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""Secret Treaties" is a cult album that every fan of rock, hard rock and even progressive rock should listen to at least once in their lives, just to realise the full extent of Blue Öyster Cult's talent."
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5/5
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"It's at the foot of the wall... that you can see the wall better". That's more or less where Blue Öyster Cult found themselves in early 1974. While the band's first two albums are respected and sometimes even adored today, at the time they weren't the success they had hoped for. The band had to react and hit back hard.
Less eccentric than its predecessors, 'Secret Treaties' has gained in consistency, maturity and thickness of sound. Blue Öyster Cult has almost become Heavy. Each track is perfectly constructed and mastered, and the sonic bridges between them add a conceptual edge to the whole. With the exception of 'Cagey Cretins', which is a little underwhelming, the other seven tracks are all potential hits, some of which have become unmissable.
'Career Of Evil', co-written with Patti Smith, and 'Subhuman' open the album gently but with aplomb. Blue Öyster Cult exudes a quiet strength that makes itq music all the more creepy and sinister. Then, with 'Dominance And Submission' and, above all, 'ME262', which would have sounded like Chuck Berry on amphetamines, the band kick into high gear. The first is unhealthy but heady, and the second, with its choirs and world war samples, is a piece of anthology that allows the band to get noticed on stage, with each musician becoming a guitarist for a five-piece solo.
What follows is a succession of other fine moments. The ternary 'Harvester Of Eyes' is very guitar-driven, 'Flamming Telepath' is monstrous with its hammering keyboards, spectral backing vocals and final sprint over a back of insane laughter (the track is given a new lease of life, and an ending, on the 1994 best of album) and, above all, 'Astronomy' raises the bar even higher with its unique atmosphere building to a Dantesque final explosion! Twelve years later, this track was included on 'Imaginos', as was 'Subhuman', but in a different musical guise. Metallica did an excellent cover of it on the 'Garage.Inc' album.
The remastered version of the album features five extra tracks, three of them previously unreleased. 'Boorman The Chauffer' has a 'ME262'-style rhythm with a more offbeat chorus, 'Mommy', with its heavy bass, sounds funky at times, and 'Mes Dames Sarat', the most interesting track of the lot, conjures up atmospheres akin to 'Before The Kiss' or 'The Red & The Black', with a heartfelt instrumental passage.
"Secret Treaties" is a cult album that every fan of rock, hard rock and even progressive rock should listen to at least once in their lives, just to realise the full extent of Blue Öyster Cult's talent. If the band has ensured its transformation, "Secret Treaties", the last album of the Black & White period, is its benchmark. - Official website
Did you know?
 "Secret Treaties" was almost called "Power In The Hands Of Fools", which might have avoided the controversy surrounding the Messerchmitt on the cover.
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Career Of Evil - 04:01
02. Subhuman - 04:38
03. Dominance And Submission - 05:22
04. ME 262 - 04:47
05. Cagey Cretins - 03:17
06. Harvester Of Eyes - 04:41
07. Flaming Telepaths - 05:19
08. Astronomy - 06:28
09. Boorman The Chauffer (previously unrlsd.) - 03:12
10. Mommy (previously unrealsed) - 03:32
11. Mes Dames Sarat (previously unrealsed) - 04:06
12. Born To Be Wild (single B-side) - 03:40
13. Career Of Evil (single version) - 03:31
LINEUP:
Albert Bouchard: Chant / Batterie
Allen Lanier: Guitares / Claviers
Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser: Chant / Guitares / Claviers
Eric Bloom: Chant / Guitares / Claviers
Joe Bouchard: Chant / Basse
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READERS
4.3/5 (6 view(s))
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STAFF:
4.8/5 (9 view(s))
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