I was told to listen to Flaming Telepaths by Blue Oyster Cult in 1974 by the clerk at 7/11. So I immediately went to Warehouse Records on Whittier Blvd and purchased it without ever hearing a Blue Oyster Cult song. I have been hooked on Blue Oyster Cult ever since. 💙
That little jingle is from the previous song Harvester of eyes. It bleeds right into Flaming Telepaths and then Flaming Telepaths bleeds right into Astronomy.
Allen Lanier (RIP) did the synthesizer intro and then seamlessly switched to the electric piano to set up Buck Dharma's (aka Donald Roeser) guitar bridge. They did this as seamlessly live as in the studio version. An incredibly tight band.
Yes sir, you are diving deeper into their "black & white era". From 1972 -1975. These releases were really a different world from Agents and beyond. An era where rock critics at the time, dubbed them "the American Black Sabbath". Eric Bloom sang most of the pieces during this time, and together with Buck's solos, really crafted their sound.(as you just experienced with this cut). Their first 3 studio releases also had these stellar song transitions. Not sure if you can experience them by listening to INDIVIDUAL YT versions. The one you ALMOST experienced on Flaming Telepaths is one of their best. From Buck's furious closing solo here, the transition immediately drops you into the surrealistic world of "Astronomy". Quite an effect. And IMO, there is no better "sit back in your bean-bag chair with headphones" version, than the studio version of Astronomy. Keep enjoying, sir.
The best way to listen to this song and Astronomy is to start with Harvester of Eyes, let it flow into Flaming Telepaths, then let that flow into Astronomy. That way you get all of the flow. Enjoy!
This was BOC’s third album they were still experimenting with their sound.Sandy Perlman the founder of the band was trying to get the band to be more conceptual but the members wanted to be more like a biker style rock group. This blending gives the band its own sound but it made marketing the band kind of hard for their record company. This is why it’s hard to describe BOC to new listeners especially with only three main songs that get air play.
Excellent choice! This is their 3rd album (and my favorite). The first 3 are definitely harder/heavier compared to later stuff and I consider the first 3 the best, although they have lots of great stuff in their very deep library.
My favorite BOC albums are Secret Treaties, Agents of Fortune, and Mirrors. Have enjoyed listening to them for 45 years . Live albums On Your Feet Or On Your knees Cities on Flame. Saw them live once.
That little jingle should be the intro to this song but for some reason they made it the outro to Harvester of Eyes it fits much better with this song!
It seems I can never get enough of folks hearing songs for the first time that so impressed me on my first listen. BÖC is just one of those bands who are so interesting in their choice of phrasing an melody - especially on their first 4-5 albums. The experience is even deeper on further listens. Congrats for finding this music! P.S. I've been listening to this album since I was a kid, and I still don't exactly know what the lyrics mean. I think they're supposed to be open to interpretation.
Thanks, Gary Milstead, for your patronage and rocking recommendation! Thanks, John for sharing your reaction and musical exploration with the rest uf us! I believe both the beginning and end of this song were elements from the prior and later songs, this being one of those classic rock albums best listned to in its entirety, one vinyl album side at a time. Cheers!
The definition of a Secret Treaty is an agreement or signed Treaty between 2 countries that the contents are confidential and secret, as if non existing. The album cover depicts the band standing with a Germsn WWII Fighter plane, the ME-262. The lyrics of that song references Hitler, Goering, and the German SS, so what I've heard over the years, and only lyricist Sandy Pearlman knows, is the concept of the album relates to WWII, and the inner workings of the German regime.. Hitler was deep into Astrology, the Stars, Telepathy, and Astronomy and supposedly sought outside the mind connections, which could explain the mindset and inspiration for Side 2 of the album, which you are venturing into..
The song actually starts with a ~20-30sec music box sample. However, apparently, the way they divided the songs, the music box got attached onto the arse end of the previous song (‘Harvester Of Eyes’, I think) .
That little jingling at the beginning is Alan Lanear tickling the keys on key boards. Alan was so good at a lite touch on the keys as opposed to someone like Elton John that was a key board banger.
