Search - Blue Oyster Cult :: Tyranny & Mutation

Mutated and Improved

Dave_42 | Australia | 07/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is another of the great remastered reissues of the first four Blue Öyster Cult albums which Sony put out on the Columbia/Legacy label. They include lyrics, photos, and liner notes by Lenny Kaye. They also contain additional tracks, and on this release that includes three live cuts and one outtake from the album session. In addition the albums have been digitally remastered and sound better than ever. "Tyranny and Mutation" was recorded in 1972 and released in February of 1973. It was produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. This remastered CD was released on June 26th of 2001. Bruce Dickinson produced the remastered versions. One odd note about this album is that is their only album where the group is listed as The Blue Öyster Cult.



The album was originally going to be titled "The Red and The Black", and each side retains the subtitle from that original plan. The first four tracks (side one on the LP) are called "The Black" (physical, sensual, aural activation). It opens with "The Red & The Black", which is a new version of "I'm On the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" from their first album. This version is heavier and has more drive to it, and it is this version that appears on two of their live albums and that they still play today. It continues with "O.D.'d On Life Itself", "Hot Rails To Hell", and "7 Screaming Diz-Busters". All of these are regular concert fare for the group, and all are hard driving rock.



The next four tracks (side two on the LP) were titled "The Red" (phantasmagorical id-teasers and supernatural beings). It opens with "Baby Ice Dog" which is the first collaboration that the group did with Patti Smith. That is followed by "Wings Wetted Down", "Teen Archer", and "Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)". These pieces are much different than those on side one. They are more mysterious and melodic then the pieces in "The Black". My personal favorites on this album are the closing pieces to each section.



The remastered CD has an additional section which is the bonus tracks. There is a live version of "Cities on Flame with Rock And Roll" from a promotion album called "Blue Öyster Cult Bootleg EP" (the other songs from that release are available on the "Workshop of the Telescopes" compilation CD). The next track is a studio outtake from the recording sessions called "Buck's Boogie"; the live version appears on "On Your Feet or on Your Knees". The final two bonus tracks are live versions of "7 Screaming Diz-Busters" and "O.D.'d on Life Itself", which come from a "bootleg" made by the band to give to friends and family which was titled "Blue Öyster Cult in the West".



The group consists of Eric Bloom (vocals, stun guitar, synthesizers), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, keyboards), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar), and Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitar, vocals). This album is a solid four stars, and as with many of their albums, it improves each time you listen to it.

"

Screaming dizbusters

Rick Chenault | Marysville, Oh USA | 07/09/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Rereleases are always fraught with a little dread and consternation. The question of whether the remastering will get it right or not is omnipresent. It is no secret that BOC has had some problems with updating their catalog. Recent compilations have shown that things can become quite wrongheaded. This is not however the case with this current set of reissues. T & M is simply marvelous. It captures and adds some sonic depth to the original and provides some stunning Live cuts to make this a BOC's fan dream come true. Cuts like "Quicklime Girl", "OD'd On Life Itself", and a Live bonus cut of "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" prove what a devastating sonic force BOC were. "Baby Ice Dog" is devastatingly ominous in the new mastering. I haven't had the opportunity to give a listen to the rest of the catalog as a whole but I can only hope that it is as metciulous and worthy as this CD. BOC applied a great vocal harmonic sense to the heavy metal genre and with that set the stage for acts like Def Leppard, and God forgive them, hair-metal As the great philosopher Homer Simpson said " Rock On ."Buck Dharma for one."

BOC's first TRULY solid effort in a long line of CLASSICS!!

Jeffrey M. Smith | 02/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The second in BOC's "Black and White" period. The B&W period consists of their first three albums and is named that for the dark and cryptic over-tones they possess (an everlasting theme they've perfected to this day, but yet not to the extent of the B&W period), and ofcourse, the black and white album-covers they sport. Personally, Tyranny & Mutation is by far my favorite of BOC's first three massive assaults, and is a lot tighter and well-rounded than the first. It's divided in two sections, "The Black" and "The Red", and the first track is appropriately called "The Red & The Black" and is actually an impressive re-doing of "I'm On The Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" off their debut. Stand-outs are "O.D.d' On Life Itself", "Hot Rails To Hell", "Wings Wetted Down" and "Mistress Of The Salmon Salt" (commonly known as "Quicklime Girl"). But in my opinion, EVERY song on this impressive album totally rocks and has the MOST classic (and dark!) rock & roll sound and "feel" to it, of the entire B&W period. Where as the first and third may have just a couple possible throw-away tracks, Tyranny & Mutation is solid from start to finish, and it begins to show the incredible talents of the band, and demonstrates what I love most about BOC: they are one of THE most creative and interesting bands out there! If you liked their debut, then you are sure to love their second effort with even more ease than the first (though it doesn't take much effort at all to get into these guys). An instant classic!"