Blue Oyster Cult
	Produced by Murray Krugman & Sandy Pearlman
	Released on January 1972
	US CHART POSITION #172
	Find it at GEMM
EGKC 6 cover

B lue Osyter Cult presumably drew its influence from the same source as Black Sabbath, using the blues-based “psychedelic” rock of bands like Led Zeppelin and Cream as a launching point for their own apocalyptic visions. BOC’s eponymous debut is as much playful posturing as dark prophecy, however, mixing the portentous (“Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”) and the preposterous (“She’s as Beautiful as a Foot”) without swearing allegiance to either. When the band adopts a more menacing stance -- as on “Transmaniacon MC,” “Before the Kiss (A Redcap)” and the mighty “Cities…” -- they invite comparisons to Sabbath’s debut album. But the band’s literary aspirations prove too great a temptation: songs like “Redeemed” (which references the “goblins of Xerxes” in a countryish twang complete with banjo) and “Workshop of the Telescopes” can’t seem to agree on what they want to achieve. The band’s egalitarian approach to songwriting, which included all five members plus their producers and original vocalist Richard Meltzer in endless permutations, hampers the development of a clear identity for the band. While the musical pieces are consistent -- Donald Roeser’s blues-rock guitar leads, the solid rhythms of brothers Albert and Joe Bouchard, Eric Bloom’s sedate (and, here, often muddy) vocals -- the vision is not. BOC’s excursions into psychedelia are also interesting and well executed (none moreso than the drug-score-gone-bad story of “Then Came the Last Days of May”), but they haven’t aged particularly well. Fans will likely remember the heavier tracks and forget the rest, which is the shortest path to appreciating this album.

PC 31063 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. TRANSMANIACON MC    (Sandy Pearlman/Albert Bouchard/Donald Roeser/Eric Bloom)    3:20
2. I'M ON THE LAMB BUT I AIN'T NO SHEEP    (Sandy Pearlman/Albert Bouchard/Eric Bloom)    3:09
3. THEN CAME THE LAST DAYS OF MAY    (Donald Roeser)    3:29
4. STAIRWAY TO THE STARS    (Richard Meltzer/Albert Bouchard/Donald Roeser)    3:42
5. BEFORE THE KISS, A REDCAP    (Sandy Pearlman/Murray Krugman/Allen Lanier/Donald Roeser)    4:57
6. SCREAMS    (Joe Bouchard)    3:09
7. SHE'S AS BEAUTIFUL AS A FOOT    (Richard Meltzer/Albert Bouchard/Allen Lanier)    2:56
8. CITIES ON FLAME WITH ROCK AND ROLL    (Sandy Pearlman/Donald Roeser/Albert Bouchard)    4:04
9. WORKSHOP OF THE TELESCOPES    (Sandy Pearlman/BOC)    3:50
10. REDEEMED    (Sandy Pearlman/Harry Farcas/Albert Bouchard/Allen Lanier)    4:01
    
    CD reissue bonus tracks
    
11. DONOVAN'S MONKEY
12. WHAT IS QUICKSAND?
13. A FACT ABOUT SNEAKERS
14. BETTY LOU'S GOT A NEW PAIR OF SHOES

CREDITS

ERIC BLOOM -- lead vocals, stun guitar, keyboards
ALBERT BOUCHARD -- drums, vocals
JOE BOUCHARD -- bass, vocals
ALLEN LANIER -- rhythm guitar, keyboards
DONALD (BUCK DHARMA) ROESER -- lead guitar, vocals
David Lucas -- associate producer, engineer
Bill Robertson -- engineer
Gawlik -- cover

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