My Amazon Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult "Club Ninja"

It doesn't matter if we turn to dust

3 out of 5 Stars

This was Blue Oyster Cult making a prototypical late 80's album; heavy on the reverb, loaded with sythns and hooks that sounded semi-forced. Alan Lanier had already left, and Al and Joe Bouchard were so frustrated that they bailed out during this album. Some two decades after its initial release, "Club Ninja" still stands as BOC's weakest of their CBS records. This was BOC trying to sound like they were radio relevant, like they could show those whippersnappers in Def Leppard who came first.

Which would explain arena rock-chant silliness like "Beat'em Up" and "Make Rock Not War." It also is telling that almost half the album was penned by non-band members. The strongest of "Club Ninja's" tracks is "Perfect Water," penned by Don Roeser. There's a blatant attempt at making another Burnin' For You in "Dancing In The Ruins," which ain't bad. Even though it's written by the Legget Brothers, "White Flag" does start the album off with a bang. The closer, "Madness to the Method," overcomes the dopey title to sound like the band still wants to steer back to the old Agents of Fortune years.

"Club Ninja" is half a good album. What is kind of sad that BOC made so many rock albums that defined the art that half-cocked arena rock just sounded disappointing. The follow-up, Imaginos, was one of the band's best, but the fall-out from "Club Ninja" left fans so far out in the cold that "Imaginos" all but disappeared on issue (only recently has it finally been re-issued on American Beat).