Sep 209 min read

The Enthusiast's Guide: Blue Öyster Cult

Mick Burgess looks back over the decades-long career of a US phenomenon...

“On Tour Forever” says their tour T-shirt, and nothing could be closer to the truth. Blue Öyster Cult is a band that has been on the road for well over fifty years and has clocked up almost 4,500 shows. They’ve forged a reputation as a killer live band from their earliest days and have become one of the greatest ever Rock bands to come out of the States in the process.

They began life as Soft White Underbelly at Stony Brook University in New York back in 1967 with a line-up comprising Donald Roeser on guitar, Albert Bouchard on drums, Allen Lanier on keyboards and guitar, Les Braunstein on vocals and Andy Winters on bass. An album was recorded but shelved following the departure of Braunstein who was replaced by their sound engineer, one Eric Bloom. A couple of name changes followed (including Oaxaca and Stalk-Forrest Group) and a further album was recorded, this time with Bloom on vocals. Again, this was shelved before its final release over thirty years later.

Fellow Stony Brook student Sandy Pearlman had by this time offered to manage the band and become part of the creative input, and it was Pearlman who suggested each member adopt a weird and wonderful stage name with Bloom to be called Jesse Python and Bouchard, Prince Omega... but it was only Roeser who kept his stage name, Buck Dharma, to this very day.

By 1970 Winters was gone, replaced on bass by Joe Bouchard, brother of Albert. A final name, Blue Öyster Cult, was settled upon, along with a change in musical direction from a Psychedelic, almost Poppy style, to something altogether harder edged. The Blue Öyster Cult that we have come to know and love for over half a century was up and running.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 1972 and immediately set them apart from their peers. With Pearlman and fellow Stony Brook alumni, Richard Meltzer – along with Murray Krugman – as part of the creative team, BÖC were off with a bang. With the bulk of the lead vocals shared between Bloom and Roeser (with one apiece for the Bouchard brothers), this created a unique dynamic, and when those voices combined to deliver some glorious harmonies, no one, but no one sounded like them. Featuring concert stalwarts ‘Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll’ and ‘Then Came The Last Days Of May’, their debut set them off on a fifty year adventure.

Striking whilst the iron was hot, the following year saw the release of ‘Tyranny And Mutation’. This carried on where the debut left off and featured the first collaboration with Allen Lanier’s girlfriend, Patti Smith.

The first two albums showed so much promise but it was their third release, ‘Secret Treaties’, where all of those fine ingredients were distilled into an absolute masterpiece. Ask any BÖC fan and most will put this album right up there at the very top. It’s absolutely flawless from start to finish with a powerful, punchy production bringing out the best in the material.

Bringing phase one of their careers to a close was ‘On Your Feet Or On Your Knees’, the double live album that was de rigueur for bands in the 70s, and BÖC did not disappoint. Crammed full of classic material from the first three albums, including the definitive versions of ‘Cities On Flame’ and ‘Then Came The Last Days Of May’, it features a masterclass of melodic guitar work from Roeser.

With the live album buying them some time, there was plenty of opportunities to get creative and 1976’s ‘Agents Of Fortune’ saw them reap the rewards, both creatively and commercially, hitting the Top 30 in the UK and US album charts for the first time backed by an absolute classic of a single, ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’.

The pressure to emulate its predecessor’s success may have been enough to derail many bands, but BÖC were no ordinary band and rose to the challenge with ‘Spectres’. Released in 1977, it featured their monstrous classic ‘Godzilla’. Around this time their stage show reached mythical proportions with a laser show that could destroy two small solar systems, and climaxed with Bloom shooting lasers from his hand... eat your heart out KISS!

A second live album, ‘Some Enchanted Evening’, arrived the following year. Although disappointingly only a single disc in the days of double live albums, it nevertheless provided astonishing versions of ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ and ‘Godzilla’, the latter recorded at Newcastle City Hall and finally, a stunning live version of ‘Astronomy’. ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ went on to become their biggest selling album and a later re-issue expanded the album, finally, into a double with a long-awaited gatefold sleeve to boot.

With Pop and New Wave riding high towards the end of the 70s, BÖC made something of a controversial step by hiring hit maker Tom Werman to replace Sandy Pearlman in the producers chair. The resulting ‘Mirrors’, released in 1979, continues to split the fan base with part embracing the more glossy, Pop sheen and others bemoaning that this neutered the band’s edge.

A new decade heralded a new dawn as BÖC, facing life amongst the young guns of the NWOBHM, came out fighting with ‘Cultosaurus Erectus’; renowned producer Martin Birch of Rainbow, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath fame, bringing in a tougher, darker more direct approach. The following year’s ‘Fire Of Unknown Origin’ is considered almost a sister album to ‘Cultosaurus Erectus’, utilising the skills of Birch again and even yielding a Top 40 hit in ‘Burnin’ For You’... but all was not well in the BÖC camp.

On the eve of an appearance at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donnington, drummer Albert Bouchard was fired, to be hastily replaced by drum tech Rick Downey. A rather underwhelming show followed, hampered by sound problems which resulted in Bloom stamping his commemorative plaque into the Donnington mud. The loss of Bouchard, a major creative force within the band, meant that BÖC were never quite the same again.

A third live release, ‘Extraterrestrial Live’, followed in 1982 to buy the band some time. Recorded in 1980 and 1981, it featured a couple of songs with Bouchard but the rest marked Downey’s first appearance on a BÖC record. A sumptuous, double gatefold release, it featured material from right across their career, including a powerful rendition of ‘Joan Crawford’ and a killer version of ‘Veteran Of The Psychic Wars’ with a jaw dropping solo from Roeser.

