it's the best one!!!!
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 16:30 (three years ago) link
Shame it all fell apart with Albert Bouchard (the primary writer) around then, I think they had one great new wave-y album left in them.
― my shear modulus is weakening (Matt #2), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 16:33 (three years ago) link
Probably in the minority here, but I vastly prefer the demo version of "Fire of Unknown Origin" (tacked onto the Agents reissue) to the one that was eventually released. You can practically hear Patti Smith singing the earlier version, and I'll take Joe B. over Eric Bloom most any day.
― henry s, Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:05 (three years ago) link
yeah that one is pretty great
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:38 (three years ago) link
I think they had one great new wave-y album left in them.
― my shear modulus is weakening (Matt #2), Wednesday, February 24, 2021 9:33 AM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
they made it, it's called the revölution by night
does suffer for albert's absence tho true
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:43 (three years ago) link
that's an underrated one. obv "shooting shark" is a live staple, i really love "veins" which is the second-to-last richard meltzer lyric they used i think (they used his "spy in the house of night" on club ninja but i think they didn't ask him and melz got really pissed and didn't talk to them again)
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:45 (three years ago) link
Albert Bouchard (the primary writer)
Well observed.
― Adoration of the Mogwai (Deflatormouse), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:47 (three years ago) link
Been on a big BOC kick lately, started when I picked up the surprisingly great Albert Bouchard Re Imaginos. Feel like it's time for the Stalk-Forrest Group comp to get reissued again, going for crazy money.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, February 11, 2021 12:41 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink
listening to this again and it's really worth your time, definitely interesting to hear what he thought imaginos was going to be, his voice is a little shakier at points but still pretty good and it's really a nice sounding record (imaginos is just produced like fucking garbage)...but it *feels* like a BOC album even if it's technically a solo album
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:48 (three years ago) link
I got FoUO recently after rwading about it on here, funnily enough the post thay convinced me i needed it was derogatory iirc.
It's my third favorite BOC album after Tyranny and Secret Treaties. I wouldn't fault anyone for saying it's their best album.
― Adoration of the Mogwai (Deflatormouse), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:50 (three years ago) link
Yeah, I played Re Imaginos again last night and it's really good. It's no patch on prime BOC, but it's nice to hear something closer to Bouchard's original version and you are otm, it sounds incredible.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:52 (three years ago) link
woah this is cool - blue oyster cult by voices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odfQ11PByac
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 22:00 (three years ago) link
I'll take Joe B. over Eric Bloom most any day
Every time I listen to a BOC song sung by a Bouchard I think "I wish Eric was singing this".
― my shear modulus is weakening (Matt #2), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 22:11 (three years ago) link
Both of you are wrong.
xp love that demo, it's the best version
― Adoration of the Mogwai (Deflatormouse), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 22:21 (three years ago) link
FoUO and OYFoOYK are I think tied for my favorite at this point, with the latter to be understood as an avatar for all the BOC bootlegs I have mainlined Speaking of which, I scoured all over the damn place trying to find bootlegs where they perform the more interesting deep cuts from Revolution By Night (“Veins”, “Shadow of California” and “Feel the Thunder”) - I was only able to find one and its in pretty terrible sound quality Also - i think it’s a little cruel of buck that he either performs “Shark” or “Harvest” at a given show but never both of them!
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 27 February 2021 01:27 (three years ago) link
Veins is a really great deep cut
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 27 February 2021 01:34 (three years ago) link
It’s top notch and hooky as fuck
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 27 February 2021 01:46 (three years ago) link
Since you mention OYFoOYK I thought I'd mention that I checked it out a while back and was blown away by how great "Born to Be Wild" sounded, especially the mental white noise section toward the end. It might as well be late 80s Sonic Youth at that point.
― stop torturing me ethel (broom air), Saturday, 27 February 2021 12:46 (three years ago) link
Just sharing this here because I only just found out about it myself, but Bouchard's already got a follow-up to Re-Imaginos coming out in a few weeks (maybe digitally even sooner, this week maybe?). It's the second part of a now planned trilogy, Re-Imaginos 2: Bombs Over Germany.
tracklist:
“When War Comes”“Independence Day”“7 Screaming Dizbusters”“OD’d on Life Itself”“Il Duce”“Bombs over Germany”“Before the Kiss (A Redcap)”“Three Sisters”“Quicklime Girl (Mistress of the Salmon Salt)”“The Red and the Black”“Dominance and Submission”“Shadow of California”“Cities on Flame (with Rock and Roll)”“Half Life Times”
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 21 October 2021 14:43 (two years ago) link
oh wow, interesting
really wish this project could have been done with the whole band when lanier was still alive but still really cool to see something more approximating the original plan
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 21 October 2021 14:57 (two years ago) link
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 21 October 2021 15:23 (two years ago) link
Very cool - I have not got round to getting reimaginos yet but I’ll get both when vol 2 comes out
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 21 October 2021 15:30 (two years ago) link
that tracklist is unfuckwithable i must say
― The 25 Best Songs Ever Ranked In Order (Deflatormouse), Thursday, 21 October 2021 17:27 (two years ago) link
mistress of the salmon salt is underrated.
― The 25 Best Songs Ever Ranked In Order (Deflatormouse), Thursday, 21 October 2021 17:29 (two years ago) link
Not sure if anybody here reads Maggot Brain, the periodical published by Third Man Records, but a recent issue had a great and lengthy article about the lyric sheets you could send away for, the address of which was printed on the back covers of the first three (I think) BOC albums.
