Search - Blue Oyster Cult :: Agents of Fortune (Multichannel/Stereo)

The only multichannel BÖC you'll ever get.

G. Allen | 04/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a BÖC fan since the early 70s. I am more of a Black and White BÖC fan than I am of the later works, but when I saw that a BÖC multichannel CD was available, I had to jump on it. This CD has the ubiquitous "Don't Fear the Reaper", which was their big FM hit, and is a song I pretty much despise (I am glad it got them airplay and made them some $, but I was tired of hearing it about the 3rd time around). Happily, the CD has a couple of really superior BÖC tunes, "Morning Final" and "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" featuring the one and only Patti Smith.



The multichannel remixing was done by Shelly Yakus, and that is pretty much why this CD gets 4 stars instead of 5. To say this mix is conservatively done is an understatement. Very little use is made of the center channel, and for the most part the rears feature rhythm guitars (hey, this is Blue Öyster Cult we are talking about, they got plenty of guitars)in a rather muted fashion. I was hoping for a really immersing 5 channel experience (see Roxy Music's 'Avalon' or Dire Straits' 'Brothers In Arms'), and you just don't get that with this mix. ON THE OTHER HAND, this is almost certainly going to be the one and only 5.1 CD or DVD that ever gets released by the Cult, so one's hands are pretty much tied. You want multichannel BÖC? You gotta buy this disk.



Four Stars, it could have been better. The Band deserves better."

Unadventurous Surround Mix

Russell Engebretson | 07/09/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The SACD surround mix is conservative, but certainly more discrete than a "doubled stereo" effect. Sometimes rhythm guitars or percussion instruments are isolated in the rear speakers; the paperboy's cry of "Read all about it! Paper mister?" in 'Morning Final' swirls around you from front to back; and the overall enveloping ambiance makes the listening experience more engaging than the stereo mix.



There have been complaints about the muddy sound of the SACD, but this has always been a thick, murky, compressed album, whether from vinyl or CD. Like a number of other heavy rockers from the seventies, it was probably mastered that way intentionally. Even with the purposefully thick mid-range soundscape, the SACD is clearer and more pleasing than any version I've heard. It sounds especially nice when cranked up to realistic volume levels.



The "Agents of Fortune" SACD (no Redbook CD layer on this release) is a necessary purchase if you're a fan of BOC and have a system capable of playing multi-channel SACD (or even the stereo SACD layer, which is much better than the CD remasters). Four stars for the SACD and three stars for the surround mix."