BOC - various

[John A. Swartz]

I've finished listening to the first round of BOC remasters and they are
KILLER!  Excellent sound and packaging and the bonus tracks are great.
A few comments on them:

Donovan's Monkey, What is Quicksand, A Fact About Sneakers - these were
all actually recorded BEFORE the "St. Cecilia" recordings, when the band
tried to get a deal with Columbia which was rejected at the time.  Not
as strong as the versions recorded for "St. Cecilia" - but still good
(the "St. Cecilia" CD probably spoils the "surprise value" of these tracks)

Betty Lou's Got a New Pair of Shoes - smokin' cover - BOC could cook
even back in 1969.

Cities on Flame (live) - from the "Bootleg EP"

Buck's Boogie (studio) - nice, although not as polished as the live
version from OYFOOYK - good keys though - Allen doesn't seem to shine as
much these days on this tune - I think they should give him a bit more
soloing time in this one like they did in the old days...

Dizbusters, O.D'd (live) - from the "Live in the West" bootleg tape -
you can hear the sound quality drop off noticeably when you get to these
tracks, but it's still great to hear these, esp. Eric's rap about the
"dude in the sharkskin suit" on Dizbusters

Boorman the Chauffer - Smokin' Joe Bouchard track that really should
have been on the album.

Mommy - nasty lyrics - and we thought BOC were just Nazi's... ;-)

Mes Dames Sarat - need to listen to this a bit more...

Born to be Wild - if you got the Workshop of the Telescopes compilation,
you know how this one goes - BOC's "Heard it through the grapevine" version...

Career of Evil - Single version with tamed lyrics.  "Do it like ya oughta..."

Fire of Unknown Origin - Very different music - more simplistic than
what ultimately came out, but interesting to hear.

Sally - Neat, although tBS version on *Eponymous* blows this away - but
you can hear the beginnings of a really great song.

Reaper (demo) - good stuff - some have heard this before - it's on the
Buck Dharma Archive CDs - The "drums" are actually Buck pounding on a
book as well as saying "Pssssshh" for a cymbal - amazing how well it sounds!

Dance the Night Away - Jim Carroll eventually released a version of
this.  I need to listen to this a bit more...


And now for a few comments to your postings...


>  Anyone
> besides me impressed by the work that DM and BR have
> contributed to CotHM?  Those 2 guys are monster players...

Indeed they are.  Whether you want to argue that they don't have the
same finesse as the Bouchards or not, they are definitely great players.
 They give the band a harder sound than what they had in the 1980's -
less subtle in times, but it definitely works well for them live.


> The liner notes remind me of A.Levy's liner notes to Career of Evil: the
> Metal Years style. What does anyone else think of 'em so far?


A little bit, although I'm liking them better.  Some of the writings
though make you wonder if BOC put as much thought into the meaning of
their stuff as some of us did.  Listen to this from the Tyranny notes:

"There was something Copernican in the Cult's worldview, themselves
included.  Where some bands attempted to rabble-rouse, BOC's concerns
were more scientific, each song an abstract tale rather than a personal,
emotionally wrenching narrative.  If this detachment sometimes made the
band seem like characters in their own play, it allwed them to ride
their "Hot Rails to Hell" along the edge of the malebolge and escape
unscathed, singed but hardly consumed by the flames they'd unleashed
over the City."



> Maybe I'm just growing tolerant in my old age, but I find little to complain
> about with the new album.  Great songs, great performances.  If you don't
> like it, that's cool.  I'm just glad that I love it!

Well said.  Perhaps I too am less demanding as I age (or, increase in
"old fartidude"...)


> I agree totally.  I was intrigued when I saw how many
> songs they'd contributed to. . . and was impressed by
> their playing on the disc.  Especially Bobby, whose
> drumming is leaps and bounds ahead of anything he did
> on Heaven Forbid.

FYI, Bobby played on only one track on HF (Live for Me) - all other
drums were Chuck Burgi.


John