Agents of Fortune

Agents of Fortune

Track Listings

1. This Ain't the Summer of Love

2. True Confessions

3. (Don't Fear) The Reaper

4. E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)

5. Revenge of Vera Gemini

6. Sinful Love

7. Tattoo Vampire

8. Morning Final

9. Tenderloin

10. Debbie Denise

Tracks:

This Ain't The Summer Of Love
True Confessions
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
The Revenge Of Vera Gemini
Sinful Love
Tattoo Vampire
Morning Final
Tenderloin
Debbie Denise
Fire Of Unknown Origin (Original Version) (Previously Unreleased)
Sally (Demo) (Previously Unreleased)
(Don't Fear) The Reaper (Demo) (Previously Unreleased)
Dance The Night Away (Demo) (Previously Unreleased)

Customer Reviews:

This.. .......2007-04-29

is what I know.The power and might and sexuality of BlUe Oyster Cult.The songs like "E.T.I" which iS what I'm going to Marry (and make sweet love..)Ms. Gawlik With.

spooky .......2006-10-27

Even though Agents of Fortune is one of Blue Oyster Cult's more commercial albums, I can't get enough of it. For one thing, the guitar playing is spectacular throughout the album. Every guitar note is beautiful and haunting. That's what makes Blue Oyster Cult so great- the way they make their music haunting and chilling, while rocking and rolling at the same time.

I find it odd that the album ends with a country-like tune. It's hard to explain what Blue Oyster Cult does that makes them so great. It's probably their ability to explore different sounds and styles and mix it in with hard rock. They truly are much different than other hard rockers.

The Awful Truth.......2006-10-16

It is unfortunate that Don't Fear the Reaper had to be on this album. Potential new fans picking up Agents of Fortune expecting more of the same must have been disappointed. My first exposure to the Blue Oyster Cult was Spectres, a more solid effort that sent me running to the record store to discover Secret Treaties, and I've been hooked ever since.

This album marks a major departure for the band in so many respects. While Tyranny and Mutation and Secret Treaties were collaboratively written on the road during a brutal touring schedule that resulted in the amazing On Your Feet or On Your Knees, Agents was written by individual band members at their leisure using multi-track recording equipment in their homes and demo'd for the full band prior to going into the studio. As a result, individual personalities really show through.

Another notable change is that only one song is credited to the dynamic writing duo of Pearlman/Meltzer (ETI - Pearlman).

The polished sound of the album is due to their first venture outside of CBS Records' antiquated studios (evident in the otherwise excellent first three albums).

The final and most evident departure is the marked shift from a raw, heavy-metal sound to a more approachable mainstream sound. Reaper gave the Oyster Boys a taste of commercial success that would elude them for five years until Fire of Unknown Origin and Buck's second hit Burnin' for You.

Of course, those of you who are longtime BOC fans know that this album was percussionist Gene Frenkle's last, as he tragically died shortly after the album was released. Agents also marks the retirement of Eric's stun guitar. ;)

Don't Fear the Reaper is a rock masterpiece and deserves all of the acclaim it received. Reaper aside, Agents is not without further merit. Extra Terrestrial Intelligence is a longtime concert staple and This Ain't the Summer of Love is another decent rocker. The two hidden gems on the album are (The Revenge of) Vera Gemini, a Patti Smith penned song which picks up where Baby Ice Dog left off, and Morning Final, another of the many haunting songs from the fertile macabre mind of Joe Bouchard.

And now to the awful truth. True Confessions, Tenderloin and Debbie Denise are the three worst songs to this point in the BOC's young history. Helen Wheels penned Sinful Love and Tatoo Vampire leave something to be desired as well (God rest her soul). So out of ten songs, you could fashion a solid Side One of an LP and there would be no need to play the flip side. Hardly the greatest album in the BOC catalog as some here would lead you to believe.

No BOC collection would be complete without Agents of Fortune and there are a handfull of good songs here worth owning, but Secret Treaties, Spectres, Fire of Unknown Origin, and Tyranny and Mutation are more rounded studio albums worth owning before this one.

