------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOC FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about BLUE OYSTER CULT |BBOCC| |BO"OC| |B" "C| |" "| _________| |_________ |BOC" | "BOC| |B --B:O:C-- C| |BOC._____ | _____.BOC| | | | | | BOc. |boc bocb. ;'"'boc bocbo, ';"b bocbo bocboc. :";boc c. "bocb ;, .o;"";oc." ";bocb 'boc";bocboc;' '?boc bocboc;"' '":bocboc"''' Version: 2.0 Date of Latest Revision: September 5, 1995 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Notes: This FAQ was created on an Apple Macintosh computer using Microsoft Word (version 5.0). The font used is 10-point Monaco -- if the BOC symbol above does not look right on your screen, setting your font to either "Monaco" or "Courier" should fix the problem. With the help of numerous individual contributors (named below), this FAQ has been compiled by John Swartz (referred to herein as "the editor"), Please send any suggestions, corrections or changes to him at the address listed at the end of this FAQ. TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- 1. The Nexus Of The Crisis, And The Origin Of Storms -- FAQ Information a. Why a BOC FAQ? b. The *real* people that made this FAQ possible. c. Version history. d. Archive location of this FAQ. e. Commonly used abbreviations. 2. The Oyster Boys Are Swimming Now -- Who Are Blue Oyster Cult? a. Who are BOC? b. No really, who are BOC? c. History of the Band d. Pre-history of the Band 3. My Ears Will Melt, And Then My Eyes -- Blue Oyster Cult Discography a. Domestic (U.S.) Album Releases b. Solo Albums, and Movie Soundtracks c. Compilation Albums (domestic) d. Compilation Albums (foreign) e. Import Live Recordings f. Other Releases (Singles, Promos, Etc.) 4. R. U. Ready 2 Rock? -- Frequently Asked Questions a. What are BOC up to these days? b. When is the new album (*not* a "Greatest Hits" album) coming out? c. Is *Flat Out* available on CD? d. What is the "best" BOC album? e. What is the story behind the recording of the album, *Imaginos*? f. What is the story told by the album, *Imaginos*? g. Is there a BOC/H.P. Lovecraft connection? h. Where is the BOC symbol on the _____ album? i. Where can I get a complete set of BOC lyrics? j. What is a (Diz-Buster, ME-262, Stun Guitar, . . .)? k. Who is (Suzy, Celine, Debbie Denise, Sir Rastus Bear, . . .)? l. Where can I get BOC live recordings? m. Where can I find Rossignol's book, 'The Origins of a World War'? n. What do the Japanese words in "Godzilla" mean? o. Are there other BOC songs, and how can I hear them? p. Will the original line-up ever get back together again? 5. A Harvest of Life, A Harvest of Death -- Other Items of Interest a. Use of Umlauts, and the Origin of the Name, "Blue Oyster Cult" b. BOC in Concert c. The Movie "Heavy Metal" d. Other Releases of BOC Music e. Song References f. References to BOC g. Hidden Messages h. Black and Blue, and Other Videos 6. Three Men in Black Said, "Don't Report This" -- Other Sources Of Info a. Bolle Gregmar -- BOC/Brain Surgeons Fan Clubs b. Ben Cohen -- The BOC/Hawkwind E-Mail List (BOC-L) c. Albert Bouchard and Deborah Frost -- The Brain Surgeons d. BOC on AOL e. Other On-Line Sources 7. Think I'll Write "Good Health To You" -- Copyright and Disclaimer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. The Nexus Of The Crisis, And The Origin Of Storms -- FAQ Information Why a BOC FAQ? -------------- Short Answer: Why not? Only Slightly-Longer Answer: *Everybody* needs a FAQ, don't they? Long Answer: Blue Oyster Cult has, these days, a fairly small, but loyal, and somewhat rabid following. The band has a history of over 20 years, and many people who were not fans back then want to know about the band's origins. In addition, the various themes of BOC's music are interesting to discuss. Finally, BOC fans on the internet seem to ask the same questions over and over again - of course, part of this is because we *like* to re-hash the topics, and usually come up with something new when we do. Editor's Smart-Mouthed Answer: After you've read through this FAQ, which will probably printout to well over 40 pages, you'll realize what a stupid question that was. Note: This FAQ was originally created for, and circulated on, "BOC-L", a group of individuals who regularly communicate using electronic mail (E-Mail) to discuss, among other things, BOC. Information on how people with internet access can subscribe to this group (also referred to as the BOC discussion group, BOC E-Mail group, or BOC/Hawkwind E-Mail list) appears elsewhere in this FAQ. The *real* people that made this FAQ possible. ---------------------------------------------- This FAQ has finally come into being for two reasons, (1) because someone volunteered to finally take on the project, and (2) because lots of knowledgeable BOC fans contributed. While I am somewhat proud to say that I took on the project of generating the BOC FAQ, it is only by the many submissions of input from BOC fans that made this FAQ possible. While I am a fan, I'm no BOC "expert". My job as editor was mostly to layout the format of the FAQ, and enter in the data. I am in debt to the following individuals, who are listed in no particular order: Jean Lansford Bryan Irby Steve Swann Ben Cohen Bryce Baker Dave Hardman Andy Gilham David Kuznick Warrick Bell David Dean Terry Poot Tim Fulcher Alun Hughes Carl Anderson Ken Alexander John McIntyre Craig Shipley Eric Falk Dan Weissman Jason Gool Ed Tidwell Mark Mitchum Ken Harward Jason Scruton Tom Gannon Jonathan Padgett James DeWitt Keith Frazier Gary Wingert Craig Matsumoto Chuck Rosenberg Scott Heller Rob Maerz Todd Ellenberg Ken Drew Ken VanTassell Robert Reich Miles-Kevin Baron Alan Siebert Robert Sedler Joseph Brooks Craig Marciniak Melne Murphy (of the BOC Fan Club) Les Braunstein (of "Soft White Underbelly" and "Les Vegas") Eric Bloom (of "Blue Oyster Cult") Donald Roeser (a.k.a. "Buck Dharma" of "Blue Oyster Cult") Joe Bouchard (of "Blue Oyster Cult" and "The Cult Brothers") Albert Bouchard (of "The Brain Surgeons" and "Blue Oyster Cult") Deborah Frost (of "The Brain Surgeons") And finally, and most importantly, special thanks go out to Bolle Gregmar, head of the BOC Fan Club. First and foremost, he has done all of us BOC fans a great service by keeping the fan club going. Beyond that, he has spent several hours on the phone with me going over this FAQ, providing me lots of interesting information, correcting various inaccuracies, and helping me with some legal issues. You will see his name sprinkled throughout the FAQ -- he is probably the singularly most knowledgeable individual on Blue Oyster Cult, other than members of the band themselves (and in some cases, because of all the things he's collected on the band, he may still know about things that members of the band may have forgotten). Version history. ---------------- This is the second "official" version. of this FAQ, and is identified as version "2.0". This version supersedes all previous versions. Version 2.0 contains the following changes over version 1.0: Information in sections 4 and 5 has been modified and expanded, based on conversations with Bolle Gregmar, head of the BOC Fan Club. Minor corrections that various individuals have spotted have been made (Editor's note: I can't believe that I didn't catch the error where I stated that "Shooting Shark" was on *Club Ninja*!). Some additional bits of information have been sprinkled throughout the FAQ, and sections 3, 4, and 5 have been re-organized in several areas. Eric Bloom provided me with information on some of his various musical projects, and Buck Dharma has provided information on the song, "Harvester Of Eyes". I received e-mail from Soft White Underbelly vocalist Les Braunstein, and he gave me some insight into the band's early history. A new section on miscellaneous releases (singles, promos, etc.) has been added (special thanks to Ken Drew and Ken VanTassell for their input), as well as a portion of Bryce Baker's interpretation of the *Imaginos* saga. More neat BOC stuff can now be found on the Internet and the World Wide Web. The Brain Surgeons have released a new album (*Trepanation*), which has been released and added to the discography. Finally, since the last release of the FAQ, *Flat Out* has become available on CD as an import. Currently, one additional version is planned for release in 1995. Version 2.1, will be released in the Fall of 1995, and will contain information on anticipated new album releases by BOC (a compilation by Sony, and hopefully a new studio album), as well as some other minor clarifications (Editor's note: or corrections to any mistakes I made in this version -- if you spot any, please let me know!). Beyond that, a new revision or two is likely in 1996, depending on what the band is doing, or what new information I can find. The generation of this version of the BOC FAQ began on August 4th, 1994, when, after seeing the words "we need a FAQ" in them for about the 10th time on the BOC discussion group (BOC-L), the editor decided to take a stab a writing a FAQ -- not particularly for BOC-L members, but for BOC fans in general (Editor's Comment: Every time I post a message about BOC to "alt.rock-n-roll", I get questions from other BOC fans about various topics.). "Draft" versions of the FAQ were circulated on BOC-L, with lots of comments by it's members. Draft versions of the FAQ were also sent to former band members Albert Bouchard (who is a member of BOC-L) and Joe Bouchard (who has internet access), as well as to the head of the BOC Fan Club. The first "official" version of the FAQ, version 1.0, was released to BOC-L on 15 February, 1995. It was subsequently sent to the internet newsgroups, "alt.rock-n-roll" and "alt.rock-n-roll.classic". It later appeared on several links on the World Wide Web (WWW). Archive location of this FAQ. ----------------------------- The latest version of this FAQ can be found in the BOC-L archives. The archives are located via anonymous FTP from in the [.boc-l] directory. In other words, use whatever ftp program you have to access the following address: ftp.spc.edu and use the following username: anonymous Use your E-Mail address as a password. Once in, set the directory to [.boc-l], and use the "get" command to transfer the FAQ to your system. The filename is: BOC_FAQ-version#.txt (e.g., This version is: BOC_FAQ-2_0.txt) Along with the FAQ, a few other items of interest may be found. The FAQ, along with other BOC-L archives, can also be accessed by the World Wide Web (WWW). Using your web browser, open the following URL: ftp://ftp.spc.edu/boc-l There are now several WWW links with BOC-related information, including links to the BOC-L archives, including the FAQ (where the most up-to-date version will always be kept). See the listing located near the end of the FAQ for a listing of these links. Commonly used abbreviations. ---------------------------- AOF, AF Agents Of Fortune (album title) BB Buck's Boogie (song title) BFY Burnin' For You (song title) BOC Blue Oyster Cult (band name, album title, song title) BOC-L BOC List (BOC/Hawkwind E-Mail discussion group) CC Cult Classic (compilation album title) CE Cultosaurus Erectus (album title) CN Club Ninja (album title) COE Career Of Evil (song title, compilation album title) COF(WR&R) Cities On Flame (With Rock And Roll) DFTR (Don't Fear) The Reaper (song title) D&S, DAS, DS Dominance And Submission (song title, way of life) ETI Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (song title) ETL Extraterrestrial Live (album title) FO Flat Out (Buck Dharma solo album title) FOUO Fire Of Unknown Origin (album title, song title) FT Flaming Telepaths (song title) HOE Harvester Of Eyes (song title) MC Motorcycle Club (as in the song, "Transmaniacon MC") ME 262 Messerschmitt 262 (song title, WWII German warplane) OFWR&R, OFWRAR On Flame With Rock And Roll (compilation album title) OYFOOYK On Your Feet Or On Your Knees (album title) R&B The Red And The Black (song title) SABAAF She's As Beautiful As A Foot (song title) SEE Some Enchanted Evening (album title) SFG Stalk-Forrest Group (former band name) ST Secret Treaties (album title) STTS Stairway To The Stars (song title) SWU Soft White Underbelly (former band name) (T)RBN (The) Revolution By Night (album title) T&M, TAM, TM Tyranny and Mutation (album title) WOTT, WOT Workshop Of The Telescopes (song, compil. album title) And, here's a few commonly used abbreviations by folks on the internet: BTW By The Way FWIW For What It's Worth IMHO In My Humble (or Honest) Opinion LOL Laughing Out Loud Ob Obligatory ROTFL(MAO) Rolling On The Floor Laughing (My Ass Off) Editor's Note: To avoid people having to keep coming back to this section while reading the FAQ, I have avoided using the abbreviations in the FAQ (other than "FAQ" of course; but if you've gotten this far and don't know what "FAQ" stands for, I suggest you start over right now). 2. The Oyster Boys Are Swimming Now -- Who Are Blue Oyster Cult? Who are BOC? ------------ A group of aliens who serve "Les Invisibles" (see discussion on the story told by the album, *Imaginos*). No really, who are BOC? ----------------------- A 5-man rock band from New York (see below). History of the Band ------------------- Note: The following is taken mostly from liner notes written by Arthur Levy in the "Career of Evil" album, portions of which also appeared in BOC tour programs and press kits. Additional information appears in [brackets]. Some of the history, and pre-history (which appears in the next section) information was taken from the liner notes to a German import compilation CD (Editor's note: Thanks to Andy Gilham for translating the German to English for me.). In the early 1970s, in the utter chaos of an embattled America cast adrift by the fires that plagued it for a decade, there arose a rock band whose destiny was no less than to bring ultimate meaning to the concept of heavy metal. When Blue Oyster Cult played, it was the sound of monsters in the hills. The wind carried the band's unknown tongues across continents until it felt as if earth's very crust could tear away. The agents of fortune responsible for this rage of heavy-metal thunder were a shadowy quintet, indeed. Their primal rumblings were first heard in the late '60s, in the band known as Soft White Underbelly, which evolved into the Stalk-Forrest Group as an antidote to that era's "success-rock" syndrome. The dusty nightmare of Altamont settled into rock's fabric, and a thoroughly professional band emerged from the SWU/SFG heiarchy. As Blue Oyster Cult then, a familiar lineup would remain unchanged for a dozen years: leather-clad Eric Bloom (vocals, guitar) leering at audiences behind silver-mirrored shades; white-suited Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals) attaining pyrotechnic levels that earned him Top-10 honors in rock-guitar polls; menacingly frail, pale Allen Lanier (keyboards, guitar, vocals), longtime companion to poetess Patti Smith, lurking near the fringes of BOC's pulse; and Long Island brothers Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals) and Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals), drifting effortlessly from pile-driving, bottom-end work to more exotic rhythms with enviable finesse. High above them all hung the ominous BOC banner, ancient symbol of Kronos (Saturn) in white on a field of black. The indispensable sixth member of this American rock 'n' roll cabal was Sandy Pearlman. As producer, songwriter, and manager of BOC, Pearlman's knowledge of history and philosophy have enjoyed free reign for nearly 20 years. His production credits grew to include The Clash, Dream Syndicate, and Dictators. As one of the acknowledged founders of modern rock criticism (with Richard Meltzer, Paul Williams, and Jon Landau), he was the first to apply the term "heavy metal" to the music at hand. And as eternal student and teacher, his quest for true cosmic enlightenment is forever. BOC drew upon its collective talent as composers and musicians for the aptly titled debut album on Columbia, *Blue Oyster Cult* (released January, 1972), produced by Pearlman and Murray Krugman, a Columbia A&R executive. This team (with engineer David Lucas) would stay together through BOC's first seven years and as many LPs. The songwriting pattern was also set, a fusion of terror and madness, wit and irony, pop culture, social psychology, science, mythology, intellectual calisthenics, gutter outrage -- tactical directions that remained constant. [An interesting note is that Eric Bloom, according to the liner notes written by Volker Koerdt on the German import BOC CD, *The Reaper - Best*, stated that it was difficult to find his leather gear in those days -- "You couldn't get that stuff in those days, I had to buy it in gay shops or sex shops."] A discernible popular following took hold as American rockers accepted BOC at a level previously reserved for U.K. bands only. In order to whet the appetites of these enlightened ones, a limited edition *Live Bootleg* 12-inch EP was circulated by the label. Since its release in October, 1972, this cherished item has become the Maltese Falcon of heavy metal collectibles. [Note: This recording is known under several names (see discography), and, while not widely circulated, is available as an import.] Over the next three years, BOC steadily ascended to headlining status, notwithstanding the absence of a Top-40 single or million- selling gold LP sales, just "Cult Power" (bolstered by rock critic establishment endorsements in the press and on the FM airwaves) and sheer musical depth. The LPs reflected this: *Tyranny And Mutation* (February, 1973) and *Secret Treaties* (April, 1974) both reinforced and exaggerated BOC's many obsessions, just as the band's public image threatened to overtake its existential reality. They bought some breathing space with the release of their first live album, the double LP, *On Your Feet Or On Your Knees* (February, 1975). The album contained live performances of songs off the first three albums, plus "Buck's Boogie", "Maserati GT" (Pearlman's dream car, or a re-working of the Yardbirds' "I Ain't Got You") and Steppenwolf's elegy to the summer of love, "Born To Be Wild" -- in which Eric and Donald's Texas chainsaw guitar duel attains brain-shattering modulation. The inevitable commercial breakthrough took place with the next two LPs, which presented more individual contributions by the members of the band: the RIAA platinum *Agents Of Fortune* (May, 1976), with the Top- 10 hit "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (later quoted by Stephen King in *The Stand*); and *Spectres* (November, 1977), whose "Godzilla" set off another explosion, especially in Japan, where BOC was greeted as a messenger of the gods, not unlike "Godjira" itself. This phase of BOC's career culminated in a second live album: *Some Enchanted Evening* (September, 1978) "made up for" the various sins of omission/commission on *On Your Feet Or On Your Knees*, while it also capitalized on having played more than 250 shows before a half-million people since *Spectres* was issued. In 1976, on the *Agents of Fortune* tour, BOC also unleashed a new dimension in staging as they joined forces with one of the country's most advanced optical physics laboratories and developed the sophisticated and powerful (hence, controversial) laser light shows in rock, at a cost of $200,000. Upon the release of *Spectres*, an even more advanced laser presentation was unveiled at twice the cost, with twice the power. [Due to the controversiality of BOC laser shows (there were rumors that the lasers caused some people to go blind, and certain groups claimed that BOC must be evil to do such dangerous things at their shows), some venues would not allow their use. BOC later abandoned the use of lasers at their shows, citing cost and a desire to get "back to basics".] BOC's excursion out of the '70s and into the '80s unfolded over the course of its next three studio LPs. On *Mirrors* (June, 1979), BOC's first California recording, Pearlman and Krugman relinquished production to Tom Werman, a CBS staff producer (Cheap Trick and Ted Nugent, later Motley Crue). *Cultosaurus Erectus* (June, 1980), produced by Martin Birch (of Black Sabbath/Deep Purple/Whitesnake renown) included "Black Blade", a collaboration with British fiction/fantasy novelist Michael Moorcock. But it took *Fire Of Unknown Origin* (June, 1981), again produced by Birch, to bring BOC into the new video/Top-40 generation, with "Burnin' For You" and the controversial "Joan Crawford". BOC's third (and most likely final) live LP [like *On Your Feet Or On Your Knees*, a double LP] was the result of four months of recording and painstaking track selection. *Extraterrestrial Live* (April, 1982) became the standard by which BOC would be measured onstage. [It was also during this timeframe (August of 1981, to be more precise) that the first change of personnel in the band occurred. Albert Bouchard, the band's original drummer, apparently failed to show up on time for a show in Norfolk, England. Rick Downey, one of the members of BOC's road crew, happened to be a capable drummer himself, and was asked to play in Albert's absence. After further disagreements between Albert and the rest of the band, Albert left the band, which was presumably only a "leave of absence" resolve some personal issues. Rick Downey continued to fill in as BOC's drummer, and was made the permanent drummer about a year after Albert left. Most of the songs on *Extraterrestrial Live* feature Rick Downey's drumming. However, two songs on the album feature Albert Bouchard on the drums -- Albert is credited as playing on "Dominance and Submission", and "Black Blade" (the recordings used of those two songs were made prior to Albert's leaving BOC). In addition, Albert Bouchard's likeness (along with Rick Downey and the rest of BOC) is pictured on the back of the album.] A year of minimum performances, maximum rehearsals and recording, and some unexpected personnel changes [i.e. Albert Bouchard] resulted in the release of *The Revolution By Night* (October, 1983). The LP was produced by Bruce Fairbairn (who worked with Loverboy since its inception, and went on to produce Bon Jovi). [In January of 1985, Rick Downey (upset that BOC wanted to use a different drummer in the studio for their next album) quit the band (After leaving BOC, he became the lighting designer for Utopia and Motley Crue, then tour manager for The Outfield and Anthrax, before returning in 1994 to be lighting designer and tour manager for BOC). As BOC had a 2 week tour of California in February, and no drummer, the band asked Albert Bouchard to fill in. However, Albert was only hired as a temporary replacement, much to the dismay of those who thought that the original line-up would be restored. On recommendation from Rick Derringer, Jimmy Wilcox became BOC's new drummer (although Billy Idol drummer Thommy Price was to provide some drum work in the studio for the next album). In addition, Allen Lanier took a leave of absence, presumably due to artistic differences with the band (he reportedly did not like the new BOC sound, or the use of so many writers outside the band) and was replaced by Tommy Zvoncheck on keyboards. With 3 of the original 5 band members remaining when the band resumed touring in May 1985, band insiders often referred to them as "3OC".] [These] further personnel changes [i.e. Rick Downey and Allen Lanier] were evident on *Club Ninja* (January 1986), BOC's first new album in 27 months, as Pearlman returned to produce his first LP with the band in nine years. Its title is derived from the song "Shadow Warrior" (literal translation of the Japanese ninja), which contained a lyric by best-selling novelist Eric Van Lustbader, author of *The Ninja*. [After a returning to the U.S. in February of 1986 from the European leg of the *Club Ninja* tour (where nearly everyone on the tour got sick), bassist Joe Bouchard left the band for personal reasons. On recommendation from Tommy Zvoncheck, Jon Rogers became the new bassist (having only a week to learn the songs). With only Eric and Buck remaining of the original lineup, band insiders often referred to them as "Two Oyster Cult".] [In September of 1986, after the *Club Ninja* tour was over, the band, according to singer Eric Bloom, "semi-officially broke up". However, the break was short-lived, as Allen Lanier rejoined Eric and Buck (returning the band to "3OC"). According to Buck, "We re-formed because we had an offer to go to Greece. Then we ended up playing some shows in Germany and just sort of fell back into it to make a living." On Buck's recommendation, Ron Riddle became BOC's drummer when they resumed touring in June of 1987 (beginning in Greece). During this timeframe, the *Imaginos* (July 1988) album was finished and released, but more details of that album appear in another part of this FAQ.] [In May of 1991, drummer Ron Riddle left the band (and joined the Stuart Hamm Band), and was replaced by Chuck Burgi (who had played as a session drummer for Meatloaf, Rainbow, and other bands; and had played in the Eric Bloom band, later became known as "Skull", with Eric, Dennis Feldman of Heaven, and Bob Kulick of Meatloaf). In 1992, Chuck Burgi took some "time off" to record a Japan-only release CD with ex-Rainbow keyboardist David Rosenthal -- John Miceli, drummer