Blue Oyster Cult - Live 1976

A band born to be wild--five rock originals whose laser lightshows and stunning stage moves turned them into a worldwide music phenomenon. Caught on camera at their peak in 1976, this previously unreleased live performance captures all the fire and passion that took them to the top. Songs: Stairway to the Stars, Harvester of Eyes, Cities in Flame, ME 262, Dominance and Submission, Astronomy, E.T.I., Buck's Boogie, This Ain't the Summer of Love, Born to be Wild, Don't Fear the Reaper. This is an example of how not to make a rock documentary. DVD companies ought to take note of its laziness and avoid all mistakes in future concert film releases. For starters, don't release a rock show with muddled sound that continually drops in and out, faded and grainy visual quality, and absolutely zero production value. To be fair, Blue Oyster Cult's dreadful performance doesn't help any. Though the packaging states that this is "vintage" BLC at their "peak," most fans know that by 1976, the progressive heavy-metal band was already five years past its prime. The 11 featured tunes show the band moving away from their raw, heavy origins and becoming a rock cliché. Bombastic jams such as "Buck's Boogie" and "Dominance and Submission" indulgently wander forever; lead vocalist Eric Bloom strikes macho poses and preaches about the legalization of drugs. The topper comes when a dopey laser show follows both drum and guitar solos--and the audience cheers louder for the lights. Even BOC's guitarist--and leader--Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser appears bored, and he's the one responsible for this stuff. He can't even muster the energy to pull off a memorable encore of BOC's only hit, "Don't Fear the Reaper," instead singing the lyrics like someone's got a gun to his head. If the disc is worth anything at all, it's as a definition of impotent, bloated '70s arena rock, and a clear demonstration of why punk needed to happen and what it fought against. Though this disc is obviously geared towards diehard Blue Oyster Cult fans, it's more of a shameful insult than a reward. –-Dave McCoy

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