Secret Treaties is Amazing Best to listen to it in its entirety because one song flows brilliantly into the next One of my all time favorites Thanks John
The intro to this song is about a 45 second piano interlude between the 2nd and 3rd songs. It must be experienced by listening to the vinyl as the songs on Secret Treaties and also Tyranny and Mutation flow together seamlessly and listening to the Vinyls in their entirety is highly recommended.. for full BOC effect..
“Doyens of Punk Mysterioso” they were called-Blue Öyster Cult were an aptly named collective of New York Long Island musicians and one of the weirdest and just plain cool bands ever. Saw them twice, once with Albert Bouchard on drums and once with Rick Downey. They don't fit neatly in any genre and live almost exclusively in their own niche. Sometimes they boogie like the Doors or shimmer like the Byrds, other times they are firmly in weedy so-cal yacht smooch or progressive metal. I don't know what they were, to be honest. I peresonally think of Secret Treaties and Agents of Fortune as the apex of their career, but they made a lot of interesting albums with peculiar and good songs. Even top 40 hits, believe it or not. Among the people contributing material for the band were the writers Steven King and Michael Moorcock. Patti Smith almost joined the band at one point, that would have been fun to watch. My absolute favourite song of theirs is “Cagey Cretins” … the lyrics still make me howl with laughter. Try deciphering the meaning of that one if you dare. BÖC are fun fun fun with a bit of malice, insanity, and schizophrenic drug use thrown in for good measure. Cheers and enjoy the ride! 🍺
Way to go Gary Milstead. You came through again with Epic BOC. I guess you found the song/album with Secret Treaties that may truly connect with John. John, the concept of Imaginos runs through the first three albums in places. I won't go into the conceptual ideas here but some songs focus on that story while others don't. The lyrics with BOC are hard to pin down. Very intelligent but also quirky at the same time. BOC has/had some of the best and most unique lyricists and song writers in music history. And yes they can do anything music wise and did throughout their many albums. Enjoy the journey!
America's Zeppelin in my and many friends from my NYC/BOC era opinion... Saw the Cult at least 10 times in NY and NJ... We loved BOC, Zeppelin and Skynyrd, the 3 best concerts I/We ever saw.... and we saw lots of bands including Floyd/ Kinks/Hot Tuna/Foghat/Johnny Winter(another fave) KISS(1975 when they were fun) UFO(great Live) the ORIGINAL Journey, before steve perry turned them into a clown band, and many more.
“Secret Treaties” is probably a loose concept album. I can see this album as a soundtrack for a movie set around 1964. The movie would be about a group of World War ll veterans affiliated with biker groups involved in all kind of dark shenanigans.
Wow. This brings me back. I was 17 when someone suggested I'd like this album. It became a personal favorite pretty quickly. Every song on it is good. Makes no sense at all, but really good anyway. LOL. One thing I remember about them back then is that they had an AMAZING laser show in concert. They'd shine a big laser on a mirror ball, and it would break off into hundreds of shafts of light raining down into the audience. It was an amazing experience then.
Ne Obliviscaris song Devour Me Colossus ,Forget Motor Eyrie will blow your mind. An Aussie band who are extremely talented with their compositions and playing.
Looking forward to your reaction to Presto by Rush. You also need to react to Envy Of None full album this album also has Alex LIfeson on Guitar and is a member of the band
“Secret Treaties” is one of the best 1970s hard rock albums.
Got that right, the first three in particular are all among my favorites.
Or of any era
It’s superb
Great musicians
This stands up well against Led Zeppelin albums
“Secret Treaties” is a perfect album.
I was told to listen to Flaming Telepaths by Blue Oyster Cult in 1974 by the clerk at 7/11. So I immediately went to Warehouse Records on Whittier Blvd and purchased it without ever hearing a Blue Oyster Cult song. I have been hooked on Blue Oyster Cult ever since. 💙
That little jingle is from the previous song Harvester of eyes. It bleeds right into Flaming Telepaths and then Flaming Telepaths bleeds right into Astronomy.
Yeah, Producer Sandy Pearlman made a conscious effort with this record to have little connecting pieces between each of the songs.
Allen Lanier (RIP) did the synthesizer intro and then seamlessly switched to the electric piano to set up Buck Dharma's (aka Donald Roeser) guitar bridge. They did this as seamlessly live as in the studio version. An incredibly tight band.
