Imaginos (1988)... Blue Oyster Cult's Occult Rock and Roll | Not Lost Media
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- Опубликовано: 9 июн 2024
- "Just call me Desdinova..."
"Imaginos (1988)" is a concept album beyond true description. Equal parts conspiracy, alchemy, warfare, rock 'n roll, and astronomy. An album so bizarre it should probably not exist (on this planet anyways...). "Imaginos" itself was a concept entangled with Blue Oyster Cult's own identity as a band. The long delayed album was meant to be manager Sandy Pearlman's magnum opus, but a troubled production made it a flop. A history as bizarre as Pearlman's "The Soft Doctrines Of Imaginos" hounded its development and production.
Is "Imaginos" as strange as they say? Or is there more to the "Eternal Light"...
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Video Sources (Support the creators/uploaders):
-The Albert Bouchard "Imaginos" Demo Tape Full Album - Blue Öyster Cult: bit.ly/3bfh3GX
-Blue Oyster Cult 1991 06 26, Stairway to the Stars, Biddy Mulligans, Chicago, Il: bit.ly/2SQ47AS
-Blue Oyster Cult Live in Paris 1975: bit.ly/2A9Dssl
-Blue Oyster Cult: Cities On Flame w/ R & R: bit.ly/2WBYEyV
-Blue Öyster Cult - Astronomy - 1979 Super8 film: bit.ly/2WBF8T2
-Blue Oyster Cult - Astronomy: bit.ly/2xLewqi
-Blue Öyster Cult - Tattoo Vampire (2 minutes): bit.ly/35NbwXc
-The Stony Brook School Promo Video 1980s: bit.ly/35Kp9X0
-The Lost City (1935) by Harry Revier (courtesy of the KreegerCast)
-SANDY PEARLMAN interview about classical music & metal and Don't Fear the Reaper | Raw & Uncut: bit.ly/3ciT8aP
-Vampyr (1932) by Carl Theodor Dreyer
-Rolling Stones Altamont part5: bit.ly/2YN7psI
-Newsreel: Marines Landing WW2: bit.ly/2WgwTgr
-Die Deutsche Wochenschau (1944): bit.ly/2zrGuHZ
-Toughest Police Station in NY: Fort Apache South Bronx '73: bit.ly/2yDmTEI
-Rolling Stones Altamont part4: bit.ly/2SNrHy9
-The Beatles come to town - RARE 1963 (color): bit.ly/3fuv1Ih
-World War 2 Fighter Plane Messerschmitt ME-262 - CharlieDeanArchives / Archival Footage: bit.ly/2zqMTmI
-Blue Öyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper (Live) 10/9/1981 [Digitally Restored]: bit.ly/2SP5Oi1
-Nebula Star Constellation: bit.ly/2YHbgr8
-Allen Lanier & Joe Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult) Interview - 1982: bit.ly/3dv8fhO
-Blue Öyster Cult interview: bit.ly/2yvIQ8Y
-Storm Ocean Sky: bit.ly/3bfx3sB
-'Master of the Macabre: A Conversation with Stephen King' (1989) -- Part One: bit.ly/3dFCbbd
-Curse of the Aztec Mummy (1957) by Rafael Portillo: bit.ly/2SN3M24
-Ghosts (1915) by George Nicholas: bit.ly/2SRtxOO
-Blue Steel (1934) by Robert N. Bradbury: bit.ly/3fyUYXm
-Around the world in a square rigged ship: bit.ly/2SQ7pEj
-WWI 1914 - 1918: bit.ly/3dA7d4d
-Pershing's Crusaders: bit.ly/2WDKxJo
-Worm Hole: bit.ly/3bfEfVx
-Mars: bit.ly/2xN72TR
-Sandy Pearlman on Reality Check TV: bit.ly/3dnAChI
-Sandy Pearlman: bit.ly/3biRk0c
-Blue Oyster Cult - Astronomy & ETI (Live) 1976 improved audio & video: bit.ly/2Lfggvg
-Inspirace (Karel Zeman, 1948): bit.ly/2Wjitw1
-Blue Oyster Cult - Burnin' For You: bit.ly/2WifdAV
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Music:
Nat Keefe & BeatMower - "Late Night Drive" (00:00-03:06)
Frédéric Chopin - "Galop Marquis", preformed by Aya Higuchi (03:06-03:16)
Craig MacArthur - "The DeLong Incident" (03:16-06:24)
