BOC: Vocals (EB, BD, AB), Imaginos, et al

[John A Swartz]

Well, some of this has been discussed before, especially regarding
*Imaginos* and Al and BOC's involvement (or lack thereof) with it.  I
strongly urge anyone with either questions or opinions on this subject
to familiarize themselves with what's in the FAQ on this subject -- it
certainly isn't the definitive story (and due to the fact that we are
dealing with very personal issues between various people, issues which
may be none of our business, it wouldn't be proper for what is essentially
a fans publication to print them -- not that I can say I know alot more
than what I've printed in the FAQ), but I do think that there is alot
of good background information that will give people at least an
appreciation for the complexities of this issue.

I also think that it is somewhat improper for us fans, who don't (and
shouldn't) know all of the details, to "take sides" on this issue.  Like
many great debates and disputes, there are often no winners.  In the case
of *Imaginos*, everybody lost - Al had his music taken from him, BOC lost
the opportunity to perhaps reconcile differences with him (and possibly
at the time even get him back in the band), and we fans got, aside from
alot of confusion over the album (which somewhat continues to this day
when compilations like WOTT praise *Imaginos* in the liner notes and
then don't include any of it's tracks), we got a sort of partial version
of what the whole Imaginos project/concept was.

Then again, there's no sense dwelling on this stuff from the past.  Al
has certainly moved on (although we can all appreciate his musical
acknowledgement of Imaginos with Overture) and has continued to put out
quality music outside of BOC.  I think BOC would like to forget that
*Imaginos* even exists, and is working toward new music while continuing
to play the music that attracted many in the 70's and early 80's.

BTW, some have speculated which individuals in the current lineup have
been the major factors in Al leaving the band or in what happened with
Imaginos.  I think that this thinking is somewhat dangerous - Al has
made his feelings known to the extent which he sees fit (I think I have
a detailed post he made about a year ago to BOC-L -- if it is his wish,
I will repost it), and we may be doing him a dis-service to speculate
otherwise.  What I mean is, if Al has said that he and Bloom didn't get
along, it is unfair for us to say for example that Bloom is the reason
that Al is no longer in BOC.  Things are much more complex than that.
Also, Al has said himself (both here and in e-mails to me when I asked
him for input for the FAQ) that by reading his comments, you are seeing
only one side of the story.  Conversely, folks on, say for example, AOL
(no, I'm not bringing THAT up again) don't have the advantage of seeing
Al's input as we do, so they may come to different conclusions.  I think
we need to be careful that in hearing only one side, and only as much as
that individual cares to share with us, we don't basically re-write
history.  This should all be about music, and our enjoyment of it - just
like we should appreciate athletes for their athletic ability, and not
expect that they don't have issues in their personal lives which we may
find distateful; in the same light we need to appreciate all the past
and present members of BOC/tBS/Hawkwind/etc. for the great music that
they have provided (and in many cases continue to provide) us.


Regarding Bloom and what his contributions to BOC are:  I think it is clear
that Bloom had less to do with BOC's sound that the rest of the band
through the years, at least instrumentally.  You can look no further than
the writing credits to see that Eric had less than anyone other than Allen,
and while Allen may not be credited for writing as much, his instrumental
contributions (Allen that is) speak for themselves.  However, Eric provided
a strong vocal element (more on that below), and as some have pointed out,
was a great frontman for the band (perhaps I shouldn't say "was", but I'm
looking back at the glory years of BOC, and things are a bit different in
the band today).  Eric, IMHO, provided the right mix of "cool" and power,
without drawing so much focus to himself that you realized BOC was a BAND,
and not "the Eric Bloom show".  Contrast that with something like Black
Sabbath, where while they were a band, it sometimes came across as "Ozzy
Osbourne and Black Sabbath".  I don't think Bloom brought that to BOC
(which I feel was a plus).  And, as Albert has pointed out, Bloom deserves
some credit for some elements of BOC's stage show, most notably the "5
Guitars" was Bloom's idea -- and how many BOC fans from the 70's can think
of BOC without thinking of that?  Each person in BOC had strengths, and
one of the things that made BOC great back then was that everyone's
strengths appeared to be well utilized.

Regarding vocals -- I've felt that Al, Eric, and Buck each provided rather
different vocal tones to the band.  Yes, I know Joe, and even Allen (on
one song, "True Confessions") sang lead, but not as often.  Also, I think
in some ways, Allen and Joe's vocals to me sounded like sort of a cross
between Albert and Eric's vocals (or rather perhaps Al and Eric were at
two extremes in tone, and Joe and Allen were somewhere in-between them).
And while this is somewhat generalistic, I'd describe their vocals as such:

Eric:  Power and rawness.  Eric's vocals have an edge to them - he doesn't
sound pretty (and usually doesn't come across well when he tries to be),
but he's got a good thick sound that works well for most of BOC's heavier
stuff.
Buck:  Beauty, coolness, and tranquility.  Buck's vocals are smooth,
sometimes seemingly lacking emotion.  But they have a sweetness to them,
that works well with most of the lighter stuff.  Also, like Eric's, Buck's
vocals seem to match his onstage personality.
Albert:  "Quirky" is the word that always comes to mind when I think of
Albert's vocals, but I don't mean that in a bad way.  Albert's voice usually
seems to have a slight edge to them, with a sort of undercurrent of humor -
I often think that Albert is about to chuckle while singing.  He can be
both forceful (Cities on Flame) and smooth (Death Valley Nights), but
usually he's got this sort of sinister humorous tone to his stuff.  Maybe
that's somewhat a reflection of his onstage personality as well.

Rounding that all up, I think the mix of styles benefitted BOC well in it's
heyday.  The variety was nice, and may be yet another thing working against
BOC these days.  Likewise, I think having both Al and Deb handle lead
vocals in tBS provides a nice blend, and gives everything more of a BAND
effort.  And as they say, variety is the spice of life.

O.K., I've rambled on way too long as usual.

John