What do you see?3 Out Of 5 Stars
Blue Oyster Cult played a change-up on "Mirrors." Shuffling long-time producer Sandy Pearlman out for Tom Werman, they pushed the sound of the band into a more polished, pop-rock style instead of their usual harder rocking. That meant things like female back-ground singers, a single that was almost entirely acoustic based (the top 100 charter "In Thee"), and a new collaborator in science fiction author Michael Moorecock for "The Great Sun Jester." The slicker sound, however, kicked in a fan backlash and didn't win any converts. Hence, "Mirrors" became the first BOC album to barely reach Gold sales after a pair of million sellers.
Surprisingly, "Mirrors" has held up nicely. The much mocked "In Thee" may have been the strongest song here, to the point that the band still uses it as a concert number. "I Am The Storm" is a sinister song that follows the kind of rock Blue Oyster Cult was best known for. "The Vigil" is an epic piece and was the original opener for side two on the vinyl LP. It's just that the slickness does get to be a bit much, like on "Dr Music" and the haunting end song, "Lonely Teardrops." It's a misstep the band recognized; for the follow-ups Cultosaurus Erectus and "Fire Of Unknown Origin," BOC would team up with Metal producer Martin Birch. "Mirrors" is probably better than you remember it to be, and worth it's C grade.
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