Blue Öyster Cult - Boxset Remasters 2012 *

Quick question about the disc labels in this set: I picked this box up used, the labels for Imaginos and Club Ninja are white instead of red, with the following text:

• Imaginos: 24682 Copyright 2007 American Beat Records on the left, This compilation Copyright 2007 Sony BMG Music Entertainment on the right
• Club Ninja: 70002 Copyright 2009 American Beat Records on the left, Copyright 1985 Sony Music Entertainment on the right

Are these how the discs appear in the box or did someone switch them out on me?

Thanks

 

My copy was bought new, and both Imaginos and Club Ninja are red labelled, copyright 2012 Sony Music.

I suspect someone bought the box to get the new remasters of the discs that hadn't been previously issued. You might check the copyright dates on the other discs that weren't previously remastered, like Cultosaurus, FOUO, & Revolution...

If I bought a used box like that I'd be upset, as that was the main reason for the getting the box for me, plus the two previously unreleased discs (and downloadable concerts).

 

The old switcheroo trick, guranteed.

 

Up to Specters, all the CDs are the 2001 and 2007 remasters. I don't think I would spring for the set, myself.

 

On Your Feet Or On your Knees wasn't remastered previously.

 

Studio albums, then.

 

I think I've finally decided to resist the temptation of this box. My interest in BOC takes a steady downturn after Spectres, and I already have the complete Columbia discography anyway, including both original issues and remasters of some titles. This was thanks to an apparently dearly departed metalhead whose BOC, Deep Purple, Metallica and Alice Cooper collections ended up at the Salvation Army store last year. I haven't seen any indication that the remaster of On Your Feet... is much of an improvement, so I think I'll spend that money elsewhere.

 

I picked this up last week and have just about finished it (still have the DVD to watch). I was a little hesitant to buy it as the bands post Agents of Fortune work has a very patchy reputation but I am pleasantly surprised by the overall quality. The early years will always be my favourite but the only really "bad" albums were The Revolution by Night and Club Ninja. Imaginos may sound a little too "eighties" but it has a lot more teeth than most of their other albums from that decade. I have to wonder what may have happened if they hadn't given Albert Bouchard the boot and recorded a proper followup to Fire of Unknown Origin. With the right songs/producer they could have carried through on the momentum they had with that album and been a fairly vital band for most of the eighties.

I had never heard On Your Feet or on Your Knees before so that one is getting multiple spins.

 

I'd love a set with "Fire Of a Unknown Origin"..."Burnin' For You"s Video is great,tho kinda strange,too.

 

OYFOOYK is one of my favorite CDs of all time. And this mastering is a good one! Seems to have a little more bite than the original, but I do like both. They are just different flavors of the same thing.

 

Seeing this bumped reminds me to say I appreciate the feedback to pick this up - I have playing the hell out of this box and loving it for few months now. Most of it is new to me and now I'm wondering how I went unaware for so long. Kind of love it when that happens.

 

So does this box set contain the stuff from the Bad Channels soundtrack? I didn't see Demon's Kiss or The Horsmen Arrive on the rarities disc. I assume the instrumental score from Bad Channels is also not included?

 

No it doesn't. This box set only covers the Columbia years. Which is why Curse Of The Hidden Mirror and Heaven Forbid are not included either.

 

I bought this boxed set for 39.95 (Euro) at some point (and, as you can tell, I'm late to the game) and I've been really enjoying it.

 

Thanks. I'm not familiar with those two tracks. Where are they found?

 

Those are two studio albums, not tracks. They were done after BOC left Columbia. Like the Bad Channels soundtrack. They're worth picking up. As is their live album that was done in that timeframe too.

Edit - a slight correction - "Curse of the Hidden Mirror" is also a track, but not on this album. It is on the Stalk Forrest Group (pre-BOC BOC) album recorded in 1970.

 

Correct. I should have specified that these were albums, not songs. The Stalk-Forrest Group St. Cecilia CD is great too, and should be heard. It was recently reissued so it shouldn't be too expensive.

 

I apologize for the necro-bump, but I just got my box set today. I'm totally in love with it, but now I need to complete my boc collection with the post Columbia stuff. So that's Curse of the Hidden Mirror, Heaven Forbid, and the Bad Channels soundtrack. Aside from the Stalk-Forrest Group disc, which I've heard (and probably won't bother seeking out ) is there anything I'm forgetting?

