AGENTS OF FORTUNE

I borrowed this album from the central library just to satisfy my interest in this highly acclaimed band behind the name Blue Öyster Cult. Considering that (Don't Fear) The Reaper is probably the most recognized song of their career this Agents Of Fortune definitely felt like the place to start.

Let me begin by saying that even in my wildest dreams could I never have imagined such a weird list of songs supporting the one gem of this album. This Ain't The Summer Of Love sounds almost like an Arena Rock tune with a real Spinal Tap feel to it. True Confessions is a forgettable country sounding rocker that I could have done without. Having said that there is still nothing terrible with these two tracks from a straightforward rock music kind of perspective.

At least once (Don't Fear) The Reaper hits the speakers I get five minutes of pure musical bliss. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't feel on par with that one great track since most of the songs are pretty straightforward and have no real appeal to my ears. I guess it doesn't always pay-off to pick up an album just because of some familiar tunes featured on them. The next time I'll get around to Blue Öyster Cult I will probably go for Secret Treaties since it's considered to be a much more representative album of the band's style.

Until then Agents Of Fortune remains collectors/fans only material that I'll be happy to return to the library since I'm not going to waste more time on this album than what I already have. In other words this is definitely not a record I would want to pay a late-fee for!

***** star songs: (Don't Fear) The Reaper (5:08)

**** star songs: Morning Final (4:30)

*** star songs: This Ain't The Summer Of Love (2:20) True Confessions (2:56) E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) (3:42) Sinful Love (3:29) Tenderloin (3:39) Debbie Denise (4:13)

** star songs: The Revenge Of Vera Gemini (3:52) Tattoo Vampire (2:41)