one of his commanding vocal performances on the album's opening cut "Take Me Away", a song he wrote with Aldo Nova (who plays on the track) that deals with Eric wanting to be taken away by aliens! Strong guitar riff, powerful vocal melody, catchy as all heck, with an exciting and very listenable instrumental section. Unfortunately, this song is followed by one of the album's weaker cuts, "Eyes On Fire", one of B.O.C.'s first songs (or maybe their absolute first) studio track to be completely written by an outsider. It's kind of catchy, but it's made a bit unlistenable by the electronic drums.

The electronic/syn-drums don't bother me too bad on "Shooting Shark", a very atmospheric song that was written by Donald Roeser and Patti Smith. Nice sax solo, good bass playing by Randy Jackson, this is one of the album's better songs. "Veins", a Roeser/Meltzer colloboration, isn't a bad song either, though some B.O.C. fans may not like the synth heavy production.

"Shadow Of California", a song that Joe wrote with Sandy Pearlman and ex-Alice Cooper drummer Neil Smith, and "Feel The Thunder", Eric Bloom's only solo composition ever for the group, are both very much in line with that old Blue Oyster Cult sound, both musically and lyrically. They're both very dark and slightly heavy, though I like "Shadow of California" a bit more than "Feel The Thunder". "Let Go" and "Dragon Lady" are both rock-n-roll party songs, adding a bit of fun and/or levity to the album...but just a bit. Essentially filler tracks, but I don't mind 'em!

The front and back covers are nice to look at, though the CD version doesn't even show the album's original back cover and doesn't even tell who plays on the album! What a pain! Just in case you were wondering, the line-up is Eric Bloom, Don Roeser, Joe Bouchard, Al Lanier and drummer Rick Downey. This was to be Rick Downey's only studio album with B.O.C. and Lanier's last album with the group for a few years. This is a pretty good album!

1983 represented changing times for Blue Oyster Cult. Based on all the other reviews, it is safe to say this is the most hated Cult collection. Why? IMHO, it is no worse than "Club Ninja". Both attempted to take the band to new places, and to look back almost 25 years later, ultimately both failed to achieve what they set out to do. While "Club Ninja" had it's own problems, "Revolution by Night" suffered from the common affliction of 80's style overproduction and somewhat poor songwriting. That's not to say the CD is not worth buying....there are still some great songs to choose from. I really liked RBN when it was first released back in '83, and the opening song "Take Me Away" was as strong an opener then as it is now with it's guitar jams and great vocal. "Take Me Away" remains to this day a classic in every sense, and is easily one of the best BOC songs in their entire catalog. But BOC takes a wrong turn when they try to be too radio friendly, and as a result, songs such as "Eyes on Fire" become stale quickly. While the song was as fresh & new as any in 1983-1984, today sounds limp and much too pop oriented for the same band that created "7 Screaming Diz-Busters" a decade earlier. The mellow "Shooting Shark", complete with MTV video and sax solos, impresses the senses with its gorgeous vocal and chorus and was sufficiently wierd for BOC at the time, but lacked energy and overstays it's welcome just a bit. The next song, "Veins" delivers the punch, and aside from "Take Me Away", is one of the best songs on this collection. Featuring Rick Downey's awsome drumming, "Veins" keeps the listener on edge, and is pure aural delight. "Shadow of California" immediately continues in this tradition, keeping even the most rabid of BOC fans sufficiently at bay. "Feel the Thunder" may appeal to some, and conjures up Halloween-style comic book imagery of three doomed riders "clutched on American steel....., Riders with no name". I usually enjoy this song, although I would have preferred more power/crunch/speed to aptly relay the story of bikers riding American steel. Sadly, the rest of the CD is littered with poor melodies and songwriting. "Dragon Lady" is filler material, and although "Let Go" features an energetic beat, it is nothing more than shameless pandering to the masses and Columbia with its embarassing juvenile chorus. Finally, the album concludes with a nice Joe Bouchard contribution called "Light Years of Love". This song features some nice mandolin work which is complemented by a very likeable keyboard line, but suffers from poor lyrics and questionable vocals. All and all, this collection was a mediocre offering, but then again, right in line with what was being offered everywhere else circa 1983. Although production values back then were a bit over the top, I sometimes miss the attention to detail and effort in making everything sound perfect. If you are fond of 80's style music, you may very well want to pick this up, and you may even really like some of the songs.

While not quite as brilliant as 1981's "Fire Of Unknown Origin", and even after losing creative force Albert Bouchard (the band's ex-drummer) BOC still delivered a powerful, atmospheric hard rock album. The only true problem with 1983's The Revolution By Night (produced by Bruce Fairbairn) was it's typical, and now dated use of those "Simmons" brand electronic drums, which clutter a few tracks. Other than that, this is a great album with some classic BOC material, with inspired, fantastic performances. Another minor quibble with RBN, is the seemingly minimal contribution (no writing credits) from keyboardist Allen Lanier, although it sure sounds like him with some good old rock 'n' roll piano, on "Let Go". Most of the synth work here is by Buck Dharma, or Larry Fast. A tune like "Eyes On Fire" is somewhat of a departure into a more commericial, pop-rock area, but with Bloom's awesome, melodic vocals, and the track's tuneful, smooth arrangement make it a success.
Songwriting was excellent as always, with rich lyrical input from longtime collaborators Helen Wheels, Patti Smith, Richard Meltzer and band manager Sandy Pearlman. Meltzer's lyrics and Roeser's musical take on the haunting and vivid dreamscape "Veins" is fantastic. Eric Bloom's "Take Me Away" (a triumphant joint effort with Aldo Nova) is a 5 star sci-fi anthem. Other highlights are "Shooting Shark", "Shadow Of California", the fun sing-along "Let Go", and the underrated ballad "Light Years Of Love". "Feel The Thunder", also written by Bloom, is an effective bikers gone mad tale from the twilight zone. Marred only by some dated 80's production, Revolution By Night is one of BOC's best.

