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| Track by Track Review
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Needle Gun
A spoken word snippet that makes reference to an old BOC track starts this cut, a performance of a song originally done by Hawkwind. The chorus to this number is based on a raspy, nearly whispered female voice. This is a very solid rendition of a space rock classic that pays tribute to the piece, while breathing new life into it. The choice of covering Hawkwind tracks seems fairly natural, since there has historically been a Hawkwind/Blue Oyster Cult connection in fandom for years. In fact, one of the earliest fan based music websites in existence was one that combined those two bands. |
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Ciudades Y Navidades
A variant on Cities on Flame, BOC`s first official single, this cut combines many interesting variations into the piece. Among those twists are Spanish language vocals interspersed with English and a Christmas orientation. In fact, the ending segments of the number include a "Feliz Navidad" (Merry Christmas) section, complete with sleigh bells. It is quite obvious that the band had fun with this one. |
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Hassan I Sabbah
Another classic Hawkwind track, Hassan, or Assassins of Allah (as it is sometimes called) is a well performed, hard rocking, space rock piece. This is a very intriguing rendition, and comes across quite powerfully. |
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Career of Evil
A very solid rendition of a Cult classic, this is a hard rock number. The vocals are quite faithful to the original, while being augmented by a rough-edged female vocal section. This makes for an intriguing variant, while still staying quite true to the original texture of the piece. |
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Language of Love
Based heavily on acoustic guitar, this tune is a very pretty ballad with BOC influences. |
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The Girl That Made Love Blind
Another Christmas oriented track, this ballad features solid guitar work (at times Howeish) and a competent arrangement. |
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Death Valley Nights
Another song originally performed by BOC, this is a very pretty track based on acoustic guitar. |
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Name Your Monster
This cut is rather off kilter in texture, but quite pretty at the same time. The overall feel to the song is of older BOC balladic/rock work. There are some solidly progish elements here, most notably in the instrumental break. The chorus is quite catchy. Later segments of the piece take on a loose jazzish tone and feature adlib humorous spoken word segments. |
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Baby Ice Dog
A strong rock and roller, this one features a BOCish song structure and guitar work with almost punkish female vocals. |
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Tour Spiel
Again featuring strong BOC leanings, this is a metallic number. |
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I Am The One You Warned Me Of
Originally on the BOC album Imaginos, this is a strong rendition, based heavily on acoustic guitar. This melodic rocker takes on bluesish textures at times. |
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Astronomy
The rendition here is a very pretty and intricate take on a BOC classic. The work is quite progish. This rendition is more acoustically based, and perhaps more melodic than the original. The overall result is quite effective. |
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