Blue Öyster
Cult (compilation produced by Bob Irwin), “Workshop of the Telescopes”, Sony
Music Corporation / Columbia Records, New York NY, USA, 1995
I really
like guitars.
I like
them loud and wailing, soft and strummy, funky, or screaming in heavy metal
frenzy. Whether it’s Peter Frampton warbling at the audience, 10cc channelling
reggae while discussing a bad vacation, Sniff ‘n’ the Tears getting jiggy in
the driver’s seat, or Creedence upping the ante on Marvin Gaye’s grapevine.
Gimme six strings and an amp turned up to 11 and I’m happy.
I think I
first tuned in to the sound whilst listening to Glen Campbell singing “Galveston”
on the radio; then there was Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and the Zombies. I
started high school with Santana and Jeff Wayne’s “War of the Worlds” as
accompaniment; the first album I bought for myself was Blondie’s’ “Eat to the
Beat”. Like many kids my age at that time, my tastes veered towards the
overblown and megawatt: Meatloaf’s “Bat Out Of Hell” and Pink Floyd’s “The
Wall”. I’m not exactly sure when I first heard the Blue Öyster Cult, but - them
and me? - it’s pretty much a perfect match.
This
collection of their music is credited as being the ‘definitive selection’ and
that’s pretty much true: it has their big hits – those few times when they hit
the Top 40 in a recognisable way – “Burnin’ For You”, “(Don’t Fear) The
Reaper”; the tunes used as movie soundtracks (“Veteran of the Psychic Wars”); the
hit tunes they covered in their own inimitable fashion (“Kick out the Jams”,
“Born to be Wild”) and the songs they wrote that others turned into Top 10
magic (“Goin’ Through the Motions”, a hit for Bonnie Tyler after “Total Eclipse
of the Heart”). There’s some live stuff along with the mainstays to round
things out and, as often as I’ve tried to think of a way to improve on this
selection, it remains a hard task.
Lyrically,
BÖC are dense and obscure; obviously, if you spend time writing song lyrics
with Patti Smith and Michael Moorcock, in the company of various mind-altering
substances, things are bound to get a little strange. There are songs about
UFOs and Messerschmitts, telepaths and television; even the standard ‘boy meets
girl and what happens next’ tropes are a little mixed up, as a ditty with the
title “Dominance and Submission” would suggest. Despite all the blokey, heavy
metal brouhaha, they are essentially a dark little gathering of sensibilities
who constantly err on the side of complexity and invention. As an article I
read once described them, they are the “thinking person’s heavy metal”.
The ‘Cult
came out of New York’s Long Island at the end of the 60s, managed by agents who
had attended Altamont, and the biker heritage lives large in the oeuvre of the
band, with references to motorcycles, bike leathers, beer and Satanism. Being
tagged with rumours of Satan-worship certainly didn’t deter the band and their
nods towards the “Hell’s Angel” stereotype are numerous and sometimes coy. The
punning lyric “Let me loose of here: I’ve finally found the way” is a case in
point: if you slur over the words “Loose of here” you get “Lucifer”, and the
line suddenly becomes a war-cry from the Anton laVey camp of satin-clad
devil-worshippers.
It’s
actually this which gives the band some of its punch and which has made BÖC a
critical success: what they come up with is singular and consistent; it doesn’t
pander to the audience or deviate from the stated line. The musical innovations
extend the philosophy and the followers are truly that: no ‘Cult fan would
consider telling the band what course to take; this isn’t Bon Jovi, by any
stretch of the imagination.
As well,
consider the list of accomplishments that the band came up with: Laser shows –
nowadays a fait accompli of live stadium music performances – were innovated by
BÖC; of those metal bands who wear the “Big in Japan” t-shirt with pride, the
‘Cult were there first: Cheap Trick might have been “Live at the Budokan” but
so were BÖC, as well as selling–out shows in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagasaki. They
even sang their signature tune “Godzilla” in Japanese to audiences there.
Produced by Phil Spector? Check. Signature monogram? Check – they practically
invented the band logo. Headlined with Black Sabbath? Check.
It seems
to me that many bands rise from shaky, unpolished beginnings to achieve an
over-produced gloss which loses much of what makes their performance unique.
Fleetwood Mac is a case in point: compare “Rumours” to “Big Love” and you’ll
see what I mean. BÖC on the other hand seem to have gotten better as time and
production values have advanced. Their earlier albums are pretty rough and have
a blues-y feel: “Tyranny and Mutation” is a blunt instrument compared to the razor-keenness
of “Club Ninja”, which is hooky and slips its perversions by the listener on
bullet-train rails. The older albums require intent listening and they demand
attention: this is not a bad thing; it’s just that the band has gotten better
at its job and is now having fun whilst dishing the dirt. The ‘Cult has evolved
over time, into something bigger and more dangerous.
And what
has this to do with the Mythos? Well, this metal band is more Poe than Poison.
There are mystical and supernatural references throughout all their albums and
the brooding quality of their sound is a perfect accompaniment to any session
of Cthulhu Now or Delta Green. The ‘Cult’s last album to date – twenty years in
conceptual gestation – is a dark number entitled “Imaginos”, whose references
and multi-layered imagery make it one of the densest concept albums ever made,
touching upon everything from Victor Hugo to Frankenstein and back. When the
shoggoths hit the fan and the guns come out in response, sometimes you need a
rocking soundtrack to get you through it all – this is it!
Four
tentacled horrors.
*****
BÖC
Discography
1972 – “Blue Öyster Cult” (Self-titled)
1973 – “Tyranny and Mutation”
1974 – “Secret Treaties”
1975 – “On Your Feet or on Your Knees”
(Live)
1976 – “Agents of Fortune”
1977 – “Spectres”
1978 – “Some Enchanted Evening” (Live)
1979 – “Mirrors”
1980 – “Cultosaurus Erectus”
1981 – “Fire of Unknown Origin”
1982 – “Extraterrestrial Live” (Live)
1983 – “The Revolution by Night”
1986 – “Club Ninja”
1988 – “Imaginos”
1995 – “Workshop of the Telescopes”
(Compilation)
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