― henry s, Thursday, 21 October 2021 18:31 (two years ago) link
I love watching extended live versions of "Veteran" where Dharma really stretched out:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pFdkkjGiEs
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 21 October 2021 18:34 (two years ago) link
Ha, that was meant for the Fire of Unknown Origin thread but it works here too.
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 21 October 2021 18:35 (two years ago) link
That was a great read! Shortly after I read it I ended up at a antiques shop that had a surprising number of (way overpriced) BOC vinyl, but I went through all of them just in case someone had stashed those printed out lyric sheets in one of them.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 21 October 2021 18:50 (two years ago) link
I too hunt for those lyric sheets in second hand shops, that somebody might have stashed away in an old BOC record jacket, but still have not hit pay dirt.
― henry s, Thursday, 21 October 2021 19:03 (two years ago) link
The debut came out 50 years ago today!
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 16 January 2022 20:37 (two years ago) link
For someone relatively new to the band, are the first four albums generally the ones to check out? Or is a compilation better?
― birdistheword, Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:02 (two years ago) link
the first two are of a piece. on the next two the concept starts to unravel, and they start the long road to becoming...something else, which is still really good, but requires a little more injection of...faith? it's kind of like the monkees, where they emerge without warning as a real band made up of individuals. this really doesn't come through on the comps.
― Thus Sang Freud, Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:23 (two years ago) link
it's sort of one or the other. you either commit to the deep dive or you don't. the deep dive is rewarding, but you have to put in the effort.
― Thus Sang Freud, Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:32 (two years ago) link
i would say start with secret treaties or fire of unknown origin then fill in the blanks as you see fit
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:36 (two years ago) link
First album retains a little more of the psychedelic feel, and the songs are shorter.Tyranny & Mutation and Secret Treaties head fully into occult-ish hard rock/prog, this is their peak.Agents of Fortune and Spectres introduce some soft rock and sound a touch less cohesive (they weren't really writing as a band by that point) but are still mostly great.Mirrors is a soft rock misstep.Cultosaurus Erectus heads back to the earlier sound, although I think it's overrated largely due to having a memorable cover.Fire of Unknown Origin is a surprisingly successful incorporation of new wave influences.Then Albert Bouchard left and they didn't do anything much worth a shit after that.
And that's my personal rundown of their oeuvre!
― the great replacement bus service (Matt #2), Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:42 (two years ago) link
Oh yeah, check out the pre-Oyster Stalk-Forrest Group album too, very much a psych rock band at that point though
― the great replacement bus service (Matt #2), Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:43 (two years ago) link
Then Albert Bouchard left and they didn't do anything much worth a shit after that.
The "Take Me Away" video is awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1NYhbiiiFw
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:48 (two years ago) link
As is the one for "Shooting Shark"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvsthsbbLfM
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 16 January 2022 21:55 (two years ago) link
revolution by night is a sleepercurse of the hidden mirror was surprising good as was the symbol remains
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 16 January 2022 22:18 (two years ago) link
Could get the first two or three albums and then the Workshop Of The Telescopes 2xCD for the rest.
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 16 January 2022 22:37 (two years ago) link
Their discography is so weird. Just based on how it sounds, and the quality of the material, I would expect Fire to come either right before or right after Spectres, not that late in their career.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Sunday, 16 January 2022 22:40 (two years ago) link
"Fire of Unknown Origin" itself was a leftover from Agents of Fortune.
― Halfway there but for you, Sunday, 16 January 2022 22:59 (two years ago) link
Workshop of The Telescopes is a little lopsided, with the second disc covering Agents-->Club Ninja, shortchanging Fire of... in particular. Still, it's the most panoramic comp the band ever got (not counting the Columbia albums box).
https://www.allmusic.com/album/workshop-of-the-telescopes-mw0000176248
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 16 January 2022 23:02 (two years ago) link
become an obsessive BOC fan right away imo
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 16 January 2022 23:13 (two years ago) link
^^Probably the best course of action, lol.
A cool thing about BÖC is that they only had a couple of radio staples that Classic Rock stations could run into the ground, so digging into the catalogue reveals a lot of hidden in plain sight gems.
Also the regular remasters of the first five studio sets on CD are loaded with quality bonus material and only list for $7 a pop (and frequently can be found for less).
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 16 January 2022 23:23 (two years ago) link
good point they have extraordinarily quality bonus tracks
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 17 January 2022 00:01 (two years ago) link
ums otm, C. Grisso/McCain otm
i started with some enchanted evening (a favorite of the 'rocker' kid at my ymca camp 2 years my senior who played the drums and wore a bandana everywhere, BOC were his favorite band) and then agents of fortune. did not become an obsessive fan right away, but the 'tyranny & mvtatvion'/ 'secret treaties' one two punch did the trick eventually.
― The 25 Best Songs Ever Ranked In Order (Deflatormouse), Monday, 17 January 2022 00:08 (two years ago) link
Spectres is the album I've played most in recent years, a real sleeper, at least two-thirds top notch Oyster (as I've taken to calling them).
― the great replacement bus service (Matt #2), Monday, 17 January 2022 00:17 (two years ago) link
i will admit that i listened to fireworks on repeat for more than an hour the week after halloween. i kinda suspect they were trying to make certain songs sound more like reaper. there are textural, uh, similarities.
― The 25 Best Songs Ever Ranked In Order (Deflatormouse), Monday, 17 January 2022 00:24 (two years ago) link
I've grown to really love Mirrors in recent years. "The Vigil" us one of their greatest moments.
― A. Begrand, Monday, 17 January 2022 01:48 (two years ago) link
I like "In Thee" a lot too
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 17 January 2022 01:53 (two years ago) link