Buck Dharma: Flat Out

Buck Dharma: Flat Out

1982

Portrait Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Born to Rock  2. That Summer Night  3. Cold Wind  4. Your Loving Heart  5. Five Thirty-Five  6. Wind Weather and Storm  7. All Tied Up  8. Anwar's Theme / Gnop Gnip  9. Come Softly to Me



Man, the CD version has a bonus track called "Gamera Is Missing"...Why don't I have that version?! Gahhh!!!!

This is the one-and-only solo album by Blue Oyster Cult guitarist Buck Dharma, who is probably the voice most people associate with the band since he handled lead vocals on most of their biggest hits ("Don't Fear the Reaper," "Godzilla," "Burnin' For You"). In fact, "Burnin' For You" was written for this record,but Buck was convinced to use it for BOC's 'Fire of Unknown Origin" instead...This album actually sounds exactly like a less-weird, more radio-friendly version of "Fire of Unknown Origin," where Buck handles all the vocals...Slick, tight, catchy MOR...The only bit of weirdness is the exceedingly bizarre "Your Loving Heart" which is a cold, clinical chunk of 80's rock about death and heart transplants...This song is so fucking weird that I can't believe it was released as a single/video, but goddammit, I'm watching the video on youtube as we speak, so it must be true...

I guess the backwards ping-pong match is pretty weird too... I did the whole "spin the record backwards with my finger" thing but I still can't really tell what they're talking about...I think I heard something about "I buried Eric Bloom" but I'm not sure...

 

There's some excellent pop-rock on this thing...The title track is one of those tongue-in-cheek "rock songs about rock" that BOC always wrote, although this might be the best one (excepting "Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll" of course...), Just super fun, super catchy stuff, that makes me nostalgic, although I didn't hear this song until 2015...It's just so immediately familiar for whatever reason..Maybe because the talk about Thunderbirds and Beauty Queens pegs it as such an early 80's fantasy that I can't help but be swept back to that earlier era when I hear it...Yea, if you're into early 80's BOC or Trans Am radio rock, don't miss it...And the video is fucking awesome, although all the section about his parent's fucking creeps me out, although anything BOC-related should creep you out, I guess...

"All Tied Up" is another favorite of mine...It's got that hazy, moody, early-MTV vibe that I love so much...The chorus sounds like the sort of thing Todd Rundgren would come up with when he was feeling like putting on a skinny tie...This album also reveals that Buck has a soft-spot for doo-wop..."Come Softly to Me" is perfectly preformed 50's doo-wop and I would consider "Wind Weather and Storm" to be a hard-rock/doo-wop hybrid...Huh. It's an influence I can't really recall hearing too much in BOC...

In the end, there's nothing too revelatory or revolutionary about the album...It just sorta confirms that Buck was the pop center of Blue Oyster Cult, but fans of early 80's BOC should definitely check this out...I'm sad knowing that I went so many years without hearing "Fire of Unknown Origins" sister album...And rock fans that found BOC to be a little too odd for their tastes might actually be into this...I'm one of those people who consider Blue Oyster Cult to be one of the most underestimated bands in Rock & Roll history...They put out so much smart, well-written, well preformed music and Buck's solo album is no exception...It's maybe a bit more slight than the surrounding BOC albums but no less interesting...

Here's "All Tied Up" by Buck Dharma...Enjoy...