[.ca] Agents Of Fortune

True Classic:
The fourth studio album from Blue Oyster Cult which was remastered and reissued and which Sony put out on the Columbia/Legacy label. As with the other three reissues there are lyrics, photos, and liner notes (by Lenny Kaye). In addition, on this release 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 July 3rd of 2001, and it was produced by Bruce Dickinson. "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 considered for the album. "Fire of Unknown Origin" was an outtake which would appear on the album of the same name five years later, although it is a significantly different version of the song. "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 piece is the original demo for "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". The last piece is another demo called "Dance the Night Away" which was 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). It is unfortunate that as of yet there are no additional remastered releases of the Blue Oyster 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.

Reaping the Agents!:
This LP shows all the colors that make BOC one of the most original American hard rock bands. Every band member has their moment on this one--the Bouchard brothers pepper the song line-up w/their eerie, dark edge, Allen Lanier gives us a midnight taste of "Tenderloin", and Eric and Buck unravel some classics upon the masses such as ETI & DFTR...this the one that pushed the Oyster Boys to the next level.

Awesome!!!:
In my opinion, this is the best record put out by Blue Oyster Cult- I had not heard of Blue Oyster Cult, I heard this record and I was hooked!! I think that Blue Oyster Cult is one of the most underrated bands of the 70's......

A Classic from the Mid-70s:
Agents of Fortune is probably B.O.C.'s peak album, a high-point in a strong body of work. Anchored by the mega-hit "Don't Fear The Reaper", Agents Of Fortune has lots of great guitar, and typically "dark" Blue Oyster Cult topics. The production is smoother than the previous albums, with a very polished sound. But the guitar licks are still prominent. "Don't Fear The Reaper" is, of course, a masterpiece. But the whole record is good, especially "ETI", "Sinful Love", "Revenge of Vera Gemini" and "Morning Final" (which has a wonderful piano "hook"). "True Confessions" and "Debbie Denise" are comparative low points, but are still good songs. An interesting side-note: "Vera Gemini" and "Debbie Denise" were co-authored by punk priestess Patti Smith, who also adds her vocal talents to "Vera Gemini". Agents of Fortune is one of the best hard-rock / AOR albums of the mid seventies, and is "must-have" disc. The bonus material on this CD is a nice addition, unlike all too many records. There's a demo version of "Fire Of Unknown Origin" which is dramatically different from the eventual release (5 years later). Same lyrics, but that's about it. It's fascinating to hear the genesis of this song. The demo version of "Reaper" is equally interesting. Recorded on 4-track, it is dramatically more sparse that the final version. But it sounds great, and you get to hear the early guitar work. The demos of discarded songs "Sally" and "Dance The Night Away" give good examples of "almost made it" songs. 5 stars, solidly.

"Broken clock is right twice a day":
This band, B.O.C., never did anything that I would rate above one or two stars. Agents of fortune is the exception. Every song is well written. The melodies on songs like "E.T.I.", "Morning Finale" and "Revenge of Vera Gemini" are fantastic. Rock hard but still music on "Taatto Vampire" and " Sinful Love". You gotta get over the production though. It is as terrible as 99% of albums that were produced in the 70's. If the music counts and your looking for quality songs that are straight ahead then I would highly recommend "Agents". It is the only B.O.C. album you will need.

• This Ain't the Summer of Love
• True Confessions
• (Don't Fear) The Reaper
• E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
• Revenge of Vera Gemini
• Sinful Love
• Tattoo Vampire
• Morning Final
• Tenderloin
• Debbie Denise
• Fire of Unknown Origin \o#\c\o*\c
• Sally \o#\c\o*\c\oDemo Version\c
• (Don't Fear) The Reaper \o#\c\o*\c\oDemo Version\c
• Dance the Night Away \o#\c\o*\c\oDemo Version\c