Deep Dives: Blue Öyster Cult Part VII: Cultösaurus Erectus (1980)

Cultösaurus Erectus was the band’s first album produced by Martin Birch. It had 3 singles, and peaked at #34 in the US and #12 in the UK.

Members:

Eric Bloom: guitar, keyboards, vocals

Buck Dharma: lead guitar, keyboard, vocals

Allen Lanier: keyboards, guitar

Joe Bouchard: bass, vocals

Albert Bouchard: drums, vocals

The Tracks:

1. “Black Blade”: This was written by Michael Moorcock. It’s about Stormbringer, the cursed sword wielded by his anti-hero Elric. Joe has a cool bassline. An excellent start.
2. “Monsters”: This is about two alien lovers, Joe and Pasha. I like the rhythm section and horns. Another Imaginos song.
3. “Divine Wind”: This was written in response to the Iranian government holding 52 US citizens hostage. The guitar riff is killer!
4. “Deadline”: This is about Phil King, an acquaintance who was shot after a bad deal. The keyboard and bass work well together.
5. “The Marshall Plan”: This is a story about a budding rock musician. The Marshall in the title is of course in reference to Marshall amps. One of the best songs.
6. “Hungry Boys”: This is a song about drugs and living fast. I like the keyboard riffs.
7. “Fallen Angel”: Another favorite with a good rhythm section.
8. “Lips in the Hills”: This song references HP Lovecraft and features awesome guitar solos.
9. “Unknown Tongue”: The closing song is about a girl named Margaret, who is possessed by demoms. It has a great rhythm.

Final Draft: I feel this is an underrated gem. Great way to continue the direction they went on Mirrors and improve upon it.

Grade: A-

Deep Dives: Blue Öyster Cult Part VI: Mirrors (1979)

Mirrors was BÖC’s first album that wasn’t produced by Sandy Pearlman, instead it was produced by Tom Werman. Four singles were released (counting “Moon Crazy”, which was only a single in Japan.) The album reached 44 in the US, 46 in the UK, and 49 in Canada.

Members:

Buck Dharma: Lead guitar, vocals

Eric Bloom: Rhythm guitar, vocals

Joe Bouchard: Bass, vocals

Allen Lanier: Keyboards, guitar

Albert Bouchard: Drums, vocals

The Tracks:

1. “Dr. Music”: Nice harmonica and keyboards. The lyrics make references to The Doors.
2. “The Great Sun Jester”: This was co-written by Michael Moorcock, making reference to both the Fireclown and the titular jester, who are both characters in his stories. I like the guitar on this one.
3. “In Thee”: This song didn’t really work for me.
4. “Mirrors”: This has a good bassline and backing vocals. It’s about pretty girls in magazines. Why wasn’t this a single?
5. “Moon Crazy”: This is a song about the original definition of lunacy, craziness caused by the moon. Good piano and drums.
6. “The Vigil”: We’re back in the Imaginos cycle for this one. Some cool heavy guitars and rhythm on this. My favorite song on the album.
7. “I am the Storm”: More heavy guitars and some more cool pianos. Drumming is great too. This is about being double-crossed. Another favorite.
8. “You’re Not the One (I Was Looking For)”: This was Albert mocking The Cars, as it sounds similar to “My Best Friend’s Girl”. There was a feud between the bands over who was “the future of rock and roll”.
9. “Lonely Teardrops”: Cool keyboard riff on this one. Not a bad song to end on.

Final Verdict: Pretty good album despite the changes. Not all the songs worked, but it’s not bad.

Grade: B

Deep Dives: Blue Öyster Cult Part V: Spectres (1977)

Spectres reached #60 in the UK and #43 in the US, where it was certified Gold. The album had 3 singles.

