BLUE OYSTER CULT "Hard Rock Live--Cleveland 2014"




BLUE OYSTER CULT

“Hard Rock Live-Cleveland 2014”

I have seen BLUE OYSTER CULT live more than any other band. I believe they are one of the greatest American rock acts ever, but it’s been a long, long time since we’ve had anything new from them. I hear that a new studio album is finally on the way in 2020, but to tide us over until then, we have a new live album recorded in 2014.

The BOC captured live here is really not the BOC of old. Allen Lanier, the keyboardist since the band was known as SOFT WHITE UNDERBELLY, passed away in 2013 and the Bouchard brothers have been a long time gone. The CULT these days is pretty much Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma and whatever talented session players they invite to join them. Where would I rank this set on the list of Cult live albums? I’m not sure, but it can definitely stand as a good document of where the band was in 2014.

It’s a two disc set which covers both the expected hits as well as some very refreshing deep cuts to delight the long time BOC fanatic. The sound is pretty crisp and clean, but it doesn’t have the raw power which made “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees” so memorable. The show opens with “OD’d On Life Itself”, which goes way back to “Tyranny and Mutation” and is an example of the band at their haziest and most spaced out. On this version, Eric Bloom’s vocals sound...really different. His voice has obviously changed over the years, which is to be expected. The riffing on the track is slightly tweaked as well, something which shows up on several of the tunes here. “The Red and The Black” has always been a killer fast and heavy song and generally remains so here, but the first real ringer is “The Golden Age of Leather”, an extremely underrated and atmospheric track from “Spectres” about the last battle between two veteran biker gangs in the desert. This is great to hear just because it is so rare and the screaming leads of Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser are a joy to hear. I’ve always considered Buck the best lead man I’ve ever seen or heard and his performance is outstanding throughout this record.

“Burnin’ For You” makes its expected appearance but a lot earlier in the show than you would think. Buck’s vocals are also very good and unlike Eric Bloom’s, they haven’t changed much over the years. “Career of Evil” is another good one they haven’t played a lot in recent years and sounds solid here, although there are subtle changes in the riffing. Really coming out of left field is “Shooting Shark” from the only BOC album I actively dislike, “Club Ninja”. It comes across a lot better than I would have imagined, again due to some killer extended soloing from Buck and rock solid drum/bass interplay from Jules Radino and the veteran Kasim Sultan. I think Kasim does some lead vocal work on “The Vigil”, another deep cut and a great track with some heavy riffing and spacy atmosphere.
The first record concludes with a barrage of “ME 262”, the great instrumental “Buck’s Boogie” sounding a little bit different than the “On Your Knees...” version and one of my all-time favorite BOC songs, “Black Blade”. I don’t like this version as much as the one on “Extraterrestrial Live” but it’s not too bad.

The second disc starts with one of the oldest Cult tunes, “Then Came The Last Days of May” and this is the best live version of this song I have ever heard. It’s monotonous to repeat, but Buck Dharma’s guitar work is breath-taking. It is really untouchable and 40 years after I started listening to BLUE OYSTER CULT, I still believe he is the best in the business. One listen here will prove why. Then it’s on to my “sentimental” favorite, “Godzilla”. I’ll always love this one, but the extended bass and drum solos here are just not in the same league as what the Bouchard brothers and even Rick Downey have done before. There’s an odd funky workout after the song proper ends that I have not heard before. My fave live version remains the one on “Extraterrestrial Live”. We then get a solid version of “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and a chugging run-through of old chestnut “Harvester of Eyes”.

The closing stretch starts with maybe the most surprising cut on the album, the dreamy and melodic “I Love The Night” from “Spectres”. An interesting choice for sure, but I would have maybe liked “Nosferatu” instead. Then we go back into the vaults for a strong version of an all-time favorite, “Hot Rails to Hell” which I believe has Karim Sultan on lead vocals and sounding not too different than Joe Bouchard. The set wraps up with a real heavy and rocking “Cities On Flame”, where the band sounds just as committed as they were in the early 70’s. Some good crowd participation in this one.

It’s great to hear some live BOC again and if this isn’t the absolute best version of the band live, it sure as hell is nothing to be ashamed of. I can’t wait for the new album!

FRONTIERS RECORDS

BLUE OYSTER CULT

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