Blue Öyster Cult (album)
| Blue Öyster Cult | ||||
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| Studio album by Blue Öyster Cult | ||||
| Released | January 16, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | The Warehouse, New York, October 1971 CBS Studios, New York City, July–September 1969 (bonus tracks) |
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| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, acid rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 36:48 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman, David Lucas | |||
| Blue Öyster Cult chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Blue Öyster Cult | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | B+ |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10 |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
Blue Öyster Cult is the eponymous debut studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on January 16, 1972 by Columbia Records. The album featured songs such as "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll", "Stairway to the Stars", and "Then Came the Last Days of May", all of which the band still plays regularly during its concerts. Despite positive reviews, the album failed to chart for some time before finally cracking the Billboard 200 chart on May 20, 1972, peaking at No. 172. Blue Öyster Cult toured with artists such as The Byrds, Alice Cooper and the Mahavishnu Orchestra to support the album.
The song "I'm on the Lamb but I Ain't No Sheep" is about a fugitive pursued by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was originally recorded in 1970 (when the band was known as Oaxaca). Another version from 1970 was intended to be included on the band's unreleased first album for Elektra Records (when the band was known as "Stalk-Forrest Group"). Both of these 1970 versions were eventually included on St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings. In 1971, the song was recorded again and finally released on the first Columbia album, and then recorded again at a much faster tempo and with much heavier guitars as "The Red and the Black" and included on the band's second Columbia album, Tyranny and Mutation. The main riff in this song was heavily inspired by "Frying Pan", a Captain Beefheart b-side from 1966. Some versions of the song make this influence more apparent than others.
"Then Came the Last Days of May" is based on a reportedly true story, when two friends were killed in a drug deal gone bad in the West. This song is occasionally played live as a showcase for Roeser's guitar soloing skills.
Originally titled "Conry's Bar," "Before the Kiss, a Redcap" describes scenes from that real location. Guitarist Buck Dharma explains the title as originating in an event witnessed by lyricist/manager Sandy Pearlman in which the titular drug was passed between partners during a kiss. The term "redcap" was supposedly slang for a type of barbiturate; however, "redcap" usually referred to the drug Dalmane.
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