Cultosaurus Erectus

 

 

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"Cultosaurus Erectus" stands as a testament to what is perhaps Blue Oyster Cult's most varied work. It comes hot on the heels of the artistic risk that was "Mirrors" and concocts a hybrid cocktail consisting of "Tyranny and Mutation" and "Spectres" while straight-lacing the sound with a solid dose of good old fashioned rock n' roll. The result is an album that bounces all over the place without sounding disjointed or unhinged.

'Black Blade' gets the album rolling, sounding more like an ode to The Who than anything BOC has done before. Traditionally, the first tracks on Blue Oyster Cult albums aren't always the strongest (notable contenders like 'Godzilla' exempted) but 'Black Blade' builds anticipation with some odd time signatures and a thunder-chug that leads straight into the swing-oriented 'Monsters,' a mixture of hard-edged rock and late night lounge jazz that takes the first-time listener by complete surprise, exchanging power and punch for sound-laced trimming. 'Divine Wind' tunes down the music into a thick, dark and evil take on standard four-bar blues with a gritty sing-along chorus you just can't resist. 'Deadline' shows BOC channeling some of their inner 'Reaper' with a beautifully warped take on psychedelia, driven primarily by Joe Bouchard's low-moaning bassline and Donald Roeser picking up lead vocal duties. It is definitely a huge highlight of the album, if not BOC's entire catalog. 'The Marshall Plan' is a celebratory ode to rock n' roll, complete with a live audience mixed into the track to give it a "right there" feel, with the legendary Don Kirshner in tow to plug the band's critical acclaim. 'Hungry Boys' channels elements of pop and slight Stooges-style punk in a rather straightforward manner. 'Fallen Angel' sees the band once again channeling their inner Who to almost uncomfortable degree. Joe Bouchard's remarkable resemblance to Roger Daltry's vocals does nothing to help matters. Thankfully, the song is a high energy number. 'Lips In The Hills' is a showcase for BOC's quirky sense of humor and tackles Pyromania-era Def Leppard to become one of the fastest songs on the album with a catchy (albeit overused) guitar riff. 'Unknown Tongue' is perhaps the oddest track on the album, and seems to speak about the guilt of self-pleasure and the harshness of budding desires and feelings amidst a largely religious upbringing, relying on rather explicit detail regarding the mind of an underage girl. It is however, a major highlight of the album, once again channeling lounge jazz, soft and hard rock with a memorable sing-along chorus.

"Cultosaurus Erectus" tries to do a lot within the space of its running time. Thankfully, the band doesn't come apart at the seams while under the watchful eye of the great Martin Birch, who produced a truly excellent album. Indeed, the band pays homage to Deep Purple in 'The Marshall Plan,' and the irony is not lost on anyone who is fluent in Birch's musical history with the band. It's a great album, and unique within the BOC discography. It does take several repeated listens to truly appreciate, however. First-time listeners (especially those who enter the Cult with this album) will find themselves a bit disoriented less than halfway through. Nevertheless, musical cohesion becomes very clear as the album is soaked in and appreciated for being the excellent stop-gap in between "Mirrors" and the great "Fire Of Unknown Origin." It certainly proves that the Blue Oyster Cult were always trying something different and unique; something foreign to many bands of the time period.

I am a big BOC fan and have most of their releases. This CD was okay but certainly not their best effort.

The final line in the opener Black Blade lets you know that you are not in Kansas anymore. After pop experimentations Agents of Fortune to Mirrors BOC got back to their darker side with this one. The production is better, coutesy of Martin Birch(Iron Maden, Black Sabbath) but that's also where one of the albums problems lie. Sandy Pearlman, the groups original producer and songwriter is absent here. Thankfully it is not a crushing blow as some songs: the dark deomon from hell(Black Blade), the failed space expodition(Monsters), the quirky drug-enduced frenzy(Hungry Boys), and the mass paranoia(Lips in the Hills) all work great. However, most of the others are clunkers(Divine Wind is pretty good, too although goes on for far too long, Fallen Angel starts off good but goes nowhere). On this one though the pluses outweigh the minuses and makes for a very sadisfying album. They would perfect this type of music on the superior Fire of Unknow Origin, but this one is almost as good.

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4.0 out of 5 stars B.O.C. as N.W.O.B.H.M.
A producer can override a group in making an album's flavor this way or that. In this case, Martin Birch (later of Iron Maiden / Whitesnake fame) Britified B.O.C. Read more

Published on Nov 9 2003 by Johnny S Geddes

4.0 out of 5 stars When Dinos Ruled the World
"Black Blade" is one of my favorite Blue Oyster Cult songs. It marked their most successful foray into the science fiction/hard rock hybrids that made the meat of their first... Read more

Published on Oct 12 2003 by Tim Brough

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