BRAIN: Music Street Journal

[Albert T Bouchard]

Here's a review of tBS by Gary at Music Street Journal
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Arena/9250/

 Brain Surgeons-Malpractice

          Cellsum BS10008
Overall Review
Brain Surgeons is former BOC member Albert Bouchard`s band.  The group
utilizes elements of Blue Oyster Cult in new and unusual ways.
Brain Surgeons (Bouchard, Deborah Frost, Billy Hilfiger (brother of clothing
designer Tommy Hilfiger), Peter Bohovesky and David Hirshberg) are joined on
this album by several guests.

Track by Track Review

Needle Gun:A spoken word snippet that makes reference to an old BOC track
starts this cut, a performance of a song originally done by Hawkwind. The
chorus to this number is based on a raspy, nearly whispered female voice. This
is a very solid rendition of a space rock classic that pays tribute to the
piece, while breathing new life into it. The choice of covering Hawkwind
tracks seems fairly natural, since there has historically been a Hawkwind/Blue
Oyster Cult connection in fandom for years. In fact, one of the earliest fan
based music websites in existence was one that combined those two bands.
Ciudades Y Navidades:A variant on Cities on Flame, BOC`s first official
single, this cut combines many interesting variations into the piece. Among
those twists are Spanish language vocals interspersed with English and a
Christmas orientation. In fact, the ending segments of the number include a
"Feliz Navidad" (Merry Christmas) section, complete with sleigh bells. It is
quite obvious that the band had fun with this one.
Hassan I Sabbah:Another classic Hawkwind track, Hassan, or Assassins of Allah
(as it is sometimes called) is a well performed, hard rocking, space rock
piece. This is a very intriguing rendition, and comes across quite powerfully.
Career of Evil:A very solid rendition of a Cult classic, this is a hard rock
number. The vocals are quite faithful to the original, while being augmented
by a rough-edged female vocal section. This makes for an intriguing variant,
while still staying quite true to the original texture of the piece.
Language of Love:Based heavily on acoustic guitar, this tune is a very pretty
ballad with BOC influences.
The Girl That Made Love Blind:Another Christmas oriented track, this ballad
features solid guitar work (at times Howeish) and a competent arrangement.
Death Valley Nights:Another song originally performed by BOC, this is a very
pretty track based on acoustic guitar.
Name Your Monster:This cut is rather off kilter in texture, but quite pretty
at the same time. The overall feel to the song is of older BOC balladic/rock
work. There are some solidly progish elements here, most notably in the
instrumental break. The chorus is quite catchy. Later segments of the piece
take on a loose jazzish tone and feature adlib humorous spoken word segments.
Baby Ice Dog:A strong rock and roller, this one features a BOCish song
structure and guitar work with almost punkish female vocals.
Tour Spiel:Again featuring strong BOC leanings, this is a metallic number.
I Am the One You Warned Me Of:Originally on the BOC album Imaginos, this is a
strong rendition, based heavily on acoustic guitar. This melodic rocker takes
on bluesish textures at times.
Astronomy:The rendition here is a very pretty and intricate take on a BOC
classic. The work is quite progish. This rendition is more acoustically based,
and perhaps more melodic than the original. The overall result is quite
effective.