Blue Öyster Cult: 50th Anniversary Live�"Third Night

It was only about five years ago that I really got into Blue Öyster Cult. To me, they were a hard rock band that didn’t sound all that heavy. And they certainly weren’t America’s answer to Black Sabbath, as their record company tried to promote them as. But I now appreciate their greatness.

In 2022, they held three shows at New York’s Sony Hall to celebrate their 50th anniversary. During each show they performed a classic album in full followed by more than a dozen of songs from throughout their career. The first night was the first album, the self-titled. The second night was the second album, Tyranny and Mutation. And the third night was their third album, and my personal favorite, Secret Treaties.

You can tell that the band, led by stalwarts Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom, are a little older, of course. But given the group’s relatively understated vocals even during their prime, this doesn’t pose much of a problem with the singing. And the music is tremendous as always.

The performance of Secret Treaties is great. The rest of the set includes some near obligatory tunes: (Don’t Fear) The Reaper,� “Burnin’ for You,� “Godzilla,� “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll,� and “Joan Crawford.� But to me, the real highlights are “Shooting Shark,� which includes a searing guitar solo at the end, “Black Blade,� “Sinful Love,� and the beautifully melancholic “I Love the Night.�

There are three tracks from their strong 2020 comeback The Symbol Remains. Why they chose “Train True (Lennie’s Song)� is a mystery to me. I find that to be one of the weaker tunes off the album, but “Tainted Blood� and “The Alchemist� are great, as they are in studio form. If you’re a BÖC fan, this album isn’t going to make you want to scrap On Your Feet or On Your Knees or Extraterrestrial Live, of course. But you should add it to your collection.

Track Listing
1. Career of Evil (3:32)
2. Subhuman (4:18)
3. Dominance and Submission (6:25)
4. ME 262 (8:32)
5. Cagey Cretins (3:32)
6. Harvester of Eyes (4:18)
7. Flaming Telepaths (6:25)
8. Astronomy (8:32)
9. Stairway to the Stars (3:56)
10. Golden Age of Leather (6:15)
11. Tainted Blood (4:22)
12. Burnin’ for You (4:54)
13. Shooting Shark (8:50)
14. Black Blade (6:10)
15. Train True (Lennie’s Song) (3:50)
16. Godzilla (8:37)
17. Buck’s Boogie (4:26)
18. Tenderloin (3:52)
19. Sinful Love (3:30)
20. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (7:03)
21. The Alchemist (6:40)
22. I Love the Night (6:24)
23. Joan Crawford (5:01)
24. Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll (6:38)

Added: February 12th 2025
Reviewer: Aaron Steelman
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 274
Language: english

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