Craig MacArthur - "Point Green Getdown" (06:24-07:36)
St. Augustion-Wien Choir and Orchestra - "Requiem in D minor - 2. Dies Irae" (07:33-10:59)
Nat Keefe & BeatMower - "Creeping Spiders" (10:59-13:56)
Unicorn Heads - "A Trip Around the Moon" - (13:53-19:00)
Bruno E. - "1973" (18:57-23:44)
Unicorn Heads - "Serial Dream Rock" (23:50-25:25)
Midnight North - "Earle's Bar Room Rocker" (25:22-27:43)
Midnight North - "Jack's Garage" (27:41-30:55)
Norma Rockwell - "Shawl Paul" (30:53-36:34)
Dj Williams - "James River" (36:32-41:55)
The Whole Other - "The Machine Assembly" (41:55-43:06)
Prince Princeton - "Calmer Waters" (43:09-46:29)
Prince Princeton - "Horizon Sunset" (46:25-49:38)
Unicorn Heads - "Modern Situations" (49:36-56:44)
Silent Partner - "Traffic, Traffic" (57:10-1:00:30)
Letter Box - "The Receiver" (1:00:57-1:02:30)
Nat Keefe & Hot Buttered Rum - "Cats Searching for the Truth" (1:02:56-1:04:21)
Cooper Cannell - "Drunken Sailor" (1:04:31-1:06:01)
TrackTribe - "Lost At Sea" (1:06:14-1:09:04)
Audionautix - "Time Passing By" (1:09:24-1:12:16)
Silent Partner - "Back and Forth" (1:12:41-1:15:16)
Freedom Trail Studio - "Winter of Love" (1:15:39-1:17:23)
Ethan Meixsell - "March On" (1:17:47-1:21:13)
Bruno E. - "California Wind" (1:21:33-1:26:07)
Asher Fulero - "The Sea Captain & The Mermaid" (1:26:37-1:29:47)
Unicorn Heads - "Light Expanse" (1:29:58-1:37:24)
Ben Elliot - "Rastus Star" (1:37:34-1:40:13)
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All copyrighted media, images, and music respective owner(s).
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Sources: pastebin.com/85JFvm4B
- Special thanks to Mark Biedermann!
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Just Call Me Thanks For Watching 
Видеоклипы
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Kudos to you for taking Blue Öyster Cult seriously. So many fans and rock critics tend to look at them as just this gaudy, pretentious 70s band, and not the rock legends they truly are. Ask Metallica, Ghost, Mercyful Fate and 3 Inches of Blood if BÖC inspired them, and the answer will be quite open!
They are heavy. I take them seriously They know the Secret Treaties. They know......
Holy shit. That was one of the most in depth explanations of any rock band ever. I got BOC's first album about 3 weeks after it came out. Been with them ever since. I thought I knew a lot about the group, but dude you got everyone beat. Excellent work. Thank you !
Every BOC fan I've ever talked to, LOVES this album. Somewhere in the BOC conversation, there is always that moment when one or the other says " What did you think of Imaginos?", and the response has ALWAYS been "I thought it was great!" The fact that it didn't sell when it came out is puzzling to me because everyone I knew had it and some weren't even BOC fans. I don't care who played what instrument or the fact that the songs are out of sequence, the music is fantastic and the player are great. Mark Biedermann, great job! I've listened to Imaginos 100 times and I still catch new things every time I hear it. I love the story and I love the music.
That is so awesome!
Talk to me, their best.
I couldn't agree more. There are details about this album that some people take issue with I suppose (and which you seem to touch upon), but I was completely unaware of these things. Because the end result is a masterpiece IMO.
