Search - Blue Oyster Cult :: Super Hits

An education I needed but didn't enjoy overmuch

Paul Lawrence | Australia | 01/04/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There are legions of reviewers who will claim superhero status on behalf of this band and therefore when this super cheap collection caught my eye it seemd appropriate to try and get a glimpse of what these supposed hard rock legends of the 70's were all about. After all, that's one of the great things about being into hard rock and metal, it's a musical form with history and has a myriad of permutations to explore.



So explore I did and I found out a number of things.



Firstly that way too many reviewers have their rose coloured glasses welded onto their faces. Either that or this isn't nearly a true representation of this bands best. Because much of this is the sort of music you'd expect to hear on some local radio station at 2am or perhaps being played around 2pm at a hippy jam festival.



But even though as a package it left me utterly cold there were a number of interesting musical moments on this release. Firstly the collection kicks off with Don't Fear the Reaper which was apparently a hit for the band and given I thought I was buying a disc by a well respected hard rock band when this mellow sounding tune came on it was a bit of a surprise. Which was a nifty way of starting the record off I suppose. Next up is This Ain't the Summer of Love which has a nice vocal melody and a sort of deceptively nasty slant to it. And then there is Godzilla, a song that has a social message, humour and some truly inane aspects. So taken as a complete song it's certainly different and really quite enjoyable.



But after that this collection lost my attention very quickly, it seemed painfully dated in it's recording and that's weird because these guys were successful and should of had a decent budget, I mean similarly dated material by a number of other bands don't sound this creaky. O.D'd On Life Itself is a case in point, with a name like that I was expecting something other than a down home noodly pub rock affair laced with thin vocals. Sorry. And as for Going Through The Motions, well they said it, not me.



That's not to deny the boogie based The Red and The Black and 7 Screaming Diz Busters their due accolades as toe tappin' hard rock. In fact it's the bass that drives many of these tunes which is no surprise given the vintage of the songs - it would appear that none of the tunes here post dates 1981. Many of the guitar parts are quirky and that makes for a light hearted listen and it does set a mood of enjoyment. What is lacking her for me is bite, there just isn't the one or two really blitzing songs here I was expecting to hear alongside the good time hard rock boogie and mellow stuff. There is no overdrive gear, so to speak.



If anybody out there knows of a better compilation than this for this highly respected early mob of hard rock and metal pioneers please leave a comment as I'd love to give them another chance. But having picked this up cheap and still not being overly enthralled I'm a bit gunshy."