Spectres [Expanded Edition]

Blue Oyster Cult: Joe Bouchard (vocals, guitar, bass); Eric Bloom, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (vocals, guitar); Albert Bouchard (vocals, drums, harmonica); Allen Lanier (guitar, keyboards).
Additional personnel: Newark Boys Chorus.
Producers: Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman, David Lucas, Blue Oyster Cult.
Recorded at The Record Plant, New York, New York.
Released during the year that punk broke, Blue Oyster Cult's sixth album was the important follow-up to the hugely successful AGENTS OF FORTUNE. SPECTRES found the group continuing to craft material that mated a trademark guitar-driven sound with intelligent lyrics. Although many short-sighted critics labeled the band heavy metal, this Long Island quintet was far more creative than this classification would suggest.
Although guitarists Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma dominate many of these songs with high-flying solos, the pristine harmonies of songs such as "Golden Age of Leather" and "Fireworks" are an often forgotten facet of Blue Oyster Cult's sound. Allen Lanier's keyboard contributions to SPECTRES are occasionally overlooked despite the fact that the album contains some of his best work. Lanier's influence can be heard on everything from the anthemic "R.U. Ready 2 Rock," a song where rollicking eighty-eights trade off with heavy guitar riffs, to the synths that make "Celestial the Queen" sound like the Who with a new wave edge. The band's fascination with the occult and monster movies is represented by the menacing, mid-tempo "Nosferatu" and "Godzilla," the later a grinding classic that should have been resurrected for the '90s remake of the classic sci-fi film.