The Revolution By Night’ arrived in 1983, marking Downey’s one and only studio album with the band. A polished production by Bruce Fairburn and electronic drums were very much a sign of the times and left a fair chunk of the fan base a little nonplussed, yet it does contain some serious bangers, including ‘Take Me Away’.

A two year wait for ‘Club Ninja’ had seen the departure of Allen Lanier (to be replaced by former PiL keyboardist Tommy Zvoncheck), while Downey was gone after one album with Jimmy Wilcox (of Rock Derringer’s band) taking over the drum stool. To many ‘Club Ninja’ represents a low point in the career of BÖC, it’s clunky production and a glut of outside writers suggesting the creative tanks were running low. It would also be the final outing for original bassist Joe Bouchard, who left not long after its release.

It’s initial concept grew from the late 60s, but it was former drummer Albert Bouchard who began working on ‘Imaginos’ in earnest as his first solo release in the early 80s as a proposed trilogy of double albums. So their label Columbia decided to call in the project and turn it into a BÖC album to stem their commercial decline. With Bouchard disappointingly only back in an executive producer role, ‘Imaginos’ ended up being something of a hotchpotch with both Bloom and Roeser overdubbing their vocals and guitar parts to Bouchard’s original recordings, and guests (including Joe Satriani, Aldo Nova and Robbie Krieger from The Doors) adding further parts. The Bouchard brothers, along with Lanier, added some parts to the sessions, but this was far from the cohesive BÖC album that fans craved. Yet, despite the behind the scenes kerfuffle, it remains something of a fan favourite and contains some cracking tunes.

The 90s proved to be something of a barren time for BÖC. Although still a strong pull on the concert circuit, studio recordings seemed to dry up with only a spoof science fiction movie soundtrack from ‘Bad Channels’ featuring a pair of new songs (with ‘Demon’s Kiss’ being particularly impressive) and ‘Cult Classics’, a re-recorded greatest hits collection, along with a best of ‘Workshop Of The Telescopes’, which did include a couple of rarities, to keep fans going. It seemed as though a new studio album would never come.

‘Heaven Forbid’ finally arrived, ten years after ‘Imaginos’ and certainly did not disappoint. With the core of Bloom and Roeser, along with a returning Lanier, bolstered by Danny Miranda and Chuck Burgi (on bass and drums respectively), and contributions from Bobby Rondinelli and Jon Rodgers, it was a strong album.

A couple of years later saw the release, finally, of those pre-BOC recordings in ‘St Cecelia: The Elektra Recordings’. It featured the previously unreleased recordings that were shelved by Elektra, along with songs from an earlier session and a couple of singles that were released on a promotional basis. It’s certainly a worthwhile album to hunt down for those who are interested in the origins of BÖC and includes the earliest recordings of ‘I’m On The Lamb’, which appeared on their first two albums in different forms.

Titled after an old Stalk-Forrest song, 2001’s ‘Curse Of The Hidden Mirror’ had a slightly more laid back vibe than its predecessor, but nevertheless still proved a worthy addition to their catalogue. For a long time it looked as though it would be their last, indeed Bloom had said that “the whole world was not waiting for a new BÖC album”. Maybe the whole world wasn’t but legions of BÖC fans were; sadly hopes were disappearing as the years rolled by.

BÖC was down to just Bloom and Roeser after the retirement of Lanier in 2006 and his sad passing in 2013. Miranda came and went and came back again, with Kasim Sulton and Rudy Sarzo joining to fill in, in between. Drummer Jules Radino and utility man Richie Castellano joined in 2004, with Castellano in particular proving quite a find filling in on keyboards, guitar, bass and occasional lead vocals as and when needed.

A new record deal with Frontiers came giving hope for a new record. A series of five credible live albums followed in 2020, dating from 2012 to 2017, to lay the ground including ‘Agents Of Fortune – Live 2016’ and ‘45th Anniversary – Live in London’.

It was arguably the presence of Castellano and his youthful, creative drive that finally brought the day that BÖC fans feared would never happen. A new album, the aptly titled ‘The Symbol Remains’, arrived in 2020, a mere nineteen years after their last studio record. Not only was it a good album, it managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with some of their very best work... BÖC had pulled off the impossible. If this is their last, they have certainly gone out on a sky-scraping high!

Fifty-one years on from that glorious debut album, BÖC have created fourteen studio albums and a clutch of impressive live releases on which they have built their reputation as one of America’s greatest bands. With a series of live albums to come – featuring their three night residency in New York to celebrate their 50th anniversary – and the hope of maybe, just maybe, some new material, their illustrious journey looks set to continue for some time to come.

While this guide deals with their studio output, it’s worth investigating their first three live albums –‘On Your Feet Or On Your Knees’ (1975), ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ (1978) and ‘Extraterrestrial Live’ (1982) – to hear some definitive versions of their classic songs.

For those wishing to dive right in they should pick up ‘The Complete Columbia Albums Collection’ (2012), an impressive box set containing all fourteen of their albums from the debut to ‘Imaginos’ including the three classic live albums. Some have been remastered for the first time especially for this set, which together with a bunch of bonus material (including a live DVD of a 1978 performance from Largo, Maryland) and a booklet, is currently available for under seventy quid... bargain of the century!

Anyone wanting to dig deeper may well find some treasures in the excellent ‘Buck Dharma Archives’, a series of three albums containing demos and outtakes from his own collection and a fourth album from his power trio side project, The Red And The Black.

Blue Öyster Cult's albums rated (click to expand the picture)