Upon its release, I did get to hear on the radio the version of _Astronomy_ with the *Stephen King* intro.¹ And as a *Blue Öyster Cult* fan already, I was going to run and get the album even if I hadn't heard that. But that version really hit me! And then I discovered _the rest of the album was even better!_ 🤯
•••✺●✺•••
*¹* ─ I was fortunate enough to find the demo cassette with that introduction for sale soon afterwards.
I agree ! And I love it! It rocks ..the sounds are great as well as the songs ...in my opinion The market in 1988 was just not right for it! At least we can still enjoy it to this day
I am also a huge fan of B.O.C. and Imaginos but just a quick note on why it might not have sold. I remember a lot of hysteria surrounding Club Ninja, but have no memory of the Imaginos release. I ultimately discovered it in the 90s. Maybe it wasn't promoted properly and obviously there was no internet.
People are always so surprised when I say 'Imaginos' is my favorite BOC record. I mean, come on, that version of "Astronomy" is absolutely everything. I particularly enjoy the 'Albert Bouchard Demo Tapes'. Such an incredible mythos built for an insanely underrated band. I'm 31 and I've only had the privilege to see them once a few years ago. It was absolutely fantastic. They melted my face multiple times but dude, when they busted out the jam section of "Harvest Moon" I thought the guitars were going to catch fire.
The Albert Bouchard demo tape is probably my favorite album of all time.
@@cdvitunac did you see Bouchard's got a new version of Imaginos coming out? I'm very excited.
@@TheNickSweat that's amazing, will love to check it out. Love that version of astronomy. Ethereal!
@@cdvitunac yep! it's called ReImaginos. Here's a link to the preview and where to grab it! ruclips.net/video/DeLskFqqxPQ/видео.html
Theres only one recorded concert of them playing Imaginos tunes, it's from 88 , I found it on their official channel. Brilliant stuff
As a 58 yr old I’d say this is the band that influenced me the most growing up. Not Sabbath, Kiss, Kansas, Styx, Rush etc but BOC. I remember when I was 7 finding Secret Treaties in my brothers album collection and for some reason completely gravitating towards it. I was in aw of Dominance and Submission, Astronomy and Harvester of Eyes. The minute I heard Buck D’s playing and tone I was hooked. His style was the first I wanted to mimick as a young musician. I’ve been fortunate enough to see BOC several times and fortunately on the Black n Blue tour. It’s a moment I’ll never forget because it opened the door to my guitar playing. BOC deserve all the credit they get and so much more. One of the greatest bands of my generation and still releasing great music. Thank you so much for making this. Kudo’s!
They left out that I played the solo on In the Presence of another world. It was the first song I played on with Blue Oyster Cult. Even still this whole expose' is a masterpiece!
Played.
They chopped up the album to sell it. Vocals and solos redone. Then BOC got the studio bill!
Thank you, Mark! You did an amazing job on this album and I'm sorry you didn't get more credit. Try to convince Albert to do part 2.
Nice I got name checked at 49:40
@@TZKeyz You did a great job. Thank you!
Imaginos was informed by Les Invisibles to join the BOC servants to fly the Stairway to the stars via the black mirror, and do not forget my dog Sirius, fixed and consequent. Desdinova the eternal light! Dig it.
"Siege and Investiture..." and "Magna of Illusion" are two of my top BOC tracks from their catalog. Just so damn good.
Albert Bouchard announced earlier this year that he is working on a new version of the Imaginos album, it will apparently more acoustic and laid back and will contain the correct track listing and the cut tracks.
Awesome! Albert mentioned it ages ago. I so hope he gets it done soon. I want to hear how it was supposed to be. Imaginos was an interesting album but it felt like there were big gaps that left more questions than answers. Maybe Albert can tie up all the loose ends and bring everything together so we can all finally understand.
@@georgedavies7867 www.merchbucket.com/products/albert-bouchard-re-imaginos-mega-bundle-autographed?variant=33021001859181
I did in fact preorder.
@@grahamtaylor8912 I'm wondering why they're not releasing Re Imaginos on vinyl?!
@@mcbigswig1569 Sorry I only just read your post.. Not sure. The new BOC album as had a vinyl release. Maybe it will get one later?
This video is massive, and changed my view of BÖC forever. I wish Pearlman wrote a book about the Imaginos lore.
