Blue ?yster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin
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Free Music Notes for Fire of Unknown Origin
Free Music Review: BOC finally gets it right
Hit: 5 Stars
Fire Of Unknown Origin has a magic that BOC was not able to produce on any of their other works. It is like no other album they released. I mean, c'mon, let's face it - aside from "Don't Fear the Reaper" and "Godzilla", Blue Oyster Cult is largely known for uneventful, very forgettable, boring music.
Until "Fire of Unknown Origin", that is.
BOC got "Fire" right. It's really a lot of fun, and all the magical elements that one would expect from a band named Blue Oyster Cult is found here in all it's spooky glory. But an interesting aspect of this album is that your kids can listen to it, a rare find. Matter of fact, with songs like "Joan Crawford", "Dont Turn Your Back", "After Dark", etc, Fire Of Unknonw Origin makes one begin to think BOC was attempting to release a soundtrack for a Walt Disney movie about haunted houses.
Comments on a few of the songs:
Veteran Of The Psychic Wars: Haunting. Immortal. Hall of Fame kind of stuff. The unique flow and haunting death drums is immortalized in history as part of the soundtrack to the animated movie "Heavy Metal".
Any comments I add to that would be unworthy to desribe the song itself. It's that cool.
"Burnin For You" still gets tons of airplay even today, and rightly so. It's virtually the perfect mix for a pop song with hard rock at it's foundation.
Deserving special mention, and equally as cool as "Veteran", is the song "The Pact", which is actually the correct plot summary/synopsis of the final "Taarna" episode in the original animated movie "Heavy Metal" (for all the guys out there, it's the chapter with the well-endowed, silver-haired babe who rides the the funky "birdosaur"), even including spoken lines of script being used for lyrics in the song. Perfect work, the songs fit the content.
This is the one difinitive BOC album/disc you have to have for your collection. Sadly, is the best BOC ever did, and Fire Of Unknown Origin stands out like a sore thumb compared to all their other work - it's like someone else wrote the entire album (I know that sounds horrible, I apologize - but this is the only album where everything "clicked"). When you mention "Blue Oyster Cult" to a fellow rock music connoseiur, the reaction is always the same: the response is always about Godzilla, Reaper, Veteran or maybe Burnin For You. If you were an alien that just landed on earth today, you'd think these are the only 4 songs BOC ever recorded.
Regardless, after listening to every BOC release, this is the only one I purchased. And multiple times over the years (record, tape, CD).
Free Music Review: A really great BOC album
Hit: 4 Stars
This is really one of the great BOC albums. Many really great songs here including Veteran of the Psychic Wars (excellent song), Burning for You, Sole Survivor, After Dark, and Fire of Unknown Origin. Heavy Metal & Joan Crawford are a little kooky but aren't bad. Skip the short-sighted compilations and get this album instead. You won't be disappointed. Hopefully they will remaster it soon, but the sound quality is really quite good already.Free Music Review: "After DArk" this gets even better
Hit: 4 Stars
As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various music supplies and recordings from the 60's and 70's.
Although consistent for the memorable songs and albums Blue Oyster Cult's recording output can be split into two realms. The first encompasses the intelligent metal and often-esoteric sounds of the self-titled LP, Tyranny And Mutation, Secret Treaties and the live On Your Feet Or On Your Knees. Phase two entered with the 1976 break through Agents Of Fortune.
June of 1981 "Fire Of Unknown Origin" hit the record shelves and the faithful weren't disappointed. From the opening notes of the rock and roll title cut, it was evident that band was on the right track. "Burnin' For You" was not only a tremendous entry into the singles chart but filled with well constructed lyrics. For old-timers like me the reference to the days of 45 RPM's "Time to play B-sides" was an example of how much went into the lyrical content. With the catchy riff, it deserved every second of airplay it received then. A tribute to its longevity is the frequency classic-rock stations will play the tune today. "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" is often haunting in the construction of the song. Thanks to science-fiction genius and friend of both Hawkwind and BOC, Michael Moorcock made his presence felt in a big way. Ripping your eyes out before you blink twice "Heavy Metal-The Black And Silver" is a track that we listened to a multitude of times to absorb the firepower. "Joan Crawford" was emanating from a plethora of radios in 1981. How could you not be entranced with the lyrical and music combination?
There should never be anything unknown about the fire from Summer 1981.
Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"
Free Music Review: lest we forget...
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a great album,one of my all time favorites- but let's not forget to give some of the credit to Martin Birch, whose singular production style has enriched a lot of classic albums.Free Music Review: One of BOCs 3 best albums (post-Black/White Trilogy)
Hit: 5 Stars
I listened to this album over and over when it first appeared in the early 80's. Don't know where that original LP went to (my brother says he doesn't have it) so I bought the CD. Glad I did. "Burnin' for You" isn't even the best song -- that distinction belongs to "Joan Crawford" imho. Really there's not a single horrible cut on this record -- even "Sole Survivor" is tolerable. That said, this album is still number six on my list overall. Here are the top five: Secret Treaties, Tyranny and Mutation, Blue Oyster Cult, Agents of Fortune, Spectres.