for Meatloaf, filled in for him (he had only one day to rehearse with the band). Blue Oyster Cult toured off and on between 1988 to 1995, mostly in smaller concert venues than they had been accustomed to during the peak years of their popularity (roughly 1975 - 1983). During this time, no new BOC albums were released, partly due to contractual issues between CBS records and the band. However, CBS released two compilation albums, *Career of Evil - The Metal Years*, and *On Flame With Rock And Roll*, in 1990. Also, BOC appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 science fiction movie, *Bad Channels* -- the album includes two new BOC tunes ("Demon's Kiss" and "The Horsemen Arrive"), along with a myriad of instrumental pieces that were used for the movie (these were reportedly done completely by Buck Dharma using his guitars and Macintosh computer). In 1994, the band released *Cult Classic* on Herald records. This album came about due to interest in the band by horror writer Stephen King, who wanted to use "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" as part of the soundtrack in the TV Mini-Series adaptation of his novel, *The Stand*. Due to contractual issues between CBS and the band (CBS owned the footage rights to BOC's music), BOC got a "one-off" deal from Herald records to re-do the songs (Herald had a similar arrangement with Rick Wakeman, formerly of Yes). In May of 1995, bassist Jon Rogers left the band to pursue a career with a new band. He was temporarily replaced by Greg Smith, who has previously worked with Alice Cooper, Ritchie Blackmore, Vinnie Moore, and the Plasmatics. Greg came on recommendation from Chuck Burgi, who had worked with Greg on David Rosenthal's album. In August of 1995, Greg left the band to support tours with Alice Cooper and Ritchie Blackmore. Based on recommendations from Greg Smith and John Miceli, the new bassist for BOC is Danny Miranda, from Long Island, New York. A new studio album is planned for the hopefully not-too-distant future (probably 1996), and CBS-Sony is planning to release a double CD compilation (announced release date is September 26) with the title, *Workshop Of The Telescopes*. [And what of Albert Bouchard, the original drummer, and one of the driving creative forces (both musically and conceptually) behind BOC? After his departure from BOC, Albert spent alot of time working on a solo album (to be entitled, *Imaginos*), along with Sandy Pearlman (also a driving conceptual force behind BOC), who was still managing BOC. Eventually, *Imaginos* was released in 1988. However, due to problems with CBS records, the album was released as a BOC album, with many of the tracks re-worked, against Albert's wishes. More on the recording of *Imaginos* appears in another part of this FAQ. In addition, according to Eric Bloom, Albert believed since the album was credited as being a BOC album, and since Albert was listed on the album as being in BOC, he would be re-joining the band. The rest of BOC, however, was not interested. As previously mentioned, Albert was asked to fill in for a two-week tour of California in early 1985 when BOC was in-between drummers (Rick Downey and Jimmy Wilcox). He agreed, hoping to patch things up with the band. However, they made it clear to him that he was merely a temporary hired hand, and his "final" performance with BOC was in February 1985. Albert in his post-BOC days also played with Helen Wheels, David Roter, and a band he formed called "Imaginary Playmates". After Joe Bouchard left BOC, he and Albert formed "The Cult Brothers", but due to artistic differences, Albert left that band before their first show. Albert later put together his current band, "The Brain Surgeons", with his wife, Deborah Frost (a drummer herself, formerly of the all-girl band "Flaming Youth" in the 1970's, but better known as a rock journalist, writing for such publications as The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Creem, Spin, and Musician, to name a few). They released their first album, *Eponymous*, on their own independent label (Cellsum), in early 1994. The album was later released in October 1994 on the "Ripe and Ready" record label. Their second album, *Trepanation*, has just been released, again on the Cellsum label. Both albums have been highly acclaimed.] Blue Oyster Cult made choices many years before, and their decision stands: to face the real politics of rock survival in a nightly stand of metallic force. In a world where science and nature are at war, and survival depends on the delicate balance of the natural and supernatural, BOC are more than just informed observers. They are served by forces that many cannot understand. Now the voices call in hunger: That is why we need them. It is why they are here. Pre-history of the Band ----------------------- In high school, Albert Bouchard (b. 24 May 1947) played drums in a band known as "The Regal Tones" with his brother Joe (b. 9 November 1948) on guitar. Albert met Donald Roeser (b. 12 November 1947) at Clarkson College of Technology as a freshman. The two had met once or twice there, but were formally introduced to each other by mutual friend Bruce Abbott (co-author of the song, "Golden Age Of Leather"). Albert (drums), Don (guitar), Bruce (bass), Jeff Latham (guitar, who also later played in Soft White Underbelly when Allen Lanier was in the army), and Skip O'Neal (vocals, mostly because he could sing at practices with no mike and be heard over the amplifiers), formed "The Disciples". The band played a mix of Beach Boys, Coasters, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Lee Dorsey, Lou Christie, Temptations, Impressions, Smokey Robinson, etc. During the summer, Albert played in a band called "The Clansmen", who's guitarist (Pete Havalind) also played in a band called "The Lost And Found" Along with John Trivers on bass, "The Lost And Found" had a vocalist by the name of Eric Bloom (b. 1 December 1944). The next school year, "The Disciples", having all become fans of "The Blues Project", reformed as "The Travesty", a copy band of "The Blues Project". Later, after Don and Albert tried to get jobs and find musicians in New York City and Albany with no success, Albert moved to Chicago (where he met Patti Smith, who later formed a relationship with Allen Lanier). Don, still in Long Island, met Sandy Pearlman (writer for the rock magazine "Crawdaddy") and Richard Meltzer (who were both attending Stony Brook college on Long Island). Don called Albert to join them, and a psychedelic band by the name of "Soft White Underbelly", was born (note: Richard Meltzer reportedly wanted to call the band, "Cow"). The band played mostly at parties and local clubs. This was back in 1967. They would later be joined by Allen Lanier (b. 25 June 1946), Eric Bloom, and finally Joe Bouchard. At the time the band was formed, Meltzer's buddy John Wiesenthal served as keyboard player, and Andrew Winter, who worked in Pearlman's father's drugstore, played bass. Prior to joining BOC, Joe Bouchard played guitar in various frat party bands while in college at Ithaca, New York. During his junior year, while he was "between bands", he saw a latin/jazz band called "Que Pasa", whose leader happened to be his classical guitar teacher. He happened to have a class with the bass player, who told him he was leaving the band. Joe went to his teacher and asked for the job, and became the official bass player for "Que Pasa" for the next two years. Meanwhile, Soft White Underbelly tried to secure both a recording deal, and a lead vocalist. Everyone took turns as the lead vocalist until Les Braunstein (who had written the song, "I'm In Love With A Big Blue Frog", recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary) got the job. According to Les Braunstein (who also went to the same college, Hobart College, as Eric Bloom), he met the band in 1967 and started hanging out with them regularly. One day at one of the rehearsals, Les plugged a microphone into one of the amplifiers and started singing while the band jammed. Richard Meltzer apparently didn't think too highly of Less Braunstein. According to Buck Dharma, Meltzer wrote the lyrics to "She's As Beautiful As A Foot" (originally titled "He's As Beautiful As A Foot" - the "he" referring to Les) in order to make Les look stupid while singing them. However, according to Les, Meltzer hadn't written those lyrics until after Braunstein had left the band. During this time, Eric Bloom had been working as a salesman at a music store. Members of the Soft White Underbelly happened to be in the store one day, and Eric recognized them. He later asked the band if he could be their road manager. Soft White Underbelly recorded material for an album for Elektra that was never released. In the middle of making the album, Les Braunstein left the band. Albert Bouchard, Sandy Pearlman, and Richard Meltzer all tried to sing. According to Albert Bouchard, he and Pearlman wanted Patti Smith to sing, but the rest of the band out-voted them. As it turned out, the best sounding was their road manager Eric Bloom. After leaving Soft White Underbelly, Les Braunstein had various musical projects. Since about 1975, he has performed as "Les Vegas", which he still performs as to this day. After Braunstein's departure, and an embarrassing performance at New York's Fillmore East (opening for Jethro Tull and Jeff Beck with Rod Stewart), the band's name was briefly changed to "Oaxaca" (after the Mexican city/state, where Sandy Pearlman's then-girlfriend nearly died). The band recorded a new album for Elektra with Eric Bloom as the vocalist. Just prior to the "almost-release" of the album, the band's name was changed to "Stalk-Forrest Group". The album, however, was never released. The band continued to perform in the New York area, slipping in future BOC tunes in between Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, and Grand Funk Railroad covers. During one performance (at a swingers/nudist party at an off-season summer camp in the Catskills), David Lucas, a TV/radio commercial jingle producer, saw the band perform. He liked them so much he let them use his studio to cut a demo. Sandy Pearlman convinced Columbia marketing man (and future co-producer) Murray Krugman to get the band another demo and audition with Columbia. The rest, as they say, is history. 3. My Ears Will Melt, And Then My Eyes -- Blue Oyster Cult Discography Note: Songwriting credits, as they are listed on the album, follow the title of each song. Additional notes (including who is listed as having played on the album) follow the song listing. Domestic (U.S.) Album Releases ------------------------------ *Blue Oyster Cult* Transmaniacon MC -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard, D. Roeser, E. Bloom) I'm On The Lamb, But I Ain't No Sheep -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard, E. Bloom) Then Came The Last Days Of May -- (D. Roeser) Stairway To The Stars -- (R. Meltzer, A. Bouchard, D. Roeser) Before The Kiss, A Redcap -- (S. Pearlman, M. Krugman, A. Lanier, D. Roeser) Screams -- (J. Bouchard) She's As Beautiful As A Foot -- (R. Meltzer, A. Bouchard, A. Lanier) Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll -- (S. Pearlman, D. Roeser, A. Bouchard) Workshop Of The Telescopes -- (S. Pearlman, BOC) Redeemed -- (S. Pearlman, H. Farcas, A. Bouchard, A. Lanier) Notes: Released January 1972. Produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. Instruments: Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals), Eric Bloom (lead vocal, stun guitar, keyboards), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals), Allen Lanier (rhythm guitar, keyboards). According to Albert Bouchard, "Cities on Flame With Rock And Roll", was inspired by Black Sabbath's "The Wizard" (note the similarities to the start of the main riff), MC5's "Motor City is Burning" (Sandy Pearlman got the idea for some of the lyrics from this song), as well as the song, "21st Century Schizoid Man". *Tyranny And Mutation* The Red & The Black -- (A. Bouchard, E. Bloom, S. Pearlman) O.D.'d On Life Itself -- (E. Bloom, A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard, S. Pearlman) Hot Rails To Hell -- (J. Bouchard) 7 Screaming Diz-Busters -- (A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard, D. Roeser, S. Pearlman) Baby Ice Dog -- (A. Bouchard, E. Bloom, P. Smith) Wings Wetted Down -- (A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard) Teen Archer -- (D. Roeser, E. Bloom, R. Meltzer) Mistress Of The Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl) -- (A. Bouchard, S. Pearlman) Notes: Released February 1973. Produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. The album reached #95 on the U.S. charts. Instruments: Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitar, vocals), Eric Bloom (vocal, stun guitar, all synthesizers), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, keyboard), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar). A quadraphonic pressing of this album was also made. According to Joe Bouchard, most of the lyrics for "Wings Wetted Down" came from a book of poems by Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet (referred to as one of the 3 or 4 greatest Spanish-language poets of this century, and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971). The album was originally planned to be titled, "The Red And The Black", and the sides of the final product were dubbed "The Black" (physical, sensual, aural activation) and "The Red" (phantasmagorical id-teasers and supernatural beings). The following was printed in the liner notes: "Seepage from deep, black, brittle experiments which failed and transformations too hard to find. 'I was overcome and turned to red.' Duster's dust became the sale. Lucifer the light. A restless motion came to move and then subside. In endless knocking at the door - it's time. Tyranny & Mutation. Tyranny & Mutation." *Secret Treaties* Career Of Evil -- (A. Bouchard, P. Smith) Subhuman -- (E. Bloom, S. Pearlman) Dominance And Submission -- (A. Bouchard, E. Bloom, S. Pearlman) ME 262 -- (E. Bloom, D. Roeser, S. Pearlman) Cagey Cretins -- (A. Bouchard, R. Meltzer) Harvester Of Eyes -- (D. Roeser, E. Bloom, R. Meltzer) Flaming Telepaths -- (A. Bouchard, E. Bloom, S. Pearlman, D. Roeser) Astronomy -- (J. Bouchard, A. Bouchard, S. Pearlman) Notes: Released April 1974. Produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. The album, originally planned to be titled, "Power In The Hands Of Fools", reached #44 on the U.S. charts, and eventually went gold. Instruments: Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals), Eric Bloom (lead vocal, keyboards, stun guitar), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar, all synthesizers). A quadraphonic pressing of this album was also made. The following was printed in the liner notes: "Rossignol's curious, albeit simply titled book, 'The Origins of a World War', spoke in terms of 'secret treaties', drawn up between the Ambassadors from Plutonia and Desdinova the foreign minister. These treaties founded a secret science from the stars. Astronomy. The career of evil." The book mentioned does not exist. *On Your Feet Or On Your Knees* (live) The Subhuman Harvester Of Eyes Hot Rails To Hell Red & The Black 7 Screaming Diz-Busters Buck's Boogie -- (Buck Dharma) Last Days Of May Cities On Flame ME 262 Before The Kiss (A Redcap) Maserati GT (I Ain't Got You) -- (C. Carter) Born To Be Wild -- (M. Bonfire) Notes: Released February 1975. Produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. The album went gold, spending 10 weeks on the U.S. charts. Instruments: Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocal on "Before The Kiss" and "Last Days Of May"), Eric Bloom (vocals, stun guitar, synthesizer), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocal on "Cities On Flame"), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocal on "Hot Rails To Hell"), Allen Lanier (rhythm guitar, all keyboards). "Maserati GT" is a re-working of "I Ain't Got You", originally by the Yardbirds. "Born To Be Wild" was originally done by Steppenwolf. According to Bolle Gregmar, Albert Bouchard should also receive a writing credit for "Buck's Boogie" -- Albert derived the song from the Stalk-Forrest Group song, "Arthur Comics", and then gave it to Buck to add his personal touch. The songs were recorded at the following locations: Academy of Music, New York; Paramount Theatre, Portland & Seattle; Show Palace, Phoenix; Long Beach Arena, California; P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver; and Capitol Theatre, New Jersey. *Agents Of Fortune* This Ain't The Summer Of Love -- (M. Krugman, A. Bouchard, D. Walker) True Confessions -- (A. Lanier) (Don't Fear) The Reaper -- (D. Roeser) E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) -- (D. Roeser, S. Pearlman) The Revenge Of Vera Gemini -- (A. Bouchard, P. Smith) Sinful Love -- (A. Bouchard, H. Robbins) Tattoo Vampire -- (A. Bouchard, H. Robbins) Morning Final -- (J. Bouchard) Tenderloin -- (A. Lanier) Debbie Denise -- (A. Bouchard, P. Smith) Notes: Released May 1976. Produced by Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman, and David Lucas. The album went platinum, reaching #32, and spending 35 weeks on the U.S. charts. Instruments: Eric Bloom (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitar, vocals, synthesizer, percussion), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, piano), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, harmonica), Allen Lanier (keyboards, vocals, guitar, bass), Patti Smith (vocal on "The Revenge of Vera Gemini"). According to Albert Bouchard, the lead vocal on "True Confessions" is Allen Lanier -- his only lead vocal on all of BOC's albums. *Spectres* Godzilla -- (D. Roeser) Golden Age Of Leather -- (B. Abbott, D. Roeser) Death Valley Nights -- (R. Meltzer, A. Bouchard) Searchin' For Celine -- (A. Lanier) Fireworks -- (A. Bouchard) R. U. Ready 2 Rock -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard) Celestial The Queen -- (H. Wheels, J. Bouchard) Goin' Through The Motions -- (E. Bloom, I. Hunter) I Love The Night -- (D. Roeser) Nosferatu -- (H. Wheels, J. Bouchard) Notes: Released November 1977. Produced by Sandy Pearlman, Murray Krugman, David Lucas, and Blue Oyster Cult. The album, originally planned to be titled, "The Big Hurt", went gold. Instruments: Eric Bloom (vocals, guitar), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead and rhythm guitar, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, guitar), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals, harmonica), Allen Lanier (keyboards, guitar). According to Albert Bouchard, parts of "Godzilla" were inspired by a song entitled, "Go Go Gorilla". According to Joe Bouchard, the bass break on "Godzilla" is a direct tribute to Stanley Clarke. According to "Morning Final #11", "I Love The Night" had a 3rd verse on the original demo, which has been included on occasion when the band performed the song live. *Some Enchanted Evening* (live) R. U. Ready 2 Rock E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) Astronomy Kick Out The Jams -- (MC5) Godzilla (Don't Fear) The Reaper We Gotta Get Out Of This Place -- (B. Mann, C. Weil) Notes: Released September 1978. Produced by Sandy Pearlman, Murray Krugman, and Blue Oyster Cult. The album reached the top 20 in the U.K. charts, and eventually went platinum. Extra percussion was provided by Tony Cedrone and Rickey Reyer. "Kick Out The Jams" was originally done by MC5. "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" was originally done by The Animals. The songs were recorded at the following locations: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia - 4/13/78 (R.U. Ready To Rock, Kick Out The Jams); Municipal Auditorium, Columbus, Georgia - 4/11/78 (E.T.I., Astronomy); Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas - 4/9/78 (The Reaper); New Castle City Hall, New Castle, England - 6/1/78 (Godzilla, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place). The version of "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" that's on the CD version of this album is from a different show than the original LP/cassette version. The version on the CD is from a show in London, not New Castle. According to Bolle Gregmar, somehow, the boxes containing the New Castle and London shows got switched, and this error (sometimes called "Murray's Choice", in reference to Murray Krugman) resulted in the CD being made with the song from London, and not New Castle. *Mirrors* Dr. Music -- (R. Meltzer, J. Bouchard, D. Roeser) The Great Sun Jester -- (M. Moorcock, J. Trivers, E. Bloom) In Thee -- (A. Lanier) Mirrors -- (D. Roeser, B. Abbot) Moon Crazy -- (J. Bouchard) The Vigil -- (D. Roeser, S. Roeser) I Am The Storm -- (J. Bouchard, R. Binder) You're Not The One (I Was Looking For) -- (A. Bouchard, C. Bouchard) Lonely Teardrops -- (A. Lanier) Notes: Released in June 1979. Produced by Tom Werman. The album reached #63 on the U.S. charts. Additional instruments: Genya Ravan, Ellen Foley (backing vocals on "Dr. Music" and "Mirrors"), Wendy Webb (backing vocals on "Lonely Teardrops"), Mickey Raphael (harmonica on "Dr. Music"), Jai Winding (strings on "In Thee"). The cover of the album is not a photo of a rearview mirror, but a painting by Loren Salazar (according to Eric Bloom, "quite famous in the Seattle area"). If you look closely on the left side of the album cover (you probably need a magnifying glass for the CD or cassette), two sperm cells can be seen painted in the clouds and sky. *Cultosaurus Erectus* Black Blade -- (E. Bloom, M. Moorcock, J. Trivers) Monsters -- (A. Bouchard, K. Bouchard) Divine Wind -- (D. Roeser) Deadline -- (D. Roeser) The Marshall Plan -- (Blue Oyster Cult) Hungry Boys -- (A. Bouchard, K. Bouchard) Fallen Angel -- (J. Bouchard, H. Robbins) Lips In The Hills -- (D. Roeser, E. Bloom, R. Meltzer) Unknown Tongue -- (A. Bouchard, D. Roter) Notes: Released in June 1980. Produced by Martin Birch. The album reached #52 on the U.S. charts, and #25 on the U.K. charts. Instruments: Eric Bloom (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals), Allen Lanier (guitar, keyboards), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals), Mark Rivera (saxophone on "Monsters") *Fire Of Unknown Origin* Fire Of Unknown Origin -- (J. Bouchard, P. Smith, E. Bloom, A. Bouchard, D. Roeser) Burnin' For You -- (D. Roeser, R. Meltzer) Veteran Of The Psychic Wars -- (E. Bloom, M. Moorcock) Sole Survivor -- (E. Bloom, J. Trivers, L. Myers) Heavy Metal: The Black And Silver -- (A. Bouchard, E. Bloom, S. Pearlman) Vengeance (The Pact) -- (A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard) After Dark -- (E. Bloom, J. Trivers, L. Myers) Joan Crawford -- (A. Bouchard, D. Roter, J. Rigg) Don't Turn Your Back -- (A. Lanier, D. Roeser, A. Bouchard) Notes: Released in June 1981. The album went gold. Produced by Martin Birch. The album went gold, reaching #41 on the U.S. charts (staying on the charts for 3 and a half months), and #24 on the U.K. charts. Instruments: Eric Bloom (lead vocals, bass on "Heavy Metal"), Albert Bouchard (drums, synthesizer, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals), Allen Lanier (keyboards), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals, bass and sound effects on "Joan Crawford"), Karla DeVito (background vocal on "Sole Survivor"), Sandy Jean (background vocal on "Don't Turn Your Back"), Bill Civitella, Tony Cedrone, Buck Dharma (additional percussion on "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars"), Jess Levy (string arrangements on "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" and "Joan Crawford"). The song "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" appears in the movie "Heavy Metal". *Extraterrestrial Live* (live) Dominance And Submission Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll Dr. Music The Red And The Black Joan Crawford Burnin' For You Roadhouse Blues -- (The Doors) Black Blade Hot Rails To Hell Godzilla Veteran Of The Psychic Wars E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) (Don't Fear) The Reaper Notes: Released in April 1982. Produced by Sandy Pearlman and George Geranios. The album, originally planned to be titled, "Cult in the Act", reached #29, and spent 11 weeks on the U.S. charts. Instruments: Eric Bloom (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals), Rick Downey (drums), Allen Lanier (keyboards, guitar), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals), Albert Bouchard (drums on "Black Blade" and "Dominance And Submission"), Special Guest: Robbie Krieger (guitar on "Roadhouse Blues") -- note: The CD liner incorrectly lists his name as "Bobbie" Krieger. "Roadhouse Blues" was originally done by The Doors. The songs were recorded at the following locations: Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood, Florida - 10/9/81 (Burnin' For You, E.T.I., The Red And The Black, Joan Crawford, Godzilla, Veteran Of The Psychic Wars, The Reaper); Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, New York - 12/30/81 (Dr. Music, Hot Rails To Hell) and 10/17/80 (Black Blade); Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 12/31/81 (Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll); The Country Club, Reseda, California - 12/15/81 (Roadhouse