My Amazon Reviews: The Dictators "Manifest Destiny / Bloodbrothers"

Dictators Forever
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Producers Sandy Pearlman and Murray Krugman saw the nascent Blue Oyster Cult sound in The Dictators' voice and made "Manifest Destiny" parallel the early BOC discs. Thick, sludgy guitars, vocals back in the mix and heavy on the reverb. As a result, I really can't give this 5 stars due to the muddy production, but at the same time, this was the album that made me a Dictators fan for life! Why the Dic's haven't been put on the pantheon they deserve is beyond me, but with songs like "Science Gone Too Far" and their blistering cover of The Stooges' "Search And Destroy," they proved they could blast as well as their CBGB contemporaries of the period. And they were not without a sense of humor; just check out the opening lines of "Hey Boys" or Handsome Dick's monologue on "Disease." "Manifest Destiny" is a brilliant artifact of an era in American Music. They followed it up with their masterpiece, "Bloodbrothers," and Sony has been kind enough to leave "Go Girl Crazy!" in print. My advice is get 'em all now and that includes the recent "DFFD" because it still smokes the competition.

Then there's "Bloodbrothers": The Dictators make sure you know exactly what you're in for as soon as the music starts..."Faster And Louder!" This was the most forward of the Dic's three original albums and the closest they came to a mainstream sound. That being if you could call anything The Dictators did "mainstream." Their's was a take no prisoners attitude, with everything about "Bloodbrothers" being so sorely missing in music at the time of its release. In 1978, Punk was just beginning to come into its own and the whole CBGB's crowd was setting their sights on world domination.

That may have been to The Dictators' detriment. In a period when bands were deliberately trying to sound more garagey and nihilistic, Handsome Dick Manitoba and the boys were rocking polished and hard, more like Blue Oyster Cult than the Dead Boys. Despite being "Faster And Louder," this band was not trying to break punk rock's land speed records. A classic case of zigging when they should have zagged. No matter. There were no other bands with this much panache, humor and ballsy fun coming out of NYC, and "Bloodbrothers" spends its nine songs without letting up on the throttle once. If you aren't out of breath by the end of The 'Tators' rip snorting cover of "Slow Death," then you'd better start the record over and start paying attention.

As others have noted, there are "breaks" between the segues on "Bloodbrothers" that someone should have picked up during the mastering process. You can get "Manifest Destiny" as an Auto-rip from Amazon. but not "Bloodbrothers." BB you can get from I-Tunes.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult "Fire Of Unknown Origin"

Death Comes Driving Down The Highway: RIP Allen Lanier: 1946-2013
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Today, I heard that Allen Lanier died. It kind of hit hard as Blue Oyster Cult were one of my gateway bands into hard rock and heavy metal. Having an Aunt who gave me Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath albums helped, too. But BOC, they were pushing buttons with songs like "Dominance and Submission" and "Don't Fear The Reaper." So I became a fan. Loyal even through the albums like "Mirrors" and "Cultosaurus Erectus." Then, in the summer of 1981, "Fire Of Unknown Origin" arrived at my college radio station. All the detractors could then officially go to hell. "Fire Of Unknown Origin" kicked as hard as "Spectres" and "Agents of Fortune." And oddly enough, this may have been one of Lanier's finest moments with the band, as many of these songs are heavily keyboard and synth driven.

Take the lead-off of the title track. On top of one of Buck Dharma's fiery lead guitar solos, Lanier lays down a keyboard bed that was worthy of The Cars. This was, after all, 1981 and plenty of bands were playing catch up with the music of the times. But Blue Oyster Cult did so on a minimal level, relying mostly on Lanier's keys and tighter song compositions. It was those qualities that made "Burning For You," the second of only two singles to ever break the Top 40 for the band, such a marvel. Tightly wound up with a great Dharma lick to open it up, it was set up as a standard pop construction but with bigger sound.

There was an additional incentive for the band on "Fire Of Unknown Origin." They were approached by the producers of the upcoming "Heavy Metal" animated feature to contribute a couple of new songs. They responded with one of the band's best, "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars." A pounding martial drum gives marching orders to a soldier who has seen so many battles that "wounds are all I'm made of." It's a haunting and inescapable rocker, one of several compositions that band co-wrote with science fiction author Michael Moorecock (including another favorite of mine, "Black Blade" from "Cultosaurus"). The other was "Heavy Metal (The Black and The Silver)." Riding in on a squalling guitar feedback, it's a shame it wasn't in the movie, as it encompasses what the band was about from the beginning. (Although in my humble opinion, "Psychic Wars" is the better song.)

There's still more ominous story telling, like on "Vengeance (The Pact)," again a candidate for "Heavy Metal," or in the bizarrely funny and again, piano heavy "Joan Crawford" (...has risen from the grave!). "Fire of Unknown Origin" was a mighty comeback album, which was a shame as the band would start to fragment soon after, and the next album would be the generic "Revolution By Night."

RIP Allen Lanier: 1946-2013. Thanks for adding so much music to the soundtrack of my life.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult "Cultosaurus Erectus"

When Dinos Roamed The Earth
4 Out Of 5 Stars

"Black Blade" is one of my favorite Blue Oyster Cult songs. It marked their most successful foray into the science fiction/hard rock hybrids that made the meat of their first three albums, and is easily as great as the classic "Golden Age Of Leather" from "Spectres." That said, there are plenty of cool songs here for the BOC fan, and I pretty much figure this was their last really good album. "The Marshall Plan" is possibly one of the funniest songs the Cult ever made! Especially for the Guitar Riff 101 segment in the middle, this rates with right there with Blotto's "Heavy Metal Head." It may also be important to note that Blotto toured with Blue Oyster Cult and Dharma played on the previously mentioned parody.

If the thought that Blue Oyster Cult could possess a funny bone gets under your skin, then you should probably avoid this disc and go for "Spectres" or "Agents." But for "Cultosaurus Erectus," the BOC stretched their chops in a really fine way. Get this for "Black Blade," "Unknown Tongue" and the stunning "Divine Wind" ("if he really thinks we're the devil, then let's send him to hell..."). They were still capable of giving us hard rock (courtesy of super producer of the time Martin Birch) with brains.

As to the quality of the re-issue, it has the usual complaints aimed at Culture Factory's releases. It's hard to say that the CD is 'remastered' as much as 'made louder.' Audiophiles will cry foul, but they'll be plenty for whom the listening experience will be unsullied. "Cultosaurus Erectus" has none of the flaws from other in CF's collection (the shoddy digital skips in "The Romantics," for one example). I like the recreation of the album sleeve, with the caveat that the print is so freaking tiny. Proceed at your own risk.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult "Mirrors"

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.