Astonishing work as always, you deserve to get more recognized.
ah, there is a lot of transcript material- about all kinds of things- that have never seen the light of day.. as a 47 year friend of sandy- i saw and read alot of it...promised my friend I would never talk about it...
A while back, I found what appeared to be the full (or fullest) transcript. It was quite long, detailed and amazing.
@Dennis Jordan I just got the Popoff book. I'm kind of new to the Imaginos world, so I've got too much to learn. The book is in timeline form. The myriad of references pulled together is like Paradise Lost!
@@bungopony You found the Soft Doctrines? Is there any way we could locate them?
He did, Audio book
I can't imagine the time and research it took to do this video, and I just want to thank you. BÖC birthed the whole Occult Rock Scene in the U.S., and I've never seen their mythos and history laid out anywhere before this.
I also can't believe that a documentary on them has not been done yet. While the guys are all still active and among us (minus Lanier & Pearlman RIP), it would be great if someone sat down with these guys and got the whole story on camera. They are an American Institution & one of the most influential bands of all time, and their legacy needs to be documented.
Thanx again for this great video.
only Bloom & Dharma survive
@@gladeloy3341 Very very incorrect. Bloom and Dharma are the only remaining members performing. Both Bouchard brothers are still alive.
That was without a doubt one of the most fascinating things I've ever seen. I will have to watch it a few more times to take it all in. Thank you for making it! BOC are never boring. :)
Glad you enjoyed it
This...this is genius. I completely unplugged during the Pandemic, but listened to IMAGINOS over and over, sorry I am just seeing this now.
I first stumbled on Pearlman's genius as a teenager, when more than 35 years ago, I started a D&D(1e) campaign, based on BOC lyrics... the Sign of the Four Winds, with a secret map they never found behind the clock... a harvester of eyes... suns that were freezing...dice that came up seven on the bottom of the sea...black telescope linked to mind flayers...and of course the nexus of the crisis was an otherwordly jewel called the Origin of Storms. The "game" ran for 19 years, and was just starting to come together...like Imaginos...
THANK YOU again. Will watch all your other videos...in between checking to see what Albert Bouchard has posted...
I would absolutely love to have played that DnD campaign!
I had the "Blue Oyster Cult" & their "agent" Desdanova as a recurring baddies in my AD&D campaign. I am planning on reintroducing them (after nearly a two decade absence) in our annual get together at Christmas. This fits amazingly well into the Spelljammer setting
I remember hearing BOC for the first time in 1975. My friend's brother had Secret Treaties and I was blown away. I love this video, thank you for the hard work! I've seen BOC live 20 times since then. Imaginos is not my favorite also, S.T. is, and will always be, but I appreciate it. I do have one disagreement with you, however. Flaming Telepaths is, deep down at its heart, about addiction. as someone who's been clean & sober for nearly 18 years, this song goes into my very soul like none other. Few songs cry out the pain of substance abuse, whatever it is, like that song. Thanks again!
6:39 “Pearlman crafted the semi-fictional ‘Soft Doctrines of Imaginos’, a poetry cycle based around the character of Imaginos… and his soft doctrines.”
Standing ovation.
Superb work, Pseudiom. Blue Oyster Cult is endless. You can make several vídeos bases on every aspect of the banda, from their backstory, the music properly, the occult and literary influences, etc.
And I didn't have to wai till the last days of May!
Hey just to let you know, Albert Bouchard finished his Re-Imaginos trilogy and is looking to make Imaginos comics, a movie, and a video game. Additionally, one of Sandy Pearlman's relatives found a case filled with roughly 3400 pages of Sandy Pearlman's notes, which they gifted to Albert!
What hasn't already been said here? Astounding! Been a BÖC fan since my early teens around 1980. My first taste of Imaginos was thanks to a used record and tape store in Mesa Arizona. In a box near the register, I noticed a single BÖC tape stamped "Radio Promo." It was a few songs from Imaginos, including the version of Astronomy with the King intro. I was hooked. I bought it, and a few days later, I got the album proper. It has been my favorite album of theirs to date. Virtually every album has at least a song or two (often more) that I love, but Imaginos is the one album I love _beginning to end._
Holy shit. Dude, you've done a shit-ton of research for this. How long did this take you to put together? As a long-time fan of BOC, I'm really impressed. I'm only 17 minutes in, and have already learned a lot I didn't know before. Back to it now...But I had to pause it here because I wanted to be sure and thank you for this comprehensive video. This is the best I've seen.
