Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
R U Ready 2 Rock? if so, get this disc!, September 24, 2002
Blue Oyster Cult rocked the Skyline Stage at Chicago's Navy Pier on the first night of Summer 2002. It was among the best shows that Blue Oyster Cult has ever performed. I was there. And now through the magic of compressed bits and bytes, I can be 'there' again and again by listening to this CD. And so can you. This is the record of the year. Get it. (And don't forget to get the DVD version of this concert which is also available) One final thought - It seems illogical that this band sounds better today than they did more than 25 years ago when I first saw them perform live - but they do - go figure!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks for the memories, September 27, 2002
Let me first say that I am a long-time hardcore Blue Oyster Cult fan and as such my review is likely to be biased. I unfortunately wasn't at the show where this was recorded so have been eagerly awaiting my chance to hear it.
The packaging is very attractive, some slick art work and there are some great photos of the band included in the liner notes. The big drawback and - for me a longterm gripe with BOC - is the lack of any written information on the album or the band. This is the first live album in 20 years for pete's sake and with the new line up including Miranda on bass and Rondinelli on drums. Where's the harm in putting a little commentary on?
On first listen I can report it has a great live feel. All the old favourites are there - to be honest I could have done without yet another version of Reaper, Godzilla, Burnin' and Buck's Boogie but they are the band's trademarks and they had to be included. To be fair these are particularly good renditions of all four numbers and showcase the relative talents of all the band members admirably including the newbies who cope very well with the old material but I can't help feeling the performances are TOO polished. They play these songs at every show and along the way they appear to have lost their spontaneity and enthusiasm for them. Dare I say they sound a little jaded: "ho hum here we go with Reaper - again."
They also include Astronomy as a bonus number not to be included on the soon to be released DVD of this performance. Well I hate to say it but this is one decision that I find difficult to understand. Eric Bloom's voice is no longer up to the Astronomy challenge that much is apparent even though he does a remarkable job on most of his other tracks. I understand that much rerecording had to be done in the studio to come up with the end product we get here. Maybe it would have been kinder to have just let it go citing technical problems. It doesn't add anything and is a jarring note that just seems to point up any other vocal blips on the album. There are some superb instrumental solos on the track but somehow it all has an artificial feel as if it doesn't quite belong.
The sound mix is a little odd too throughout - for one hearing I thought I was listening to a Metallica album so overpowering are the drums drowning out much of the guitar playing particularly Allen Lanier's.
Now that's most of the complaining out of the way.
They open a little tentatively with Stairway to the Stars and quickly find their way into the groove.
There are good versions of Dance on Stilts from the most recent studio album, Curse of the Hidden Mirror, Harvest Moon from Heaven Forbid, Lips in the Hills from Cultosaurus Erectus and very old favourite OD'd on Life. Quicklime Girl is given a good outing here too as is Cities on Flame.
The stand out track of the album for me is astonishingly Perfect Water a track from possibly the least popular BOC studio album ever, Club Ninja. This version of Perfect Water is, to coin a phrase, a piece of perfection. It is a stunning performance and a magical arrangement I can't praise it highly enough.
All in all this album proves the band have still got it and are still out there ... with the best of them after more than thirty years!!! How many other bands can say that? It's pretty good - not remarkable or outstanding but pretty good. A new BOC album is always a cause for celebration in my eyes and I'm awaiting the DVD eagerly.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential for diehards, should please the casual fan too!, October 5, 2002
Several excellent reviews have already been written about this album. I will not try to out-do them, but I have a slightly different viewpoint on a few issues.
Regarding the "rent-a-rhythm-section": Instrumentally, the new drummer and bassist are excellent! Bobby Rondinelli is one of the best rock drummers in the world, and manages to keep things interesting throughout the album. The main difference between Bobby and original drummer Al Bouchard is that Bobby is less jazz influenced. Expect some serious hard-rock drumming! New bassist Danny Miranda (hardly "new" after several years in the band),puts his own creative touch on the bass lines, wandering off into new and slightly different territory instead of sticking strictly to Joe Bouchard's original bass lines. As I said, instrumentally speaking, the new rhythm section rocks! The Bouchard's are still, and will always be missed in the background/harmony vocals department though. The background/harmony vocals are good but not great on this album.
Regarding Eric Bloom's vocals and "Astronomy": E.B.'s lead vocals still sound great. He may have lost a bit of his high register, and the grittiest end of his growl, but his sneering biker-turned-spaceman vocals still retain all the vigor and attitude that are Bloom's trademarks. There is usually a high-note at the end of Astronomy that Bloom doesn't try for on this album, but it hardly effects the impact of the song. To the contrary, this version of Astronomy contains an extended guitar solo by Buck that is one of the finest and most exciting I've ever heard.
And now on to my few gripes: If you buy this album, expect to hear lots of lead vocals, lead guitar, and drums, but don't expect to have the rhythm guitar or bass jump out at you. The worst part of the mix is that there is almost no "crunch" to the rhythm guitar. It is audible, but has very little high-end to it, detracting from the classic B.O.C. 3-guitar attack (aka: The Guitar Orchestra Of The State Of Imaginos!). Secondly, although the bass is not necessarily too low in the mix, it sounds boomy and makes it hard to differentiate the notes being played.
OK, that was my only real complaint! Take it from a fan of many types of music, not just classic rock and metal: this is an excellent, well rounded live album, and will probably be the most played of all 4 B.O.C. live albums from now on...well, at least on my stereo it will!
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