1983 brought us Blue Oyster Cult's 9th studio album "The Revolution By Night" #93, their lowest chart showing since "Tyranny" in 1973. The band had kicked out Albert Bouchard from behind the drum kit and brought in Rick Downey(the bands lighting designer), who also played on some "Extraterrestrial Live". Buck Dharma had just done his first solo album in 1982 "Flat Out". When they went back into the studio with producer Bruce Fairbairn (Loverboy, Aerosmith,Kiss etc.). The sound would be more of a layered rock sound of the mid 80's. This would be to me the last most consistent album in B.O.C.'s career. 3 years later they would join the "Club Ninja".

"Take Me Away"- "The men in black, their lips are sealed". With Aldo Nova who had a hit the year before with "Fantasy", #11 mainstream rock, one of their last great rock songs!

"Eyes On Fire"- "I'm the guy she turns to when her lovers leave". Written by Gregg Winter a Long Island songwriter and musician, who was working on Eric's side project with Billy Joel's Richie Cannata, it was never released. Very contempoary sounding BOC.

"Shooting Shark"- "He laid a spread of Jacks and Queens". Written by Patti Smith, hit #83 in the 100, #16 mainstream rock, loved the flow of this song, cool sax work, Randy "American Idol" Jackson on bass here.

"Veins"- "I'm drinking his whiskey, I'm wanting his wife". Buck sounds good on this track.

"Shadow Of California"- "Into the darkness". Eric's vocals send's me back to 1977, written by Joe Bouchard, Neal Smith (Alice Cooper) and Sandy Pearlman, Neal played drums on this track, Eric plays a mean stun guitar.

"Feel The Thunder"- ""Leather horsemen ridin' three wide". Eric wrote this heavy little number, good keys by Allen Lanier, You can picture the motorcycle's on this track.

"Let Go"- "B.O.C. you got the power, we got the key". Another song written by Eric and Ian Hunter, who helped out with "Going Through The Motions", on "Spectres" in 1977, a little pop ditty with some good guitar by Buck.

"Dragon Lady" - "She appears mysteriously, you don't take her seriously, until you're under her spell". Fierytrack with Buck's vocals and guitar, written by Buck and Broadway Blotto ("I Quit" fame).

"Light Years Of Love"- "Our love is like the shining sea". Written by Joe Bouchard and the late Helen Robbins, Joe's only singing performance on the album, sounds like something from "Spectres", to me, very soft sounding, with a beautiful guitar by Buck.

Not a bad record at all, I think people should give this another listen, it's better than a lot stuff that came out in 1983.

This disc had some real standout tracks on it. But after the ultra classic 'fire of unknown origin" it was a slight letdown to many of us. the band should have kept to that type of attack but they started expirimenting with this one. And they came out with some great songs like 'shooting shark" and 'take me away' those songs are among the bands best ever too. But the rest of the cd isn't as powerful. That being said the rest of the cd was still filled with decent songs but you could sense a lack of direction that was falling away from what had gone before. They needed a that sharper bite and focus that would have kept them at the top. I would say though that any fan of melodic metal (the greatest kind ever ) would enjoy this cd and any rock fan might as well.

I really don't get why this album has so many negative reviews... Is it because it's poppy? If so, who cares? There's absolutely nothing wrong with poppy! Ok, it's not as good as most of Blue Öyster Cult's previous albums and it doesn't have a very original sound, but it's very catchy! All of the songs are catchy and most of them have great riffs! Veins, Let Go and Feel The Thunder are just ok, but Take Me Away (one of their best songs!), Eyes On Fire, Shooting Shark, Shadow Of California, Dragon Lady and Light Years Of Love are great!

Seriously, don't avoid this album because of the negative reviews! I was going to avoid it, but I didn't and I'm really glad I didn't! Now that I realized that the negative reviews shouldn't be trusted, I'm going to buy Club Ninja.

Revolution by night from B.O.C. is as good as any of their other releases.Yes Randy Jackson's bass playing is different from what B.O.C. fans are accustomed to but he adds a tighter groove and more texture to the sound.Listening to Dharma and Blooms guitar work against the back drop of Jackson's bass playing provides a great spring board for each of them. Even the drums which are vastly different from what B.O.C. fans are familiar with work in the same way as the bass does. Overall I think it is a great musical experience. It rocks and hypnotizes just as other releases from the band does.Yet it also grooves. It is great to hear them experiment with their sound.