Blue Öyster Cult (album)
Encyclopedia
Blue Öyster Cult is the eponymous debut album by hard rock
band Blue Öyster Cult
, released in January 1972 (see 1972 in music
). The album featured songs such as "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
," "Stairway to the Stars," and "Then Came the Last Days of May," all of which the band still plays regularly during its concerts. Despite positive reviews, the album failed to chart for some time before finally cracking the Billboard 200
on May 20, 1972 and peaking at #172. Blue Öyster Cult toured with artists such as the Byrds
, Alice Cooper
and the Mahavishnu Orchestra to support the album.
gave the album a generally positive review in Rolling Stone
stating, "with the Blue Öyster Cult, New York has produced its first authentic boogie beast, and with any luck this one should be around for awhile" telling readers that "I don't think you should miss this album." Circus
wrote that "it could well be the album of the Seventies", while Robert Christgau
in The Village Voice
called it "the tightest and most musical hard rock record since - dare I say it - Who's Next
". The record was named an honorable mention on IGN
's list of "Top 25 Metal
Albums" and has been called "Heavy metal for people who hate heavy metal."
. The 1969 version was made available when Rhino
released the Soft White Underbelly album on their Handmade imprint.
explains the title as originating in an event witnessed by lyricist/manager Sandy Pearlman
, where redcap was supposedly slang for a type of barbiturate
, which in the song is passed between partners during a kiss; however, the term redcap usually referred to the drug Dalmane
.
in Southern California.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
, released in January 1972 (see 1972 in music
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
). The album featured songs such as "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
"Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" is a rock song by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their 1972 self-titled debut album. It was written by Sandy Pearlman, Donald Roeser, and Albert Bouchard, and released as a single. The riff was inspired by Black Sabbath's song "The Wizard",...
," "Stairway to the Stars," and "Then Came the Last Days of May," all of which the band still plays regularly during its concerts. Despite positive reviews, the album failed to chart for some time before finally cracking the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
on May 20, 1972 and peaking at #172. Blue Öyster Cult toured with artists such as the Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
and the Mahavishnu Orchestra to support the album.
Reception
The album was well received by critics. Lester BangsLester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
gave the album a generally positive review in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
stating, "with the Blue Öyster Cult, New York has produced its first authentic boogie beast, and with any luck this one should be around for awhile" telling readers that "I don't think you should miss this album." Circus
Circus (magazine)
Circus was a monthly American magazine devoted to rock music. It was published from 1966 to 2006. In its heyday the magazine had a full-time editorial staff that included some of the biggest names in rock journalism, including Paul Nelson, David Fricke, and Kurt Loder, and rivaled Rolling Stone in...
wrote that "it could well be the album of the Seventies", while Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
in The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
called it "the tightest and most musical hard rock record since - dare I say it - Who's Next
Who's Next
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released in August 1971. The album has origins in a rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The ambitious, complex project did not come to fruition at the time and instead, many of the songs written for the project...
". The record was named an honorable mention on IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's list of "Top 25 Metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
Albums" and has been called "Heavy metal for people who hate heavy metal."
Side one
- "Transmaniacon MC" (Sandy PearlmanSandy PearlmanSandy Pearlman is an American music producer, artist manager, professor, poet, songwriter, and once was a record company executive...
, Donald RoeserBuck DharmaDonald "Buck Dharma" Roeser is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967...
, Eric BloomEric BloomEric Bloom is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the main vocalist, and "stunt guitar" for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on over 20 albums...
) – 3:21 - "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" (Pearlman, Albert BouchardAlbert BouchardAlbert Bouchard and grew up in Clayton, New York. He is a drummer, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a founding member of Blue Öyster Cult and a driving force through the band's first decade...
, Bloom) – 3:10 - "Then Came the Last Days of May" (Roeser) – 3:31
- "Stairway to the Stars" (Richard MeltzerRichard MeltzerRichard Meltzer was one of the earliest rock music critics. His first book, The Aesthetics of Rock, evolved out of his undergraduate studies in philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and graduate studies at Yale University...
, A. Bouchard, Roeser) – 3:43 - "Before the Kiss, a Redcap" (Pearlman, Murray Krugman, Allen LanierAllen LanierAllen Lanier was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Lanier played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He currently resides in Manhattan....
, Roeser) – 4:59
Side two
- "Screams" (Joe BouchardJoe BouchardJoe Bouchard was the original bassist for Blue Öyster Cult. He grew up in Clayton, New York...