I love how songs related to the Imaginos theme have been stwewn about the "Black and White" era records. And Albert Bouchard releasing his Imaginos albums is so cool. Great video!
Mistress of the Salmon Salt ( Quicklime Girl ) was a really bizarre song. Wings Wetted Down was weird as hell , but how did they come up with the concept of Teen Archer ??? And there was Baby Ice Dog which contained the line, You want to make it with my big black dog , but you just don't know how to ask . Blue Oyster Cult has got to have the weirdest lyrics in the history of music
why isnt there a movie about these guys sounds like a way more interesting story than "every other rock star movie ever"
They are featured in the movie “ The Stoned Age” its a funnier version of Dazed and Confused!
Yeah no official documentaries on them other than RUclips videos
This album blew me away before I even knew I was a BoC fan. The range of styles, lyrics, storytelling, and the epic scale and grandeur of the starry wisdom epitomize what's so great about Blue Oyster Cult.
I enjoyed that video and story. Well done.I am one of the 50,000 people who bought it when it came out. I had it on Cassette no less. I have also talked to Mark B on faceboof a few times.(Hi Mark Savior Rebus here) Thanks to both of you for making this video and the music.
Me too!
IMAGINOS is like The Who's "Lifehouse" project. It never came together but was a rich vein to mine for material that showed up on other records for years.
I got this for Christmas the year it came out.....on vinyl. I still love it.
I didn't knew Pearlman was this serious and passionate about the Imaginos story. I had always assumed it was some kind of overelaborated joke, belong to the "The Imaginos album is an abomination" faction-but Sandy gives off slight Ezra Pound vibes here. Great video; you're one of my new favorite channels!
36:24 A second major difference is the correcting of the lyrics on the Buck Dharma sung Astronomy in 1988. Eric sang, 'Four winds at the Four Winds bar.' in 1974. In 1988 Buck corrected it by singing, 'Four DOORS at the Four Winds bar'. Which makes so much more sense. I only picked up on this from watching a RUclips interview of Albert Bouchard and he mentions it. Here is the interview link and time stamp. ruclips.net/video/dYEfMDMQztI/видео.html
Pseudiom... Fantastic video man! So in depth and awesome. Thank You for making this. Truly bro... Excellent!
Painstaking work. Excellent video. Been a BOC fan for over 50 years now
The Albert Bouchard demo version of the whole record is very cool - and so is the officially released version in 1988 with a few 'hired hands' contributing - including Joe Satriani and others.
It's just kind of a shame that the original 5 members and Pearlman could not set aside all the differences at the time and come together proper to create the truly definitive version that this great concept deserved.
Albert sent me a copy years ago. As a gigantic fan of the album by BOC, it was mesmerizing to hear the differences. Not a bad cut on either. What seems like forever ago, the Brains played at Seneca Falls, NY and busted out a version of “The Siege...” and it might have been the heaviest cut of any BOC song I’d ever heard. It just knocked me back. Granted, I was chemically altered, but that wasn’t at all uncommon for me at a concert so, it really left an impact. Mind you, I’d seen them play it before but this time it was just a 3 piece, without Bohevesky and Hillfiger. I’d spent my teens and adult as a true fan, well over 100 shows by now, but that one really got me.
On par and a bit more interesting than the Billy Thorpe Children of the Sun. Certainly a shit ton heavier and still amazingly melodic.
This is so good, so informatively dense, I thought I was the only one who loved this album but was also so confused and curious about it...its evil magic I swear
By the way, remember the vídeo about Dracula and the Japanese translation? Did you know there was an Icelandic translation called Makt myrkrana, Power of Darkness, that could be or not the first translation of Dracula, and also it's an interesting retelling of the story? I'm reading the Spanish translation, and it's wild, Dracula meets Fantomas meets the Sagas. If you are interested in Stoker's memorabilia, the issues with translation, editions, retranslations and reeditions, take a look at it.
dang, what a ride... An impressive job presenting all that! Glad I found your channel!
