In October 1967, a rock band called The Soft White Underbelly made its first appearance on stage, as support act to a then up-and-coming chart star called Steve Noonan. They changed their name to Stalk Forrest Group, recording an LP, and a single called "What Is Quicksand?". Both single and LP, in an appropriate quicksand-like manner, sank without trace. note .
After replacing their initial vocalist and bassist and going through a series of band names such as The Stalk-Forrest Group, Oaxaca and a brief period as The Santos Sisters, the band members who had consistently been there since the beginning, guitarist and singer Donald Roeser, and drummer Albert Bouchard, both chosen by manager Sandy Pearlman, attracted keyboardist Allen Lanier, Albert's brother Joe on bass, and rhythm guitarist and lead singer Eric Bloom. They would be a stable band together until 1983.
In late 1971, the new band, now called the Blue Öyster Cult meshed with Pearlman's overarching vision of a fantasy/scifi story that would inform all their work, and got together in a recording studio to produce their self-titled first album, released in January 1972.
"Cities on Flame (with Rock and Roll)" was released as a single that very briefly scraped the lower reaches of the US chart.
The album would be followed in early 1973 with Tyranny and Mutation.
Tracklist
Side One- "Transmaniacon MC" (3:21)
- "I'm on the Lamb but I Ain't No Sheep" (3:10)
- "Then Came the Last Days of May" (3:31)
- "Stairway to the Stars" (3:43)
- "Before the Kiss, a Redcap" (4:59)
Side Two
- "Screams" (3:10)
- "She's as Beautiful as a Foot" (2:58)
- "Cities on Flame (with Rock and Roll)" (4:03)
- "Workshop of the Telescopes" (4:01)
- "Redeemed" (3:51)
Personnel:
- Eric Bloom: vocals, guitar, percussion
- Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser: vocals, guitar
- Allen Lanier: vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
- Joe Bouchard: vocals, bass, piano
- Albert Bouchard: vocals, drums, acoustic guitar, percussion, harmonica
Production:
- David Lucas: producer
- Sandy Pearlman: assistant producer
- Murray Krugman: assistant producer
From those who would resign their souls to Tropesmaniacon:
- Alien Geometries: The sleeve designs for the first two LPs revolve around bizarre and unsettlingly alien landscapes and architectures. The cover designs for the first two albums are credited to Bill Gawlik
, who was also responsible for the specific design of the hooked cross used as the band logo. Gawlik is said to have been heavily influenced by the monumental architecture of dictatorships, specifically Albert Speer's grandiose ideas for remodelling Nazi Berlin. - Badass Biker: The Hell's Angels of "Transmaniacon MC".
- Driving Song: "Before the Kiss, a Redcap"
- Gothic Country Music: The album has the standout track "Then Came the Last Days of May" which can best be described as stealth country music played by heavy rockers. The theme is one not usually covered by C&W: three buddies set out, with a guide they mistakenly think they can trust, to cross the Mexican border via a desolate desert so as to buy drugs. in the desert, their guide murders all three to steal the drug money. The song is from the point of view of the last man to die, in the manner of a lonely cowboy on the frontier.
- Homage: "Cities on Flame (with Rock and Roll)" was
admitted by the band to have been based on the riff from "The Wizard" by Black Sabbath. - I Kiss Your Foot: "She's as Beautiful as a Foot" suggests a foot fetishist. however, the Word Salad Lyrics suggest a narrator taken by Guernsey cows and tomatoes.
- Perspective Flip: "Transmaniacon MC" is sung from the point of view of the Hell's Angels who were the bad guys at the Altamont concert in 1969.
- Self-Titled Album: Which might have been called Saint Cecilia, The Stalk-Forrest Group, Oaxaca or perhaps The Santos Sisters
- Steampunk: "Workshop of the Telescopes" appears to be at just at the tipping point where a mystical, mediaeval, world-view is passing and giving way to the scientific realism of the Renaissance.
- Villain Song: "Transmaniacon MC". This led to questions about bad taste, as it appeared to celebrate the murder carried out at Altamont by Hell's Angels.
