Blue Öyster Cult - Imaginos (LP)
- LP
- 1 piece(s)
- 1988
- 9 tracks
- 55 min
- classic rock
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4.1
Average of 8 reviews
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4
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Alright, so here's the deal with Blue Öyster Cult's 'Imaginos'. After their 'Club Ninja' album flopped in a hard rock scene that had moved on, Columbia was ready to drop them. But then, Sandy Pearlman and Albert Bouchard pitched this project that wrapped up a bunch of weird themes from BÖC's whole discography. Bouchard wanted to release a trilogy of solo albums to bring the 'Imaginos' mythology to life, but Columbia said no unless it was one BÖC album. So, here we have this quasi-band record with all original members plus a bunch of guest stars, including a ton of guest guitarists. Eric, Buck, and Albert handle most of the vocals, with some help from others. There's a remake of "Astronomy" (though it's not as good as the original), "I'm the One You Warned Me Of", "In the Presence of Another World" (this one's great!), and "Del Rio's Song" that stand out. It's heavier than any previous BÖC album, but that's not always a good thing. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't enjoy 'Imaginos' much at first, but I've grown to appreciate it. It's a culmination of the 'Imaginos' concept and the band's career. I'm still sticking with my initial 3-star rating and considering it the least of their Columbia Records era, but I get it more now. Some folks might not even consider this a real BÖC album, and I can't argue with that. It seems popular on Amazon, though, so maybe I'm just being a contrarian... Guess you can call me Desdenova.
As a devoted BOC enthusiast, I was overjoyed when this album hit the shelves, as it appeared the band had met their demise. Upon listening, I was just as delighted, yet equally perplexed. The good news is that it remains a powerful release from the band years later. The first thing that strikes you about Imaginos is its heaviness. The album is thunderous and extravagant in all the right ways. After the lackluster releases of recent years, this was a genuine surprise. More than half of the album is exceptional, but special mention must be made of 'In The Presence...', 'Les Invisibles', and 'I Am The One You Warned Me Of', all of which evoke a better era for BOC. The true standout track is 'The Siege and Investiture..', a song that is almost absurd with its huge vocal choir, the guitar wall of sound, and Bouchard's histrionic vocals. This track is massive and absolutely fantastic. Much attention was given, at the time, to its reworking of two of their classics 'Subhuman' and 'Astronomy', both of which hold up well, but are not enhanced by the redo. They seem to be included to flesh out the story and perhaps harken back to the glory days for the band. Which leads to the only two issues with this album. First, the story is not fully developed in any way, more a suggestion of unity than any strong thematic flow. The problem here comes mainly from the troubles this album faced during its creation, with much of the story pared down for a single release. Even still, having read Bouchard's original idea, I feel that it is muddled and confusing without any drive. The other issue is that this is not a band album, but a solo project by Bouchard that was taken by the record company and released under the BOC name, with the other members overdubbing vocals and adding a few guitar bits, giving it a slightly disjointed feel. The real shame of this is that everyone involved has distanced themselves from the album, and as a result, it is briefly mentioned in their history, never included on any collection (of which there are too many) and is now out of print. A real shame since this is actually one to be proud of.
As a devoted BOC enthusiast, I was overjoyed when this album hit the shelves, as it appeared the band had met their demise. Upon listening, I was delighted yet perplexed. The good news is that it remains a powerful release from the band even years later. The first thing that strikes you about Imaginos is its heaviness. The album is thunderously over the top in all the right ways. After the lackluster releases of recent years, this was a genuine surprise. More than half of the album is outstanding, but special mention must be made of 'In The Presence...', 'Les Invisibles', and 'I Am The One You Warned Me Of', all of which remind me of better days for BOC. The standout track is 'The Siege and Investiture..', a song that is almost absurd with its huge vocal choir, the guitar wall of sound, and Bouchard's dramatic vocals. This track is massive and absolutely fantastic. Much attention was given at the time to its reworking of two of their classics, 'Subhuman' and 'Astronomy', both of which hold up well but aren't improved by the redo. They seem to be included to flesh out the story and perhaps harken back to the band's glory days. The only two issues with this album are that the story isn't fully fleshed out, more of a suggestion of unity than any strong thematic flow. The problem here stems mainly from the troubles this album faced during its creation, with much of the story pared down for a single release. Even still, having read Bouchard's original idea, I find it muddled and confusing without any drive. The other issue is that this isn't a band album but a solo project by Bouchard that was repackaged by the record company under the BOC name, with the other members overdubbing vocals and adding a few guitar bits, giving it a slightly disjointed feel. The real shame is that everyone involved has distanced themselves from the album, and as a result, it's briefly mentioned in their history, never included in any collection (of which there are too many), and is now out of print. A real shame since this is actually one to be proud of.
This US version really outshines the UK/Euro ones… I'm betting the DMM in the run out grooves means it was Direct Metal Mastered, which I've noticed helps keep the volume consistent on longer albums… Iron Maiden is another band where DMM makes a difference…
The US version of this record is way better than the UK/Euro ones... I'm thinking the DMM in the run out grooves means it was Direct Metal Mastered, right? I've noticed that DMM usually helps keep the volume consistent on longer albums... Iron Maiden's records are another great example where DMM makes a difference...
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