) – 3:10 - "She's as Beautiful as a Foot" (Meltzer, A. Bouchard, Lanier) – 2:58
- "Cities on Flame with Rock and RollCities on Flame with Rock and Roll"Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" is a rock song by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their 1972 self-titled debut album. It was written by Sandy Pearlman, Donald Roeser, and Albert Bouchard, and released as a single. The riff was inspired by Black Sabbath's song "The Wizard",...
" (Pearlman, Roeser, A. Bouchard) – 4:03 - "Workshop of the Telescopes" (Pearlman, A. Bouchard, Roeser, Lanier, J. Bouchard, Bloom) – 4:01
- "Redeemed" (Pearlman, Harry Farcas, A. Bouchard, Lanier) – 3:51
2001 CD reissue Bonus Tracks
- "Donovan's Monkey" (Meltzer, A. Bouchard) – 3:50
- "What is Quicksand" (Meltzer, Lanier) – 3:40
- "A Fact About Sneakers" (Meltzer, A. Bouchard) – 2:50
- "Betty Lou's Got a New Pair of Shoes" (Bobby FreemanBobby FreemanBobby Freeman is an African-American soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who recorded for the Autumn Records label in San Francisco, California. He is best known for his 1958 hit "Do You Want To Dance?" and his 1964 Top Ten hit "C'mon and Swim"...
) – 2:34
Personnel
- Eric BloomEric BloomEric Bloom is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the main vocalist, and "stunt guitar" for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on over 20 albums...
: lead vocals, stun guitar, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Albert BouchardAlbert BouchardAlbert Bouchard and grew up in Clayton, New York. He is a drummer, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a founding member of Blue Öyster Cult and a driving force through the band's first decade...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, lead vocals (track 8) - Joe BouchardJoe BouchardJoe Bouchard was the original bassist for Blue Öyster Cult. He grew up in Clayton, New York...
: bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, lead vocals (track 6) - Allen LanierAllen LanierAllen Lanier was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Lanier played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He currently resides in Manhattan....
: rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, keyboards - Donald "Buck Dharma" RoeserBuck DharmaDonald "Buck Dharma" Roeser is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967...
: lead guitar, lead vocals (tracks 3 & 5)
"I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep"
The song "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep," about a fugitive pursued by Canadian mounties, was originally recorded in 1969 (when the band was known as Soft White Underbelly). It was again recorded at a much-faster tempo with much-heavier guitars as "The Red and the Black" for the band's next album, Tyranny and MutationTyranny and Mutation
Tyranny and Mutation was the second album by hard rock band, Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1973....
. The 1969 version was made available when Rhino
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
released the Soft White Underbelly album on their Handmade imprint.
"Then Came The Last Days Of May"
"Then Came The Last Days Of May" was based on a true story, when three friends of Roeser's were killed in a drug deal gone bad in California. This song is occasionally played live as a showcase for Roeser's guitar soloing skills."Before the Kiss, a Redcap"
Originally titled "Conry's Bar," "Before the Kiss, a Redcap" describes scenes from that real location. Guitarist Buck DharmaBuck Dharma
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967...
explains the title as originating in an event witnessed by lyricist/manager Sandy Pearlman
Sandy Pearlman
Sandy Pearlman is an American music producer, artist manager, professor, poet, songwriter, and once was a record company executive...
, where redcap was supposedly slang for a type of barbiturate
Barbiturate
Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
, which in the song is passed between partners during a kiss; however, the term redcap usually referred to the drug Dalmane
Flurazepam
Flurazepam is a drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. It possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. It produces a metabolite with a very long half-life , which may stay in the bloodstream for up to four days...
.
"Redeemed"
"Redeemed" was written by singer-songwriter Harry Farcas, and sold to the band. Other band members are listed as authors, due to their input in the arrangement. "Sir Rastus Bear" was Farcas' pet Saint Bernard. Farcas is now an IridologistIridology
Iridology Iridology Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosis or iridiagnosis is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents claim that patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris can be examined to determine information about a patient's systemic health...
in Southern California.
Covers
- A cover version of the song "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" was featured as a track in the music video game Guitar Hero 3.
- The song "Transmaniacon MC" is featured in the video game Rock BandRock BandRock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
as downloadable content that may be purchased off of the system or downloaded from the Rock Band Track Pack: Metal disc using a one-time use code.
Charts
| Year | Album | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Blue Öyster Cult | #172 |