Blues); Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York - 2/11/80 (Dominance And Submission - originally recorded for the "King Biscuit Flower Hour"). The drum fills before the final verse of "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll" are not as they were played live - some of the beats were removed in the mixing. This is believed to be the last BOC album that was available on 8-track tape. *The Revolution By Night* Take Me Away -- (E. Bloom, A. Nova) Eyes On Fire -- (G. Winter) Shooting Shark -- (D. Roeser, P. Smith) Veins -- (D. Roeser, R. Meltzer) Shadow Of California -- (J. Bouchard, N. Smith, S. Pearlman) Feel The Thunder -- (E. Bloom) Let Go -- (E. Bloom, D. Roeser, I. Hunter) Dragon Lady -- (D. Roeser, B. Blotto) Light Years Of Love -- (J. Bouchard, H. Wheels) Notes: Released in October 1983. Produced by Bruce Fairbain. Instruments: Eric Bloom (guitar, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, electric and spanish guitar, vocoder, vocals), Rick Downey (drums), Allen Lanier (piano, synthesizers), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Larry Fast/Synergy (additional synthesizer programming), Randy Jackson (bass on "Shooting Shark"), Marc Baum (saxophone on "Shooting Shark"), Greg Winter (background vocals on "Eyes On Fire"), Aldo Nova (guitar and synthesizer on "Take Me Away"). *Club Ninja* White Flags -- (Leggatt Bros.) Dancin' In The Ruins -- (L. Gottlieb, J. Scanlon) Make Rock Not War -- (B. Halligan Jr.) Perfect Water -- (D. Roeser, J. Carroll) Spy In The House Of The Night -- (D. Roeser, R. Meltzer) Beat 'Em Up -- (B. Halligan Jr.) When The War Comes -- (J. Bouchard, S. Pearlman) Shadow Warrior -- (E. Bloom, D. Roeser, Eric Van Lustbader) Madness To The Method -- (D. Roeser, D. Trismen) Notes: There were three different releases of this album, each with a slightly different mix. A somewhat rushed mix was released in England in November of 1985. Another mix was released in Scandinavia in December of 1995. The US version, the third mix, was released in January 1986. Produced by Sandy Pearlman. Instruments: Eric Bloom (vocals, guitar), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, guitar), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Jimmy Wilcox (background vocals, percussion), Tommy Zvoncheck (synthesizers, piano, organ), Thommy Price (drums), Phil Grande (additional guitars), Kenny Aaronson (additional bass). This is the first CD recorded by BOC (as opposed to previous releases, where the CD was later cut from the LP masters). The spoken words at the start of "When the War Comes"("When the bones of our oppressors... All hail the revolution") are done by New York DJ Howard Stern (who's cousin is married to Eric Bloom). At least one of the two European releases of this album does not contain these spoken words. In addition, on the first (England) mix, "White Flags" does not end via fade-out. This album is currently no longer in print in the U.S. EPIC records released this album as a "Collector's Choice" edition in 1992 in England, using the Scandinavian mix. *Imaginos* I Am The One You Warned Me Of -- (S. Pearlman, D. Roeser, A. Bouchard) Les Invisibles -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard) In The Presence Of Another World -- (S. Pearlman, J. Bouchard) Del Rio's Song -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard) The Siege And Investiture Of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle At Weisseria -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard) Astronomy -- (S. Pearlman, J. Bouchard, A. Bouchard) Magna Of Illusion -- (S. Pearlman, D. Roeser, A. Bouchard) Blue Oyster Cult -- (S. Pearlman, E. Bloom) Imaginos -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard) Note: Released in July 1988. Produced by Sandy Pearlman - associate producer: Albert Bouchard. Instruments: Eric Bloom (vocals), Albert Bouchard (guitar, percussion, vocals), Joe Bouchard (keyboards, vocals), Allen Lanier (keyboards), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitars, vocals), Kenny Aaronson (bass), Thommy Price (drums), Jack Secret (additional vocals), Tommy Moringiello (guitars), Jack Rigg (guitars), Tommy Zvoncheck (keyboards), Shocking U (background vocals on "In The Presence Of Another World"), Joey Cerisano (additional lead vocal on "The Siege And Investiture Of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle At Weisseria"), Jon Rogers (additional lead vocal on "Imaginos"), The Guitar Orchestra of the State of Imaginos (Marc Biedermann, Kevin Carlson, Robbie Krieger, Tommy Moringiello, Aldo Nova, Jack Rigg, Joe Satriani). In addition, Albert Bouchard says that several musicians were either improperly credited, or not credited at all. See the specific FAQ question on the recording of *Imaginos* for more on this topic. Solo Albums, and Movie Soundtracks ---------------------------------- *Flat Out* (Buck Dharma solo album) Born To Rock -- (N. Smith, D. Roeser) That Summer Night -- (D. Roeser) Cold Wind -- (D. Roeser) Your Loving Heart -- (D. Roeser, S. Roeser) Five Thirty-Five -- (D. Roeser) Wind Weather And Storm -- (R. Meltzer, D. Roeser) All Tied Up -- (D. Roeser) Anwar's Theme -- (D. Roeser) Come Softly To Me -- (G. Christopher, B. Ellis, G. Troxel) Notes: Released in 1982. Produced by Donald Roeser. Instruments: Buck Dharma (all vocals, instruments, effects and noises, except those that follow), Sandy Roeser (vocal on "Come Softly To Me", backing vocals on "That Summer Night"), R. Downey (drums on "Your Loving Heart", "Five Thirty-Five", "Anwar's Theme"), Neil Smith (drums on "Born To Rock", "That Summer Night"), Dennis Dunaway (bass on "Born To Rock"), Giis de Lang (additional rhythm guitar on "Born To Rock"), Richard Crooks (drums on "Cold Wind"), Will Lee (bass on "Cold Wind", "All Tied Up"), Billy Alessi (synthesizer on "Cold Wind" and "All Tied Up"), Craig MacGregor (bass on "Your Loving Heart", "Five Thirty-Five", "Anwar's Theme"), Spkye Grubb (backing vocal on "Five Thirty-Five"), Teruo Nakamura (bass on "Wind Weather And Storm"), Richie Cannata (sax, clarinet, and horn arrangement on "Wind Weather And Storm"), Steve Jordan (drums on "All Tied Up"), Sue Evans (percussion on "Anwar's Theme", "Come Softly To Me"), D. Roeser (a.k.a. Buck Dharma, drums on "Wind Weather And Storm", synthesizer on "All Tied Up"), Jan Allen, Terry Bretone, Sandy Roeser, Richard Bifulco (hospital staff on "Your Loving Heart"), (2K) Kessie (PA voice on "Your Loving Heart"). A special thanks is listed to Chris Cassone "for Gnop Gnip" (see "hidden messages" section of FAQ). This album is currently no longer in print in the U.S., however was released on CD in France in 1995 (see elsewhere in the FAQ for more information). *Bad Channels* (movie soundtrack, available only on CD) Demon's Kiss -- (E. Bloom, D. Roeser, J. Shirley) The Horsemen Arrive -- (E. Bloom, D. Roeser, J. Shirley) ... (several non-BOC tunes by other bands) ... Bad Channels Movie Soundtrack (instrumental pieces written and performed by BOC): Bad Channels Overture Power Station Power Station II Shadow V.U. Cosmo Rules, But Lump Controls Battering Ram This Dude Is F****d Pick Up Her Feed Spray That Scumbag Out Of Station Tree Full Of Owls Cookie In Bottle Corky Gets It Eulogy For Corky Spore Bomb Remodeling Ginger Snaps Moon Gets It Notes: Released in 1992. Instruments: Eric Bloom (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Buck Dharma (lead guitar, vocals, keyboards), Allen Lanier (guitar, keyboards), Jon Rogers (bass, background vocals), Chuck Burgi (drums, background vocals). *Eponymous* (first release by "The Brain Surgeons") Language Of Love -- (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Most Romantic Place In The World -- (R. Meltzer, A. Bouchard) I Play The Drums -- (S. Kempner) Soul Jive -- (P. Smith, D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Brain From Terra Incognita -- (R. Meltzer, D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Love Potion #9 -- (Lieber, Stoller) Mad Dude -- (R. Meltzer, A. Bouchard) Big Bang Theory -- (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye -- (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) (666) Devil Got Your Mother -- (D. Roter, A. Bouchard) Name Your Monster -- (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Time Will Take Care Of You -- (D. Frost, M. Barkan, A. Bouchard) Notes: Released in 1994 by Cellsum records, and later Ripe and Ready. Produced by Albert Bouchard and Deborah Frost. Instruments: Deborah Frost (vocals, drums, percussion, guitar), Albert Bouchard (vocals, drums, guitars, The Legendary Albertron, keyboards, piano, percussion, sax, synth, slide, jaminator), Mike Leslie (bass, bass violin, synth), Jacob Bouchard (guitar samples), Ace Boucahrd (vocals, toy drums), Flip Barnes (trumpet), David Hirschberg (alto sax), Steve Levy (comet). The "Legendary Albertron", according to Al Bouchard, is "an idea that I borrowed from Glen Branca. A couple 2x4s, old strings, pieces of pipe, tuning pegs and humbucking pickups. I made it for the Imaginos Overture back in '83." *Trepanation* (second release by "The Brain Surgeons") Gimme Nothin' (R. Meltzer, D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Stones In My Passway (R. Johnson) Medusa (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) A Kiss Is A Promise (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Sally (P. Smith, A. Bouchard) My Civilization (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Happy New Year (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Sisters Of The Precious Blood (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Ramblin' Rose (Wilkin, Birch) Hansel & Gretel (R. Meltzer, D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Everything Is Blue (A. Bouchard, D. Frost, A. Bouchard) If U Come Close (H. Wheels, D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Bad Habit (D. Frost, A. Bouchard) Night Of The 1,000 Guitars (The Brain Surgeons) Notes: Released in 1995 by Cellsum records. Produced by Albert Bouchard and Deborah Frost. Instruments: Albert Bouchard (vocals, drums, percussion, guitars, Albertron, sax, EBow, keyboards), Deborah Frost (vocals, guitars, percussion, clarinet), Peter Bohovesky (vocals, lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, trumpet), Billy Hilfiger (lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, vocals), David Hirschberg (bass guitar, saxophone, percussion), Joe Bouchard (mandolin on "A Kiss Is A Promise", vocals on "Sally", "Ramblin' Rose"), Ace Bouchard (percussion on "Happy New Year", "Sisters Of The Precious Blood", guitar on "Night Of The 1,000 Guitars"). Compilation Albums (domestic) ----------------------------- *(Don't Fear) The Reaper* (compilation) (available only on tape) (Don't Fear) The Reaper [from Agents Of Fortune] You're Not The One (I Was Looking For) [from Mirrors] 7 Screaming Diz-Busters [from Tyranny And Mutation] Career Of Evil [from Secret Treaties] Born To Be Wild Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll [from Blue Oyster Cult] Buck's Boogie [from Blue Oyster Cult - Live NY '72?] Redeemed [from Blue Oyster Cult] Notes: Released in 1989. The versions used on this recording were the single, not the album versions. The most notable differences include the edited version of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (the guitar solo section was cut), and "Career Of Evil" (Apparently the line, "Do it to your daughter on a dirt road" was considered too controversial -- the vocals were either re-recorded or re-mixed so the line says "Do it like ya oughtta on a dirt road"). Also, this version omits the second verse of the song. Born To Be Wild is a studio version of the song - the riff is different. The version of Buck's Boogie is a live version that is believed to be from a 1972 show in New York (see section on import live recordings). *Career Of Evil - The Metal Years* (compilation) Cities On Flame [from Extraterrestrial Live] The Red And The Black [from Extraterrestrial Live] Hot Rails To Hell [from Extraterrestrial Live] Dominance And Submission [from Extraterrestrial Live] 7 Screaming Diz-Busters [from On your Feet Or On Your Knees] ME 262 [from On Your Feet Or On Your Knees] E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) [from Agents Of Fortune] Beat 'Em Up [from Club Ninja] Black Blade [from Cultosaurus Erectus] Harvester Of Eyes [from Secret Treaties] Flaming Telepaths [from Secret Treaties] Godzilla [from Extraterrestrial Live] (Don't Fear) The Reaper [from Some Enchanted Evening] Note: Released in 1990. On the cassette version of this album, the jam at the end of "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll" was removed - the song ends with Buck's trill way up the neck. The CD version of the album does not have this edit. *On Flame With Rock And Roll* (compilation) (Don't Fear) The Reaper [from Agents of Fortune] Transmaniacon MC [from Blue Oyster Cult] Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll [from Blue Oyster Cult] Kick Out The Jams [from Some Enchanted Evening] R. U. Ready 2 Rock [from Spectres] Career Of Evil [from Secret Treaties] Godzilla [from Spectres] Burnin' For You [from Fire Of Unknown Origin] Dominance And Submission [from Secret Treaties] Death Valley Nights [from Spectres] Notes: Released in 1990. The version of "Career Of Evil" used on this recording was the single, not the album version (Apparently the line, "Do it to your daughter on a dirt road" was considered too controversial -- the vocals were either re-recorded or re-mixed so the line says "Do it like ya oughtta on a dirt road"). Also, this version omits the second verse of the song. Two of the tracks ("Dominance And Submission", "Death Valley Nights") do not appear on the cassette version of this album. *Cult Classic* (re-recording of old BOC tunes) Don't Fear The Reaper -- (D. Roeser) E.T.I. (Extraterrestrial Intelligence) -- (S. Pearlman, D. Roeser) M.E. 262 -- (S. Pearlman, E. Bloom, D. Roeser) This Ain't The Summer Of Love -- (D. Roeser, D. Waller, M. Krugman) Burning For You -- (D. Roeser, R. Meltzer) O.D.'d On Life Itself -- (S. Pearlman, E. Bloom, D. Roeser, A. Bouchard) Flaming Telepaths -- (S. Pearlman, E. Bloom, D. Roeser, A. Bouchard) Godzilla -- (D. Roeser) Astronomy -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard) Cities on Flame With Rock 'N' Roll -- (S. Pearlman, A. Bouchard, D. Roeser) Harvester Of Eyes -- (R. Meltzer, E. Bloom, D. Roeser) Buck's Boogie -- (D. Roeser) Don't Fear The Reaper (TV Mix) -- (D. Roeser) Godzilla (TV Mix) -- (D. Roeser) Notes: Released in 1994, on Herald Records. Produced by Donald Roeser and Eric Bloom. Executive producer: Steve Schenck. Associate producer: Jeff Kawalek. Instruments: Eric Bloom (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, lead vocals, keyboards), Allen Lanier (keyboards, guitars), Jon Rogers (bass, background vocals), Chuck Burgi (drums, percussion, background vocals). Compilation Albums (foreign) ---------------------------- *Rock Storia E Musica - Blue Oyster Cult - Gruppo Editoriale Fabri* (Italian import compilation) (available only on tape) E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) [from Extraterrestrial Live] (Don't Fear) The Reaper [from Extraterrestrial Live] Hot Rails To Hell [from Extraterrestrial Live] Godzilla [from Extraterrestrial Live] Dominance And Submission [from Extraterrestrial Live] Monsters [from Cultosaurus Erectus] The Great Sun Jester [from Mirrors] Black Blade [from Extraterrestrial Live] Notes: Released in 1983. *Rock Shots - Hins Collection - "Club Ninja" Track Sequence* (Indonesian import compilation) (available only on tape) Beat 'Em Up Make Rock, Not War Spy In The House Of The Night Dancin' In The Ruins The Shadow Warrior Perfect Water White Flags When The War Comes Madness To The Method Light Years Of Love Eyes On Fire Shadow Of California Take Me Away Notes: Released in 1986. The versions on this tape are presumably the same versions as appeared on *The Revolution By Night* and *Club Ninja*. *Il Grande Rock* (Italian import compilation) This Ain't The Summer Of Love The Red And The Black Godzilla (Don't Fear) The Reaper E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) Joan Crawford R.U. Ready 2 Rock Astronomy The Subhuman Blue Oyster Cult Notes: Released in 1991, by D'Agostini. Part of a "magazine set" - a large series of around 100 or so CDs/pamphlets on various rock bands. A subscriber would receive a new CD/pamphlet on a periodic basis until they had the whole set. Only one CD had BOC songs. The songs were recorded straight off BOC LPs. Most of the songs were the studio versions (however, "Astronomy", and possibly others, where live). *The Reaper - Best* (German/Holland import compilation) (Don't Fear) The Reaper [from Agents of Fortune] Godzilla [from Spectres] R. U. Ready 2 Rock [from Some Enchanted Evening] Then Came The Last Days Of May [from On Your Feet Or On Your Knees] Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll [from Blue Oyster Cult] The Marshall Plan [from Cultosaurus Erectus] Burnin' For You [from Fire Of Unknown Origin] Joan Crawford [from Fire Of Unknown Origin] Dr. Music [from Mirrors] We Gotta Get Out Of This Place [from Some Enchanted Evening] White Flags [from Club Ninja] The Vigil [from Mirrors] Take Me Away [from The Revolution By Night] Shooting Shark [from The Revolution By Night] I Am The One You Warned Me Of [from Imaginos] In The Presence Of Another World (Excerpts From) [from Imaginos] Notes: Released in 1993. Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment (Germany), made in Austria, printed in Holland. Most of the writing on the CD liner, including about 10 pages of history on the band, is printed in German. Several of the songs ("(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Godzilla", "Then Came The Last Days Of May", "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll", "Joan Crawford", "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place") have been enhanced over the original album versions to improve the sound quality. The version of "In The Presence Of Another World" is an abbreviated version of the song appearing on *Imaginos* - the song ends after the line "In the fullness of another world, there is no emptiness . . ." just prior to the "Your master" coda section. The version of "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" is from the LP version of *Some Enchanted Evening*, not the CD version (see notes for *Some Enchanted Evening*). Import Live Recordings ---------------------- Note: With the possible exception of *Live 1976*, most of the following won't be found in your local (U.S.) record store. How to obtain these recordings is discussed elsewhere in this FAQ. *Blue Oyster Cult - Live NY '72* (France Import) (possible alternate titles include "The BOC Bootleg", "Fantasy Distillation of Reality", "The Soft White Underbelly [Maserati ME-262]", and "In My [Your?] Mouth or On the Ground", with different release dates) The Red And The Black Buck's Boogie Workshop Of The Telescopes Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll Notes: The track order shown is reversed on some versions. "The Red And The Black", "Workshop Of The Telescopes", and "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll" were recorded live at Nugget Pizza Parlor, Rochester, NY on 4/3/72. "Buck's Boogie" appeared on a compilation album of various artists, entitled, *The Guitars That Destroyed The World* in the early 70's. Most versions of this recording are only available on LP, although a CD version with the above order exists (The CD title is simply, "Blue Oyster Cult", and was released in 1985). "The BOC Bootleg" was released as a 12-inch EP in 1972. The same audience track was mixed in after each song. "Fantasy Distillation of Reality" (which is mislabeled as being recorded "live in Montreal") is listed as including two additional tracks, "What Is Quick Sand", and "Arthur Comics", which were recorded by the band under the name, Stalk-Forrest Group". *Live 1976* (U.K. Import) Stairway To The Stars Harvester Of Eyes Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll ME-262 Dominance And Submission Astronomy Buck's Boogie This Ain't The Summer Of Love Born To Be Wild (Don't Fear) The Reaper Notes: Recorded in Largo, Maryland (12/27/76). Released in 1976, and re-released in 1991. Instruments: Eric Bloom (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Allen Lanier (keyboards, guitar), Joe Boucahrd (bass, vocals), Albert Boucahrd (drums, guitar, vocals), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals). The sound quality on the CD is rather poor. A video by of this performance is also available (also entitled *Live 1976*), which includes all of the above songs, plus "E.T.I.". See later in the FAQ for a description of this video. *Still Kicking* (often mislabeled "Still Ticking"; possible alternative title is "Still Fighting", often mislabeled "Still Fiction") Intro Dr. Music Heavy Metal (The Black and Silver) Joan Crawford M.E. 262 Flaming Telepaths Veteran Of The Psychic Wars Roadhouse Blues Note: The songs were recorded in London at The Venue (8/19/81) and Castle Donnington (8/22/81). This recording may only be available on LP. The mislabeling of the titles stems from a very bizarre font which was used on the cover, that was difficult to read. The sound quality is poor. "Heavy Metal" included an up-tempo riff at the end of the song that was only done by the band on the European leg of this tour. *The Thing!* (Italy Import) (also released as a German import as two individual CDs -- "Blue Oyster Cult Vol. 1" and "Blue Oyster Cult Vol. 2"; also, the tracks indicated with a + were released as single CD imports under the titles "Godzilla", and "Burnin'") Disk 1 Dr. Music + E.T.I. Burnin' For You + Fire Of Unknown Origin + Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll Joan Crawford + Flaming Telepaths Veteran Of The Psychic Wars + Hot Rails To Hell + Disk 2 ME-262 + Heavy Metal (Don't Fear) The Reaper + Godzilla + Born To Be Wild + 5 Guitars (Golden Age Of Leather) + Roadhouse Blues + Notes: Released in 1991. Recorded at Bonds International Casinos, New York City (6/16/81). Instruments: Eric Bloom (guitars, vocals), Donald Roeser (guitars, vocals), Allen Lanier (keyboards, backing vocals), Albert Bouchard (drums), Joe Bouchard (bass, backing vocals). The "Blue Oyster Cult Vol. 1/2" recording has the two disks reversed (i.e. "Vol. 1" is Disk 2 of "The Thing!", and "Vol. 2" is Disk 1 of "The Thing!"). "The Thing!" has the correct concert order. The CD has two major typos: The recording was at "Bonds International", not "Bands International". Also, the recording date was "6/16/81", not "6/18/81". This recording was broadcast on ABC Radio's "A Night on the Road" on 8/8/81. According to Bolle Gregmar, some of the songs at the end of the show (The Reaper, Godzilla, Born To Be Wild, 5 Guitars) were actually recorded the previous year (9/8/80 show at the Old Waldorf, San Francisco, CA). These were spliced in by Steve Schenck and George Geranios when the mixing budget ran out. Steve Schenck had to overdub the keyboards on "Flaming Telepaths". The version of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" sounds as if Buck mistakenly sings the second verse twice, while the band recovers without missing a beat. Actually, the splicing of the two shows was done in the middle of the song, but was done in error. Also, for some unknown reason, "5 Guitars" was mixed after "Born To Be Wild", when in actuality the band played them in the opposite order ("5 Guitars" segues into "Born To Be Wild"). The photo on the front of *The Thing!