Probably not a compulsory Blue Oyster Cult album to your collection, but if you wish to hear a band captured live during their heyday, then ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ is as good a representation from their classic rock era from 1976-1978.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Blue Oyster Cult
ALBUM: Some Enchanted Evening
LABEL: Columbia
SERIAL: JC 35563
YEAR: 1978
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Eric Bloom – lead vocals, stun guitar * Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser – lead guitar, vocals * Allen Lanier – keyboards, guitar * Joe Bouchard – bass, vocals Albert Bouchard – drums, vocals
<TRACK LISTING: 01 R.U Ready 2 Rock * 02 E.T.I (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) * 03 Astronomy * 04 Kick Out The Jams * 05 Godzilla * 06 (Don’t Fear) The Reaper * 07 We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Long Island New York has spawned some great rock bands over the years, none more so than long standing rock dinosaurs Blue Oyster Cult. Life for this band began as far back as 1967 as the Soft White Underbelly. With mentor Sandy Pearlman in tow, he led the band through various incarnations including a plethora of silly band names before settling on Blue Oyster Cult in 1971.
After singing with CBS, BOC released their first album in January 1972. For a time, critics hailed them as the band that represented American heavy metal, though in hindsight that label was wide of the mark, when compared to other underground American bands who were around at the time.
It wasn’t until 1976 and their ‘Agents Of Fortune’ album that Blue Oyster Cult produced their signature commercial success ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’. It enabled them to move into the real ‘big leagues’ of rock. The song made #2 on the Billboard single charts. ‘Spectres’, their 1977 LP was a good album too, featuring another BOC chestnut ‘Godzilla’, but it wasn’t quite as successful as ‘Agents Of Fortune’.
Come 1978, the band made another live album, so soon after their 1975 double live ‘On Your Feet Or On Your Knees’. Initially, Blue Oyster Cult pitched another double live set of material for ‘Some Enchanted Evening’, but CBS got them to cut back to just a single album. The original seven tracks were recorded live in two locations; Atlanta (tracks 1-4) and London (5-7).
The Songs
Eric Bloom revs up the Atlanta crowd on the opener ‘RU Ready To Rock’, a track which regularly makes it into the Blue Oyster Cult set list. ‘E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)’ sourced from the aforementioned ‘Agents Of Fortune’ album is another highlight for me, while the extended mystical mini-epic ‘Astronomy’ isn’t too far away either.
The band deliver a fun workout of their classic ‘Godzilla’, probably one of the highlights of the album. The version of ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ was definitely one for the fans, but this live version lacks much of the deep atmospherics associated with the original studio release.
The album features two cover tracks: MC5‘s classic ‘Kick Out The Jams’, and an excellent version of The Animals ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’. No doubt there were more live tracks that could’ve made it to the album, but were held back.
In Summary
‘Some Enchanted Evening’ was for a time, Blue Oyster Cult’s biggest selling album. Years later, some of these featured as bonus tracks (an additional seven) on the re-released CD version of the album. In 2007, Sony/Legacy released a live 1978 DVD performance of the band featuring eleven tracks.
After this release, the band rested up, and made some directional changes in their career, which saw them more into AOR territory with mixed results. Probably not a compulsory addition to your collection, but if you wish to hear a band captured live during their heyday, then ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ is as good a representation of Blue Oyster Cult from their classic rock era from 1976-1978.
Video
Godzilla (Live 1978)
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
