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Track Listings
| 1. Career Of Evil |
| 2. Subhuman |
| 3. Dominance And Submission |
| 4. ME 262 |
| 5. Cagey Cretins |
| 6. Harvester Of Eyes |
| 7. Flaming Telepaths |
| 8. Astronomy |
| 9. Boorman The Chauffer |
| 10. Mommy |
| 11. Mes Dames Sarat |
| 12. Born To Be Wild |
| 13. Career Of Evil |
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Customer Reviews
'Secret Treaties' contained some of their best material, and was clear evidence of a great band maturing. There were no weak songs on this album (as indeed there weren't on its two predecessors), and songs worthy of special mention are 'Career of Evil', 'The Subhuman', 'Dominance and Submission' (a personal favourite!), 'Harvester of Eyes' and 'Astronomy'.
One of the many crosses that the Blue Öyster Cult had to bear at this time was that of being labelled as a 'sci-fi' rock band, this theory being based on their song titles, although from the time of 'Spectres' onwards they did also embrace this sad rock tradition. But on this album the titles hide songs that are remarkably un-sci-fi. For instance, 'Astronomy' is about a lesbian experience, 'Harvester of Eyes' is about a corrupt US trade union leader, 'Career of Evil' is based on the works of an 18th century French writer, and 'Dominance and Submission' is about a member of the band who witnessed an incestuous sexual act on a car journey.
This album (like the two before it) is an amazing work. The record is not about excess, but rather well crafted songs, cryptic and obtuse lyrics and an image that confused and misled. Many of the songs were based on a concept called 'Imaginos', the creation of their producer and svengali, Sandy Pearlman, which makes sense of much of their imagery too. ('Imaginos' itself is one of the great lost albums of rock, but is really an Albert Bouchard record - but that's another story!)
There are five bonus tracks, one of which is a sanitised single version of 'Career of Evil' and it's b-side 'Born to be Wild' (yes, that one - a BOC concert classic freakout), and three studio out-takes, all of which are interesting songs, but hearing them makes you glad that the band went with their original song selection in 1974.
This album was the peak of Blue Öyster Cult's early development. If you want a taster of what you've been missing, then this is as good a starting point as any. Saddle up your bungo pony, go call on Sir Rastus Bear and crank it up loud!
For my money "Secret Treaties" is the best of their first three albums (often referred to as their "black-and-white" period). From the opening of "Career of Evil" (their second collaboration with Patti Smith) to the sounds of the wind dying away at the end of "Astronomy" the listener is entranced. Two of the songs on this album ("Astronomy" and "Subhuman") would reappear in different form more than a dozen years later on their "Imaginos" album. The song titles from this album read like a list of concert favorites for BÖC fans with songs like "Dominance and Submission", "ME 262", "Harvester of Eyes", and "Flaming Telepaths" joining those I already mentioned as songs often heard during their live shows. The remaining piece from the original release is the off-beat "Cagey Cretins", which falls short of the rest of the album but doesn't distract too much from the rest.
This remastered CD has five bonus tracks. The first three pieces ("Boorman the Chauffer", "Mommy", and "Mes Dames Sarat") are outtakes from the studio sessions for the album and none of them have been released before. As one might suspect, outtakes from an album this good are definitely worth a listen. The next is a studio version of "Born to Be Wild" which was the B-side for the live "Born to Be Wild" single from their first live album "On Your Feet or On Your Knees". The last bonus track is the single version of "Career of Evil", which has more "radio-friendly" lyrics.
The group consists of Eric Bloom (lead vocals, stun guitar, keyboards), Albert Bouchard (drums, vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar, all synthesizers), and Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals). The original album is five stars, and the added features of this release do not detract from the original, but instead enhance the experience.
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