Members:

Buck Dharma: vocals, lead guitar

Eric Bloom: guitar, vocals

Joe Bouchard: bass, keyboards, vocals

Allen Lanier: keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals

Albert Bouchard: drums, harmonica, percussion, vocals

The Tracks:

1. “Godzilla”: BÖC’s ode to Japan’s most famous kaiju citizen. Love the fuzzy guitars on this.
2. “Golden Age of Leather”: Songwriter Bruce Abbot wrote this song because he thought motorcycles were going to be extinct. He was wrong, of course. This has a great rhythm, and another fuzzy riff with a cool bass.
3. “Death Valley Nights”: Richard Meltzer wrote this ballad about his love life. Nice mournful keyboard on this.
4. “Searchin’ For Celine”: The Celine is Louis Ferdinand Celine, a narcoleptic French writer. Joe has a nice bass at the start.
5. “Fireworks”: This is the only song written entirely by Albert, about a girl he was dating. Bruce Springsteen loved it. I like the guitars on this, very nice solo.
6. “R U Ready to Rock”: This is a great anthem that in my opinion should have been a hit. Great piano and drumming. My second favorite song.
7. “Celestial the Queen”: Nice keyboard and drumming. I don’t really like Joe’s vocals, though.
8. “Goin’ Through the Motions”: At the time this album was being recorded, Allen had broken up with Patti Smith. This has a good keyboard riff. This song was covered by Bonnie Tyler.
9. “I Love the Night”: A spooky little tune about a white lady in the night. Genius speculated that the lady in white could be a cocaine reference or a vampire. I think it should be the latter. Very pretty tune.
10. “Nosferatu”: Another cool spooky piano on this song about the titular vampire. Another one of my favorites.

Final Verdict: Very nice album, although I didn’t enjoy it as much as its predecessor. Some of the songs didn’t land for me, but it’s still good.

Grade: B

Deep Dives: Blue Öyster Cult Part IV: Agents of Fortune (1976)

Agents of Fortune is one of Blue Öyster Cult’s most famous albums, mostly due to a certain song. It had two singles, and reached 29 in the US (reaching Platinum), and #26 in the UK. Sandy Pearlman and Murray Krugman were the production team again, along with David Lucas. This is the only album to have at least one vocal performance from each member, and no songs by Eric Bloom, although the 2020 remaster changed that for “E.T.I.”.

Members:

Buck Dharma: Vocals, lead guitar

Eric Bloom: guitar, vocals, keyboards, percussion

Allen Lanier: keyboards, rhythm guitar, bass on “Morning Final”, vocals

Joe Bouchard: bass, piano on “Morning Final”, vocals

Albert Bouchard: drums, percussion, vocals, acoustic guitar

The Tracks:

1. “This Ain’t The Summer of Love”: The opening song is a reference to the summer of 1967, the highlight of the hippie movement. Good drumming on this. This song inspired the Green River song “Swallow My Pride”. (Green River was one of the earliest grunge bands, and the first band for Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard before Mother Lovebone)
2. “True Confessions”: Allen Lanier sings lead on this song about his relationship with Patti Smith. Excellent keyboard on this. It’s the first time he sings lead.
3. “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”: This is the biggest single from the album, and one of my favorite songs. It’s not known who really did the cowbell, for the record. I’ve always liked the song’s message.
4. “E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)”: This song makes references to the Magi’s visit to Jesus’s birth. Another one of my favorites.
5. “The Revenge of Vera Gemini”: Patti Smith wrote this with Lanier about their relationship. She has beautiful vocals on this with Lanier, and it has a killer bass.
6. “Sinful Love”: I like the piano and guitar on this song. Not too keen on the lyrics on this.
7. “Tattoo Vampire”: The guitar and drumming on this is great!
8. “Morning Final”: This song is about a murder Joe saw. I like the trilling piano and keyboards.
9. “Tenderloin”: This is a song about cocaine, by the way. Good bass and drumming.
10. “Debbie Denise”: I’m not a fan of this one. The lyrics are all right, but the melody doesn’t work.

Final Verdict: This album is a true classic and deserves its platinum status! Even though I don’t like all of the songs, I love this album overall.

