The Revolution by Night

Blue Oyster Cult

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: October 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000025WW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,237 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best ten albums ever -- anywhere, December 19, 1999

By	Rustmanic "R.S." (Albany, OR United States) - See all my reviews

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Blue Oyster Cult circa 1983.....3.5 stars, December 20, 2005

By	NYC Leather Pants Wearin' Wierdo (New York) - See all my reviews

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A few great songs, but too uneven, April 22, 2003

By	RMurray847 "afilmcritic.com" (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

An uneven effort from BOC.

TAKE ME AWAY details the narrator's yearning to be taken away by aliens. Sounds silly when I write it down, but the song truly rocks. It starts the album off on a great note.

EYES OF FIRE is another driving song, but a bit generic.

SHOOTING SHARK is the high point. It isn't a driving, hard rocker, but a moody piece with great guitar and vocal work from Donald Roeser (Buck Dharma). A longish, expansive piece that I never tire of listening to.

VEINS. Nothing to say...I can barely remember the song and I listened to this album just recently. Nuf said.

SHADOW OF CALIFORNIA Middle-tempo rocker that is quite forgettable.

FEEL THE THUNDER deals with a ghostly motorcycle gang. Sounds a bit like BOC from the early days...which is nice.

LET GO The lyrics are a bit self-serving "B...O...C...you can be whatever you want to be" but the song was written as a kind of anthem. When I saw them in concert years ago, it made for a great singalong. It's hard to judge the song...silly but fun would be my conclusion, I guess

DRAGON LADY Also feels a little like one of their older songs. A mysterious woman with supernatural powers (either meant to be taken literally, or as just a metaphor for a difficult "normal" woman...hard to say and probably not important). It is a driving song and fun to sing along with during the chorus: "Dragon lady take you by the heart..."

LIGHT YEARS OF LOVE Yikes!!! Sounds like it was supposed to be a ballad, but frankly, it is an unmitigated mess. Avoid like the plague!!!

It's an enjoyable album with some true high points, especially for the BOC fan. I wouldn't recommend it to BOC "dabblers" however. This was the last album BOC produced that was even remotely commercially successful, and you can feel the tiredness creeping into their forumla.