* CD appears to have been taken in the early '70's (every-one's hair is quite long). *Nail You Down* (Luxembourg or Italy Import) (also released as an import with the title, "Rock and Roll Reapers") Stairway To the Stars Harvester Of Eyes Workshop Of Telescopes Before The Kiss (A Redcap) Born To Rock Hot Rails To Hell Seven Screaming Dizbusters Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll Burnin' For You Joan Crawford Born To Be Wild (Don't Fear) The Reaper Roadhouse Blues Notes: From the ABC recording, "Captured Live", recorded on 7/23/83 at Perkins Palace, Pasadena, CA, and broadcast on 8/29/83. The show also contained some songs from *Revolution By Night* (Take Me Away, Feel The Thunder, Veins), but they were not broadcast as the album had not yet been released. The photo on the back of the CD contains Albert Bouchard. He was not in the band at the time of this performance. This version of "Roadhouse Blues" contains, in the middle of the song, a few bars of the Doors' song, "Love Me Two Times" (which is incorrectly listed on the "Rock and Roll Reapers" release as a separate track). *Into The Crypts Of Rays* (Italy Import) R. U. Ready 2 Rock White Flags Take Me Away Dancin' In The Ruins The Shadow Warrior Burnin' For You Godzilla Wings Of Mercury (Don't Fear) The Reaper Born To Be Wild Let Go Shooting Shark Notes: Released in 1993. Recorded at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, CA on 3/27/86. However, the last 3 songs on the CD are actually from a 2/14/84 show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. The California portion of this recording (often incorrectly referred as being from Los Angeles) was broadcast on "The King Biscuit Flower Hour" on 7/13/86. "Wings Of Mercury" is credited as written by Donald Roeser, Eric Bloom, and Albert Bouchard. However, according to Bolle Gregmar, the song was actually written by Dream Syndicate (K. Percoda), and given to BOC to use (both Dream Syndicate and BOC were managed by Sandy Pearlman, and Tommy Zvoncheck plays keyboards on at least one Dream Syndicate album). The recording of "Born To Be Wild" appears to have been edited to remove the "Texas Chainsaw guitar duel". The second verse of "Shooting Shark" is not on the recording -- either the band did not perform the second verse, or it was edited out of the mix. The name of this release no doubt comes from the Celtic Frost song of the same name. Other Releases (Singles, Promos, Etc.) -------------------------------------- UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- This section is a somewhat sketchy listing of various BOC promos and singles that one might be able to find. Recordings which can't be found elsewhere (i.e. on some other BOC album) are listed in a separate section of the FAQ. 7" vinyl 1972 -- Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll - Mono/Stereo (promo) 1974 -- Hot Rails To Hell/7 Screaming Diz-Busters - (promo) 1975 -- Born To Be Wild - Studio version (promo) 1976 -- This Ain't The Summer of Love - Mono/Stereo (promo) 1976 -- This Ain't The Summer of Love/Debbie Denise 1976 -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Mono/Stereo (promo) 1976 -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper/Tattoo Vampire 1977 -- Godzilla - Stereo/Mono (promo) 1977 -- Goin' Through The Motions - Stereo/Mono (promo) 1977 -- Goin' Through The Motions/Searchin' For Celine 1977 -- I Love The Night/Nosferatu - (UK single) 1977 -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper/R. U. Ready 2 Rock - (UK single) 1978 -- We Gotta Get Out Of This Place - Mono/Stereo (promo) 1978 -- We Gotta Get Out Of This Place/E.T.I. 1979 -- Your Not The One (I Was Looking For) - (promo) 1979 -- Your Not The One (I Was Looking For)/Moon Crazy 1979 -- In Thee - (promo) 1979 -- In Thee/Lonely Teardrops 1979 -- Mirrors/Lonely Teardrops - UK single 1979 -- Mirrors/Lonely Teardrops - UK single (on clear vinyl) 1980 -- Here's Johnny (The Marshall Plan)/Divine Wind 1980 -- Fallen Angel/Lips In The Hills - import single 1981 -- Burnin' For You - LP version/short version 1981 -- Burnin' For You/Vengeance (The Pact) 1981 -- Burnin' For You/Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver 1983 -- Take Me Away - (promo) 1983 -- Take Me Away/Feel The Thunder 1983 -- Shooting Shark - (promo) 1983 -- Shooting Shark/Dragon Lady - (promo) 1986 -- White Flags 1986 -- Dancin' In The Ruins - (promo) 1986 -- Perfect Water - (promo) Unknown -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper/R U Ready 2 Rock - Old Gold - UK 80's reissue Unknown -- (Don't Fear) Reaper/Career of Evil - Columbia "Hall of Fame" - red and black label Unknown -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper/Burnin' For You - Columbia "Hall of Fame" - grey and black label Unknown -- Deadline - UK single 12" Vinyl 1977 -- Godzilla/Godzilla (live) - (promo) 1981 -- Burnin' For You/Joan Crawford/Sole Survivor/Veteran of the Psychic Wars - *Fire of Unknown Origin* 4 song sampler - (promo) 1981 -- Burnin' For You/Dr. Music (live)/Flaming Telepaths (live) - UK single 1982 -- Roadhouse Blues (LP/edit)/Veteran of Psychic Wars (all from *Extraterrestrial Live*) - (promo) 1983 -- Shooting Shark (LP/edit)/Take Me Away/Eyes on Fire - *Revolution By Night* 4 song sampler - (promo) 1983 -- Shooting Shark (extended version)/Dragon Lady - import single 1983 -- White Flags/Shooting Shark/Make Rock Not War - UK single 1986 -- Dancin' In The Ruins 1986 -- Perfect Water - LP version/short version Unknown -- Astronomy - UK single Unknown -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper - UK single (UK 78 tour edition) CD 1988 -- 4-version Astronomy - *Imaginos* promo (2 LP versions - one with Stephen King intro, 2 short versions - one with S. King intro) 1988 -- In The Presence of Another World (LP/edit) - *Imaginos* promo 1988 -- Astronomy/Magna of Illusion (from *Imaginos*)/(Don't Fear) The Reaper (from *Agents of Fortune*) - UK Single 1989 -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper/Burnin' For You 1994 -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper (*Cult Classic* promo) 1994 -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper/Burnin' For You/Godzilla (*Cult Classic* promo) 1994 -- (Don't Fear) The Reaper/Burnin' For You (from *Cult Classic*) - UK Single Other Tyranny and Mutation/Secret Treaties -- European double CD release Agents of Fortune/Spectres -- release as a single cassette Agents of Fortune/Spectres -- double vinyl Australian import release Imaginos - on blue vinyl -- UK import Cult Classic - Vinyl with picture sleeve Quadraphonic vinyl -- Tyranny and Mutation, Secret Treaties "White Label Promo" LPs -- Agents of Fortune, Spectres, Some Enchanted Evening, Mirrors, Cultosaurus Erectus "White Label Promo" Cassettes -- Club Ninja (4 song sampler, with Fastway on the b-side), Imaginos (4 song sampler), Imaginos (full) 4. R. U. Ready 2 Rock? -- Frequently Asked Questions What are BOC up to these days? ------------------------------ BOC are currently managed by Steve Schenck, the executive producer of *Cult Classic*. They may be releasing a studio album in the (hopefully not-too-distant) future (see next question). BOC is, as one of their t-shirts sold at a concert from a few years ago says, "On Tour Forever" (mostly touring large clubs). TicketMaster is handling the tickets for most of their concerts, which are not highly promoted. Many of us find out where they are playing after the show is over. Keep your eyes open! Eric Bloom also occasionally posts upcoming show dates on America On-Line, and these dates have been posted on some pages on the World Wide Web (see another part of this FAQ for more information). In addition, members of the band (Buck and Eric in particular) have been involved in a side project known as "The On The Road Band", which plays in the New York/New Jersey area on various occasions. The band consists of several musicians who play in the band when they are not on tour. Buck and Eric have played in the band for a few shows, as have musicians such as John Miceli, Kasim Sulton, Joe Lynn Turner and Al Petrelli. Since the band has a sort of revolving door line-up, members of BOC do not play at every show. Albert Bouchard is currently playing occasional shows (mostly clubs in the New York area) with The Brain Surgeons (Al on drums and lead vocals, Deborah Frost on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Peter Bohovesky on guitar, Billy Hilfiger on guitar, and David Hirschberg on bass). They play mostly Brain Surgeons' tunes (drawing from their two albums, *Eponymous* and *Trepanation*, along with a few BOC tunes (Baby Ice Dog, The Red And The Black, Career Of Evil, This Ain't The Summer of Love, Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll, and Death Valley Nights have been played on different occasions). Brain Surgeons' guitarist Billy Hilfiger, who played in Joe Bouchard's "Cult Brothers", also plays in a New York rock band known as "Wired". Joe Bouchard, according to Bolle Gregmar, is now really "Dr. Music", having received his Master's Degree in Music (at the University of Hartford). His thesis/grad test was a four movement dance work for orchestra, computers and a rock band, which he composed and scored. Also, he has been brewing lots of beer as a hobby. He hopes to get back to writing rock music in the future, as his other activities allow. He also teaches bass at the National Guitar Summer Workshop, and is hoping to publish his own bass instruction book through the NGSW in the future. Sandy Pearlman, according to Bolle Gregmar, is running his studio Alpha & Omega in San Marin, California. He is hoping to turn *Imaginos* into a multi-media project, however no major definite steps have been taken at this time. His involvement with BOC is still as manager and co-owner of BOC, but he is not really contributing any material for the band at this time. According to BOC-L member Alan Siebert, BOC will be supplying the music for an upcoming CD-ROM game called "Ripper". When is the new album (*not* a "Greatest Hits" album) coming out? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Latest word from the band has a new studio album coming out "in the future". "I'd Like To See You In Black", "Still Burnin'", "Harvest Moon", "The Power Underneath Despair", and "In The Cold Grey Light Of Dawn" are songs that the band has performed live over the past few years, and are potential candidates for the album. According to Bolle Gregmar, the band has laid down several tracks for the new album, with most of the remaining tracks to be completed soon. However, as of this writing, no record deal for the release this album has been finalized. Some fans may be a bit skeptical as BOC have had a habit in the past several years of announcing that a new album would be out soon, only to find that the album never came. It was thought that there would definitely be an album out soon after the *Bad Channels* soundtrack came out, but the date kept getting pushed back. Finally, much to the disappointment of some BOC fans, another 'Greatest Hits' album (i.e. *Cult Classic*) was released. So, at the moment, many BOC fans are cynical to the band's statements that a new album will be out any time soon (although, to be fair, many of the past delays were due to contractual problems between BOC and CBS). The band announced in the summer of 1994 at their shows that their next studio album would be out during the upcoming winter. Latest word now is summer of 1995. And we wait . . . and hope . . . and pray . . . Is *Flat Out* available on CD? ------------------------------ Short Answer: YES! Longer Answer: The album was never released in the U. S. on CD. However, it is available as an import. According to Bolle Gregmar, it's a French release on SONY/PORTRAIT (14-477942-10) -- part of their "Mr. Collector" series. Future?: Bolle Gregmar had been discussing with Buck Dharma the possibility of letting Rhino Records release *Flat Out* on CD, possibly with an additional track. The status of this project is not currently known. What is the "best" BOC album? ----------------------------- Perhaps this question should be: "What BOC album should I buy?", which gets asked every now and then, usually by people who have only heard BOC on the radio (i.e., "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' For You", and maybe "Godzilla"), and are looking to buy one BOC album. Or it gets answered when someone voices their dislike for a particular album (Editor's note: *Club Ninja*, and sometimes *Mirrors* or *The Revolution By Night*, most often get this abuse, and then several individuals will rush to the albums' defense). There is no definitive answer - it's obviously a matter of personal choice, but the following might provide some guidance: 1. Some people recommend live albums, and BOC has 3 to choose from. *Extraterrestrial Live* is the most recent, and captures the band near the peak of its commercial success. *On Your Feet Or On Your Knees* is the earliest, capturing much of the older material. *Some Enchanted Evening*, although only a single album (the other 2 are double albums), is considered by many to have the best sound and song selection. 2. Compilation albums might be recommended for those who don't plan on purchasing more than a few albums. BOC, like other bands that have been around for years, have more than one to choose from. The upcoming Sony compilation, *Workshop Of The Telescopes*, scheduled for release in the fall of 1995, may stand head and shoulders above all the others as the definitive "best of and rest of" package. Not only are the hits planned to be included, but all of the singles (both A and B sides) are there, including the studio version of "Born To Be Wild", which was previously only available as a vinyl single. In addition, the four songs on the *Live Bootleg* release, previously only available on rare vinyl or as an "import live recording", may be included. As for the other compilation albums to choose from, *Cult Classic* is the most representative of what songs the band is playing live these days, and how they are playing them (the songs have been re-recorded). Some have complained that these re- recordings lack the energy of the original versions, while others really like the new versions. The bulk of *Career Of Evil - The Metal Years* is from live albums, particularly *Extraterrestrial Live*, but also has a few tracks from various studio albums. *On Flame With Rock And Roll*, which can often be found at a bargain price in many record store's cut- out sections, contains mostly studio versions of some of BOC's more popular songs (such as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' For You", "Godzilla", and "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll"), along with a few other tracks that, for the most part, are now rarely performed by BOC. Finally, the European release, *The Reaper - Best*, is a good compilation, for those who can obtain it -- 77 minutes of songs from most of the band's albums (some of which are slightly enhanced in sound quality over the original versions), and an interesting booklet on the band (if you can read German). 3. While the band no longer performs songs from this album (see next question for more information), many of BOC's current fans cite the album, *Imaginos* as the best work the band every put out (both from a musical and conceptual standpoint). Others, however, point out that BOC as a group are not completely responsible for this album (again, see next question for more information). Some of the concepts alluded to in *Imaginos* (as well as versions of two of the songs) are present on the *Secret Treaties* album, and many fans cite this album as their favorite (the band still regularly plays 2 or 3 of the songs off that album). 4. Due mostly to the benefit of a hit single on them, *Agents Of Fortune* (containing "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"), *Spectres* (containing "Godzilla"), and *Fire Of Unknown Origin* (containing "Burnin' For You") are probably BOC's most successful albums commercially, and some fans would cite one of them as their favorites. 5. Since he is the head of the BOC fan club, it is appropriate to consider Bolle Gregmar's favorite album, *Cultosaurus Erectus*. This album, released after *Mirrors*, marked a return to the "heavier" BOC sound, due in part to the production talents of Martin Birch (who had produced albums for Black Sabbath and Deep Purple). According to Bolle, the album is very energetic, and contains some of the band's best song- writing. 6. The one that started it all, *Blue Oyster Cult*, is cited by many as their favorite. The band's roots can be most clearly seen on this album, and "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll" and "Stairway To The Stars" are still regularly performed by the band. For those that like the songs on the first album, *Tyranny and Mutation* and *Secret Treaties* also get high marks. Editor's Note: The only "real" way to enjoy BOC is to get *all* of their albums. What is the story behind the recording of the album, *Imaginos*? ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Imaginos story actually pre-dates BOC, and started within the mind of Sandy Pearlman, who, back in about 1967, wrote a collection of poems called "The Soft Doctrines of Imaginos". It was Pearlman's desire that BOC be the embodiment of the Imaginos concept. Around that time, two songs were written around this concept -- "Gil Blanco County" (which would appear on the Stalk-Forrest Group demo for Elektra), and a Buck Dharma tune called "Port Jefferson". While the band decided against doing the concept, Albert Bouchard began working on music for it. By 1974, the songs "Imaginos", "Astronomy" (which appeared on *Secret Treaties*), and "The Subhuman" (which also appeared on *Secret Treaties*, and would later be changed to "Blue Oyster Cult" on the *Imaginos* album) were written. At the *Spectres* sessions, Joe Bouchard demoed "In The Presence Of Another World", while Albert Bouchard demoed "Del Rio's Song", "I Am The One You Warned Me Of", "The Siege And Investiture Of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle At Weisseria", and a song entitled, "The Girl That Love Made Blind" -- however, the band was still not interested in doing the whole project. Albert continued to write and demo songs for the project, and by *Cultosaurus Erectus*, really wanted to see the band do the concept. After Albert left BOC in 1981, he began working with Sandy Pearlman on the project, recording all the basic tracks in 1982. By 1984, the Imaginos work was essentially completed. Sandy Pearlman first approached CBS about putting the album together around 1981, and CBS was initially interested in the project. According to Eric Bloom, CBS was not happy with the final result (in which Albert sang much of the lead vocals), and was not interested in releasing the album unless it was released as a "BOC" album with Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma singing lead vocals. After BOC had broken up in 1986, the idea of the band getting together to release *Imaginos* was discussed. Albert, hoping to get the original line-up back together for the recording (and a subsequent tour), spent time getting in contact with all the original members of the band. Apparently Albert had a difficult time convincing Joe Bouchard, who was the last of the original 5 members to quit the band, to do the project. However, the rest of the band (Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma, Allen Lanier, Jon Rogers, joined by Ron Riddle on drums) had reformed as Blue Oyster Cult by the time Joe Bouchard had agreed to do the project. In addition, the financial obligations had to be worked out as Albert wanted to be co-producer of the album, having played such a large role in the project. With the band re-forming in mid-1987 without Albert and Joe Bouchard, Albert abandoned the project. However, Sandy Pearlman and the band did go forward with the project, re-doing some of the tracks by early 1988, and releasing *Imaginos* as a BOC album later that year. The original 5 members of the band are credited as performing on the album, along with several other musicians (see album credits in Discography section). However, it is not clear how much of a "BOC" album this is, beyond Eric/Buck's lead vocals, and their hand in the writing of some of the songs. According to Albert Bouchard, the bulk of the instrumentation credits should go to Tommy Morrongiello (guitars), Jack Rigg (guitars), and Tommy Mandel (keyboards - uncredited on the album). In addition, Albert says the following were not credited on the album: Jon Rogers (additional lead vocal on "I Am The One You Warned Me Of"), Phil Grandee (guitar). Between the *Imaginos* credits, the reworking of the songs, and the fact that the band apparently did not want Albert back as their drummer after the release of *Imaginos*, there are considerable hard feelings between Albert and BOC/Sandy Pearlman. The original *Imaginos* project contained over 90 minutes of music, and budgets wouldn't allow for the complete package. The "complete" Imaginos story spans 200 years from the beginning of the 19 Century to the end of the 20th. At the time the album was recorded, two other parts were anticipated, entitled (according to Sandy Pearlman) "Germany Minus Zero And Counting" and "The Mutant Reformation". Albert Bouchard has indicated that possible titles for "Germany Minus Zero And Counting" were "Half-Life Time", and "Bombs Over Germany". According to Albert Bouchard, the following songs were left off of *Imaginos*: "Gil Blanco County", "The Girl That Love Made Blind", "Blue Oyster Cult Reprise", "Imaginos Overture", and an acapella reprise of the first verse of "Magna Of Illusion". Also, the song "Shadow Of California" (from the album, *The Revolution By Night*) was partially re-worked from an Albert Bouchard song, "Half-Life Time", which was to appear on the second "Imaginos" album. With the past problems and current tensions between the various parties associated the recording of *Imaginos*, it is probably unlikely that the full Imaginos saga will ever be completed. Sandy Pearlman is apparently working on an Imaginos comic book and multi-media (video game) project, but this project is also likely to remain unfinished. Recently, Albert Bouchard provided a list of songs which might be applicable to the rest of the Imaginos trilogy. They appear, with his comments, as follows: Act One: The Imaginos album we're familiar with. Act Two: Bombs over Germany Workshop Of The Telescopes The Girl That Love Made Blind * ME 262 The Red And The Black Cities On Flame ** Shadow Of California Half Life Time + Veteran Of The Psychic Wars ++ Career Of Evil ++ Act Three: The Mutant Reformation Take Me Away ++ The Vigil ++ ETI R. U. Ready 2 Rock Heavy Metal Flaming Telepaths Gil Blanco County * Redeemed * Left off the original Imaginos album ** "Motor City is Burning" version -- based somewhat on the MC5 song + Very few have heard this one ++ Non-Pearlman songs because I never plan to write another with him and these tunes kind of fit into the story What is the story told by the album, *Imaginos*? ------------------------------------------------ Sandy Pearlman, in an interview with Kerrang magazine (September 1988) says, "Basically, it's an interpretation of history - an explanation for the onset of World War 1, or a revelation of the occult origins of it. Imaginos is the main character, and is what I call 'an actor in history'. He plays different roles in history and was born as a modified child, modified by an alien influence, and his mission is to present the human race with the challenge of evil. The aliens are playing with our history as if it's a game, and he motivates the game and presents the choices to the human race. They react as they will." Sandy Pearlman also says that the story explains what the "Blue Oyster Cult" is. "They are aliens. When Imaginos is dying on a beach (in the song 'Blue Oyster Cult'), they announce their presence to him and give him a choice - side with them or die as a human. He chooses the former and realizes he was one of them after all. In 'Astronomy' he realizes he is descended from the stars." Of course, the above statements leave much left untold, and subject to interpretation. Such discussion went on between various individuals on BOC-L, and this discussion was captured, distilled, and condensed into a sort of mini-thesis by BOC-L member Bryce "The Subhuman" Baker. His complete work may be available (either now or soon) in the BOC-L archives. An edited version of his work is presented here (note: quotes that go unreferenced are either from the liner notes or song lyrics): The Saga of Imaginos begins with the discovery of the New World by the Spanish. "Out beyond the Europe's rim the Spaniards met the Indians." The Indians: the natives of the New World, the Aztecs, Haitians, and others. "To the Spanish, agents of a Catholic Sovereign, the New World was no place of grace ... anti-genesis, anti-Eden, seat of evil, pit of darkness ... the priests in the expeditions could imagine no place worse than this place ... visibly in the thrall of invisible spirits." These spirits: Les Invisibles - The Invisible Ones. It is assumed that the Indians of the New World (in particular, the Aztecs and the Haitians) worshipped Les Invisibles (which we also assume to number seven). Les Invisibles' seat of power is Haiti, "... still a dream world, seat of Les Invisibles ...", suggesting a connection between their world and our world. This is not taken to be a physical connection (as a portal, for example), but a religious connection, as The Vatican is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Haitian Voodoo references are indeed present in Imaginos, Baron Samedi (see the lyrics to 'Les Invisibles') is reportedly the Voodoo lord of graveyards, and Les Mesteres (also in "Les Invisibles") is reportedly another name for the Loa, the seven African spirits worshipped in Voodoo. Regarding the dance of Don Pedro, ghost-dancing (a group dance for communication with the dead) plays a large part in Haitian religious beliefs, and apparently played a similarly large role in Aztec religious customs; drums seem to have been the instrument of choice (see lyrics in 'Les Invisibles' and 'Del Rio's Song'). As to the identity of Don Pedro, the emperor Montezuma supposedly had a Spanish- sympathizing son named Don Pedro who helped rebuild the Mexican capital after its destruction by the Spanish. How this could tie in is unclear, and may simply be a coincidence. If rich in its evil, the New World was also rich in its gold. At first, to the Spaniards, the gold was "no luminous mirror of delight, but rather, a mirror of blackness." But as fear turned to greed, in this gold, this mirror of blackness, "the Spaniards discovered for themselves an image of self without limit ... the invention of all new things, the invention of genocide." Greed overcame fear. Civilizations were wiped out (under the guise of religious purification), and Spanish power in Europe rose, fueled by the gold from the New