Grade: A

Deep Dives: Blue Öyster Cult Part III: Secret Treaties (1974)

Secret Treaties was produced by Sandy Pearlman and Murray Krugman. This is the only album that doesn’t feature Buck Dharma on lead vocals, nor did the band write any lyrics. Instead, the lyrics were written by Pearlman, critic Richard Meltzer, and Patti Smith. Most of the songs focus on the “Imaginos” cycle. The album charted at 53 on the Billboard 200.

Members:

Buck Dharma: lead guitar

Eric Bloom: vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards

Allen Lanier: keyboards, rhythm guitar, synthesizers

Joe Bouchard: bass, vocals

Albert Bouchard: drums, vocals

1. “Career of Evil”: This has a cool bass hook. It’s based on Patti Smith’s poem “Poem of Isadore Ducasse”, named after the real name of Comte de Lautreamont, writer of Les Chantes de Maldoror, which is where the title originates. It describes the alien Desdinova’s interventions.
2. “Subhuman”: This eerie tune is about the Blue Öyster Cult rescuing Desdinova after he is left on the shore. It was originally going to be called “Blue Öyster Cult”, but Pearlman didn’t like the idea. One of my favorite songs.
3. “Dominance and Submission”: This is a nice thrasher. It explores music’s impact on higher consciousness.
4. “ME 262″: This is kind of a title track, as it’s named after the airplane on the cover, the ME-262 Bomber, (aka ” Messerschmidt”), which was used by the Nazis. Another cool thrasher.
5. “Cagey Cretins”: Albert’s got a good rhythm on this. The titular cretins are asylum inmates breaking out. Meltzer was bored when he wrote this one. I kinda like it.
6. “Harvester of Eyes”: The guitar and bass are nice. It’s about Supreme Court justice Abe Fortas, who served under President Lyndon Johnson.
7. “Flaming Telepaths”: The keyboard on this is great, and it’s got another great rhythm. The meaning is ambiguous, with some suspecting the mind control experiments the Nazi scientists performed.
8. “Astronomy”: Desdinova reveals itself to humanity. This is a nice eerie track. I personally think it should’ve been the second song.

Final Verdict: While I don’t like the arrangement of the songs, this is a good album.

Grade: B

Deep Dives: Blue Öyster Cult Part II: Tyranny and Mutation (1973)

Tyranny and Mutation was the second album produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. The album reached #122 in the US.

Members:

Buck Dharma: lead guitar, vocals

Eric Bloom: rhythm guitar, synthesizers, vocals

Allen Lanier: keyboards, rhythm guitar

Joe Bouchard: bass, keyboards, vocals

Albert Bouchard: drums, vocals

The Tracks:

1. “The Red & the Black”: this is a rewrite of ” I’m on the Lamb But I Ain’t No Sheep”. Nice drumming at the start.
2. “OD’d on Life Itself “: This song is about a woman Pearlman met. It’s got a riff that sounds like “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” by The Hollies.
3. “Hot Rails to Hell”: This song was inspired by a subway ride Joe took with the album’s cover artist, Bill Gawlick, who was a bit of a loner, according to genius.com. I really love the rhythm guitar on this one. My favorite song.
4. “7 Screaming Diz-Busters”: While I like the music on this one fine, I didn’t much care for the lyrics, once I figured out what “diz” means.
5. “Baby Ice Dog”: This is a murder ballad taking place in Mongolia. The guitar and drums are great.
6. “Wings Wetted Down”: This is based on poems by Nobel Prize winning-poet Pablo Neruda. This has a good bass groove.
7. “Teen Archer “: Albert does some excellent drumming on this.
8. “Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)”: This is a song about a serial killer who turns her victims into fertilizer. This is another song with a good groove.

Final Verdict: Another nice and heavy album. It’s a shame these albums before the big one didn’t chart.

