Blue Öyster Cult – Agents Of Fortune

This is the fourth studio album from Blue Öyster Cult which was remastered and reissued on the Columbia/Legacy label. As with the other three reissues there are lyrics, photos, and liner notes by Lenny Kaye. In addition, there are four bonus tracks, none of which were previously released. "Agents of Fortune" was recorded in 1975 and 1976, and released in May of 1976. Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman were joined by David Lucas as producers of this album.

"Agents of Fortune" was the start of a new period for the group. The first three albums are often called their "black-and-white" period, and the live album "On Your Feet or On Your Knees" marked the end of that period. This album has a number of memorable songs, such as "This Ain't The Summer of Love", "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)", "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", and the too often overlooked "Morning Final". Of course, it is best known for "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" which is one of the greatest Rock songs of all time.

The four bonus tracks consist of songs which were considered for the album. "Fire of Unknown Origin" was an outtake which would appear on an album of the same name five years later, although this is a significantly different version of the song than the one which would eventually be released. "Sally" was demoed for the album, but not used. It later was used by Albert Bouchard on "Trepanation", which was the 1995 release from his band "The Brain Surgeons". The third bonus track is the original demo for "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". "Dance the Night Away" is another demo which was eventually used by Jim Carroll (who co-wrote the song with Allen Lanier) on his "I Write Your Name" album.

The band credits for this album are: Eric Bloom (vocals, guitar, percussion), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, and harmonica), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, piano), Allen Lanier (keyboards, vocals, guitar and bass), and Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (guitar, vocals, synthesizer, percussion). Guest artists on this album include Patti Smith (vocal on "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", and Michael and Randy Brecker (horns). This is another solid release from BÖC, but it is a bit uneven so despite the great moments I can only give it four stars.

It is unfortunate that as of yet there are no additional remastered releases of the Blue Öyster Cult catalog available. It would be wonderful to see what other hidden gems could be added to such albums as "Spectres", "Fire of Unknown Origin", or even their live albums. Until that happens, we will just have to be satisfied with the remastered versions of their first four albums.