World. "For hundreds of years, all the gold ... came from the New World ... the seduction of the Old World by the New World - innocence corrupts experience." Ultimately, the Spain/Portugal monopoly on the New World was broken by England, under the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). "Her occult advisor was a Dr. John Dee. He spoke, he said, with invisible spirits and in his possession was a magic mirror of black volcanic glass ... it was fashioned in Mexico." Dee's associate, Edward Kelly, looked into the stone, and Dee recorded his visions (this mirror and some of Dee's other paraphernalia are on display in London in the British Museum). The interpretation relative to the Imaginos story is that Les Invisibles somehow made this mirror available to Dee, and information gained from using it was used in the destruction of Spanish power. It has been suggested that this was a form of 'retaliatory strike' at Spain by Les Invisibles for invading Mexico and eradicating much of the religion devoted to them. However, it is seems more likely that this wasn't a 'retaliatory strike' at all, but part of a larger, centuries-spanning scheme by Les Invisibles to cause strife and bloodshed in Europe, continuing all the way to World War I, and perhaps beyond. It should be noted that in contrast to the relative black mirror of New World gold mentioned in the first paragraph, here we have the first appearance of an actual, physical black mirror. In the early 1800's, (perhaps in the month of August) Les Invisibles cause the birth of a 'modified' child - Imaginos - in New Hampshire. His powers include the ability to see the future to some degree ("singing songs nobody knew and stories left undone") and to change his shape ("actually this Buzzardo was Imaginos in disguise"). Ignorant of his future role and billing himself as somewhat of an adventurer, he travels North America (at least Vermont and Texas) before winding up in New Orleans in 1829. Still acting as an "adventurer", he heads up an "expedition", sailing the Mississippi south towards Mexico. Realizing that there may be more of a reason behind his powers than he previously believed, and perhaps having visions or some other drive, he has goals for the expedition he isn't telling his crew. He is heading south to the Yucatan, to a place "just between the verse and me" where he will find something "lost, last and luminous, scored to sky yet never found". Somewhere along the trip, the boat is shipwrecked near land. As Imaginos lies on the shore, seriously injured and dying, his friends, the survivors of the shipwreck, leave him alone to die "on a shore where oyster beds seem plush as down". The morning tide washes in and he drowns. As can be seen here, Imaginos' ability to see into the future is limited to some degree, or he would have been able to foretell of his upcoming shipwreck. This shipwreck, however, was no accident. As he drowns, Les Invisibles come to Imaginos and show him everything: "the Invisible [Ones] visible at last and manifest; no mere hints or traces". Knowing who and what he is and the role carved for him in future events, he agrees to become the Invisible Ones' agent on earth; he becomes one of the "Blue Oyster Cult", the servants of Les Invisibles. Les Invisibles, acting through the "oyster boys" (some kind of fish-like creature) resurrect Imaginos from the dead. He is now their agent, "unleashed to forge a new destiny; he is Imaginos called Desdinova." After the shipwreck, it is clearly stated in the liner notes that Imaginos dies. The song "Blue Oyster Cult" contains a bit about "The Dream of Luxor", which is an Egyptian reference to rebirth: "Luxor, site of the southern Temple of Amun, built essentially by Amenophis III and Ramesses II. The image of Amun from the temple at Karnak spent the flood season here ... at Luxor, Amun took the form of Min, a mummiform, ithyphallic fertility god ... fertility gods in Egyptian religion were associated with rebirth and immortality." (Jean Lansford) "We understand, and so do I" and "One deal is what we made" from "Blue Oyster Cult", taken along with the liner notes for "Astronomy" point to the "all is made clear" inference (and also to the 'I didn't know what the hell's going on with me' inference mentioned above). It isn't really very clear just who or what the Oyster Boys are, just that they somehow are connected with The Invisible Ones. The next songs in the cycle are mainly descriptive, rather than playing out the story. "I Am the One You Warned Me Of" - Imaginos, reborn, fully aware of who and what he is. "Fresh from zones of moisture": on that "shore where oyster beds seemed plush as down" to a drowning young Imaginos. We almost get a sense of 'excitement' from this song. Albert Bouchard had an interesting comment on the song and the lyric "and afterwards the meat": "This song was influenced by "Memo from Turner" and was supposed to be about Imaginos getting down and lascivious." "In the Presence of Another World" - Imaginos, the earthly agent of Les Invisibles, still aware of his former self, but now so much more, and forebodings of the evil to come. "The Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria" - the continuation of Les Invisibles' influence on earth - earlier, through corruption by gold, now through corruption by technology. The liner notes have a lot to say on the reborn Imaginos: "This then is Imaginos of whom it will be said, between what he can realize and what he can imagine, there is to be nothing and no distance. His will be the perfect sight. 'Behind closed eyes realize your sight.' Through the powers of perfect vision and Imaginos, vested in him by Les Invisibles, he will bring the world to a rendezvous with its own destiny, to change the world's course, to -write- history, to tilt the axis of destiny - Imaginos becomes the world's greatest actor, a transcendent role player, an actor in history." It can only be assumed that between his rebirth (~1829) and the next song in the story (Magna of Illusion, ~1892), Imaginos is somehow living up to this role, involving himself in key events that will lead up to the grand conclusion. 1892, Imaginos, now in the role of an old sea captain: "Out beyond the Europe's rim and further by far, beyond the sphere of light, into a place where darkness is omnipotent and never from hungry. In Mayaland in the Yucatan he will discover an unheard-of temple or pyramid. At the core of the pyramid, with only one way in and no way out, is a chamber of jade, curiously sculpted with impossible angles, itself surrounding something hardly there, a new germ, made from 'pieces of the perfect black.' [jumping down a paragraph in the notes...] "In the chamber of jade is a mirror carved of blackest obsidian, black volcanic glass, tempered with blood: 'the sugar of sacrifice.' Obviously a magic mirror, it is nothing less than the Magna of Illusion: the last song in the cycle. In it Imaginos, now playing the of an old English sea captain in the 1890s, takes the mirror from Mexico (which is nowhere) to Europe. He takes it by crime and blood from the jungle to give to his granddaughter on her birthday. It sits in her family's attic in misty Cornwall for ten years or more. Poisoning Europe ..." [moving back up a paragraph in the notes...] "When thrust in vivo into Europe's all too fertile soil, this new germ will - having grown ever more powerful and mature, having in fact become an organism - beam ridding voices direct to the brains of the (European) multitudes. The voices call in hunger for absolute darkness and absolute light. They are ready. We are ready. It is ready" [moving back down...] "And then World War I breaks out. A disease with a long incubation." Some random general reflections: 1. If you follow the story, it is obvious that the songs on the album are in the wrong order. There is, however, this 'random access history' disclaimer. It has been speculated that the record company screwed up the order of the songs and the random access bit was added afterwards. That is completely unsubstantiated, and probably not true, but who knows? In the liner notes, an order is listed, but my interpretation of the real order (substantiated by Albert Bouchard) is: Les Invisibles Imaginos Del Rio's Song Blue Oyster Cult Astronomy I Am The One You Warned Me Of } these two could flip flop In The Presence Of Another World } The Siege And Investiture Of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle At Weisseria Magna Of Illusion 2. An issue that has not been explored is the origin or the location of Les Invisibles. From the liner notes and overall feel of the album, you get the impression of another, mystical world, beyond our time and space, and that is how the story has been interpreted above. But to throw in a wrench, I quote Albert Bouchard in Morning Final #10: "Basically, what it is that this guy comes down from a spaceship, and he lands in New Hampshire. I don't know if he has a son or not, but there's a young Immaginos (note: "Immaginos" was Albert's intended spelling) that is hatched from the spaceship in New Hampshire. He drifts down towards Texas. When he's in Texas he discovers that he has all sorts of powers that regular people don't have. I guess that he's probably not completely aware that he's an extra-terrestrial." Note that his interview was in 1982 (and done for some metal magazine, it was never published), a lot could have changed in the time between the interview and when the final version(s?) of the story was settled on. But if you look at some of the lyrics out of context, we have: "the rhyme of the star clock" [Les Invisibles] "this starry wisdom" [I Am the One ...] "how even space can modulate" [In the Presence ...] "the milky way abyss inclines" "the buried city in the stars" "from the glare of stars, the starry wisdom" [The Siege And ...] Again, the above quotes are -completely- out of context and are meant just to provide a (weak) counterview to the mystical, almost religious viewpoint. Also, a mystical location and an outerspace location are by no means mutually exclusive. But, to tighten that wrench: "and don't forget my dog, fixed and consequent" [Astronomy] "Astronomy...a star!" [Astronomy] "approached the sun, in August" [Imaginos] Sirius: The Dog Star, a star of the constellation Canis Major, the brightest star in the heavens. Used for navigational purposes because it usually remains fixed in the sky. The Dog Days ... the period of in late summer (between early July and late August) when Sirius rises and sets with the sun. And according to Dr. Paul Mather: "Okay, here's another Sirius connection. I remember R.A. Wilson making much about the connection between the "Dog Days" and Sirius. There is a "primitive" African tribe - the Dogon tribe - who, it seems, accurately detected the companion to Sirius and mapped its relationship to Sirius. This companion is invisible to the naked eye, and can only be detected by x-rays (I seem to recall). The tribe detected its presence long before modern radio astronomy." The plot thickens ... "The Dogon tribe worship a half-man, half-fish god, who is said to come from the companion star, and who is said to have come down to Earth." This account was later shown to the bogus result of the tribe mixing modern astronomy with their mythology, or something like that [from FoFP]. But it was still widespread and certainly available to influence a young Sandy Pearlman ... In any event, as mentioned above, "outer space" and "beyond time and space" are certainly not mutually exclusive. Is there a BOC/H.P. Lovecraft connection? ----------------------------------------- Not directly, however, some of the concepts in BOC's lyrics, particularly *Imaginos* seem to be inspired by some of Lovecraft's work. For those not familiar, Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an early 20th- century writer of horror and science fiction stories. Although some of Lovecraft's contemporaries often did not appreciate his work (labeling it "bad taste" and "sick"), Stephen King has acknowledged Lovecraft as the 20th-century's "greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale". He is best known for several short stories often referred to collectively as the "Cthulhu Mythos" -- these stories refer to "The Great Old Ones", creatures from other worlds and dimensions which once ruled the earth, and have since been defeated, expelled, or imprisoned by various cosmic forces. These creatures may rise again ("when the stars are right"), often aided by human cults performing ceremonies with various blasphemous incantations. Looking at the lyrics and liner notes of *Imaginos*, it's obvious that there are many similarities. The story told by *Imaginos* explores alot of the same concepts as the "Cthulhu Mythos", close enough for some to claim that the two are one and the same (For example, Desdinova or Imaginos is "an actor playing roles in history, challenging man against evil". He could be considered as an agent of evil -- Lovecraft's Nyarlathotep.). However, general opinion (on the BOC discussion group) is that *Imaginos*, while no doubt inspired by some of Lovecraft's work (Al Bouchard also indicates that Sandy Pearlman and he had read some of Lovecraft's work), is not meant to be a re-telling of Lovecraft's "Cthulhu Mythos". Having said that, the following are some literary references between *Imaginos* and Lovecraft's work: The song "Les Invisibles" contains the line "beneath the polar mountain". Lovecraft's tale, "At the Mountains of Madness" discusses Antarctica as being a location where some of the Great Old Ones either arrived, ruled, or lay waiting. The songs "I Am The One You Warned Me Of" and "The Siege And Investiture Of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle At Weisseria" both contain references to "Starry Wisdom". Lovecraft's story, "The Haunter of the Dark" refers to "the Church of the Starry Wisdom", a cult organization in which "the Shining Trapazohedron shows them heaven & other worlds, & that the Haunter of the Dark tells them secrets in some way." Also, the Shining Trapazohedron appears to be similar in function to the Magna of Illusion of *Imaginos*. The song, "Les Invisibles" talks about "the empress lay sleeping to the rhyme of the star clock", which may refer to the Great Old One's return "when the stars are right". The song "In The Presence Of Another World" contains the spoken words, "when the stars are right". This same line is used in Lovecraft's, "The Call of Cthulhu". In addition, the "Oyster Boys", as water beings can be likened to agents of Cthulhu. A few other BOC songs (not from *Imaginos*) have, either by title or lyric, a similar sort of feel to them: Harvester of Eyes, Flaming Telepaths, Stairway to the Stars, Workshop of the Telescopes ("by those who see with their eyes closed, they'll know me by my black telescope", "the power that was undine" - see discussion later on the term, "undine"), ME-262 ("watch me in mirrors", and "Captain Von Ondine" - see discussion later on the term, "undine"). Where is the BOC symbol on the _____ album? ------------------------------------------- The symbol of Kronos (Saturn) appears on every BOC album. According to Albert Bouchard, the symbol was used by Bill Gawlik in his "City of the Future" project (his Masters thesis in architecture at Stony Brook University). Sandy Pearlman liked the symbol, and hired Bill Gawlik to do the covers for BOC's first two albums. Sandy had Bill put the symbol on the covers, and it became the band's logo. The symbol is also very similar to the ancient Greek symbol for "chaos". While it is visible on most albums, it can be hard to spot on a few (most notably "Spectres" and "Cultosaurus Erectus"). The following lists the location of the BOC symbol on each album: *Blue Oyster Cult* -- Album center, on the horizon. *Tyranny And Mutation* -- Album center, over the tower. *Secret Treaties* -- On the tailfin of the plane (which is an ME 262). *On Your Feet Or On Your Knees* -- On the flag on the limo. *Agents Of Fortune* -- On one of the stones in the doorway. *Spectres* -- In the crystal ball on the floor in the lower left corner (Note: This is difficult to see on the cassette, and the CD cover is cropped so that only part of the crystal ball can be seen.) *Some Enchanted Evening* -- On the horse's bridle. *Mirrors* -- Bottom center of album. *Cultosaurus Erectus* -- Slightly tilted, on the side of the spaceship. (Note: Unless you have the LP cover, you probably can't see this. Perhaps it is visible with a magnifying glass on the CD, but on the cassette, even the spaceship itself can barely be made out. The symbol is easily visible on the LP, though. Also, the symbol was not included on the spaceship on some European releases of this album.) *Fire Of Unknown Origin* -- On the robe of the cultist in front. *Extraterrestrial Live* -- On the robe of the cultist, side of the spaceship, and on the band's equipment cases. *The Revolution By Night* -- Lower right-hand corner, on the side of the highway. *Club Ninja* -- The space station is in the shape of the symbol. *Imaginos* -- Next to the word "cult", below the album title. *Career of Evil: The Metal Years* -- Album center, in flames. *On Flame With Rock And Roll* -- Album center, in flames. *Cult Classic* -- Album center, outlined by the windows, the railings, and the snake. As an aside, the curved part of the symbol represents a sickle -- Greek mythology tells us that the god Kronos, was given the sickle by his mother to kill his father, the god Ouranos. Kronos sliced off his father's genitals, and threw them into the sea, which later formed the goddess Aphrodite. Kronos later became the father of the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. Also, Saturn and Lead were congruent in alchemy, so the symbol for Saturn (the Roman name for Kronos) is also the symbol for lead, which is a "heavy metal". Just to throw a few other pieces out on the table, from Chetwynd's Dictionary of Symbols: Lead, personified as Saturn: depression or unconscious content, which once raised into the light of the conscious, rational mind, becomes gold Saturn or Kronos The lowest and darkest stage of any process of transformation. The terrifying aspect of losing your youth. But at the same time this nadir of life, this mood of darkest depression, liberates what is essential from the dross and affords the chance of transformation. [...] Kronos castrates his father: He severs the point of contact between male and female in his fierce struggle to be born, to achieve individuality. [...] ... Saturn becomes the focal point of opposites, each changing into the other in the course of life.... Alchemy (Summary of tables) The Descent into the Black Yellow, leaving the sun of ordinary consciousness behind Blue, for the sky empty of sun or ego Green, for dissolution in the sea. Sinking within. The Fourfold Sequence of Alchemical Work The Black: Lead, Earth, Death of the ordinary conscious outlook The White: Quicksilver, Air, Disintegration of the corpse The Red: Sulfur, Fire, Relating conscious with unconscious parts The Gold: Gold, Water, Germinates the seed of the new Self Editor's Note: The above is not meant to imply that BOC intended people to extract all of these meanings out of the fact that they used the symbol of Kronos. However, some of the implications do seem to fit nicely with many of their songs, and may spawn endless hours of discussion among BOC fans. Where can I get a complete set of BOC lyrics? --------------------------------------------- Bolle Gregmar has worked with the band to compile a complete "official" set of lyrics to all of the BOC songs. The lyric book is available to BOC fan club members. Bolle's address is listed elsewhere in this FAQ. The BOC-L archive site, , contains "unofficial" BOC lyric files. These files have come about from BOC-L members spending long hours trying to figure out the lyrics (not an easy task!). The site also has an "official" copy of the lyrics to the Brain Surgeons' albums, which were reproduced from the CD's liner notes, with permission from Albert Bouchard and Deborah Frost. Note: The band, their management, and/or their record labels hold the legal rights to BOC's song lyrics. The BOC fan club had previously received legal permission to re-produce a limited number of copies of them in the lyric book. All other sources of lyrics, unless they come directly from the band, their management, or their record labels should be considered "unofficial". You used to be able to send 50 cents to an address (believed to by Sandy Pearlman's) printed on the back of BOC albums and get a complete set of BOC lyrics. It was a bargain, despite several errors. However, they are no longer available this way. So, if you just bought your first copy of *Some Enchanted Evening*, and were hoping to get lyrics, save your 50 cents. The lyrics for all of the songs on *Extraterrestrial Live*, with the exception of "Roadhouse Blues", are listed in the liner notes. These too, have several errors. Lyrics to the songs on *Flat Out* are printed on the inner sleeve of the LP. The lyrics for all of the songs by the Brain Surgeons are listed in the CD liner notes. What is a (Diz-Buster, ME-262, Stun Guitar, . . .)? --------------------------------------------------- Former BOC drummer Albert Bouchard has stated that the "diz" refers to the cleft of the penis. Bolle Gregmar further tells us that "duster's dust" (from the song, "Seven Screaming Diz-Busters") refers to sperm. Therefore, a "Diz-Buster" refers to someone (or something) which causes one to ejaculate. Well, you wanted to know . . . The ME-262 (referred to by the BOC song of the same name) was the world's first operational tubojet-powered fighter plane (as the song says, "ME-262 Prince of turbojets"), first entering operational service for Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany on July 10th, 1944 (at Juvincourt, France). "ME" is short for Messerschmitt, the German aircraft builder Willy Messerschmitt (as the song says, "Willy's done quite a job"). Unfortunately for Nazi Germany, while the plane as a fighter proved to be superior to any of the Allied planes of its day, the plane did not end up to be a major factor in World War II. The main reasons for this are that it entered too late into the war (only about 10 months before the end of the hostilities in Europe), and there was not a good plan for the deployment of the ME-262 (they were used mostly as bombers, where their true tactical superiority were as fighters due to their speed advantage). Technical Data (as reported in "Jane's History of Aviation"): Engines - two 8.825 kN (1,984 lb st) Junkers Jumo 109-004B- 1 or 004-4 turbojets (as the song says, "Junkers Jumo 004"). Wing Span - 12.5 m (41 ft). Length - 10.61 m (34 ft, 10 in). Max Take-Off weight - 7,045 kg (15,531 lb). Take-Off run with two auxiliary rockets - 600 m (1,969 ft). Max level speed - 868 km/h (539 mph) at 7,000 m (22,975 ft). Range - 1,050 km (652 miles). Eric Bloom is listed on the first 4 BOC albums as playing "stun guitar". There has been much discussion on BOC-L as to exactly what a stun guitar is. Some have heard that it refers to a guitar that was wired for a constant "fuzztone" sound. Other people have suggested that it may be an inside joke with the band, referring to either Eric wanting his guitar turned up loud (according to Albert Bouchard, there used to be some arguments among the band members about how loud Eric's guitar should be during BOC's concerts), or possibly that he did not play much guitar on the albums (again, according to Albert Bouchard, Eric did play some guitar on most of the albums, although Buck did most of the guitar work). Others have jokingly said it refers to Eric's guitar-playing skills (Editor's note: Eric may not be Buck Dharma when it comes to playing guitar, but Eric can play. However, he was originally brought into the band as a singer, not as a guitar player). According to Albert Bouchard, the true meaning of "stun guitar" is as follows: "He played fuzz parts on 'She's As Beautiful As A Foot' and other songs on the first BOC album. They were all pretty easy so we decided to make it more mysterious by calling it Stun instead of Fuzz." According to Bolle Gregmar, however, a more accurate description of the parts that Eric played would be that they were "muted" (i.e. muting the guitar strings with the hand), and cites underlying guitar parts on "Stairway To The Stars" and "O.D.'d On Life Itself" as some of the better examples of Eric's stun guitar work. According to Albert Bouchard, there is a somewhat interesting story regarding Eric Bloom playing guitar with the band. After the band's first performance with Bloom as lead vocalist (at the Fillmore East in New York City), it was decided that he should have a guitar. For their next performance (at The Electric Circus in New York City), Bloom had a guitar, however it was not plugged in at the time. Elektra executives were at the performance, and later remarked that they felt that Bloom's rhythm guitar added greatly to the band's sound. The insert enclosed with the radio promo copies of BOC's first LP provides some insight into the term, "Bungo Pony": "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" is a colorful tale set in New York during the late fifties. The location is Columbia University where the apathy setting in on campus results in a dreadful scandal. The diseases picked up from animals caught cruising the dormitories are still showing scars. "Salamander Drake" (as mentioned in the song, "Workshop Of The Telescopes") may refer to a fire-breathing dragon: salamander - a mythical animal having the power to endure fire without harm, an elemental being in theory of Paracelsus inhabiting fire; drake - dragon. Note: There may be more to this, as the BOC lyric book capitalizes the words "Salamander" and "Drake", implying perhaps a proper name rather than a thing. Perhaps "Drake" actually refers to Sir Francis Drake, who, under approval of England's Elizabeth I, raided Spanish ships bringing gold from Mexico (this ties in with some of the concepts of *Imaginos* -- European conflict originating from the New World). "Undine" (also mentioned in the song, "Workshop Of The Telescopes") is, according to the Swiss-born alchemist and physician Paracelsus, a water- spirit that can obtain a human soul by bearing a child to a human husband. This may also refer to "Captain Von Ondine" in the song, "ME- 262" (perhaps Captain Von Ondine is the child born of a water spirit - this also appears to tie in with some of the concepts of *Imaginos*). Conry's bar (mentioned in "Before The Kiss (A Redcap)") is a real place, and BOC has played there. According to Al Bouchard, there were two, Conry's East and Conry's West, both on Hempstead Turnpike. BOC was the house band at Conry's West for several months in 1969-70. They played Conry's East on New Year's Eve 70/71 (playing an Auld Lang Syne / In A Gadda Davida medley at midnight). Alas, the two bars have both been gone for over 20 years now. "Redcap" (mentioned in "Before The Kiss (A Redcap)") refers to a barbiturate. According to Buck Dharma, Sandy Pearlman witnessed a woman and a man exchange the pill through a kiss when the band was playing at Conry's bar. The line "their tongues extend, and then retract" refers to the act of exchanging the pill through their kiss. Who is (Suzy, Celine, Debbie Denise, Sir Rastus Bear, . . .)