Short Reviews [Blue Oyster Cult - 2024 - "Ghost Stories"]

There is no doubt that since signing with Frontiers Music that there has been a real outpouring of BOC material, and here we have a collection of songs which were originally recorded between 1978 and 1983, except for one track from 2016, "If I Fell." This includes the only known studio recording of their concert classic “Kick Out the Jams” (MC5 cover). Some of the material is from sessions workshopping material for an album, some is from performance rehearsals, and while this is not a “proper” album which is going to be sought out by the general punter, there is a consistency here which comes with a band who were both consistently recording and touring. They released four albums between 1978 and 1983, then just two more in the Eighties, and only three in the last 35 years, so these songs come from a very busy period as they revelled in the success not only of albums but also "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". The version of “We Gotta Get Out of Place” is full of fun and joy, sounding very much like a live performance, and I prefer this to the version which appeared on “Some Enchanted Evening”, while “Kick Out The Jams” seems somewhat muted even though it is high octane stuff, as that is a song which very much belongs in the live environment bouncing off the energy coming from the crowd. Apart from the later track, which has wisely been put at the end of the album, they all feature the classic line-up of Eric Bloom (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals), Allen Lanier (guitar, keyboards) and Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (guitar, vocals), while George Geranios, the band's original audio engineer and an integral part of the band's golden years, co-produced the original 1978-83 recordings along with BOC. Aimed for fans of the band, this is actually an interesting set which is worthy of investigation, and I am sure many will be pleased these songs have finally been made available.