WOTT I think...

[John A Swartz]

Joe asks about the Stephen King intro to "Astronomy".

Here's what the FAQ has to say:

"Astronomy" (from *Imaginos*) -- There are 4 versions of this song on a
promo CD single, two long and two short versions of the song (the long
version appears on *Imaginos*).  Two of the versions (one long, one
short) have a spoken intro by horror author Stephen King.  The spoken
intro is from the Imaginos liner notes:  "Imaginos (performed by Blue
Oyster Cult) - A bedtime story for the children of the damned.  From a
dream world, paralleling our earth in time and space, the invisible ones
have sent an agent who will dream the dream of history.  With limitless
power he becomes the greatest actor of the 19th century.  Taking on many
ingenious disguises, he places himself at pivotal junctures in history,
continually altering its course and testing our ability to respond to
the challenge of evil.  His name is 'Imaginos'".


Also, according to a 1988 interview with Bloom/Dharma/Pearlman, they
said that King didn't want the version with his intro put on the actual
Imaginos album -- the single I believe was a promo only.

John