Not their best, but so what?.......2006-08-25

Sure the weak spots, especially Tenderloin, Debbie Denise and True Confessions, are numbers BOC fans love to hate, but I realize after listening every day for 3 decades songs like this are among their most sublime. It's finally dawned on me that Debbie Denise is SATIRE. And True Confessions is brilliant, one of the few pure blues numbers the band has bothered with. The scorching horns alone from Randy and Michael Brecker are worth the admission price. Still looking for something to redeem Tenderloin though.

Their best days were behind them at this point.......2006-06-16

Anyone who thinks this is a good release from these guys never really listened to the first three. The first was as solid a debut as i've ever heard from a group. The second actually improved on the first. No sophomore slump from them. Two spectacular albums in both writing, musicianship and tone. The third, "Secret Treaties", wasn't necessarily an improvement, but the sound and mixing were a huge leap forward as those first two always sounded like they were recorded from inside a beer can. No slam on "Agents of Fortune" but it does have some weak songs mixed in with the good ones. The previous releases, esp the first two, show the band at their peak: fresh, unhinged, outlandish, funny, wild and flat-out breakthrough rock.

Average customer rating:

Agents of Fortune (Multichannel/Stereo)
Blue Oyster Cult
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00007FZHT
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Average customer rating:

Agents of Fortune
Blue Öyster Cult
Manufacturer: Mobile Fidelity
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Synchronicity

ASIN: B000000IVU
Release Date: 1998-01-13

Tracks:

This Ain't The Summer Of Love
True Confessions
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
The Revenge Of Vera Gemini
Sinful Love
Tatto Vampire
Morning Final
Tenderloin
Debbie Denise

Average customer rating:

Agents of Fortune
Blue Öyster Cult
Manufacturer: Sony Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000P28RA8
Release Date: 2007-07-02

Tracks:

This Ain't the Summer of Love
True Confessions
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
Revenge of Vera Gemini
Sinful Love
Tattoo Vampire
Morning Final
Tenderloin
Debbie Denise
Fire of Unknown Origin [#][*]
Sally [#][*][Demo Version]
(Don't Fear) The Reaper [#][*][Demo Version]
Dance the Night Away [#][*][Demo Version]

Album Description

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.

Average customer rating:

Mixed
Where are rest of Re-masters ?
Fear the Reaper!
Excellent metamorphosis - but still not quite 'there'. 3.5*
THis is the one !!

Agents of Fortune
Blue Öyster Cult
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Arena Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Spectres
Heaven Forbid
Abbey Road

ASIN: B00000256X
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

This Ain't The Summer Of Love
True Confessions
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
The Revenge Of Vera Gemini
Sinful Love
Tattoo Vampire
Morning Final
Tenderloin
Debbie Denise

Customer Reviews:

Mixed.......2004-11-03

Blue Oyster Cult scored big with Agents of Fortune, yet fans sure don't consider it the band's magnus opus. Probably because AoF introduced "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" to the world of higher rock, it'll remain thier signature recording. Every note of the original "Halloween" soundtrack is culled from AoF, and thier musical contributions to a broad range of other well known films are strangely unacknowledged.This recording is all over the place. Some of the tunes are true masterpieces; others sound whipped up in two minutes at Dairy Queen. "This Ain't the Summer of Love" was (and remains)the classic cruising tune. "...Vera Gemini" introduced Patty Smith to and from the dark underworld created by Blue Oyster Cult as a heavy metal noir femme fatalus. "Morning Final", and "Tenderloin" explore the backstreets of New York with a startling clarity.Though this is not the band's best recording, it sure is worth a listen.Blessed be.