Grade: B

Deep Dives: Blue Öyster Cult Part 1: Self-titled (1972)

This time I’m starting a series on New York-based Blue Öyster Cult. The band formed in 1967 as Soft White Underbelly, a reference to Winston Churchill’s criticism of the Axis Powers. The original lineup met rock critic Sandy Pearlman at a gig at Stony Brook University, where all the members were attending. After a bad review at a gig, Pearlman (who had become the band’s manager and a songwriter. Pearlman suggested the name in reference to a concept about an alien cult who secretly guided Earth’s history. The band’s logo is loosely based on the astronomical symbol of Saturn. Pearlman also suggested stage names, but only Donald Roeser kept his, calling himself “Buck Dharma”. Allen Lanier suggested the addition of the umlaut. They were the first band to call themselves a heavy metal band, in reference to the symbol also being for lead (a heavy metal, get it?). The debut had three singles, and reached #172 on the Billboard 200.

Members:

Buck Dharma: Lead guitar, vocals

Eric Bloom: Vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards

Allen Lanier: rhythm guitar, keyboards

Joe Bouchard: bass, vocals

Albert Bouchard: drums, vocals

The Tracks:

1. “Transmaniacon MC”: This song is about the Altamont Free Concert. (The MC stands for Motorcycle Club). The song has a great riff and rhythm.
2. “I’m on the Lamb, But I Ain’t No Sheep”. This song originated from early in the band’s history, when they were known as Oaxaca. (Alternative versions of the song are on compilation album St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings.) It’s about a criminal being chased by the Mounties. I like the groove on this one.
3. “Then Came the Last Days of May”: This song comes from a story about two friends who were killed in a bad drug deal. The song has a much softer and somber feel than the rest of the album.
4. “Before the Kiss, a Redcap”: the song was originally called “Conry’s Bar”, in reference to a real bar. The song has another slick groove.
5. “She’s As Beautiful as a Foot”: This song has a cool and eerie feel to it.
6. “Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll”: One of the best songs on the album. It’s got an excellent rhythm section. This is the first recorded song in the Imaginos Cycle, a series of songs that are comprised of a longer story, which ties into the band’s name. The song is sung by Albert instead of Dharma.
7. “Workshop on the Telescopes”: Another song with a cool eerie feel.
8. “Redeemed”: This song was written by singer-songwriter Henry Farcas, and references his St. Bernard, Sir Rastus Bear. I like the drumming on this one.

Final Verdict: While I only recognized only one song, I did enjoy hearing how the band started out. This was a good debut.

Grade: A-

Deep Dives Update: Yes: Mirror to the Sky (2023)

I decided to use this week to update my Yes retrospective series with their latest album, “Mirror to the Sky”. This is Yes’s first album with Jay Schellen as a full-fledged member, after Alan White’s death. Schellen had performed percussion as a guest since 2016. This was their first album without Alan White since Close to the Edge. The album also featurea the FAMES Studio Orchestra. Two singles were released. The album reached #4 in the UK, #22 on the US Top Albums, and #20 on the US Tastemakers chart.

Members:

Jon Davison: vocals, acoustic guitar

Steve Howe: guitar, production

Billy Sherwood: bass, vocals

Geoff Downes: keyboards, organ, piano, and synthesizer

Jay Schellen: drums and percussion

The Tracks:

1. “Cut From the Stars”: The song starts with an orchestral flourish. There’s a crisp bassline and guitars. This is a wonderful start to the album.
2. “All Connected “: When I first heard this, I didn’t like it. It’s slowly grown on me thanks to Howe’s long guitar solo and Schellen’s drumming.
3. “Luminosity “: Schelling has good drumming and there’s a good riff at the start.
4. “Living Out Their Dream”: It’s a nice rocker, but it’s too short.
5. “Mirror to the Sky”: The title track is a great epic with an energetic riff at the start, before the rest of the band kicks in. It takes full advantage of its time and has a good build. I love how it bookends at the end.
6. “Circles of Time “: This is such a pretty song. The vocals have nice effects.
7. “Unknown Place”: The chanting at the start is a nice choice. The song is a solid rocker throughout.
8. “One Second is Enough”: I love the keyboards on this one.
9. “Magic Potion”: The guitars on this are good. It’s a nice quick closer.