? ------------------------------------------------------------- "Suzy" is referred to in at least 4 BOC songs ("Before The Kiss, A Redcap", "Dominance and Submission", "Astronomy", and "The Marshall Plan"). Suzy originally referred to one of Sandy Pearlman's many girlfriends, but later just came to refer to "some mean bitch" (poor Sandy). "Celine" (as referred to in the song, "Searchin' for Celine") is Louis Ferdinand Celine, a French writer from around the turn of the century. As such, "Searchin" was originally written as searching for a "he" instead of a "she". The following is from the America On-line Encyclopedia on CIS: Celine, Louis Ferdinand {say-leen'} Louis Celine, originally named Louis Ferdinand Destouches, b. May 27, 1894, d. July 1, 1961, was a French writer and doctor whose novels Journey to the End of the Night (1932; Eng. trans., 1943) and Death on the Installment Plan (1936; Eng. trans., 1938) are innovative, chaotic, and antiheroic visions of human suffering. Pessimism pervades Celine's fiction as his characters sense failure, anxiety, nihilism, and inertia. Celine was unable to communicate with others, and during his life sank more deeply into a hate-filled world of madness and rage. A progressive disintegration of personality is visible in the stylistic incoherence of Guignol's Band (1944; Eng. trans., 1954), Castle to Castle (1957; Eng. trans., 1968), and North (1960; Eng. trans., 1972). His novels are verbal frescoes peopled with horrendous giants, paraplegics, and gnomes, and are filled with scenes of dismemberment and murder. Accused of collaboration, Celine fled (1944) France to live in Germany at Sigmaringen and then moved (1945) to Denmark. Condemned by default (1950) in France to one year of imprisonment and declared a national disgrace, Celine returned to France after his pardon in 1951. "Debbie Denise" (referred to in the song of the same name) was originally one of Patti Smith's poetic flirtations with lesbianism -- the words were about a woman as told by a woman (the line "I was out rolling with my band" originally read "I was out rolling with my man"). Was there a Debbie Denise? It doesn't appear that there was. However, somewhere in the mid to late 70's, two young, blond, attractive twins named "Debbie" and "Denise" turned up in L.A., and apparently became well acquainted with members of the band's touring personnel. According to Bolle Gregmar, "Sir Rastus Bear" (as referred to in the song, "Redeemed") was the dog of Henry Farcas (who wrote the lyrics to the song). Where can I get BOC live recordings? ------------------------------------ Editor's Disclaimer: With the exception of *Live 1976* (which I have seen sold in major U.S. record stores), I can not advise as to the availability or legality of the "Import Live Recordings" previously listed in this FAQ. As far as "live recordings" go, one must distinguish between a "live tape" and "bootleg" (often referred to as "Import", "Live Recording" or "Euro-CD"). A "live tape" is a tape of a live performance - perhaps obtained by taping a radio broadcast, or a live show. Sometimes the tape may come from the soundboard of the band's sound engineers. These live tapes are usually traded amongst fans, or kept as personal copies, and are not distributed on a for-profit basis. "Bootlegs", on the other hand, are mass-produced copies of a band's material (usually a live concert, but sometimes studio outtakes) which are sold for profit by individuals or organizations most likely not even closely related or affiliated with the said artist. Different people in the music world have different opinions of live recordings. Some argue that they hurt album sales, and take money away from the artist. Others argue that fans interested in live recordings (which are usually of lower quality than official releases) most likely already have bought most of the artist's official releases anyway, and in fact these recordings may even help to promote the artist. At any rate, a "live tape" is not illegal, as long as it is not sold for profit. A "bootleg", on the other hand, may be illegal, depending on what country you live in. There has been a fair number of BOC shows that have been taped over the years, in one way or another. Many BOC fans have tapes of various shows, and the best way to obtain them is by trading with other BOC fans. To find other BOC fans to trade with, you could consult the BOC discussion group or the BOC Fan Club (see elsewhere in this FAQ for information) or appropriate internet newsgroups, check out the ads in magazines such as Goldmine or Discoveries (see below for more information), or meet some new friends at the next BOC concert. There are some dealers which may carry "Imports", "Live Recordings", and "Euro-CD's", although most of these are either small record stores, or mail-order dealers. Sometimes dealers can be found at flea-markets and record shows. Mail-order dealers can be tricky to deal with as some have been known to be unscrupulous, fly-by-night operations that have inconsistent records of service and have no qualms about lying to customers or otherwise ripping them off. In addition, these recordings can often take months to arrive, so you want to be careful about how you are paying for your purchases. People who have dealt with mail-order dealers recommend that you never make a large initial order from a dealer that you have never dealt with before. People with internet access might want to ask people on appropriate newsgroups for information on the reliability of a particular dealer. Another way to find people selling or trading live recordings, videos, and other collectibles is to look in Goldmine or Discoveries, two magazines for record and CD collectors. These magazines run numerous ads from individuals and dealers looking to buy, sell, or trade records, CDs, tapes, and other memorabilia. Goldmine, which is published bi-weekly is the more extensive (and expensive) of the two. Discoveries is published monthly. Some of the BOC items that have been advertised recently include vinyl singles, *Flat Out* on CD, and a Quadrophonic pressing of *Secret Treaties*. If you can't find these magazines in your local bookstore or newsstand, here is some subscription information (Editor's Note: I have no affiliation with either Goldmine or Discoveries): GOLDMINE Special Services Subscription Department 700 E. State St. Iola, WI 54990-0001 U.S.A. Master Card & Visa orders: (800) 258-0929 DISCOVERIES Antique Trader Publications, Inc. 100 Bryant St. Dubuque, Iowa 52003 Master Card & Visa orders: (800) 334-7165 Where can I find Rossignol's book, 'The Origins of a World War'? ---------------------------------------------------------------- You can't. The book mentioned in the liner notes of the *Secret Treaties* album does not exist. As an interesting aside, however, the following listing appears in the Library of Congress catalogue: Hubert, Joseph, 1874- Rossignol: le combat du 22 aout 1914.--Le martyre de habitants.--Les annees d'occupation.--A la memoire des fursilles. --Annexes ... [translation by Andy Gilham: Rossignol - the battle of the 22nd August, 1914 - the martyrdom of the people - the years of occupation - to the memory of the (riflemen? if it's a typo for "fusiliers") -- appendices...] Tamines, Imprimerie Duculot-roulin [1938] 212 p., 1 l. incl. front., illus. (incl. ports., plan) maps (1 fold.) 20 cm. [pub.Tamines, Duculot-roulin Printers, etc, etc] LC CALL NUMBER: D542.R6 H8 1938 SUBJECTS: European war, 1914-1918--Campaigns--Belgium. European war, 1914-1918--Atrocities. Rossignol, Belgium. ADDED ENTRIES: Neujean, Joseph, 1880-1931, joint author. Les drames de l'invasion allemande dans le Luxembourg belge. [The tragedy of the German invasion of Belgian Luxembourg.] GEOG. AREA CODE: e-be--- LCCN: 40-10573 Rossignol, as referred to by this entry, is actually the name of a place - there does in fact exist a small town called Rossignol, in the Belgian province of Luxembourg (not to be confused with the country of the same name). What do the Japanese words in "Godzilla" mean? ---------------------------------------------- The romanised Japanese is: Rinji news o moshiagemasu! Rinji news o moshiagemasu! Gojira ga Ginza hoomen e mukatte imasu! Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai! Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai! The translation is: Attention, emergency news! Attention, emergency news! Godzilla is going toward the Ginza area! Immediately escape/catch up/find shelter please! Immediately escape/catch up/find shelter please! Are there other BOC songs, and how can I hear them? --------------------------------------------------- BOC made a recording under the name, "Soft White Underbelly", when the band was still known by that name. Les Braunstein was the lead vocalist at that time. The track list from the sessions: Rationale Passionale Fantassy Morass Mothra Jay Jay Queen's Boulevard (note: Suzy's first appearance) Buddha's Knee Bark In The Sun After "Soft White Underbelly", the band's name was (briefly) changed to "Oaxaca" (named after a city/state in Mexico), and they recorded another EP in 1970 for Elektra Records. The line-up was Prins Omega (Albert Bouchard), Buck Dharma (Donald Roeser), Jessie Python (Eric Bloom), La Vern (Allen Lanier), and Andy Winters (Andrew Winters). Sandy Pearlman supposedly came up with the nicknames for all the band members, however only Donald Roeser continued later to use his nickname "Buck Dharma". Before the album was almost (but never) released, the band's name was changed to "Stalk-Forrest Group". The EP, entitled "St. Cecilia" (a press kit from the *Mirrors* album lists this album title as "The California Album", which, like *Mirrors* was recorded in California), had the following tracks (note: in addition to the seven songs listed, BOC recorded a short version of "I'm On The Lamb" and "Sir Rastus Bear", which later became "Redeemed"): Bonomo's Turkish Taffy (A. Bouchard, R. Meltzer) Arthur Comics (A. Bouchard, R. Meltzer) Curse Of The Hidden Mirrors (A. Bouchard, R. Meltzer) Gil Blanco County (A. Lanier, S. Pearlman) What Is Quicksand? (A. Lanier, R. Meltzer) Ragamuffin Dumplin' (A. Bouchard, R. Meltzer) St. Cecilia (A. Bouchard, A. Winters, S. Pearlman) While the "Stalk-Forrest Group" album was never released, a small number (probably about 200, according to Richard Meltzer) copies of "What Is Quicksand?" and "Arthur Comics" may have been pressed as a single. In addition, "Arthur Comics" was part of the set played on 9/8/80 at the Old Waldorf Theatre in San Francisco, California as part of a radio broadcast. Note: In a 1994 edition of ICE magazine (which gives information on upcoming CD releases), it was suggested that the Stalk-Forrest Group material may eventually be released on CD. BOC performed the song, "Wings of Mercury", live on occasion during the 1985/1986 timeframe. The song appears on the *Into The Crypts Of Rays* recording, as well as some live tapes from that time period. This song, as previously mentioned, was actually written by K. Percoda of Dream Syndicate. While Dream Syndicate didn't want to use it, Sandy Pearlman, who was producing one of their albums at the time, liked it, so BOC performed the song live. However, the band decided it was not right for the *Club Ninja* album. In 1988, Buck Dharma, Jon Rogers, and Ron Riddle formed another band, "The Red and The Black" (also known as RonDonJon, or Roeser, Riddle, and Rogers), as a side-project to BOC. They played a number of gigs around NY in 1990 and maybe a little into '91. The music has been described as "heavy pop caught with one hand in the progressive cookie jar", having more in common with the harder parts of *Flat Out* than with BOC. The lead vocals were shared by the three of them, except that Buck sang all of the BOC tunes (interesting to hear Buck sing "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll"). A demo of the band was reviewed in "Morning Final" (BOC Fan Club Newsletter). A (not high quality) live tape of one of the band's performances (Studio One, Newark, N.J.). contains the following songs: What About Love? Savage Garden Harvest Moon I Can't Get Next To You Andrea Buck's Boogie Speed Of Light River Of Dreams Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll These Are The People In Love In America Caroline Redline The Red And The Black Expressway To Your Heart (cover tune) (Don't Fear) The Reaper Perfect Water Godzilla Also around 1991, Joe Bouchard toured with a number of musicians (including current Brain Surgeons' guitarist Billy Hilfiger) under the name "Cult Brothers". While they performed mostly BOC tunes, they also did a few originals. Joe sang lead vocals for most, if not all of the songs. A (not high quality) live tape of one of the band's performances (Syria Musque, Pittsburgh, PA) contains the following songs: The Red And The Black R. U. Ready 2 Rock Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll Burnin' For You Wild One On Fire With Love Astronomy Godzilla (Don't Fear) The Reaper BOC has performed the following songs over the past few years: "Still Burnin'", "Harvest Moon", "The Power Underneath Despair", "In The Cold Grey Light Of Dawn", and most recently, "I'd Like To See You In Black". These songs, according to Eric Bloom, will be on the next BOC studio album. The band also has played the two songs from the *Bad Channels* soundtrack, "Demon's Kiss", and "The Horsemen Arrive" live. It is not known if these two songs will be on the upcoming studio album. While the *Bad Channels* soundtrack is available on CD, the other songs can only be heard on live tapes. In addition to the songs previously mentioned, there are a number of BOC or BOC-related songs which consist of home demos and session material. Some of the demo material was mere pieces of songs, some were 4-track recordings (usually bass, guitar, drums, and vocals), and others were nearly complete songs. There are also a number of tracks that were completely worked up by the band during the sessions, but eventually left off of the album. A few of these rare songs may appear on a live tape as a few of the songs were done by the band live a few times, but otherwise, the vast majority of these songs and snippets will never be heard by most BOC fans. Unless you personally know one of the members of the band, the only way one might hear some of this material is by making a pilgrimage to "The Museum of Cult". Bolle Gregmar, head of the BOC fan club, has copies of most of BOC's unreleased material. He may play some of it for you if you visit the museum (a.k.a. his apartment), but he is under agreement with the band not to duplicate any of the demo material (Editor's Note: He sticks to that agreement, so don't even bother asking for copies). Small descriptions of many of these tracks and demos can be found in issues of the BOC fan club's newsletter, "Morning Final". Will the original line-up ever get back together again? ------------------------------------------------------- Short Answer: No Longer Answer: While many BOC fans (especially those that saw the original line-up together) would like to see this happen, it is just not likely. By "original line-up", we mean of course, Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma, Allen Lanier, Joe Bouchard, and Albert Bouchard. It has now been over 10 years since that line-up performed live together, and while *Imaginos* was credited to the entire band, it was not really a "band effort" (this was discussed previously in the FAQ). The current line-up of BOC are happy with their current situation, and both Bouchard brothers are pursuing their own individual projects. 5. A Harvest of Life, A Harvest of Death -- Other Items of Interest Use of Umlauts, and the Origin of the Name, "Blue Oyster Cult" -------------------------------------------------------------- In the August 16, 1991 issue of Entertainment Weekly, on page 62, there's a story on band names that have umlauts in them. (Umlauts, we learn, are the two little dots over a letter, in particular over the "O" in Blue Oyster Cult.) The story credits Richard Meltzer with the "fad" of using umlauts in names, and recounts the story of how BOC was named. From the article: "Sometimes genius strikes at the least-expected moment. In 1971, musician and songwriter Sandy Pearlman was trying to devise a new name for his band. Standing on a New York street corner with rock writer Richard Meltzer (who had been in an earlier incarnation of the group), Pearlman glanced into the window of a nearby restaurant and noticed that the menu included Blue Point oysters. "I said, 'Why don't we call it Blue Oyster Cult?'" he recalls. "And Richard said, 'And we'll add an umlaut over the o!' And I said, 'Great!'" There's another quote from Pearlman later in the story: "It was meant to bring all sorts of ambiguous implications to the name." Bolle Gregmar reports that the "dots" over letters are known as "diacritics", and that the word "umlaut" actually refers to the letter 'u' with a diacritic over it. An anagram for "Blue Oyster Cult" is "Cully Stout Beer". According to Bolle Gregmar, someone made a fake label for this "beer" using the BOC symbol, and the label appeared in some rock magazine (possibly "Circus"). BOC in Concert -------------- As previously mentioned, BOC, starting in 1976, toured with a laser show. Due to controversies surrounding the band's use of lasers, they were removed from the shows a few years later. According to Bolle Gregmar, some of the controversy was actually politically motivated by members of the Carter administration (James Carter, better known as "Jimmy" Carter, was President of the US from 1977 - 1980), who had the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) citing hypothetical (and largely overblown) dangers of BOC's use of lasers. Some of BOC's use of lasers, including Eric's wrist-laser, can be seen on the *Live 1976* video. Albert had a drum solo during "Buck's Boogie" in the mid 70's. In the late 70's until he left the band, his drum solo was during "Godzilla". All subsequent BOC drummers had a drum solo during "Godzilla". For a few years in the early 80's (starting on the *Fire Of Unknown Origin* tour), BOC toured with a 20 foot high model of Godzilla. During the band's performance of the song with the same name, the beast's eyes would light up, his head turned from side to side, and smoke poured from his mouth. Now that BOC plays mostly smaller venues, the 20 foot high Godzilla (they also used a 40 foot high model for a few shows) tours no more. During Albert Bouchard's drum solo during "Godzilla", he wore a large Godzilla mask for part of the solo - he started doing this in 1978. After he left the band, Rick Downey continued this practice for a few shows. When Albert Bouchard was still in the band, part of BOC's concert performances consisted of 5-man guitar jams (one of Eric Bloom's ideas). During the early-mid 70's, the "Mark I" jam was performed as part of the song, "ME 262". The "Mark II" and "Mark III" jams, performed prior to "Born To Be Wild", usually started with a bass solo by Joe Bouchard (after Albert left, the band performed "Born To Be Wild" immediately after the bass solo). The "Mark II" jam, done after "This Ain't The Summer Of Love", was performed from 1976 until about 1979. The "Mark III" jam, performed in the early 80's, was based mostly on the song, "Golden Age Of Leather". When BOC performed "Born To Be Wild" (regularly up until about 1984), the song was high-lighted by Eric and Buck's "Texas Chainsaw guitar duel" (also one of Eric Bloom's ideas). This consisted of Buck and Eric placing the necks of their guitars together, raking the strings of one guitar over the strings of the other. This would be repeated several times, usually to the accompaniment of strobe-lights. Also, Eric would drive his motorcycle on-stage from backstage at the beginning of the song. Obviously, this practice had to stop when BOC played at clubs. Prior to the final portion of "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll", Albert (later Eric) would shout "Rock And . . .", and the audience would respond with "Roll". This would start slowly, and build in up in speed until the line between "Rock" and "Roll" was gone. The band would kick back in, ending with Buck trilling high up on the neck of his guitar. He would then stop, spit (or pretend to) into his palms, crack his knuckles, and then individually crack the knuckles of the last 3 fingers on his left hand. He would then start the final instrumental segment of the song. While the band jammed, Eric would stand by the drums, and "help" the drummer hit a few cymbals with a few drumsticks of his own (during the *Club Ninja* tour, Eric, often clad in martial arts attire, used a nunchaku to strike the cymbals). At the end of a show, Buck would sometimes rip every string on his guitar, except the low E-string, and play the final chord (or, for Buck, note) of the song on the one remaining string. Eric used to play a guitar shaped like the BOC logo. According to Bolle Gregmar, he still owns one, but doesn't tour with it as the risk of having this rare item stolen is too high. BOC has, on occasion, performed some songs with different bandmembers switching roles. For example, at a show in Boston in 1985, Joe Bouchard sang the first verse of "Joan Crawford". Bolle Gregmar reports that they once started a show playing "Dr. Music" with Eric on drums, Albert on bass and Joe on guitar and lead vocal. In BOC's early days, they used to cover (among other songs) The Rolling Stones' "It's Not Easy". According to Eric Bloom, "The hook of the tune live was a triple drum solo with Albert, Donald, and I all playing drums at the same time." BOC was part of a rather significant event in the early history of the band, KISS. On 12/31/73, noted as their "industry live debut", KISS opened at the New York City Academy of Music for Teenage Lust, Iggy and The Stooges, and BOC. Interestingly, BOC apparently hauled a German oom-pah band from a neighboring restaurant (Luchow's) for part of their set. The most notable moment of the night, however, happened when bassist Gene Simmons, famous for (among other things) breathing fire during a KISS performance, accidentally set his hair on fire during the show. While not planned, the event no doubt helped to increase the mystique surrounding the make-up wearing rockers. Exactly two years later, on 12/31/75, it was BOC who opened for KISS in New York (at Nassau Coliseum). An interesting occurrence happened at a New Year's Eve show at the Academy of Music, NYC in 1974. During the encore Eric Bloom announced he was going to carry out his new year's resolution. He then proceeded to shave his beard off onstage with an electric razor. Perhaps "New Year's Eve was the final barrier" (a line from the song, "Dominance And Submission"). At a show in the fall of 1985 at The Channel in Boston, MA, Eric Bloom turned out to be somewhat of a prophet. At one point during the set, he asked the Boston crowd, "How 'bout the Red Sox and the Mets in the World Series next year?" (He also added, "I hate the Yankees, man, they suck." -- something every Boston fan loves to hear) As events would turn out, the Red Sox and the Mets played each other in the 1986 World Series. Unfortunately for Boston fans (but fortunately, no doubt, for Eric Bloom), the Mets beat the Red Sox in 7 games. The Movie "Heavy Metal" ----------------------- The song "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" (from *Fire Of Unknown Origin*) appears in the movie "Heavy Metal". Apparently, "Vengeance (The Pact)" was also written for the movie. The song lyrics are taken from the last story in the movie (with Taarna, the warrior woman who rides the giant bird). The apparent reason for the song not being used is that it told the 17-minute (in the movie) story in 5 minutes. Other songs from *Fire Of Unknown Origin* ("Sole Survivor", "Heavy Metal: The Black And Silver", and "Don't Turn Your Back") may also have been written for the movie, or inspired by it. According to the FAQ for the newsgroup, "rec.arts.sf.movies", the video for "Heavy Metal" has not been "officially released" due to legal problems. Apparently, there are a number of "unofficial" copies around -- check with science-fiction movie fans for how to find copies (editor's comment, people who read "rec.arts.sf.movies" may know where to get copies, and tape dealers who advertise in science fiction magazines or Goldmine might know where copies are available -- my disclaimer about BOC live recordings also applies to obtaining "unofficial" copies of videos as well). However, the soundtrack was finally officially released on CD in April of 1995. Other Releases of BOC Music --------------------------- There have been a number of BOC singles released. In addition, a few BOC songs (most notably, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Godzilla", and "Burnin' For You") have appeared on compilation albums of various artists. Most of these songs, along with the "b-sides" of the singles, are as they appeared on the BOC album on which they were released. There are, however, some notable exceptions: "Buck's Boogie" -- As mentioned in the discography, the version of this song from the *Blue Oyster Cult - Live NY '72* import live recording can be found on a compilation album of various artists entitled, *The Guitars That Destroyed The World*, released in the early 70's. On this release, the song was erroneously credited to S. Pearlman, E. Bloom, and A. Bouchard. The song was in fact written by A. Bouchard and D. Roeser. "Godzilla" (from *Spectres*) -- A 12" single (Columbia 3-10725, 1977 promo) of this song was produced with the studio version on one side, and a live version (that is not the version found on either *Some Enchanted Evening* or *Extraterrestrial Live*) on the other side. "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" (from *Some Enchanted Evening*) -- A "b-side" of this single contains a live version of "Stairway To The Stars" that was recorded at Commack New York on 6/8/75. "Born To Be Wild" -- A French CBS sampler entitled, *Hard Rock* contains the studio version of this song, which also appears on the *(Don't Fear) The Reaper* compilation tape. Also, a compilation album of various artists entitled, *Guitar Wars*, released in 1982, contains a live version of this song that was recorded at Poughkeepsie New York on 2/11/80. "Burnin' For You" (from *Fire Of Unknown Origin*) -- The "b-side" of a 12" single (U.K. Release) of this song contains live versions of "Dr. Music" (recorded at Nassau Coliseum, NY, 10/17/80) and "Flaming Telepaths" (recorded at Bonds International Casino, NY, 6/16/81) - neither of these live versions are found on other domestic BOC albums. However, this version of "Dr. Music" can be found on the *Black And Blue* video, and this version of "Flaming Telepaths" can be found on the *The Thing!