Agents of Fortune

Agents of Fortune
Studio album by Blue Öyster Cult
Released May 21, 1976 (1976-05-21)
Recorded 1975–76
Studio The Record Plant, New York City
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal, psychedelic rock
Length 36:35
Label Columbia
Producer
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
On Your Feet or on Your Knees
(1975)		 Agents of Fortune
(1976)		 Spectres
(1977)
Singles from Agents of Fortune
  1. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" / "Tattoo Vampire"
    Released: June 1976
  2. "Debbie Denise" / "This Ain't the Summer of Love"
    Released: 1976
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB+[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[3]
Rolling Stone(very favorable)[4]

Agents of Fortune is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, originally released by Columbia Records on May 21, 1976.

The Platinum-selling album peaked at No. 29 on the U.S. Billboard chart,[5] while the cryptic single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" peaked at No. 7 in Cash Box magazine and at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart,[6] making it BÖC's biggest hit. The band became a bigger concert attraction after the release of the album, in part due to extensive airplay given to "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", to this day a staple of rock-station playlists.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."This Ain't the Summer of Love"Albert Bouchard, Murray Krugman, Don WallerEric Bloom2:21
2."True Confessions"Allen LanierLanier2:57
3."(Don't Fear) The Reaper"Donald RoeserRoeser5:08
4."E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)"Roeser, Sandy PearlmanBloom3:43
5."The Revenge of Vera Gemini"A. Bouchard, Patti SmithA. Bouchard3:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Sinful Love"A. Bouchard, Helen WheelsA. Bouchard3:29
7."Tattoo Vampire"A. Bouchard, WheelsBloom2:41
8."Morning Final"Joe BouchardJ. Bouchard4:30
9."Tenderloin"LanierBloom3:40
10."Debbie Denise"A. Bouchard, SmithA. Bouchard4:13

Personnel

Band members
Additional musicians
Production

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1976 Billboard 200 (United States) 29[5]
UK Albums Chart 26[7]
RPM100 Albums (Canada) 28[8]
Swedish Albums Chart 10[9]

Singles

Year Title Chart Position
1976 "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" Billboard Hot 100 (United States) 12[6]
RPM Top 100 Singles (Canada) 7[10]
1978 UK Singles Chart 16[7]

Sales certifications

Year Country Organization Sales
1977 Canada CRIA Gold (50,000+)[11]
1978 U.S. RIAA Platinum (1,000,000+)[12]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
The Village Voice U.S. The 1976 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll[13] 1976 10
NME UK Albums of the Year[14] 1976 6
Dave Marsh & Kevin Stein U.S. The Best of the Album Chartmakers by Year: 1976[15] 1981 12
Kerrang! UK The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time[14] 1989 62
Q UK The Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever![16] 2004 No order

References

  1. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Blue Öyster Cult - Agents of Fortune review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumers Guide Reviews: Agents of Fortune". Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  3. ↑ Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 54. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  4. ↑ Tucker, Ken (July 15, 1976). "Album Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Agents of Fortune Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Agents of Fortune Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Blue Oyster Cult Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 23, No. 5, October 30, 1976". Library and Archives Canada. 30 October 1976. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Blue Öyster Cult – Agents of Fortune (Album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 26, No. 7, November 13, 1976". Library and Archives Canada. 13 November 1976. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "Gold Platinum Database – Search for Blue Oyster Cult". Music Canada. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "RIAA Searchable Database - search for Blue Oyster Cult". RIAA. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  13. ↑ "The 1976 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Blue Öyster Cult - Agents of Fortune". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  15. ↑ "The Dave Marsh Lists". Book Of Rock Lists - Albums Of The Year: 1976. Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Q Lists: Q Special Edition – The Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever !". Q. Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
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