Blue Öyster Cult: Imaginos
1988
| Columbia/Sony Records |
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. I Am the One You Warned Me Of 2. Les Invisibles 3. In the Presence of Another World 4..Del Rio's Song 5.The Siege and Investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria 6. Astronomy 7. Magna of Illusion 8. Blue Öyster Cult 9. Imaginos
I'd give you the background of this album, but it's so labyrinthine that I'm not even sure I understand it...I think this started out as an Albert Bouchard solo album, with a couple guest spots from a Blue Oyster Cult member or two, but then the record company was only interested if they could call it a BOC album or something...So after an eight-year recording span, "Imaginos" was released, featuring over twenty different musicians, but cleverly packaged to appear as if it was just a new Blue Oyster Cult album featuring the orginal line-up...
I bought this at the FYE in Tempe, AZ, and I remember coming home from work on Thanksgiving eve (I don't know if that's the right word for that or not...Perhaps "Pie Day?") and playing the record that night...
I made it as far as the godawful "The Siege and Investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria" (which should be the most amazing song ever, based on the title alone, but no,...It's Z-grade Dio...) and took the record off the turntable, having no desire whatsoever to go any further...
I eventually listened to the rest of it about a year later...During this second listen I pretty much spent my time staring at my watch, biding my time, waiting for the generic 80's metal to end...
(No wonder the album sounded so lackluster! Buck shaved off his mustache! I knew there was something missing!)
Well, the time had finally come where I'd have to do the dreaded "Imaginos" post and force myself to really listen to the record..And now that I've done just that I don't know what to think...Against all my expectations, I actually found myself enjoying it quite a bit... Del Rio's Song" is truly great...Its chunky guitar riff and Buck's catchy vocal line would fit nicely on a greatest hits record next to "Shooting Shark" and "Dancin' in the Ruins."....And opener " I Am the One You Warned Me Of" would have been a sure standout on "The Revolution By Night."
The record does definitely have its flaws, however...The uber 80's production and the unending shredding of about 20 guitarists can be distracting at times, and The Siege and Investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria" is still so grueling that I seriously thought about taking the record off again and giving up on this blog altogether... But whenever Buck Dharma or Eric Bloom handle lead vocals, the album sound fine....
Oh yea, did I mention that two of the songs aren't even sung by the regular Blue Oyster Cult members? The singer on "The Seige and Investiture..." is Joe Cerisano,who was the singer for some band called "Silver Condor" that I've never heard of...
Here, let me go to youtube real quick...I'll check them out...
It's sounds like late 70's/Early 80's AOR...Relentlessly radio ready...Waitaminute...This is the same guy?!! Hard to believe...His vocals on the the "Imaginos" album are such over-the-top cheeze-metal and the Silver Condor vocals are very easygoing...If he sang "The Siege and Investiture..." in the same manner as the Silver Condor song (and chopped off the endless, boring outro) I'd probably like the song...I think I've said this before, but what makes Blue Oyster Cult so special was that they never sang the songs like they were "Heavy Metal"...Their vocals were usually so much more understated than what you normally get in their genre of music...I think on one hand, it's why they're not as popular....Because restraint rarely sells, but once you're into them you realize that it's also what makes them so effective...Vocally, they give the impression that they're creeping up on you...Or they're genuinely hiding some sinister secret...
The title track (and album closer") is sung by Jon Rogers, who joined the album around this time, but hadn't recorded with them yet...He actually sounds more in line with what you'd expect to hear on a BOC album...A little hammier, than say Eric or Buck, but not bad...
One thing that's kind of interesting is that the band re-recorded two versions of songs from "Secret Treaties" that were apparently necessary to the "Imaginos" concept (not that you'll be able to really figure out the story anyway...Even with the copious liner notes...) but the versions are radical departures from the original takes...
Their re-do of "Astronomy" opens side two and it's almost admirable in its sheer blasphemy...They turn the band's finest moment into...a dance rock song that sounds like it could have been written by Desmond Child or something?!?!? Imagine if you will, Buck Dharma (and not Eric) smoothly crooning the lyrics to "Astronomy" over a dance beat, while a funky-wunky bass pops and slaps away in the foreground...It's such a stupid and ballsy move that I have no choice but to award it 100 ball-bucks...
Those are supposed to be balls, but they came out so poorly, that it kind of looks like a cat's face, so, here...Let me fix it a bit...
The remake of "The Subhuman" (here re-titled as "Blue Oyster Cult") fares a bit better...It's an interesting counterpoint to the original...Is it better? No.no.no.no...But it's interesting..Much more of a theatrical rock piece than its dark, jazzy counterpoint...I'm glad I heard it...
All in all, I'd say if you do pick this up, give it a couple spins before you think you have it figured out...The first listen or two you're going to be blinded by the sheer 80's metal-ness and the deviances from the band's original sound (after all...This is essentially an Albert Bouchard and Sandy Pearlman album more than an actual Blue Oyster Cult Record), but stick with it...It has its own charms...
Let's check out "Del Rio's Song"...
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