* recording. "Shooting Shark" (from *The Revolution By Night*) -- A 12" single of this song was produced with an extended version on one side. "Astronomy" (from *Imaginos*) -- There are 4 versions of this song on a promo CD single, two long and two short versions of the song (the long version appears on *Imaginos*). Two of the versions (one long, one short) have a spoken intro by horror author Stephen King. The spoken intro is from the Imaginos liner notes: "Imaginos (performed by Blue Oyster Cult) - A bedtime story for the children of the damned. From a dream world, paralleling our earth in time and space, the invisible ones have sent an agent who will dream the dream of history. With limitless power he becomes the greatest actor of the 19th century. Taking on many ingenious disguises, he places himself at pivotal junctures in history, continually altering its course and testing our ability to respond to the challenge of evil. His name is 'Imaginos'". There's also a UK 12" single of "Astronomy" with the King mix on side two. Side one is a re- mixed dance-oriented "Astronomy (Wild Mix)" that has more of Albert's original vocal thrown in. "In The Presence Of Another World" (from *Imaginos*) -- There are 2 versions of this song on a promo CD single. The first version is the album version. The second version is an edited version which ends by fading out during the "Your master" coda section, without the added spoken vocals. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" -- *Guitar* magazine put out a series of compilation albums called "Guitar's Practicing Musicians". These albums contain various jam sessions, re-worked songs, or musical experiments by various guitarists. This song appears on Volume I of the series (released in 1994). The liner notes for the song are as follows: Buck Dharma DON'T FEAR THE REAPER (Donald Roeser) SONY Music Inc. / BMI Buck Dharma: Guitars and Vocals Chuck Burgi: Drums Produced By Buck Dharma. Drums recorded by Bob Acquaviva at Acqrock Studios. All guitars and vocals recorded by Will Russell at Electric Wilburland. Mixed by Jeff Kawalek at Saul'Zattic. EQUIPMENT: Steinberger GM-7 guitars with LaBella Strings, Musicman Stingray Bass, Mesa Boogie Mark IV amp, Marshall 4X10 cab, Martin acoustic. I played a similar version of the "Reaper" live in a pop/rock trio called The Red and The Black that existed in 1990. John Stix suggested that I do that version for this disk, so I recorded Chuck Burgi's drums against a scratch electric guitar. We played a tempo map in Vision synced to a time code on tape. The last half of the tune was recorded first. Then the Martin acoustic and "unplugged" vocals of the first half were recorded. The background vocals were sung to a rough mix on a separate piece of tape, then mixed to stereo and sampled into my Ensoniq ASR-10, which was then sequenced to the master 16trk tape. "Gamera Is Missing" -- *Guitar* magazine put out a series of compilation albums called "Guitar's Practicing Musicians". These albums contain various jam sessions, re-worked songs, or musical experiments by various guitarists. This song appears on Volume III of the series (released in 1989). The liner notes for the song are as follows: GAMERA IS MISSING / Buck Dharma (3:21) Buck Dharma : All instruments except drums Ron Riddle : Drums Equipment: Steinberger GM5, recorded direct through Chandler Tube Driver and Groove Tubes Preamp. Composed by Buck Dharma (c) 1989 Triceratops Music Inc. (ASCAP) Produced & recorded by Buck Dharma at his home studio, on an Akat (sic) 1214 (note: probably an Akai). Mixed by Buck Dharma at Masterview Soundcrafts, with Peter Kirk Hopper engineer. All computer editing and post production by Buck Dharma. Buck Dharma, a master of melodic rock phrasing, has been at the lead guitar helm of Blue Oyster Cult throughout its whole 14 album career. His "Gamera Is Missing" shows off all the fire and finesse that defined the blues based players who grew up feeding on the influence of early Clapton, Hendrix and Beck. Other BOC Contributions -- Most of the following information was provided by Melne Murphy of the BOC Fan Club, which appeared in an article in the fan club's newsletter, "Morning Final". Additional information was provided by Bolle Gregmar and Albert Bouchard. Buck played lead guitar on three songs on the Kasim Sulton (former bassist for Utopia, and keyboardist for Meatloaf) album, *Kasim* in 1982. He also played lead guitar for the Blotto song (and video), "Metalhead" (released in the early 80's on the *Combo Akimbo* album). Buck can also be found on one of "The Source" radio show albums jamming with the Pat Travers Band to Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" (in addition, Buck introduced Pat Travers at that show). Buck may also have been credited as playing on an album by Shakin' Street. Eric sang as a backing vocalist on Ian Hunter's 1979 album, *You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic*. Eric was also briefly involved with Ritchie Cannata in the B.C. project -- they recorded a few demos, including "Eyes of Fire" with some of Cannata's musicians doing the session work. In 1985, both Eric (vocal) and Buck (guitar) appeared on the song "Stars" for the Hear 'n Aid project -- the project, organized by Ronnie James Dio, was a heavy-metal version of previous projects (most notably, the "We Are The World" and "Live Aid" projects) to raise money for world famine relief projects. Allen wrote several songs with Jim Carroll (who also co-wrote "Perfect Water" on *Club Ninja*). One of them, "Day and Night", appears on Carroll's first album, *Catholic Boy*. Another Lanier/Carroll collaboration, "Dance the Night Away" (originally intended for *Agents Of Fortune*, but was rejected), appears on Carroll's, *I Write Your Name*. Allen's contributions can also be found on most of Patti Smith's albums, and on John Cale's album, *Music For a New Society*. In addition, Allen was used often by Sandy Pearlman as a studio musician in the 70's, playing on albums by the Dictators, Shakin' Street, Pavlov's Dog, and The Clash -- not all of these appearances are credited. After leaving BOC, Joe Bouchard joined ex-Alice Cooper members Neal Smith and Dennis Dunaway (who worked with Buck Dharma on *Flat Out*) in the band, "Deadringer". Joe plays keyboards on the band's album, *Electrocution Of The Heart* (which contained a Buck Dharma tune entitled, "Summa Cum Laude" that was titled "Summa Cum Loud" on the album) on the Grudge record label. Joe has also produced albums for Helen Wheels, and the Long Island band Empyre. Albert Bouchard performed on Tom Paxon's 1968 album, *The Things I Notice Now*, and has produced albums, singles, or demos for David Roter, Heads Up, Helen Wheels, Maria Excommunikata, Kablamachunk, Women In Love, and Faith. Albert's song "Adopt Me" appeared on David Roter's 1986 *Bambo* album (along with versions of "Joan Crawford" and "Unknown Tongue"). Also on that album is a David Roter/Jack Rigg song called "Il Duce", which was recorded by BOC with Buck singing the lead vocal. For Roter's *Bambo* album, this recording was used, although Buck's lead vocal was replaced by Roter, and a keyboard part was added. Albert, along with Deborah Frost, produced The Brain Surgeons' albums. In addition, Albert plays a guitar part, and Joe Bouchard plays acoustic piano, on a cover of BOC's "Dominance And Submission", for Mike Watt's (former bass player for punk bands The Minutemen and fIREHOSE) first solo album -- note that although the song did not make it onto Watt's *Ball-Hog or Tug Boat* CD, a CD-5 is planned for release with this track. Albert also sings background vocals on Gumball's cover of BOC's "She's As Beautiful As A Foot" (which can be found on Gumball's *Revolution On Ice* album). The Brain Surgeons (Albert and Deborah, with Joe Bouchard as well) have a song on the Minutemen tribute album, *Our Band Could Be Your Life: A tribute to D. Boon and the Minutemen* -- the song, "Tour Spiel", is significant in that it was originally written by the Minutemen to pay tribute to BOC. Les Braunstein (original Soft White Underbelly vocalist) has an appearance on vinyl. Buck, Albert and John Trivers helped him record three songs in 1973. Les eventually unearthed the demo, added a violinist to the song, "Dead House", re-worked the vocals and changed the title to "Dark Angel", which was released as a single in 1979 on the Mega Toons label. Song References --------------- Altamont, which is referred to in the song, "Transmaniacon MC" (the "MC" standing for "motorcycle club"), refers to a festival in 1970 at Altamont (a racetrack in California). The festival was supposed to be another Woodstock. The Rolling Stones were the main act, and they controversially hired the Hells Angels as security. Apparently The Stones had used the British Hell's Angels as security in the past, and assumed that the California Hell's Angels would be the same. There was mayhem during the Stones' set, and the Angels stabbed one member of the audience to death (right in front of a camera), although the stabbed man was apparently holding a gun. Either during this incident, or right afterwards, The Stones played the song, "Sympathy For The Devil". The incident is documented in the concert movie, "Gimme Shelter". In typically overblown style, journalists have dubbed that show "the night rock-n-roll lost its innocence." The "Transmaniacon MC", according to Al Bouchard, are a mythical group that Sandy Pearlman invented called "the Los Maniacos Bus Boy Club" which was supposed to conjure up a picture of insane Mexican waiters that have a musical group. According to Buck Dharma, "(Then Came The) Last Days Of May" is the true story of three collegiate drug dealers who went to Tucson to score for the fall semester. They were ripped off and shot. While two of the guys died, the other survived to testify against the perpetrators, who were two young men from a notorious wealthy local family. They apparently served about ten years in prison before being released. According to Buck Dharma, "Harvester Of Eyes" is about former U.S. Supreme Court justice Abe Fortas. The following is from Compuserve's American Academic Encyclopedia: Abe Fortas, b. Memphis, Tenn., June 19, 1910, d. Apr. 5, 1982, was a prominent Washington, D. C., attorney and presidential advisor when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1965. Johnson's subsequent nomination of Fortas as chief justice was blocked by Senate foes of his activist stand on civil liberties, and the nomination was caught up in a clash between the executive and legislative branches. In 1969, following charges of questionable ethics and conflict of interest, Fortas resigned from the Court. His arguments in GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT (1962) established the right of the poor to legal counsel. What's all that got to do with "Harvester Of Eyes"? Not much. However, it was Fortas' senate nomination hearings which inspired Richard Meltzer to write the song's lyrics. When Fortas' avoidance of service in World War II was questioned, he responded that he had ocular tuberculosis -- which inspired the lyric, "I'm the eye-man of TV, with my ocular TB". The BOC Fanclub newsletter "Morning Final" (issue #12), provides insight into the meaning of several songs on *Secret Treaties*. "Harvester of Eyes" and "ME-262" have already been mentioned. The song, "Dominance And Submission" is the true story of an automobile ride taken with Suzy and her brother ("Charles the grinning boy"), in which some unexpected sexual actions were suggested. "Morning Final #12" does not say who was put "in the backseat" and taken "for a ride". "Flaming Telepaths" refers to experimental drug use. "Astronomy" refers to Suzy, who at the time was very experimental and sexually aware. The song has its roots in a lesbian encounter, and the reaction to it. The line, "when prophecy fails, the falling notion" in the song, "E.T.I." may have been inspired by the book, "When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World", by Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken and Stanley Schacter (a classic psychology text). The line "three men in black said, 'Don't report this . . .", also in "E.T.I." may have been inspired by the "The Men In Black Report" by Kurt Glemser (Galaxy Press). The book discusses UFO sightings and Men in Black (usually 3), that would visit UFO witnesses, warning them not to divulge what they had seen. Finally, the name "Balthazar", mentioned in "E.T.I." is the name of one of the three kings/wise-men/astrologers in the Bible who visited Jesus Christ soon after his birth -- the other two were named Melchor and Kaspar. Perhaps "E.T.I." is suggesting that Jesus Christ was brought to earth, or at least visited by, aliens. There is a real book entitled, *The King in Yellow* (referred to in the song, "Extra Terrestrial Intelligence"), written by Robert W. Chambers, published in 1895. The book is believed to be out of print, with its last known publication being a 1965 Ace Science Fiction Classics edition. It is a collection of short stories, several of which mention an imaginary book (play) entitled "The King in Yellow". Like various tomes mentioned in Lovecraft, this (non-existent) play has detrimental effects on the sanity of readers. From *The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction* (by John Clute and Peter Nicholls): "The eponymous "King in Yellow" is not a person, but a verse play in book form, which... drives its readers to despair, madness and even suicide. Of the four *King in Yellow* tales in the book, 'The Repairer of Reputations' is of particular interest, being set in 1920, after a war, in a USA that has legalized suicide." The book, *The King in Yellow* also contains a story entitled, "The Street of The Four Winds". It is not clear whether or not this inspired the reference to the four winds bar in the song, "Astronomy". However, the song does not appear connected with the story in any other way. The line "24th of May" in the song, "The Revenge Of Vera Gemini" refers to Albert Bouchard's birthday. Coincidentally, that day is also the birthday of England's Queen Victoria, which is referred to in the Rush song, "Lakeside Park" -- "Everyone would gather on the twenty fourth of May, Sitting in the sand to watch the fireworks display". The initials "R.U.R." from the song, "R. U. Ready 2 Rock" were a tribute to the K. Capek play, "Rossum's Universal Robots". This play is cited as having the first appearance of the term "robot" in science fiction literature. It is a popular misconception that the song, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is about suicide. The line "Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity" refers to William Shakespeare's characters Romeo and Juliet, who were young lovers that had each committed suicide. The song tells a woman not to fear death (in the first 2 verses), and then tells that she does die with no fear (in the 3rd verse). Opinions as to the true meaning of this song are mixed -- some believe that it merely advocates not to fear the coming of death as it is part of the cycles of nature ("Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor do the wind and the sun and the rain"), while others (including anti-rock zealots) claim that BOC is advocating suicide (Editor's Comment: Yeah, and in "Godzilla" BOC is advocating that a big radioactive dinosaur stomp all over Tokyo too.). Albert Bouchard says that he heard Buck say many times that the song was not about suicide, but merely about not fearing death. Finally, Bolle Gregmar says that Buck actually wrote the lyrics to "The Reaper" during a time when he thought he was dying, and the lyrics were Buck's way of saying that we should waste our time worrying about dying because it is inevitable. The song, "Godzilla" refers to the Americanized name of the Japanese movie monster, "Gojira". Gojira (the name is a portmanteau from "gorilla" and "Kujira" (whale)) is a dinosaur which was released from millions of years of hibernation by atomic testing in the Pacific Ocean. The beast became mutated by the radiation, to the point where he is now radioactive (able to project this radioactivity via his breath). The original Godzilla movie was released in Japan in 1954, less than a decade after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan. While Godzilla was originally an evil being, he became somewhat of a folk hero in Japan, starring in over 15 movies, becoming a friend to humanity after about the 4th one (in more recent movies, since about 1984, Godzilla has gone back to being more of a "bad guy"). According to Bolle Gregmar, Toho, the filmaker of the Godzilla movies (to whom BOC had to pay royalties to use the name on the song) will soon be releasing their final Godzilla movie. The song, "Golden Age Of Leather" refers to a futuristic vision when motorcycles are a thing of the past, with a biker gang getting together for "one last night together", as the lyric says. Fortunately for bikers, this vision has not come to fulfillment. Several BOC songs refer to vampires. "Nosferatu" is a re-working of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". In the original silent version of Nosferatu, the captain's log can be seen to include the lines "Rats in the hold. My crew is dead. I fear the plague" - these lines are used in the song. Other BOC songs which refer to vampires include "Screams", "Wings Wetted Down", "Morning Final", "Moon Crazy", and "Light Years Of Love". Looks like Joe Bouchard was really into vampires . . . Buck also wrote a song, "I Love The Night", which appears to tell the tale of a man's meeting with a female vampire. "The Great Sun Jester", co-authored by Michael Moorcock, is mentioned in two of his novels: "The Fireclown" (a line from the song), and "The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming" (this latter has recently been included in a collection of Moorcock's stories under the title "Constant Fire" - the collection itself is called "Behold the Man and other stories"). Perhaps coincidental, but in "The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming" (titled "Messiah at the End of Time" in the U.S.), the character who appears claiming to be the Fire Clown states one of his many names as Emmanuel Bloom (E. Bloom - co-author of "The Great Sun Jester"?). Another song co-authored by Michael Moorcock, "Black Blade" refers to Elric the albino king, featured prominently in several Moorcock stories (e.g. "Elric of Melnibone Theta", "Stormbringer"). The title of the song, "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" (also co-authored by Moorcock) was probably inspired by Moorcock's "The Dragon in the Sword" -- "We are the lost, we are the last, we are the unkind. We are the Warriors at the Edge of Time. We are the cold, the halt, the deaf, the blind. Fate's frozen forces, veterans of the psychic wars..." (from "The Dragon in the Sword", p.68.) The line "Jim says some destinies should not be delivered", in the song "In Thee" refers to Jim Carroll. As previously mentioned, Jim Carroll and Allen Lanier collaborated on several songs, including the song "Day And Night", which appeared on Carroll's *Catholic Boy* album. The song contains the line..."Some destinies, they should not be delivered" The song "Lips In The Hills" may refer to an incident in July of 1947 known as "The Roswell Incident". Supposedly, a UFO crashed in the hills in or near Roswell, New Mexico, although this was denied/covered- up by the U.S. Air Force (originally saying it was a weather balloon). Many people in the area at the time supposedly saw/heard strange things going on right before the crash. The USAF recently released a report on the incident, revealing that the "UFO" was part of a secret government program, known as Project Mogul, to spy on the Soviet Union's nuclear weapon development. High-altitude balloons were equipped with special sensors and radar reflectors to detect atomic testing, but the project was canceled, with the balloons being allowed to fall back to earth. It is likely that flying saucer enthusiasts will remain skeptical of the USAF's report. The lyrics to the song, "Heavy Metal: The Black And Silver" were inspired by the 1977 book, *The Iron Sun: Crossing The Universe Through Black Holes*, by Adrian Berry. Several of the lyrics to the first verse are derived from chapter titles of the book. The chapters to Part One (Through the Black Hole) are titled as follows: (1) Where Matter Vanishes, (2) The Spinning Gateway, (3) Into the Whirlpool, and (4) The Forbidden Circle. Part Two (The Iron Sun) begins with (1) The Arm of Orion. The song, "Joan Crawford" refers to the famous actress of the same name. The deceased Crawford's daughter, Christina, wrote a book, which later became a movie, entitled, "Mommie Dearest". The book/movie paints a rather unflattering picture of the actress as an abusive mother. The song refers to Joan coming back from the grave to haunt Christina. The song "Deadline" is rumored to be based on the true story of an old band member or acquaintance, who was murdered by the Mafia. The UK music paper "Sounds" made mention (probably in the late 60s) that the original singer with BOC was shot in the head in a gambling incident. While it is not sure who this may refer to, Les Braunstein reports he doesn't know anything about it. The song "Divine Wind" was written by BOC as an "Anti-Iran" song. During the time the song came out, Iran had been holding U.S. citizens hostage for many months. The lyric, "If he really thinks we're the devil, then let's send him to hell" refers to the Ayatollah Khomeni calling the U.S. "The Great Satan". When BOC performed this song in concert, roadie Joe Lauro, wearing an Ayatollah mask, played guitar