Final Verdict: This is not the Yes of old, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a sort of evolution allowing the newer members to take the stage. I think it’s a good showcase of how the band is benefiting from the new changes.

Grade: B+

Deep Dives: Black Sabbath Part XX: 13 (2013)

13 was the final album, recorded after the band’s longest gap between albums. The album also marked the return of both Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler (Bill Ward couldn’t return due to a contractual dispute.) They had reunited with Osbourne and Butler for the live album Reunion and Ozzfest. Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave replaced Ward, and Rick Rubin was hired to produce. The album hit #1 in both the UK and the US. The name comes from Vertigo Records wanting 13 songs, but the album actually had 8 songs. (I’m including the bonus songs from the Spotify version)

Members:

Ozzy Osbourne: vocals

Tony Iommi: guitar

Geezer Butler: bass

Brad Wilk: drums

The Tracks:

1. “End of the Beginning”: The album starts off with an excellent riff and drumming. Ozzy sounds great. The opening even sounds similar to “Black Sabbath” from the debut.
2. “God is Dead?”: Butler’s bass is cool. One of the best songs.
3. “Loner”: Iommi’s guitar is awesome. Some more good drumming from Wilk.
4. “Zeitgeist”: I don’t really like the production on this one.
5. “Age of Reason “: Wilk does some excellent drumming at the start.
6. “Live Forever”: Some of Wilk’s best drumming on the album and some cool bass.
7. “Damaged Soul”: Another song I don’t like the production on.
8. “Dear Father”: Another excellent bassline from Butler.
9. “Methademic”: Great song condemning crystal meth. One of the best songs on the album.
10. “Peace of Mind “: Butler has a cool bass on this one.
11. “Pariah”: The drumming and bass are nice and mean on this closer.

Final Verdict: Although I don’t like the production on some songs, this is a great album to end the series on.

Grade: B

Deep Dives: Black Sabbath Part XIX: The Devil You Know (2010)

In 2007, the Mob Rules lineup of Black Sabbath recorded 3 new songs for a boxed set. They eventually toured together and decided to call themselves Heaven and Hell to differentiate themselves from Black Sabbath, and so the audiences wouldn’t expect any songs they didn’t record with Dio (so no “War Pigs”, and probably no “Disturbing the Priest” or even stuff from the Tony Martin era). They recorded one studio album, The Devil You Know, and that’s what I’m covering. Because a friend who knows Black Sabbath more than me said it should count. It was also the last thing Dio recorded before his death.

Members:

Ronnie James Dio: vocals, production

Tony Iommi: guitar, production

Geezer Butler: bass, production

Mike Exeter: keyboards

Vinny Appice: drums, percussion

The Tracks:

1. “Atom and Evil”: Dio is in top form, and Geezer and Iommi punctuate the vocals well.
2. “Fear”: The song starts off strong with Vinny’s heavy drums. Geezer has a nice heavy bass.
3. “Bible Black”: Tony starts off with a beautiful solo. The song is about a man corrupted by an evil Bible. One of my favorites.
4. “Double the Pain”: Nice bass at the start, and a solid thrasher.
5. “Rock and Roll Angel”: The riff on this one is mean. Dio sounds awesome.
6. “The Turn of the Screw”: This one’s not bad.
7. “Eating the Cannibals”: I love Tony’s riffs on this, and Vinny does some of the best drumming.
8. “Follow the Tears”: The keyboard has a good doomy atmosphere.
9. “Neverwhere”: Another solid song.
10. “Breaking Into Heaven”: This would be a good song for Armageddon.

Final Verdict: This is an album that shouldn’t be missed. It’s a banger from start to finish!

Grade: B