Customer Reviews

Super Hits

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was not a Blue Oyster Cult fan before this, but then I saw it on a bargain rack for $8.00. I decide what the heck. From the first note of 'Don't Fear the Reaper' I was hooked. Blue Oyster Cult is perfect music, and you can get a lot of their CDs for under $10.00. If you see this, or other CDs by them, I strongly urge you to buy it. You will be mesmerized. I guarantee it!!

If you liked all of BOC's popular songs this is the disc for you. It doesn't dig deep into their career, but it has all the hits such as "Don't Fear the Reaper" (which thank goodness, is the full version with the guitar solo) and "Burning for You." Get this disc because its not expensive, but has most of what you could want from them.

Help! I can't stop listening to this CD! Definitely the best single-disc BOC compilation out there. This collection beats "On Flame with Rock and Roll" in both sound quality and content. Not only does this disc sound great, but the guy who produced this compilation definitely knows something about BOC (Thanks, Bruce Dickinson!). I'm a little curious, though, as to why there's nothing here off of the debut album. But that's nitpicking, and you'll hardly care after you listen to this CD! From the familiar first chords of "Don't Fear The Reaper" to the abrupt ending of the great "Flaming Telepaths", there is just no filler whatsoever on this disc! And don't let the title fool you; Yes, the "Super" hits "Godzilla" and "Burnin' For You" are here. However, listen to the three tunes off of "Tyranny and Mutation", BOC's second album. "The Red And The Black", "O.D.'d On Life Itself", and "7 Screaming Diz Busters" showcase the unbelievable guitar work of Don "Buck Dharma" Roeser. These tunes will be revelations to those who are new to the band or who are just familiar with BOC's more commercially successful releases. Rounding out this collection: "Black Blade" is brilliant and innovative, "This Ain't The Summer Of Love" never sounded so good, and "Goin" Through The Motions" will surprise you with yet another thrilling guitar break. And, of course, the afore-mentioned "Don't Fear The Reaper" will once again take your breath away, just as it did the first time you heard it. This is a rock-solid, well-balanced collection from top to bottom. I give it the highest possible rating. ENJOY!

Blue Oyster Cult was a different type of "heavy metal" group. It was intelligent. It had its meaningful lyrics, (Don't Fear The Reaper) and it had its wierd lyrics. (Godzilla) Any way, though, THEY ROCKED THEN AND NOW. They came out with a steady flow of albums with great songs, like Burnin' for You, Godzilla, The Red And The Black, This Ain't The Summer of Love, Astronomy, Black Blade, and Flaming Telepaths. Yet, the only song that was remembered/cared about was Don't Fear The Reaper. Chances are, if you say something about BOC to a friend, they'll say, "Who's Blue Oyster Cult?" It's too bad they were forgotten... They were overruled by the other early heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. In my opinion, though, BOC blows them all away.

Anyway, this is a great compilation of songs boy one of my favorite bands. Hit songs include all of them. If you know BOC, get this now. If you just heard of BOC, get this now. This is a great starting album.

DON'T FEAR THE REAPER-10/10 As good as it ever was.
THIS AIN'T THE SUMMER OF LOVE-9/10 A key song.
GODZILLA-9/10 Their second best song ever.
RED AND THE BLACK-10/10 I simply love this song.
OD'D ON LIFE ITSELF-7/10 I don't like this song, but you might.
GOIN' THROUGH THE MOTIONS-8/10 A hit.
BLACK BLADE-10/10 I still love it!
7 SCREAMING DIZ-BUSTERS 8/10 I like the guitar riffs.
BURNIN' FOR YOU-9.5/10 Still awesome!
FLAMING TELEPATHS-9/10 A song about drugs. I don't get the beginning. It's great, though.

So, there you have it. Get it used now.

There are legions of reviewers who will claim superhero status on behalf of this band and therefore when this super cheap collection caught my eye it seemd appropriate to try and get a glimpse of what these supposed hard rock legends of the 70's were all about. After all, that's one of the great things about being into hard rock and metal, it's a musical form with history and has a myriad of permutations to explore.