on stage with the band. The line "27 faces, with their eyes turned to the sky" from "The Vigil" may refer to the VLA (Very Large Array), a set of 27 radio telescopes (there actually is a 28th, but it only gets used as a backup if one of the 27 fails). The site, located in New Mexico (near Socorro), was completed right about the time *Mirrors* was released. There are a few books with the words, "Stairway To The Stars" in the title. One is a book ("Stairway To The Stars: The Story of The World's Largest Observatory") about the Mauna Kea observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii. Another ("Stairway to the Stars: Achievement Program") was written by the Assembly of God as part of its ministry to women. Another ("Stairway to the Stars : Colorado's Argentine Central Railway") is about a railway in Colorado. The song, "Stairway To The Stars", however, does not appear to have inspired any of these, or have been inspired by them (especially since they were published after the song was on a BOC album). The song "The Marshall Plan" details the story of a teenager who loses his girlfriend at a rock concert to the band, and, inspired by the experience, becomes a rock star himself. While of the same name, the song is not otherwise related to the "Marshall Plan", which was a program of economic aid for the reconstruction of post WWII Europe. The song, "Your Loving Heart" on Buck Dharma's 1982 solo album tells the story of a person who is dying because he needs a new heart, and a "young woman" who loves him (presumably his wife) gets into a car accident (presumably suicide) and her heart is used to save him. Twelve years later, something strikingly similar happened in real life. The Associated Press reported of a real-life occurrence of such a scenario (August, 1994): ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) -- A 58 year old man who had been waiting four years for a heart transplant finally got one -- from his own daughter, who was killed in a car wreck. Chester Szuber received the heart Monday from his 22-year-old daughter, Patti, officials at William Beaumont Hospital said Thursday. She was killed in a traffic accident a week ago in Knoxville, Tenn. Editor's Note: I am not trying to in any way imply that Patti Szuber's car accident was a suicide References To BOC ----------------- There exists a science-fiction novel, entitled, *Transmaniacon* (published 1979 by Kensington Pub. Corp., ISBN: 0890834172), written by John Shirley (who is writing some lyrics for the band these days). The following description was provided by Ken Alexander to BOC-L: Description: this is a post-apocalypse science fiction novel, containing a huge amount of references from early Blue Oyster Cult albums. References include the Transmaniacon Motorcycle Club, Dominance and Submission, the BOC symbol, "not talking about the light up above, I'm talking about the hellfire down below", the light that never warms, Lucifer, Career of Evil, and many more. The story reads like a schlock SF post-holocaust movie. You can almost smell the bad special effects, complete with gratuitous gore. Our too-powerful (anti?)hero travels between cities in what is left of the USA, with an eventual goal of destroying the impenetrable barrier that now surrounds it. Strange cults, cities of dolphins, beasts of burden that are giant genetically- engineered human hands, a 700-year-old Luciferage Rofocale... Front cover: "Destined to become a major new voice in science fiction." -Robert Silverberg T R A N S - M A N I A C O N by John Shirley [guy standing in front of fiery orange desolate landscape] Copyright page: To The Blue Oyster Cult & Patti Smith & Leslie Fielder & Aleister Crowley & not necessarily in that "Order." (c)1979 First Printing: January 1979 Back Cover: Ben Rackey Foremost Professional Irritant, remarkable in acting both as burglar and inciter in the bizarre and pleasure-seeking world of the 22nd century is a fearless, ruthless man of ingenuity, completely overwhelmed with his own strength. His latest and most dangerous assignment is to steal The Exciter A dangerous and fragile device for the augmentation of the telepathic transfer of mania. By seeking out and amplifying strong, hostile human emotions, the exciter can turn a street brawl into a raging mob and a border skirmish into a full-scale war. As soon as Ben has possession of it he will have the power to destroy The Barrier Conceived as the perfect defense against nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare, it was activated in 1989 -- an invisible screen of densely flowing ions entirely enclosing the continental zone labeled "The United States." Once the barrier is demolished Ben can escape TRANS MANIACON The dangerous, grotesque, amoral world beyond the farthest reaches of chaos! John Shirley has also written the following: "A Splendid Chaos", "Cellars", In Darkness Waiting", "City Come a Walkin'", "Dracula In Love", "A Song Called Youth" (a trilogy including "Eclipse", "Eclipse Penumbra", and "Eclipse Corona"), "Wetbones" (most recent novel), "New Noir", and "Shock Rock" (which contains a short story entitled "Flaming Telepaths"). Some of these titles are no longer in print. A comic book entitled "The Sandman" (written by Neil Gaiman), contains a character called 'The Corinthian', which may possibly be based on the song, "Harvester Of Eyes". He is of medium build (well built), has white hair, and wears sunglasses to hide the fact that his eyes are actually small mouths which he uses to eat out people's eyes with ("right in front to the back of your skull"). Neil Gaiman has also written a novel, "Good Omens", which contains a BOC reference. The plot contains a freeway junction which has, through careful manipulation by a demon, been developed to act as a huge unholy rune which does something very bad when empowered. This seems to fit with lyrics in the song, "Shadow Of California". References to Blue Oyster Cult songs are sprinkled throughout the "Xenogenesis: Day of the Demons" storyline in Marvel's "The Defenders" comic. The issues are Vol.1, 58-60 dated April, May and June 1978. The story is by David Anthony Kraft and the first comic in the trilogy is "Dedicated to Eric Bloom and BOC!". The issues are entitled Agents of Fortune", "Tyranny and Mutation", and "The Revenge of Vera Gemini!". In the comics, a former Reaper of Souls, the Defenders (Valkyre, Nighthawk, Hellcat and the Hulk), and Dr. Strange fight to stop the cult of the Harvester of Eyes, an Agent of Fortune, and Vera Gemini from releasing demons upon the Earth. The Agent of Fortune steals an "omniscient amulet" called the "Eye of Agamotto" that can be used to breach the barrier between the "demon dimension" and the Earth. More detail would give too much away, but the Cult boys themselves even appear in a few frames of issue # 60, playing a "game of Dominance and Submission" with Vera Gemini. (Editor's Note: Special thanks go out to Mark Mitchum for researching and providing this reference) Speaking of comics, in one of the 1995 issues of "Sports Illustrated For Kids", the comic "Hedley Case" contains a BOC reference. One of the characters in the strip is seen playing a guitar. There are lyrics floating in the air behind him, blaring from the speakers of a stereo. These lyrics, from the song "Before The Kiss, A Redcap" appear: "Outside on the turnpike they've got this new hit tune..." (and in the next square) "The thrills become as cheap as gas and gas as cheap as thrills..." (Editor's Note: Special thanks go out to Chuck Rosenberg for researching and providing this reference) In 1995, some folks on BOC-L spotted a BOC reference in a Mercedes- Benz commercial. The commercial asked the viewer if they remembered various dreams they once had (saying, "You were gonna . . ."), implying that you could achieve your dream of owning a Mercedes. The last "dream" mentioned was: "You were gonna learn bar chords, and jam with Blue Oyster Cult." Mercedes-Benz did get permission from the band to use their name in the ad. Eric Bloom reports, "What did we get for it? Well, I can't really say, but if you see a guy with a beard and sunglasses on the Long Island Expressway driving a new C220 . . ." Hidden Messages --------------- The song, "You're Not The One (I Was Looking For)" (from *Mirrors*) contains the lyric, "All of the fancy ladies, oh they could talk, and talk", after which a few seconds of high-pitched "babbling" can be heard. The "babbling" is actually some spoken words speeded up -- by slowing down the section, a portion of the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father, who art in Heaven"), repeated over and over, can be clearly heard. Some anti-rock religious zealots have claimed that the spoken words are actually, "Furthermore, our father who art in heaven . . . Satan", however there is a loud thump where the word "Satan" is, and (in the editor's opinion, who once heard this as presented by some anti-rock religious zealots) can not be clearly made out. On *Cultosaurus Erectus*, at the very end of the song, "Black Blade", as it is fading out, the "voice of the Black Blade" can be heard to say, "You poor fucking humans". This is in the overlap between the fadeout of the song and the explosions that kick off "Monsters" (the next track). It may help to use headphones and turn the volume up as the song is fading out to hear this, but it's not necessary - once you know what to listen for, it's not too hard to pick it out. (WARNING - If you do use this method to hear this, make sure you turn it back down before the first notes of the next track, "Monsters" begins!). This is not on the version of "Black Blade" on *Extraterrestrial Live* (which does not fade out). On *Flat Out* (Buck Dharma's solo album), there is a "backwards" recording after one of the songs. Presumably this was done as a joke as during the time that the album was released (early 80's), lots of rock groups were being accused by religious zealots that their lyrics contains satanic messages recorded backwards. The actual recording is of two people playing ping pong, and discussing some things about the album (nothing satanic). The Fan Club lyric book titles this song Gnop Gnip (ping pong spelled backwards) and gives the following. You have to read it backwards though: > > haeeY > kcehc dnuos a rof tsuj si siht wonk I tub ass yruoy kcik dluoc I > hoo-hoO > cisum lavitsef mlif hu nevele lennahC > eb ot desu cisum nevele lennahc eht wonk'y ekil sdnuos tI > taht ekil gnihtemos ro evif songnoB > dellac ti s'tahw...hu, sognob, haey hO > sognob oeretS > drocer ognob oerets ylraE > ognod a evah I, evah I Black and Blue, and Other Videos -------------------------------- In the early 80's ("Cultosaurus Erectus" tour), BOC toured with Black Sabbath on a "Black and Blue" tour. A video was released of the concert on 10/17/80 at Nassau Coliseum, New York. A Japanese version (complete with subtitles) is available through various video distributors (see Goldmine or Discoveries for video dealers - it's probably not available at your local video stores). The video switches back an forth between the two bands every 3-4 songs. The video also contains a video of "The Marshall Plan" (studio version of the song), where a clean-shaven Eric Bloom plays the part of Johnny. According to Bolle Gregmar, the video is only available commercially on laserdisc. However, copies on video cassette can be found. There is a video of the *Live 1976* performance (same title). It contains all the songs on the album, plus "E.T.I.". Actually, it was never intended as a "video", and was actually shot live at the Capital Center (Largo, Maryland) in 1976 and projected on large screens at the show (a common practice at the Capital Center - somewhat ahead of it's time in 1976). Someone kept a copy of the footage, and turned it into a video. When BOC performed at the Capital Center again in 1978, again video on large screens was used, but the film was apparently not kept. The sound quality of the video has been sharply criticized -- the "quality" is good, but it is very poorly mixed. This same poor mix appears on the *Live 1976* CD as well. Sound quality aside, the video quality is quite good, and captures the band on its *Agents Of Fortune* tour, complete with lasers, individual solos, and a 5-man guitar jam. While not an official video, many people made video copies of a broadcast of a BOC show on 10/9/81 in Hollywood, Florida. The broadcast, which was part of the "Blue Jean Network", was simulcast on MTV and other TV stations, as well as several radio stations. Many of the songs at this show were used for the *Extraterrestrial Live* album. Videos for the following songs have been made: "The Marshall Plan", "Burnin' For You", "Joan Crawford" (which MTV apparently found too controversial to show), Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" (live, from *Extraterrestrial Live*), "Roadhouse Blues" (live video of the band at the Country Club in Reseda, CA on 12/15/81, with Robbie Krieger), "Born To Rock", "Your Loving Heart", "Take Me Away", "Shooting Shark", and "Dancin' In The Ruins". A version of "Godzilla" (live shots of the band, interspersed with clips from various Godzilla movies) may also exist. A video for "Astronomy" (from *Imaginos*) was also made, but never released in the U.S. In addition to the above videos, BOC made a promotional video 3-pack of songs from *Mirrors* ("Mirrors", "In Thee", "The Great Sun Jester"), and a promotional live video of 4 songs ("R. U. Ready 2 Rock", "Godzilla", "Born To Be Wild", "(Don't Fear) The Reaper") from their 12/30/77 show in Cobo Hall, Detroit Michigan. While not a BOC video, the movie, "The Stoned Age", contains lots of references to BOC. The movie, which might be considered rather funny or rather stupid, depending on your point of view, sort of pays homage to sex, drugs, and rock and roll in the 70's. The lead character, a youth named Joe, is a big BOC fan, who rides around with his buddy Hubbs in search of the ultimate good time. The car they drive, named "The Blue Torpedo", has a big BOC logo on the hood. Joe, who was hit by BOC's lasers during a performance of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (a "pussy song" according to Hubbs), has been having visions of a giant "gnarly eyeball". During the film, Joe and Hubbs basically spend their time getting wasted, and trying pick-up girls to party with. Aside from about minutes worth of live footage of BOC playing "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (when Joe is hit by the lasers), there lots of BOC references in the film. One of the girls wears a BOC tour shirt with the *Tyranny And Mutation" cover on it. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper is played a few times, as well as "Burnin' For You". The use of "Burnin' For You" is erroneous for the time depicted in the movie (mid to late 70's, when BOC used lasers in concert) as this song came out in 1981. Bolle Gregmar, Melne Murphy, and The Museum of Cult are mentioned in the credits, as Bolle served as the BOC advisor. Finally, Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma have a cameo appearance as bootleg t-shirt salesmen in the trailer after the credits roll. Finally, the versions of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Burnin' For You" are the versions off of *Cult Classic* (no doubt to avoid legal issues with Columbia, although CBS records is credited as providing the BOC concert footage). 6. Three Men in Black Said, "Don't Report This" -- Other Sources Of Info Bolle Gregmar -- BOC/Brain Surgeons Fan Clubs --------------------------------------------- Bolle Gregmar (who has personally known the band since around 1975) is listed on both BOC's *Cult Classic*, and The Brain Surgeon's albums as the person to write to for fan club information. Bolle is also the proprietor of "The Museum of Cult", where BOC fans from all over the world go to see and hear the most complete collection of BOC music, information, and memorabilia. Also involved in running the fan club is Melne Murphy, most famous as the artist responsible for the cover of *Cult Classic*. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the following address for more information: P.O. Box 931324 Los Angeles, CA 90093 The BOC Fan Club had been "dormant" during 1994, after having published 10 issues of the fan club's newsletter, "Morning Final" during the 1990 - 1993 timeframe. However, the fan club is back in full swing, having released "Morning Final #11" and MF #12 in 1995. At least two more issues are planned for the near future. Editor's note: If you, like me, were not in the fan club when MF 1-10 were released, fear not. The fan club plans to create a compilation of all the information in MF 1-10 (with the exception of time-expired events, like tour dates), and make it available to fan club members in the future. With permission, the FAQ will be updated in the future based on information in this compilation. In addition, the fan club can be reached by e-mail. Questions can be directed to the following e-mail address: BOCfanclub@aol.com Ben Cohen -- The BOC/Hawkwind E-Mail List (BOC-L) ------------------------------------------------- For those with internet access, there is an E-Mail discussion group (moderated by Ben Cohen) dedicated to discussing the bands Blue Oyster Cult and Hawkwind (since both bands have many similarities). To join the list, E-Mail a subscription request to the following address: boc-request@listserv.spc.edu Editor's Note: The subscription request address (well, the old address -- BOC-L has been upgraded since then) is listed on the Brain Surgeons' album, *Trepanation*, so you know this is a great group to be a part of. You should receive an introductory file, after which you must confirm that you want to sign up. Once added to the list, you will receive all posts to the list. Why does this discussion group handle both BOC and Hawkwind? Well, there are several similarities between the groups. Both groups have relatively small, but loyal (and somewhat rabid) followings. Both groups play a similar style of music, and have been around for years. The music of both groups is heavily drawn-from science-fiction/fantasy themes. In addition, 3 of BOC's tunes ("The Great Sun Jester", "Black Blade", "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars") were co-written by Hawkwind member Michael Moorcock. As an interesting aside, Eric Bloom and Michael Moorcock once performed "Black Blade" and "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" together at a 1987 science fiction convention. Albert Bouchard and Deborah Frost -- The Brain Surgeons ------------------------------------------------------- Former BOC drummer Albert Bouchard, and his wife Deborah Frost, now both with The Brain Surgeons, are members of the BOC/Hawkwind E-Mail list. Members of BOC-L can reach them via the list. If you are interested in obtaining *Eponymous* or *Trepanation* (and can't find it in your local record store), or information regarding The Brain Surgeons, write to: Cellsum, P.O. Box 1070 Fort George Station New York, N.Y. 10040 BOC on AOL ---------- Subscribers to "America On-Line" may be able to hear from the band directly as Eric Bloom often participates on some of the "chat" sessions there (usually on a monthly basis). In addition, Bolle Gregmar, Melne Murphy, Albert Bouchard, Deborah Frost, and others regularly participate in BOC discussions on AOL as well. An AOL user can locate the Blue Oyster Cult folder in the "Music Message Center" (Keyword "MMC"). Select the "Rock/Pop" category, then select "Rock Artists A-L (n/s)." The (n/s) stands for non-scrolling. In addition, there is a folder set up for "Soft White Underbelly" where a few hardcore fans (including Bolle Gregmar and Melne Murphy, and former Soft White Underbelly vocalist Les Braunstein) also participate in electronic dialog. Select the "Rock/Pop" category, then select "Classic Rock" to find it. Other On-Line Sources --------------------- Discussions on BOC occasionally appear on some of the internet newsgroups. There is now an "official" BOC internet newsgroup, called "alt.music.blueoystercult". BOC discussion may also occasionally appear on "alt.rock-n-roll", and "alt.rock-n-roll.classic". There is also a Blue Oyster Cult board on Prodigy. Prodigy subscribers can access the board in the following manner: "jump" music1 bb select "rock music a-k" from the select topics window click on the "Blue Oyster Cult" subject As previously mentioned, this FAQ, and other BOC-related things, can be accessed on the World Wide Web. The following is a list of pages known to the editor which contain BOC-related info, or other stuff that he thinks would be of interest to BOC fans (Editor's note: if you find a new page, let me know). These links are graded by the editor based on his own opinion of the page as follows: "HOT" -- Essential (if you've got WWW access, make this one a bookmark). "COOL" -- Interesting, may contain non-BOC stuff. "LUKEWARM" -- Under construction, or contains mostly information that can be found elsewhere, but is worth checking out. Editor's note: In my opinion, ALL these sites are worth checking out, regardless of how I rated them. http://polyphemus.engin.umich.edu/boc-l/ (archive of BOC and Hawkwind information -- one of the first links with BOC info on it, and the first to carry the FAQ -- contains links to other BOC sites) -- HOT http://www.clark.net/pub/mileskb (page completely dedicated to BOC -- latest news on the band from recent BOC chats on AOL, including fairly up-to-date tour information, and links to other BOC sites) -- HOT http://pages.prodigy.com/PA/robo/robo1.html (page completely dedicated to BOC -- provides a forum for tape traders, information posted from other internet sources like BOC-L and AOL, as well as links to other BOC sites) -- HOT http://www.ultranet.com/~kenvt/boc.html (page completely dedicated to BOC -- contains a link to the FAQ, links to other BOC sites, as well as some sound files) -- HOT http://www.intellinet.com/~bedens/brain_surgeons/ (the "Official Brain Surgeons Home Page" -- under construction, but being coordinated with the band) -- (soon-to-be) HOT http://fraze.ncsa.uiuc.edu/testpage.html (Psiko's Music Server -- contains the FAQ, discography, and some pictures) -- COOL http://www.usd.edu/~tgannon/ (page with BOC and other music info -- contains links to the BOC-L archives, guitar tab archives, and other BOC sites) -- COOL http://www.addict.com/ATN/ ("Addicted To Noise" -- an online music review magazine. The Brain Surgeons' Deborah Frost, and BOC/Brain Surgeon lyricist Richard Meltzer, contribute to this magazine. Check out the list of sponsors for "The Brain Surgeons", and you can view artwork to *Eponymous*, and listen to sound samples of "Language Of Love" and "Name Your Monster") -- COOL http://www.music.sony.com/Music/MusicIndex.html (Sony Music, which carries BOC's past available U.S. releases) -- COOL http://www.music.indiana.edu/misc/music_resources.html -- COOL (links to lots of music-related pages) http://american.recordings.com/WWWoM/ubl/ubl.shtml (The Ultimate Band List - BOC has a card with links to the BOC-L FTP site, and some other related pages) -- COOL ftp://ftp.nevada.edu/pub/guitar/ (huge guitar tablature archive - a few BOC tabs are here) -- COOL http://www.gcms.com/cgi-andy/artist.pl?Blue_Oyster_Cult (general album info, and a few links to other sites) -- LUKEWARM http://wired.uvm.edu/~hybrid/boc.html (page completely dedicated to BOC -- page is currently either under construction, or has been deleted) -- LUKEWARM http://www.cs.utk.edu/~wickman/BOC/ (page completely dedicated to BOC -- will contain a discography, pictures and sound files -- currently under construction) -- LUKEWARM 7. Think I'll Write "Good Health To You" -- Copyright and Disclaimer Copyright (c) 1995 by John A. Swartz, FAQ editor. All rights reserved. Permission for non-commercial distribution is hereby granted, provided that this file is distributed intact, including this copyright statement, and the disclaimer below. This file is not intended for commercial distribution, and may not be distributed for financial gain, or included in commercial collections without express permission from the editor. SHARE THIS INFORMATION FREELY AND IN GOOD FAITH. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT. E-Mail questions and suggestions to: John_Swartz@iegate.mitre.org Or by regular mail (if E-Mail not available) to: John Swartz The MITRE Corporation m/s M321 202 Burlington Rd. Bedford, MA 01730 Complaints can be sent as well, but they will be ignored. Disclaimer: I have done my best to ensure that the information contained in this document is current and accurate, and as free from personal biases (either my own or anyone who contributes information), but I accept no responsibility for actions resulting from information contained herein. Any views expressed in this document are not meant to represent the views of The MITRE Corporation, its sponsors, customers, or business associates. They represent views expressed by the FAQ editor, or one of the listed contributors. I accept no responsibility for views expressed by individual contributors, other than to ensure that they are attributed to the proper individual(s). My personal views are too crazy to be attributed to anybody other than myself. "Good Health To You", John