The key jingle at the beginning is the end of harvester of eyes...people tend to forget it's actually a 3 part song harvester, Telepaths and Astronomy
Yes sir, you are diving deeper into their "black & white era". From 1972 -1975. These releases were really a different world from Agents and beyond. An era where rock critics at the time, dubbed them "the American Black Sabbath". Eric Bloom sang most of the pieces during this time, and together with Buck's solos, really crafted their sound.(as you just experienced with this cut). Their first 3 studio releases also had these stellar song transitions. Not sure if you can experience them by listening to INDIVIDUAL YT versions. The one you ALMOST experienced on Flaming Telepaths is one of their best. From Buck's furious closing solo here, the transition immediately drops you into the surrealistic world of "Astronomy". Quite an effect. And IMO, there is no better "sit back in your bean-bag chair with headphones" version, than the studio version of Astronomy. Keep enjoying, sir.
The best way to listen to this song and Astronomy is to start with Harvester of Eyes, let it flow into Flaming Telepaths, then let that flow into Astronomy. That way you get all of the flow. Enjoy!
This was BOC’s third album they were still experimenting with their sound.Sandy Perlman the founder of the band was trying to get the band to be more conceptual but the members wanted to be more like a biker style rock group. This blending gives the band its own sound but it made marketing the band kind of hard for their record company. This is why it’s hard to describe BOC to new listeners especially with only three main songs that get air play.
Thanks for the early BOC.
Excellent choice! This is their 3rd album (and my favorite). The first 3 are definitely harder/heavier compared to later stuff and I consider the first 3 the best, although they have lots of great stuff in their very deep library.
The songs on this album blend together most awesomely (ie- There is no break in between)
My favorite BOC albums are Secret Treaties, Agents of Fortune, and Mirrors. Have enjoyed listening to them for 45 years . Live albums On Your Feet Or On Your knees Cities on Flame. Saw them live once.
I have seen them at least 20 times. The only way to experience them.
Mirrors ? Really ?
BOC have a very unique vibe, dark/mysterious w/ a bit of humor and deft musicianship…they really are a mood unto themselves.
That little jingling is from the song (Harvester Of Eyes) that comes before Flaming Telepaths. They segue from one to the other.
That little jingle should be the intro to this song but for some reason they made it the outro to Harvester of Eyes it fits much better with this song!
It seems I can never get enough of folks hearing songs for the first time that so impressed me on my first listen. BÖC is just one of those bands who are so interesting in their choice of phrasing an melody - especially on their first 4-5 albums. The experience is even deeper on further listens. Congrats for finding this music!
P.S. I've been listening to this album since I was a kid, and I still don't exactly know what the lyrics mean. I think they're supposed to be open to interpretation.
Thanks, Gary Milstead, for your patronage and rocking recommendation! Thanks, John for sharing your reaction and musical exploration with the rest uf us! I believe both the beginning and end of this song were elements from the prior and later songs, this being one of those classic rock albums best listned to in its entirety, one vinyl album side at a time. Cheers!
The definition of a Secret Treaty is an agreement or signed Treaty between 2 countries that the contents are confidential and secret, as if non existing.
The album cover depicts the band standing with a Germsn WWII Fighter plane, the ME-262. The lyrics of that song references Hitler, Goering, and the German SS, so what I've heard over the years, and only lyricist Sandy Pearlman knows, is the concept of the album relates to WWII, and the inner workings of the German regime.. Hitler was deep into Astrology, the Stars, Telepathy, and Astronomy and supposedly sought outside the mind connections, which could explain the mindset and inspiration for Side 2 of the album, which you are venturing into..
The song actually starts with a ~20-30sec music box sample. However, apparently, the way they divided the songs, the music box got attached onto the arse end of the previous song (‘Harvester Of Eyes’, I think) .
Blue Öyster Cult is the most talented group of American musicians.
That little jingling at the beginning is Alan Lanear tickling the keys on key boards. Alan was so good at a lite touch on the keys as opposed to someone like Elton John that was a key board banger.
Secret Treaties is Amazing
Best to listen to it in its entirety because one song flows brilliantly into the next
One of my all time favorites
Thanks John
The intro to this song is about a 45 second piano interlude between the 2nd and 3rd songs. It must be experienced by listening to the vinyl as the songs on Secret Treaties and also Tyranny and Mutation flow together seamlessly and listening to the Vinyls in their entirety is highly recommended.. for full BOC effect..
