Description

Put together by rock critic/visionary Richard Meltzer (who wrote lyrics for a number of the band's songs) and producer Sandy Pearlman, Blue Oyster Cult adopted all sorts of emblematic gestures to conjure an outlaw image. The band's high-decibel, prog-tinged heavy-rock garnered them elevated status among teens in the 1970s longing for America's answer to Black Sabbath. The band's legacy has lived on well into the 2000s, thanks in part to Will Ferrell's now-legendary "more cowbell" skit on SNL.

Biography

The genesis of Blue Öyster Cult lay in the musical ambitions of rock writers Sandy Pearlman and Richard Meltzer. Based in Long Island, New York, the pair put together a group - known variously as the Cows, the Soft White Underbelly and Oaxaca - to perform their original songs. By 1969 the unit, now dubbed the Stalk Forrest Group, had formed around Eric Bloom (b. 11 December 1944; guitar, vocals), Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (b. 12 November 1947; guitar, vocals), Allen Lanier (b. 25 June 1946; keyboards, guitar), Joe Bouchard (b. 9 November 1948; bass, vocals) and Albert Bouchard (drums). The quintet completed a single, "What Is Quicksand", before adopting the Blue Öyster Cult appellation. Early releases combined Black Sabbath-styled riffs with obscure lyricism, which engendered an "intelligent heavy metal" tag. Cryptic titles, including "A Kiss Before The Redap" and "OD'd On Life Itself", compounded an image - part biker, part occult - assiduously sculpted by Pearlman, whose clean production technique also removed any emotional inflections. "Career Of Evil' from Secret Treaties - co-written by Patti Smith - showed an increasing grasp of commercial hooklines, which flourished on 1976"s Byrds-sounding international hit, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". Smith continued her association with the band on Agents Of Fortune, contributing to "Debbie Denise" and "The Revenge Of Vera Gemini". Romantically involved with Allen Lanier, she later added "Shooting Shark" to the band's repertoire for The Revolution By Night and single release. Fantasy writer Michael Moorcock, meanwhile, contributed to Mirrors and Cultosaurus Erectus.
The release of the live Some Enchanted Evening had already brought the band's most innovative era to an end, despite an unlikely hit single, "Joan Crawford Has Risen From The Grave", drawn from Fire Of Unknown Origin. Sustained by continued in-concert popularity, notably on the Black And Blue tour with Black Sabbath, elsewhere predictability had crept into their studio work. Former road crew boss Rick Downey replaced Al Bouchard in 1981, while the following year Roeser completed a solo album as the Cult's own recordings grew less prolific. Imaginos in 1988 was the band's reinterpretation of a Bouchard solo album that had never been released. Though of dubious origins, critics welcomed it as the band's best work for several years. Afterwards, Joe Bouchard left the group to form Dead Ringer with Neal Smith (ex-Alice Cooper), Dennis Dunaway, Charlie Huhn and Jay Johnson. In 1992 the band wrote and performed most of the soundtrack to the horror movie Bad Channels. They reconvened in 1998 for the hard-rocking Heaven Forbid, their first studio album in 10 years. Lanier, Bloom and Roeser were augmented by Danny Miranda (bass) and Bobby Rondinelli (drums) for Curse Of The Hidden Mirror, featuring lyrics by Richard Meltzer, John Trivers and SF/Fantasy author John Shirley.
DISCOGRAPHY: Blue Öyster Cult (Columbia 1971)***, Tyranny And Mutation (Columbia 1973)***, Secret Treaties (Columbia 1974)**, On Your Feet Or On Your Knees (Columbia 1975)**, Agents Of Fortune (Columbia 1976)****, Spectres (Columbia 1977)**, Some Enchanted Evening (Columbia 1978)**, Mirrors (Columbia 1979)**, Cultosaurus Erectus (Columbia 1980)**, Fire Of Unknown Origin (Columbia 1981)**, Extraterrestial Live (Columbia 1982)*, The Revolution By Night (Columbia 1983)*, Club Ninja (Columbia 1986)**, Imaginos (Columbia 1988)***, Bad Channels film soundtrack (Moonstone 1992)**, Live 1976 (Gopaco 1994)***, Heaven Forbid (CMC International 1998)**, Curse Of The Hidden Mirror (Sanctuary 2001)**, Tales From The Psychic Wars (Burning Airlines 2001)**, A Long Day's Night (CMC International 2002)**.
Solo: Donald Roeser Flat Out (Portrait 1982)**.
COMPILATIONS: (Don't Fear) The Reaper (CBS Special Products 1989)***, On Flame With Rock & Roll (CBS Special Products 1990)***, Career Of Evil: The Metal Years (Columbia 1990)***, Cult Classic (Herald 1994)***, Workshop Of The Telescopes (Columbia/Legacy 1995)****, Revisited (Gusto 1996)***, Super Hits (Columbia/Legacy 1998)***.
VIDEOGRAPHY: Live 1976 (Castle Music Pictures 1991), A Long Day's Night (CMC International 2002).

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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