I tried my best. It was a hard topic to cover.
Came for the video about the early Steely Dan demos. Stayed for this. Amazing work!
And just a few weeks ago Albert mentioned casually during a RUclips vlog that one of his current projects is...revisiting/reworking...Imaginos.
The concept and story that will not die.
We understand! We understand!
this video kinda made me sad.
10/10 very good video and well done
I was recalling how I felt like the only person in Daly City, California long before Godzilla was a radio favorite, who knew of and loved BÖC when reading Stephen Kings novels how he’d reference these guys in his chapter beginnings. I felt like I was in superb company
Tuesday morning, on lockdown, Perth, Scotland, bored, scrolling through Facebook and see a link to this! That's my morning sorted! Thankyou for this.
I saw them in a dive club/bar in Chicago on this tour- my first BOC concert. They played "I am the One you Warned Me of". This is a criminally underrated work. This would be the most epic "album in its entirety" concert, if you could get the surviving members to agree to do it. I wish that they would record the AB demos as a real album and stage the show.
Thanks for this video, I absolutely loved every aspect you brought to this.
Man I adore BOC when you covered the artist that had done their first album covers I really hoped you would cover them. My man your videos are a treasure to this platform. Time to go put on the only vinyl I own for BOC "Fire of Unknown Origin". God I love "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" I actually really want to do an animation with it even though we already have the movie Heavy Metal for that lol.
This is the best analysis of the album ever. Loved it !! Thank you for taking the time to make it. Such a brilliant album ....
It's funny the album is almost a Rorschach test in it's lyrics I had a completely different story envisioned then what you put out. I do really dig your interpretation of astronomy as being some sort of bloody Mary-esque summoning ritual for destynova. Great job man
Years ago I discovered a copy of Secret Treatise in my dad's basement. Always having been obsessed with WW2 I wondered why there was a ME 262 on a rock album cover. Now I know. Thanks man. Very long mystery of my life solved for me haha.
This is a story of musical alchemy.
The level of research, analysis and devotion you have dedicated to this is simply awe inspiring 😮
coundnt stop playing this for months, a masterpiece
BÖC is my favorite band of all time, I love the story of Imaginos and I’ve hunted for Pearlman’s poems for years but I have never associated the name PEARLman to Öyster for some reason.
Should've uploaded this during the last days of May.
"...would you be interested in coming along, instead of staying here?....they say the West is nice this time of year..."
@@bluedream9668 , that's what they say.
good call......
No, August the 1st (Magna of Illusion)
This was AMAZING! Thanks so much for making it!
Many many thanks for all the research and effort you must have put in to create this - it is superb! I *love* Imaginos and very much have it up there with the B&W albums as being in the top tier of everything the band have produced.
Crazy timing, I was listening to the album when I got the notification!
That's probably why.......algorithms
Fantastic(!!!) 🙂. Thoroughly Enjoyable From Start To Finish(!!!) 🙂. May all people who think of the Imaginos album as "a flop" be transformed into faceless, soulless, loveless sea creatures ... "Hear Them Chatter On The Tide" 🙂.
"In the presence of another world" is one of the coolest rock song titles I've ever heard in my life, usurped only by "I am the one you warned me of"; that they share the same album as the (possibly) longest rock song title ever (seizure and investiture), and, to boot, are all great songs is not even telling half the story. "The girl that love made blind" sounds like the best song I've never heard!
There's not a bad song on the album but it's not my favourite (that goes to C.E.) but it was the dose of darkness that the hair metal 80s needed as Black Sabbath were going through an identity crisis in the late 80s.
The story/mythos that they had in mind was truly a brilliant idea that the market wasn't ready for; it's a shame that it didn't get realised in the 70s. I think Brain Talbot (British comics writer/artist) would have been a good fit to tackle the comic book (check out the adventures of Luther Arkright and tell me it doesn't fit with the Imaginos mythos!).
