Eric Bloom - guitar, vocals; Albert Bouchard - guitar, drums, vocals; Joe Bouchard - bass, guitar, piano, vocals; Tony Cedrone - percussion; Allen Lanier - bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals; Rickey Reyer - percussion; Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser - guitar, vocals
Blue Oyster Cult was out hawking its successful live LP, Some Enchanted Evening, when this set was captured for national airplay on the King Biscuit Flower Hour in January, 1979. Much of it contains material also found on the Evening disc, with the obvious substitution of the covers the band always included in its live shows.
The live album had a brilliant remake of the MC5 classic, "Kick Out The Jams," and a less convincing version of the Animals' 1965 hit, "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." In their place for this tour was a meaty, but not too innovative take on the Steppenwolf gem, "Born To Be Wild." That song would eventually become a staple of the BOC live show. Some of the material here will engage the listener with themes of science fiction and the supernatural: "Stairway To The Stars," "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)," and "Harvester Of Eyes," among them. They get down to business later in the set with ballsy versions of "Hot Rails To Hell," "Godzilla," and the band's long time closer, "Cities On Flame With Rock 'n Roll." Also featured is the band's biggest radio hit, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper."
Originally signed to Elektra Records in 1970 as the Soft White Underbelly, the band was dropped from that label before their debut album could be released. They re-emerged a year later under the watchful eye of manager and producer Sandy Pearlman as Blue Oyster Cult. Columbia Records snatched them up after hearing a demo of "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll."
Although they had a secure home in FM radio after the release of their first album, the group was together for nearly 10 years before their first real commercial breakthrough with "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." That song was propelled to international hit status after it was featured in the John Carpenter horror film, Halloween.Between their strong relationship with radio programmers and the support of Carpenter (who ended up featuring the band's music in several of his films), BOC became a charter member of the rock radio club.
They were among the best hard rock bands, releasing such infectious anthems as the aforementioned "(Don't Fear) the Reaper," along with "Godzilla" and "Burnin' For You." BOC would endure a slew of personnel changes from the time they recorded this concert to the present. Regardless, Dharma, Bloom and original keyboardist Alan Lanier are the core of the band still touring today.