AGENTS OF FORTUNE

Blue Oyster Cult is one of those bands from back in the day that created music that one might call complicated. I'd bought this CD after already listening endlessly to some of their others, such as Fire Of Unknown Origin and Cultosaurus. After such songs as Fallen Angel, Heavy Metal, Veteran Of The Psychic Wars and Unknown Tongue this Agents Of Fortune CD seemed silly, perhaps ridiculous. The first two songs that lead the way- This Ain't The Summer Of Love and True Confessions didn't leave me with a good beginning impression of this work. I didn't consider myself a serious fan of their famous song (Don't Fear) The Reaper either. The pseudo-macho line in the chorus 'baby I'm your man' seemed to take away from the powerful mood of a song about someone facing their final days. One might also keep in mind that the first two BOC albums I was exposed to were Revolution By Night and Club Ninja (liked both very much). Agents Of Fortune is rather different from BOC's later works. However, one thing I've always realized is that BOC did have a rather complicated style back then. I'm not sure if they were still 'searching for their sound' as the saying goes or if they were simply doing what feels good to them. Whatever the case is, everything BOC did in the studio had a particular vigour and confidence lacking in bands from both now and then. After listening to the entire CD a few times (except for the extra tracks, bleh, I prefer the final, 'professiona' versions of songs rather than some early 'raw' version) I realized Agents Of Fortune was seriously growing on me, as the saying goes. I can honestly say it's now my favorite album. I really like every song on this album. No two songs are alike. Each has it's own style and flavor, yet each is very BOC. The sillyness of True Confessions ("True, true confessions.. I lied.. ") The dark (Don't Fear) The Reaper can still give my spine a tingle when the song nears it's end and the heroine of the song is about to die when the reaper appears. You might be surprised at the unintended philosophical value (perhaps I should say psychological value) of this song, not to mention it's a great song anyway. It's like an expression of the unanswered question we all eventually face. The catchy, crazy song Revenge Of The Vera Gemeni ("Oh, no more horses, horses. We're gonna swim like a fish. Into the hole in which you planned to ditch me..") My favorite song on this Album remains Morning Final, another song about death.. this time about murder. As always, BOC delivers with that persistant vigour and confidence. Agents Of Fortune. All Time Classic.

So for whatever reason, 2021 has been the year I have listened to Blue Oyster Cult more than anything else. Certainly I have heard songs from this band when I was a teenager 45 years ago but I never bought any of their albums until now. From the self titled first album "Blue Oyster Cult" thru "The Revolution By Night" I have been surprised at how much great music these guys have made that I've largely ignored. My favorite album is this one, "Agents of Fortune". It is a departure from their "black and white" period and for me sounds as though the band allowed themselves to expand and take on some different sounds. Nothing wrong with the first 3 albums but for me this album is their best, and I'd take "Agents of Fortune", "Spectres", and "Cultosaurus Erectus" over the first three albums. (And the original version of the song "Fire of Unknown Origin" included as a bonus track on this CD is much better than the title cut version on the album released 5 years later. And the demo version of "The Reaper" provides context on how the band members added so much power and emotion to the song released on this album, brilliant).

I was looking for this album that I had many years ago as a teenager. I’ve seen used ones that looked worse for wear. This album is brand new and still in its shrink wrap. The price was very reasonable and this album is worth every cent I paid for it.

This is the fourth studio album from Blue Öyster Cult which was remastered and reissued on the Columbia/Legacy label. As with the other three reissues there are lyrics, photos, and liner notes by Lenny Kaye. In addition, there are four bonus tracks, none of which were previously released. "Agents of Fortune" was recorded in 1975 and 1976, and released in May of 1976. Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman were joined by David Lucas as producers of this album. This remastered CD was released on June 26th of 2001, and Bruce Dickinson produced the remastered version. "Agents of Fortune" was the start of a new period for the group. The first three albums are often called their "black-and-white" period, and the live album "On Your Feet or On Your Knees" marked the end of that period. This album has a number of memorable songs, such as "This Ain't The Summer of Love", "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)", "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", and the too often overlooked "Morning Final". Of course, it is best known for "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" which is one of the greatest Rock songs of all time. The four bonus tracks consist of songs which were considered for the album. "Fire of Unknown Origin" was an outtake which would appear on an album of the same name five years later, although this is a significantly different version of the song than the one which would eventually be released. "Sally" was demoed for the album, but not used. It later was used by Albert Bouchard on "Trepanation", which was the 1995 release from his band "The Brain Surgeons". The third bonus track is the original demo for "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". "Dance the Night Away" is another demo which was eventually used by Jim Carroll (who co-wrote the song with Allen Lanier) on his "I Write Your Name" album. The band credits for this album are: Eric Bloom (vocals, guitar, percussion), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, and harmonica), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, piano), Allen Lanier (keyboards, vocals, guitar and bass), and Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitar, vocals, synthesizer, percussion). Guest artists on this album include Patti Smith (vocal on "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", and Michael and Randy Brecker (horns). This is another solid release from BÖC, but it is a bit uneven so despite the great moments I can only give it four stars. It is unfortunate that as of yet there are no additional remastered releases of the Blue Öyster Cult catalog available. It would be wonderful to see what other hidden gems could be added to such albums as "Spectres", "Fire of Unknown Origin", or even their live albums. Until that happens, we will just have to be satisfied with the remastered versions of their first four albums.

Excelente calidad bien embalaje llegó antes del tiempo estimado, buen sonido

Leuk album

Mooi CD met het mooie nummer don't fear the reaper. Plus de demoversie van dit nummer.

Fantastic album. Great recording with quality sound.

武骨で直接的、という米国ロックのイメージと対極にあるブルー・オイスター・カルト。エアロスミスもキッス、チープ・トリックもBOCなくしては生まれてこなかっただろう、という影響力がありながら超然と独自の美学を追究する姿勢があります。実に都会的な音です。さらに彼らのメイン・テーマであるところのオカルト、超常的現象についても、とってつけたようなものではなく本当に好きなんだろうな、と思います。 シングルヒットを狙ったことはないと公言する彼らのヒット、3. Don't Fear The Reaper の位置が絶妙です。ギターが美しい4. E.T.I. 、パティ・スミスが色っぽくささやく5. The Revenge Of Vera Gemini と展開する部分、本当に好きです。曲の構成がしっかりしているのも彼らの特徴。一方、それがヘビーロック・ユーザーからすると物足りない部分でもあるんですが。音の衝撃で勝負するグループではなく、じわじわと来る異常さが真骨頂なのでしょう。 13. Don't Fear The Reaper は、バック・ダーマが曲を思いついたときの4トラ宅録デモです。これは本当に貴重。音数が少ないのに曲の魔力はこちらのほうがあります。

Discaço, só música pr@dha do início ao fim. Qualidade suprema para o nicho de produto.