Great video - really enjoyed this and it helped me to make sense of the album and its position in the BOC story.
they need to make this into a movie, maybe then Id understand it better
Pearlman kinda wanted to, but it never happened. Would be cool to see a feature length music video along the lines of something like Heavy Metal.
I just started down the Imaginos rabbit hole in earnest last night, drawn by a fondness for ‘80s SF and fantasy concept albums, and found a reference to this video in another RUclips video. You’ve done a GREAT job here, impressive and informative. Thank you!
I remember coming across this record (on CD) in 1989 in a shelf of my public library, right next to Headless Cross. I copied both onto tapes that soon got worked to the bone since both records I beheld as masterpieces. Headless Cross for it's catchyness and accessibility and Imagious for it's bombast and mystery. Now over 30 years later I can finally connect the dots a bit closer in understanding but the mystery only deepens. Thanks for this awesome expose!
I was thinking about the teaser you posted awhile ago in the shower yesterday and then this is posted lol. Always love your videos
Ghost has based its whole career on virtually just this lp.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only kid who got bit by the BOC bug back in '79. Every time I ran across one of their albums, I felt like a found another piece to the puzzle. Say what you will about the direction and vision of the various folks involved, of all of the bands that came and went over the last 45 years, this is the only band who sparked my curiousity on a regular basis.
Great video! I absolutely love the demo version of Imaginos, it's one of my favourite albums.
Redeemed is a great song
I would argue BOC's album that was released shortly after this video does have some Imaginos mythos in it. The track "That Was Me" could stand as a sort of sequel to "I am the one you warned me of", I've chosen to interpret it as Desdinova years after world war 2 continuing his reign of carnage. "Florida Man" a humorous tale of a Seminole curse on the Spanish invaders could have some relation to the story. It would probably be a stretch "Edge of the World" but I think you could work it in. And finally, "Stand and Fight" where I interpret Imaginos (or some unnamed hero in the story) confronting the Les Invisables with an army of his own in a climactic battle.
Other songs I've heard fans including in the mythos post Pearlman era of the band; "Stone of Love", "The Old Gods Return" and "The Horsemen Arrive". Obviously these songs weren't intended to fit into the mythos but I can see it just the same.
Sandy was my mentor. He’d get a kick out of this. Some of it is even accurate. ;-)
You're Casey right? Thanks for that interview with Sandy! One of the only ones I could find online. Honestly one of the most fascinating guys I know about. I tried to stick to the facts with everything, but, as is obvious, I was constricted to what was available on the internet and a few theories. Some of them are out there, but I knew I'd never be able to make it 100% accurate. I hope I just added to the myth.
Thanks for the comment as well! Hit me up on Twitter or e-mail if you want. I'd love to know more about Pearlman and what you're up to now a days.
Tell us something. Thanks!
Some little errors here and there, in particular in regards to Stepen King being asked to contribute to thank him for using the Reaper in The Stand as Imaginos was released in 88 and the Stand in 1994. But otherwise this is a fantastic documentary and I've watched it at least a dozen times
Just found your channel from another vid and man glad someones out here talking about the important history 😊
Thank you for producing this. The Lovecraftian roots of BOC blew my mind. I knew a little about this before...but now know the whole crazy tale.
This is the most comprehensive BOC corpus I have ever encountered. Thank you. Point of interest, The Red and The Black is also a novel by Stendhal. I gotta think a well read guy like Pearlman was aware of it.
I want someone to make an “Imaginos” film. I think it would be an amazing basis for a movie. And in the conspiracy fueled craziness of the current cultural zeitgeist, it would be a perfect fit.
5:24 having met one of their former roadies (from before they were BÖC) I'm less surprised about the military manuals. They had finally settled on Blue Öyster Cult when he was serving as a marine in Vietnam. Small detail, but it explains a lot to me.
And now Albert Bouchard is re recording Imaginos and to make matters more confusing the track list is different!
A great, enjoyable piece for BÖC fans. It does confirm my take on the released (official) Imaginos album as not being a true BÖC album. However, it is BÖC related. Albert's imminent release will add both clarity and confusion, as he hints at the further releases.
Thank you for this distinguished work.
