Blue Öyster Cult – The Revölution By Night

After recapturing their audience and reclaiming their position as a platinum selling rock band, Blue Öyster Cult took two years to complete the follow-up to their smash hit ‘Fire of Unknown Origin’ and it was amazing how much the hard rock landscape had changed while they were away. Unfortunately for these Long Island arena giants, their previous momentum would never be recaptured. As often happens, the departure of a key member ruined the chemistry and when Albert Bouchard was fired, BOC lost a significant songwriter. This album also featured guest stars such as future American Idol host Randy Jackson (bass on “Shooting Shark”) and Aldo Nova. Whether that doomed ‘The Revölution by Night’ or not could be debated but what is not up for discussion is that the late 1983 release was a commercial dud. Produced by Bruce Fairbairn, who later in the decade would chisel out multi-platinum records for Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and AC/DC, ‘Revölution’ would not reach those exalted heights. The LP starts off strong with “Take Me Away” (sung by Eric Bloom) which was also broadcast on MTV but unfortunately there weren’t as many songs after that that enthused the fan base. “Shooting Shark '' (a collaboration between Donald Roeser and Patti Smith) was another tune that got radio play but other than that, this album just leaned too much in an AOR mode while several of BOC’s contemporaries were embracing hard rock/heavy metal’s golden period by making much heavier records. I would now evaluate this album higher due to a greater appreciation for songs such as “Shadow of California'' (more Imaginos mythology), “Feel the Thunder” and “Dragon Lady”, which is almost a speed metal song in comparison to older tracks (kind of a “Tattoo Vampire” for the ‘80s). ‘The Revölution by Night’ is a very good record but it’s not a great one and BÖC would soon fall by the wayside. Whatever you wanna be, BÖC?

I have a question about the CD releases of this album. I have noticed that the cover art for this album has the original cover art shrunken down with a yellow border and a couple of cheap looking "Collector's Choice" logos on it. It looks tacky as hell and super cheap amateurish. I was wondering if there are any versions of the CD with the original cover and cover art intact? Other than the box set of the entire catalog with the "mini album" covers?

Never gave this release much of a listen other than "Take Me Away" and "Shooting Shark". But gave it a thorough listen and side 2 saved the day. I ended up giving the release 3 stars. The pressing seems to be flawless.