Tyranny and Mutation

Tyranny and Mutation
Studio album by Blue Öyster Cult
Released 11 February 1973
Recorded 1972
Studio Columbia Studios, New York City
Genre
Length 38:11
Label Columbia
Producer Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
Blue Öyster Cult
(1972)Blue Öyster Cult1972		 Tyranny and Mutation
(1973)		 Secret Treaties
(1974)Secret Treaties1974
Singles from Tyranny and Mutation
  1. "Hot Rails to Hell" / "7 Screaming Diz-Busters"
    Released: 1973

Tyranny and Mutation (stylized on the cover as THE BLVE ÖYSTER CVLT: TYRANNY AND MVTATION) is the second studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in February 1973 by Columbia Records.[1] It was produced by Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman. On May 12, 1973, the album peaked at No. 122 on the Billboard 200 chart.[2]

The only single released from the album, "Hot Rails to Hell", did not chart.[2]

Composition and songs

The album was recorded in 1972 at Columbia Studios in New York City.[3]

"Baby Ice Dog" features lyrics by poet Patti Smith, who would make several more lyrical contributions to the band's repertoire over their career.[4]

The song "The Red and the Black," with lyrics referencing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is a re-titled, re-recorded version of "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" from the band's eponymous debut album. The song was later covered by the Minutemen and Band of Susans. AllMusic critic Hal Horowitz called it "one of the best and most propulsive rockers in the BÖC catalog."[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Robert ChristgauB+[7]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]

Tyranny and Mutation received mixed reviews from contemporary critics. Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone wrote a raving review for the album and called Blue Öyster Cult "one of the best bands America's got."[10] Robert Christgau, writing for The Village Voice, praised the band's disregard for "the entire heavy ethos", but wondered if the "parody-surreal refraction of the abysmal 'poetry' of heavy" in the lyrics could be a start for a return to conformism.[7] The Rolling Stone Album Guide described the album as "one molten hook after another" and praised the four-song "opening suite" comprising the first side of the album.[9] On the contrary, Mike Saunders of Phonograph Records judged Tyranny and Mutation "a real disappointment", definitely inferior to BÖC debut album and lacking "the sort of brashness that almost defines hard rock or metal music."[11] Ian MacDonald of the British New Musical Express was very critical of the Pearlman/Meltzer "crass Satan-speed-and-sad-ism" lyrics and of the band's music which "tend to leave the listener aurally shaken, but emotionally unstirred."[12]

Modern reviews are generally positive. Thom Jurek of AllMusic noted how BÖC "brightened their sound and deepened their mystique" on this album and described the music as "screaming, methamphetamine-fueled rock & roll that was all about attitude, mystery, and a sense of nihilistic humor that was deep in the cuff", judging Tyranny and Mutation a "classic album" as much as its follow-up Secret Treaties.[6] Martin Popoff in his Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal acknowledged the progress shown in production values from their debut, but found the sound "still mired in an oddly appealing maze of cobwebs", despite Blue Öyster Cult parading a slew of classic songs and "quickly becoming something very imposing".[8]

Track listing

Side one – The Black
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."The Red & the Black"Eric Bloom, Albert Bouchard, Sandy PearlmanBloom4:20
2."O.D.'d on Life Itself"Bloom, A. Bouchard, Joe Bouchard, PearlmanBloom4:47
3."Hot Rails to Hell"J. BouchardJ. Bouchard5:12
4."7 Screaming Diz-Busters"A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard, Donald Roeser, PearlmanBloom7:01
Side two – The Red
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
5."Baby Ice Dog"Bloom, A. Bouchard, Patti SmithBloom3:29
6."Wings Wetted Down"A. Bouchard, J. BouchardJ. Bouchard4:12
7."Teen Archer"Bloom, Roeser, Richard MeltzerRoeser3:57
8."Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)"A. Bouchard, PearlmanBloom5:08

Personnel

Band members
Production
  • Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman – producers
  • Tim Geelan, Lou Schlossberg, Phil Giambalvo – engineers
  • Jack Ashkinazy – mastering
  • Bruce Dickinson – reissue producer
  • Vic Anesini – re-mastering

Charts

Year Chart Position
1973 Billboard 200 (United States) 122[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Tyranny and Mutation - Blue Öyster Cult - Releases - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. 1 2 "Tyranny and Mutation". Blue Öyster Cult Official Website.
  3. ↑ Kaye, Lenny (2001). Tyranny and Mutation (CD Booklet). Blue Öyster Cult. New York City: Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings. p. 4. 502235 2.
  4. 1 2 Tyranny and Mutation (CD Booklet). Blue Öyster Cult. New York City: Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings. 2001. pp. 6–11. 502235 2.
  5. ↑ Horowitz, Hal. "Blue Öyster Cult- The Red and the Black song review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Blue Öyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Blue Öyster Cult - Consumer Guide Reviews: Tyranny and Mutation". Robert Christgau. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  9. 1 2 Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 87. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ↑ Fletcher, Gordon (April 12, 1973). "Album Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult – Tyranny and Mutation". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  11. ↑ Saunders, Mike (April 1973). "Blue Oyster Cult: Tyranny and Mutation". Phonograph Record. Vol. 3 no. 9. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  12. ↑ MacDonald, Ian (16 March 1974). "Blue Oyster Cult: Tyranny And Mutation (Columbia Import)". NME. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  13. ↑ "Tyranny and Mutation Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
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