Impressive work, I'm glad I stumbled upon it. Too bad the album is virtually unknown.
The logo looks something like the Yellow Sign. As in "Have you seen the yellow sign?" based on the Lovecraft mythos.
This video looks to be one of your best. But I have work tomorrow and it's too late for me. I look forward to watching your latest masterpiece tomorrow after work.
An Imaginos comic is coming soon :) I know this because I am the cover artist...
Favorite Band Ever
interesting in light of the three volume Albert Bouchard Re-imaginos trilogy - the first two are clunky COVID era demos, as much as I like parts of them, but pt.3 rocks.
I don't particularly like the "Imaginos redeemed" silliness that it ends with, but...hippies gonna hippie!
Back in the early 1990s on the BOC-L discussion list (to which Al Bouchard occasionally contributed), a strong argument was made that Perfect Water from the Club Ninja album was somehow aligned with the Imaginos mythos, even though Pearlman received no writing credit for it. It certainly seems to touch upon aspects of the aquatic lives of Les Invisibles.
Thank you for all the work you did here! Now I will watch it like 3 more times and take notes.
Wow! Thanks for that video. This band is my finest discovery of 2020 and I always knew they were deep, deeper than just being a rock band but I never did any serious research. After watching this I definitely will.
When I first heard Imaginos I wanted to play it in the background while I was doing some other stuff but as it started I left everything and sat there listening.
They should have done Imaginos in 1975. That was the right time to do it as there were plenty of other "concept" or "rock operas" on the market at that point. They could've put that out to cap of their early career nicely and moved on with Agents like they did anyway in '76.
I still have my LP of Imaginos and was lucky enough to score a CD of it too, many years ago! An amazing album that more than makes up for Club Ninja, haha!.
This is an incredible,informative piece.As a long time fan of Blue Oyster Cult I give great thanks.
BOC is criminally underrated and Imaginos was stellar.
One of my absolute favorites so I'm looking forward to this
Love the album - yes its a bit of an outlier in the catalogue and doesnt really feature most of the band for most of the album, but I bought it when it first came out and it remains the most played of their albums alongside Spectres and Some Enchanted Evening. Be interesting to hear Alberts Re-Imaginos when it comes out in a few weeks time.
Just had a thought - in I am the One You warned me of are there deliberate references to their work in some of the lyrics? -
Whose agents could not ever see (Agents of Fortune?)
His hilly eyes and too green rings (Lips in the hills/ Harvester of eyes?)
Obscured sight and fancy dreams
Holy mass, those 13 fancy dreams ( Imaginos was their 14th album if you include the three live albums)
And the cliff house shown on the cover of Imaginos is NOT the original one. Most likely answer is it's the third... but an exact count of its predecessors is hard to find.
The Nexus of the crisis.
Thank you for this. Immediate subscription!
Wow man! You really did some homework to compile all of this. Thank you for that. Could probably spend a lifetime trying to dissect this story and fully understand it's ideas and implications. (& not fully understand it lol)
You don't have to fully grasp it to love the band and their work though!
Always loved the first 4-5 albums, recently listened to Cultosaurus for the first time. That one is a banger!
Time to listen to Imaginos (& see if I can find the Bouchard demo), that is unventured territory as of yet.
Right on. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this !!!
I've always been interested in these topics but only recently found out the connections with BOC.
As a side note- When BOC appeared on "Rockline" to promote IMAGINOS, the Stephen King intro was played as it appeared on the 12" import single (which I had, until I foolishly sold it).
When asked about the idea of the album, Perelman noted that it was about "the occult origins of World War One", lending to your observations about the "Siege and Investiture..."
Bah Gawd! I hope you'll cover the saga of KLF next.
Will you also be doing a breakdown of Imaginos 2 since its been released? Great vid BTW.
I was thinking, could the Frankenstein concoction be also Herbert West like Reanimator potion? Destinova reviving the dead soldiers with ir? A heavy metal retelling of Lovecraft's story?
:D Thanks! :D Anna,Christine,Tinja&Markku
I needed this video. Thx
Interestingly and if ironically, The Blue was the opposite of the Black.