“Doyens of Punk Mysterioso” they were called-Blue Öyster Cult were an aptly named collective of New York Long Island musicians and one of the weirdest and just plain cool bands ever. Saw them twice, once with Albert Bouchard on drums and once with Rick Downey.
They don't fit neatly in any genre and live almost exclusively in their own niche. Sometimes they boogie like the Doors or shimmer like the Byrds, other times they are firmly in weedy so-cal yacht smooch or progressive metal. I don't know what they were, to be honest.
I peresonally think of Secret Treaties and Agents of Fortune as the apex of their career, but they made a lot of interesting albums with peculiar and good songs. Even top 40 hits, believe it or not.
Among the people contributing material for the band were the writers Steven King and Michael Moorcock. Patti Smith almost joined the band at one point, that would have been fun to watch. My absolute favourite song of theirs is “Cagey Cretins” … the lyrics still make me howl with laughter.
Try deciphering the meaning of that one if you dare. BÖC are fun fun fun with a bit of malice, insanity, and schizophrenic drug use thrown in for good measure.
Cheers and enjoy the ride! 🍺
Do something off the On Your Feet or on Your Knees like Subhuman or Bucks Boogie please ✌🤘
Way to go Gary Milstead. You came through again with Epic BOC.
I guess you found the song/album with Secret Treaties that may truly connect with John.
John, the concept of Imaginos runs through the first three albums in places. I won't go into the conceptual ideas here but some songs focus on that story while others don't.
The lyrics with BOC are hard to pin down. Very intelligent but also quirky at the same time. BOC has/had some of the best and most unique lyricists and song writers in music history. And yes they can do anything music wise and did throughout their many albums.
Enjoy the journey!
this song really hits home with me because of my 5 year herion addiction clean now 5 years rock on BOC aloha
Good for you Buddy
You should be very proud
Never Give up
thank you very much
wish i could have caught em w Sabbath on The Black And Blue Tour
lol i listened to this song separately for the first time on the same day
This album predate's Queen's by 3 years, so it would actually be Brian May reminding you of Buck Dharma.
More Blue Oyster Cult More Secret Treaties 💙
Legends!
Hey John listen to harvester of eyes the song before telepathy to hear the whole beginning thanks John
America's Zeppelin in my and many friends from my NYC/BOC era opinion... Saw the Cult at least 10 times in NY and NJ... We loved BOC, Zeppelin and Skynyrd, the 3 best concerts I/We ever saw.... and we saw lots of bands including Floyd/ Kinks/Hot Tuna/Foghat/Johnny Winter(another fave) KISS(1975 when they were fun) UFO(great Live) the ORIGINAL Journey, before steve perry turned them into a clown band, and many more.
the songs bleed together and the sound at the beginning was the outdo to the previous song. this is meant to be an album.
“Secret Treaties” is probably a loose concept album. I can see this album as a soundtrack for a movie set around 1964. The movie would be about a group of World War ll veterans affiliated with biker groups involved in all kind of dark shenanigans.
Wow. This brings me back. I was 17 when someone suggested I'd like this album. It became a personal favorite pretty quickly. Every song on it is good. Makes no sense at all, but really good anyway. LOL. One thing I remember about them back then is that they had an AMAZING laser show in concert. They'd shine a big laser on a mirror ball, and it would break off into hundreds of shafts of light raining down into the audience. It was an amazing experience then.
I'm, late but it's nice to see this! Try ME262 or ETI some time! Thanks man!
You have to listen on album into next song.
Ne Obliviscaris song Devour Me Colossus ,Forget Motor Eyrie will blow your mind. An Aussie band who are extremely talented with their compositions and playing.
Buck rips on dozens of tunes. Secret Treaties is just loaded.
How good is Buck Dharma ??? That whole album is absolutely super..... (Secret Treaties)
Thanks Gary Milstead !!!
Actually the chords are like I'm Eighteen by Alice Cooper.
The lyrics
You really should do Deep Purple "Child In Time" and "Lazy" (Mashine Head version)
Looking forward to your reaction to Presto by Rush. You also need to react to Envy Of None full album this album also has Alex LIfeson on Guitar and is a member of the band