Where are rest of Re-masters ?.......2004-08-01

This is one BOC's best,the other being "Spectres",although my personal fave would be "Cultosaurus Erectus".Any fan of Classic Rock simply must have this in their collection,simultaneously clever,heavy & humourous,not necessarily in that order(depending upon your mood).This is also some of the most tastefully done pop you'll ever hear,along with that omnipresent horror movie soundtrack feel(the band just delivers on so many levels !).Now if only Sony/ CBS would only get off their collective fannies & remaster the rest of this catalogue,us cultoids could be sent to reaper heaven.

Fear the Reaper!.......2004-06-16

This album is quite good.Great songs,good lyrics, what do you want more?

Excellent metamorphosis - but still not quite 'there'. 3.5*.......2003-11-10

'Agents of Fortune' has somehow become the flag-bearer for B.O.C. - the first album title to spring to the lips of the average classic rock enthusiast in the street. This condition largely rests on 'Don't Fear The Reaper', without which the second-in-command track from this album 'E.T.I.' would have been hard pressed to have appealed to radio as readily. True to form, the band have stuck to their guns in the content of this album and that's to be admired. For the first time, they'd knocked out a studio album which actually had tradesworthy cover art; for the first time, too, the production job had sharpened up the right frequencies so that the heavy sludge in the speakers of the previous albums had been finally cleaned out. And wasn't the guitar-rocker 'E.T.I.' the perfect complement to the cigarette-lighter waver '...Reaper'?
Still, that's only two of ten songs. 'This Ain't the Summer of Love' was a tasty springboard that didn't outstay it's 2:20 welcome but that only brings it up to 3 good tracks so far. Fortunately, the final song, 'Debbie Denise' provides a pleasant, anthemic memory.
Now that still only makes four good songs (40% in track numbers). This was B.O.C.'s problem in the early days. Album filler will always be album filler; it's just that in recent years, listeners' demands have evolved to the stage that cheese such as 'Tenderloin', 'Morning Final', 'Sinful Love' and 'True Confessions' can't really happen anymore, outside of bonus material at the end of the disc. What may or may not help is the album's shortness, which either amplifies the percentile of bad to good tracks or gets the listener out early, depending on how one sees one's cup's contents.
To evaluate the album on a different scale, it's signature Blue Oyster Cult. The imagery is there, as is the fanatic drive underscoring the delivery of the sound. The band's mission of maximizing their mythology in a leather-clad, hell-fired package bleeds through in drips and drabs of true molten metal.
The only real trouble with 'Agents...' as an album is that, unlike 'Spectres' or 'Fire of Unknown Origin', as a sum of its parts, it's seriously diluted.
And just what was 'Tattoo Vampire' apart from being an uneasy attempt at punk? Nice try and a good job ... let's call it the missing link and not the finished product, though.

THis is the one !!.......2001-12-04

AGENTS OF FORTUNE, alongside FIRE OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN, are the quintessential BOC albums. You can forget about the rest. This band was always kind of "disjointed", "disconnected" or whatever. They never ever were really great. Go figure why...sometimes the same five musicians just can't deliver more than one or two great albuns. 1796's AGENTS of FORTUNE is a great rock album, ten good rock tunes.

Average customer rating:

4.5 stars - an excellent debut

Agents of Fortune
Blue Öyster Cult
Manufacturer: Sony Music Media
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Arena Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005UDOI
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Tracks:

This Ain't the Summer of Love
True Confessions
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
Revenge of Vera Gemini
Sinful Love
Tattoo Vampire
Morning Final
Tenderloin
Debbie Denise
Fire of Unknown Origin [#][*]
Sally [#][*][Demo Version]
(Don't Fear) The Reaper [#][*][Demo Version]
Dance the Night Away [#][*][Demo Version]

Album Description

Sony Dutch Millenium digipack edition, remastered + 6 page booklet. 2005.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered Millennium Edition with Tri-fold Digipack Packaging.

Customer Reviews:

4.5 stars - an excellent debut.......2004-02-06

Blue Oyster Cult (1972.) Blue Oyster Cult's first album.

When the seventies rolled around, musical artists began playing harder, faster, and more aggressive than ever before. The heavy metal revolution had begun. Although this revolution was mostly evident in Great Britain with bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, there was a major American band who got in on the excitement - a little band called Blue Oyster Cult. In 1972, these guys released their self-titled debut album. How does it measure up? Read on and find out.

