Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult

THE REVIEW

The first album by BÖC, self-titled and recorded in '71 and released in '72, consists of a novel mix of '50s rock'n'roll, garage blues, psychedelia, and hard rock.
The album opens with Transmaniacon MC, a rock piece dominated by Donald Roeser's guitar and Eric Bloom's vocals, with particularly agitated tones. The subsequent I’m a Lamb but I’m not the Sheep, a mid-tempo not particularly striking, is performed in a rather subdued manner and will be better revisited by BÖC themselves, with the title The Red & the Black, in the later Tyranny & Mutation. Noteworthy, however, is Albert Bouchard's drumming. The ballad (Then come) the last Days of May, composed and sung by Donald Roeser, stands out for the bluesy phrasing of the electric guitar and the psychedelic inflections of the arrangement. Stairway to the Stars, with sarcastic references to the show biz world, is a boogie highlighted by guitars and Bloom's vocals. (Before the Kiss) a Redcap is the most atypical track on the album, characterized by a bluesy introductory part and a distinctly jazz-like central break, well-supported by the bass and drums mix of brothers Joe and Albert Bouchard, ending as it began. The most significant and original tracks of the album are probably Screams and She’s Beautiful as a Foot: the former is a slow one characterized by Bloom's filtered voice and excellent keyboard counterpoints in a Doors-like style by Allen Lanier; the latter is a piece with a catatonic mood in both vocals and musical accompaniment, surprisingly foreshadowing the traits of Sonic Youth and much of the grunge or related scene (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins), expressly indebted to BÖC. Cities on Flame with Rock’n’Roll is the track most influenced by the hard rock of the era (Black Sabbath) at least in the monolithic riff that supports the entire song. It is one of BÖC's signature tracks, repeatedly performed live in the following years, perhaps yielding more appreciable results than those achieved in the studio. The album continues with Workshop of Telescopes, where Bloom's almost theatrical singing is evident, ending with Reedemed, a track supported by acoustic guitars and characterized by relaxed tones not found in any of the previous tracks.

The album is recommended to 70s rock enthusiasts and those who wish to delve into the musical background of many punk, rock, and no wave bands that emerged in the New York area starting in the late 70s. Its score is high for its seminal character, although BÖC managed to surpass themselves in later works, which are more incisive both compositionally and executively. The artwork is suggestive, particularly the album cover.