 

Do you have the concert DVDs? The 1976 has very uneven SQ but it's the original five. The later DVD is a more professional product, but is less interesting. If you want everything you need those.

 

I'm not concerned with getting any DVDs. And...upon researching prices online I'm starting to think pursuing these post-Columbia discs might not be worth the money either. I'd have guessed these discs were out of print, but holy crap they're expensive.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying The Box. Beyond those, there are just a few other things:

Flat Out (1982) - Buck Dharma's solo album. It's worth a listen, sounds basically like a lot of the stuff on Fire of Unknown Origin. Burnin' for You was originally intended to go on Flat Out. Overall, it's pretty light by comparison to, say, Cultösaurus. I dig it.
Albert Bouchard's Imaginos Demo Tape - It's certainly worth hearing, and I think worth having. Being a bootleg, I've only got it on CD-R.
Cult Classic (1995) - re-recorded songs + instrumental "TV mixes" of (Don't Fear) The Reaper & Godzilla.
A Long Day's Night - Live DVD from 2001. Eric's voice is a tad off, but it's worth seeing.
Live 1976 (The one with the white cover and red text.) Separate VHS & CD releases. Great video quality, but the sound is a little off.
The Singles Collection has various edited/shortened single versions, but unfortunately lacks any b-sides.
Live in the West (1975) - Nobody but the band, some friends & family, and a handful of lucky bootleggers have this. Essential. Here's hoping for an official reissue this year!


There are a handful of various live tracks & rarities scattered throughout some compilations:

Setlist - The Very Best of BÖC Live has the live version of Godzilla with the 'Raymond Burr intro', as discussed in this thread, and a live version of Flaming Telepaths (which may or may not be the one from the boot The Thing!, I'm not sure). There's also a live version of The Vigil, but it's also on the Box's Rarities Disc.

Although I don't have a copy myself, I've read that Don't Fear the Reaper: The Best of Blue Öyster Cult has a version of Flaming Telepaths (remixed?) without the music box intro (i.e. the song starts with just the drums). The one on Workshop of the Telescopes has the intro, but it's cut differently to separate it from Harvester of Eyes.

There's a version of Burnin' for You on Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Body Workout (1983) with Arnie talking over it.

I think the Box pretty much has you covered. If you dig Mirrors, you would probably enjoy Flat Out, so I say go and give that a spin sometime.


Heaven Forbid & Curse are very good, if not great albums, but they're not quite BÖC's best. They're maybe not essential, but nevertheless they're certainly worth having. For the sake of my finances, I'm waiting til they get reissued - I'm not paying $50 for one CD, especially one that's not mastered particularly well. With Bad Channels, I'd advise against paying too much, as it's only two actual BÖC songs + a bunch instrumental soundtrack type stuff from Buck, and a handful other band's songs (which are actually pretty good).

 

Edit - was typing this when AoF's post showed up. I'll leave it anyway, though it's probably partly redundant.

If all you have is the Columbia box, and don't care about dvd's, you'll still need:

Bad Channels soundtrack
Cult Classic (re-recordings of their hits - it's pretty cool on its own, but doesn't outdo the original tracks)
Heaven Forbid
Curse of the Hidden Mirror

Also the live albums:
Live 1976
A Long Day's Night

And if I remember correctly, there might be 1-2 unique tracks on Workshop of the Telescopes.

The pre-BOC release by The Stalk Forrest Group, St. Cecilia, is worth getting. It originally came out in limited numbers on Rhino Handmade, and was reissued later on some other label. The reissue doesn't contain all of the tracks of the Rhino edition, I don't think.

Also, Buck Dharma's solo album, "Flat Out", is worth seeking out, IMO.

 

I find Flat Out to be extremely disappointing outside of "Born to Rock". I'd avoid that one if possible. In terms of live stuff, I highly urge people to seek out Live in the West 1975.

 

Everything on Workshop has been reissued elsewhere. The "promo-only versions" of Workshop of the Telescopes & The Red and The Black (and Buck's Boogie from the same set) are on the Box's Rarities Disc, and Born to be Wild appears on the 2001 & 2012 (box version) Secret Treaties remaster.

But that's not to say Workshop of the Telescopes isn't worth having. If you're going to have one and only one BÖC compilation, this is it.

 

Stalk-Forrest Group is a bit odd, but outside of Demon's Kiss, Bad Channels is not worth worrying about. I much prefer SFG.