Another reviewer said that with this album, Blue Oyster Cult sounded like they could have been the American answer to Black Sabbath, and I strongly agree with this. For the most part, these songs use a gloomy, heavy, and bluesy sound very similar to that of Sabbath. The band featured here doesn't sound a whole lot like the band who would later shell out hits like Don't Fear The Reaper and Burnin' For You, but they still sound excellent here. The band kicks things of with Transmaniacon MC, a hard rocker that never achieved any true popularity, but has since become a cult (no pun intended) classic. Another excellent track is the highly underrated Stairway To The Stars. Although the title will probably bring Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven to mind, the two tracks aren't very similar; this one is more of a straight-up rocker with a melodic touch. Two bizzare but still excellent rockers featured on this album are Screams and (the oddly titled) She's As Beautiful As A Foot. Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll is classic hard rock at its best, and it's a shame this track didn't become any more popular than it did. Workshop Of The Telescopes is another very obscure but still excellent track. It's no surprise that the band named their finest hits compilation after this song. A little tune with a lighter and more melodic sound to it entitled Redeemed finishes off the album, and does a damn good job of it. All in all, a damn good album.

If you purchase the newly remastered version of the album, you get four bonus demos that never made it onto an album. The first of which is Donovan's Monkey. As the title may imply, this is a strange track. It combines elements of seventies hard rock with sixties psychedelic rock. The end result is (surprisingly) quite good! The last of the four bonus tracks, Betty Lou's Got A New Pair Of Shoes, is the most obscure one of all - the band takes on an oldies rock sound for this one! Although their take on the style is good, the band was right to leave this off of the original version of the album. Although these demos seem like unpolished ideas next to the final album tracks, they are still excellent, and a nice bonus.

Overall, Blue Oyster Cult's debut is the beginning of something amazing in the rock world. This isn't necessarily their finest hour, but there's no denying that this is an excellent album which is worth checking out. If you're a fan of classic rock or classic metal, this is an album that is just waiting to be added to your collection.

Tracks:

This Ain't the Summer of Love
True Confessions
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
Revenge of Vera Gemini
Sinful Love
Tattoo Vampire
Morning Final
Tenderloin
Debbie Denise

Album Description

Limited edition reissue, in a digipak, of B.O.C.'s top 30 & platinum 1976 album featuring the classic '(Don't Fear) The Reaper'. 10 tracks total.

Album Details

Limited Digipack Release.

Customer Reviews:

Branching out.........2006-03-04

Blue Oyster Cult's 4th studio release in 1976 shows the first signs of change with respect to musical direction. On first listen, the material is surprisingly light, aside from the blistering "Tattoo Vampire" and the snarling "This Ain't The Summer Of Love". As usually occurs with groups of cult status, there is a push towards growth through more accessible music styles that appeal to a wider audience. "Agents of Fortune" no doubt contains the beginnings of this growth, as evidenced by the radio friendly "Don't Fear the Reaper" which makes it's debut on this collection as the third cut. "Reaper" is the best song on this album and is arguably the best BOC tune ever written. "E.T.I" follows and again, a classic is created, with it's signature guitar lines played live countless times ever after. We also see songs such as "Tenderloin", "Morning Final" and "Debbie Denise" showcasing a very melodic side of the band and a versatility few other hard rock acts had at the time. But "Agents of Fortune" is not without it's losers. For example, songs such as "Sinful Love" and "True Confessions", although certainly appealing to some, ultimately do not stand the test of time and should have been left in the vaults. Yet, the presence of these two songs is balanced out by other gems, such as "Revenge of Vera Gemini" complete with Patti Smith back-up vocal. "Gemini" contains all the classic ingredients of a good Cult song: temptation, good and evil, love and longing. This is a very good album, and would make a fine addition to any record collection.

Music Track:

Music Track

music track

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