So explore I did and I found out a number of things.

Firstly that way too many reviewers have their rose coloured glasses welded onto their faces. Either that or this isn't nearly a true representation of this bands best. Because much of this is the sort of music you'd expect to hear on some local radio station at 2am or perhaps being played around 2pm at a hippy jam festival.

But even though as a package it left me utterly cold there were a number of interesting musical moments on this release. Firstly the collection kicks off with Don't Fear the Reaper which was apparently a hit for the band and given I thought I was buying a disc by a well respected hard rock band when this mellow sounding tune came on it was a bit of a surprise. Which was a nifty way of starting the record off I suppose. Next up is This Ain't the Summer of Love which has a nice vocal melody and a sort of deceptively nasty slant to it. And then there is Godzilla, a song that has a social message, humour and some truly inane aspects. So taken as a complete song it's certainly different and really quite enjoyable.

But after that this collection lost my attention very quickly, it seemed painfully dated in it's recording and that's weird because these guys were successful and should of had a decent budget, I mean similarly dated material by a number of other bands don't sound this creaky. O.D'd On Life Itself is a case in point, with a name like that I was expecting something other than a down home noodly pub rock affair laced with thin vocals. Sorry. And as for Going Through The Motions, well they said it, not me.

That's not to deny the boogie based The Red and The Black and 7 Screaming Diz Busters their due accolades as toe tappin' hard rock. In fact it's the bass that drives many of these tunes which is no surprise given the vintage of the songs - it would appear that none of the tunes here post dates 1981. Many of the guitar parts are quirky and that makes for a light hearted listen and it does set a mood of enjoyment. What is lacking her for me is bite, there just isn't the one or two really blitzing songs here I was expecting to hear alongside the good time hard rock boogie and mellow stuff. There is no overdrive gear, so to speak.

If anybody out there knows of a better compilation than this for this highly respected early mob of hard rock and metal pioneers please leave a comment as I'd love to give them another chance. But having picked this up cheap and still not being overly enthralled I'm a bit gunshy.

With hundreds of BOC compilations to choose from (okay, not a hundred, maybe a dozen), where is a Blue Oyster Cult neophyte to go? My advice is to start right here with "Super Hits". The music is just that, super; all rockers. Plus you can't beat the entry level price. After basking in this cd for awhile, you will no doubt want to further indulge yourself in BOC's music. If that is the case, start with the first album and then purchase every album in chronological order right up to "Fire Of Unknown Origin". This is a great place for the uninitiated to start a Blue Oyster Cult collection, so add to cart ASAP!

SUPER HITS contains ten of Blue Oyster Cult's best, including "Goin' Through The Motions", which is their best ever. If you get this and THE BEST OF, you have all of Blue Oyster Cult's greatest songs on two discs.

D$$$, this is great stuff! Talk about classic rock and heavy metal that doesn't suck like a lot of today's stuff. "Don't Fear the Reaper" is always going to be my favorite, but BOC is certainly not without other greats like "This Ain't the Summer of Love," "The Red and the Black," and "Black Blade." As good and as classic as Black Sabbath, this CD truly does possess their best.

Even though I had heard so many great things about BOC, I had only heard a handful of songs: "Don't Fear the Reaper," "Burning for You," "Godzilla." Finding the three of them on once CD for $8 was a deal I couldn't pass up. Lo and behold, I discovered that BOC actually does have TONS of great songs like "Flaming Telepaths" and "7 Screaming Diz-Busters," to name just two. The whole disc is great, and has encouraged me to seek out more Blue Oyster Cult. If you're like I was just a short time ago, it's definitely worth the $8 to get the three songs you're familiar with and 7 more great tunes. And if you're into intelligent, complex rock (like Rush), but still dig the heaviness (like Black Sabbath), BOC is the band that you need to stop overlooking.

This is an awesome cd! The vocals and guitars are legendary! Blue Oyster Cult is a great band, and this compilation, produced by Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame, includes some of B.O.C.'s best. Definetly worth owning; for anyone who loves great pop/metal music!