Classic Rock

Blue Oyster Cult – Secret Treaties

Probably my favorite BOC album is this, their third outing. I think this was the first thing I heard by these cats, just before they broke with “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” and Agents of Fortune.

This album opens with another BOC patented catchy-as-hell, half-step riff and obscure lyrics in “Career of Evil”. This sounds pretty damn perverse with lines like “I want your wife to be mine”, “I choose to steal what you choose to show”, “you’re mine for the taking” and “I’d like to do it to your daughter on a dirt road”! Whew! Great song, though!

“Subhuman” is a bit more keyboard dominated and a little slower, but still dark sounding with some more terrific Buck Dharma guitar parts. They band picks up the pace again with “Dominance and Submission” – yes, this is a pretty twisted album! This rocks fiercely with intricate harmony guitar lines and the call and answer of “dominance” /”submission”/”radios appear” (where Radio Birdman got their album title) is a pretty genius touch. The ending builds to a wild climax of intensity and lead guitars! Excellent! And then they take off with the even wilder “ME 262”! This is ultra-high-energy, super-sonic r’n’r with lyrics about aerial dog fights in World War II, complete with bomb-dropping and siren sound effects!

“Cagey Cretins” is only slightly less intense, but still has guitars flying right & left as singer Bloom wails “it’s so lonely in the state of Maine”! This segues directly into “Harvester of Eyes”, which cuts back slightly on the speed, and has another choppy...

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