WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.980 Okay, so I want you to just try to transport 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:05.960 yourself back to a very specific moment in time 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:10.800 for a second. Okay. It is May 21st, 1976. And, 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:12.839 you know, the United States is gearing up for 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:14.980 the bicentennial. Right. Big cultural moment. 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:18.500 Huge. And musically, disco is really starting 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:22.219 to just take over the airwaves. But rock music 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:27.649 is in this very weird... transition period, I 00:00:27.649 --> 00:00:29.789 guess you'd call it. Yeah, it was a very fragmented 00:00:29.789 --> 00:00:32.369 time. Right, because you've got the smooth, super 00:00:32.369 --> 00:00:35.390 polished sounds of bands like the Eagles on one 00:00:35.390 --> 00:00:37.570 side. Super clean production. Exactly. And then 00:00:37.570 --> 00:00:39.229 on the other side, you've got this bubbling, 00:00:39.450 --> 00:00:41.969 spitting energy of punk rock that's just starting 00:00:41.969 --> 00:00:43.789 to erupt in New York City. It was definitely 00:00:43.789 --> 00:00:46.429 a time of friction, you know, in the music world. 00:00:46.670 --> 00:00:48.369 Like, boundaries were being drawn all over the 00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:51.109 place. They really were. And stuck right in the 00:00:51.109 --> 00:00:53.759 middle of all this. is a band that nobody quite 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.119 knew how to categorize. I mean, they were heavy, 00:00:56.539 --> 00:00:58.700 they were cryptic, and they had this devoted, 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:01.560 almost scary fan base. They were pretty much 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:04.400 that textbook definition of a cult band. Literally. 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:08.319 Blue oyster cult. Yes. But on this exact date, 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:14.340 May 21st, 1976, they dropped an album that kind 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:16.299 of, well, it changed everything. It didn't just 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:19.340 open the door to the mainstream. completely blew 00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:21.579 the hinges off. It really did. We are talking 00:01:21.579 --> 00:01:24.739 about their fourth studio album, Agents of Fortune. 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:27.299 And today for our deep dive, we're going to rely 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:30.239 on the Wikipedia entry for this album to figure 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:34.099 out how these heavy metal intellectuals basically 00:01:34.099 --> 00:01:36.560 went from the underground to platinum selling 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.000 superstars. And did it without losing their souls. 00:01:39.230 --> 00:01:41.469 Which is the really impressive part. Right, because 00:01:41.469 --> 00:01:43.689 usually that crossover means selling out. But 00:01:43.689 --> 00:01:45.250 we're going to unpack the key points from our 00:01:45.250 --> 00:01:48.230 source material today. We've got a massive radio 00:01:48.230 --> 00:01:50.370 hit that changed their career forever. Oh, yeah. 00:01:50.510 --> 00:01:52.890 We have this really unique democratic approach 00:01:52.890 --> 00:01:55.549 to vocals where basically every member grabbed 00:01:55.549 --> 00:01:58.670 the microphone. Which is so rare. So rare. And 00:01:58.670 --> 00:02:00.930 of course, a mystery regarding a very specific 00:02:00.930 --> 00:02:03.230 percussion instrument that people are still arguing 00:02:03.230 --> 00:02:06.170 about today. Ah, yes, the famous percussion mystery. 00:02:06.269 --> 00:02:07.989 I mean, it's one of the most interesting pivots 00:02:07.989 --> 00:02:10.210 in rock history. It really is. I've been looking 00:02:10.210 --> 00:02:12.469 through the source material, specifically the 00:02:12.469 --> 00:02:14.889 history of the album's production and the critical 00:02:14.889 --> 00:02:17.689 reception. And what really strikes me is that 00:02:17.689 --> 00:02:20.590 this wasn't an accident. You don't think so? 00:02:20.770 --> 00:02:23.250 No, not at all. It was a very deliberate evolution. 00:02:23.729 --> 00:02:26.569 They managed to... polish their sound without, 00:02:26.569 --> 00:02:28.729 you know, scrubbing away the weirdness that made 00:02:28.729 --> 00:02:30.389 them who they were. And then it's such a hard 00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:33.330 line to walk because usually when a band gets 00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:35.449 polished, they just get boring. Exactly. They 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:38.750 lose their edge. But Agents of Fortune is anything 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:42.110 but boring. So let's set the stakes for you listening 00:02:42.110 --> 00:02:44.310 at home. What is our actual mission for this 00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:46.889 deep dive today? The mission is really to figure 00:02:46.889 --> 00:02:49.860 out the how. How does a band that writes songs 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:52.400 about, you know, vampires and secret treaties 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:55.280 and esoteric conspiracies land at number 29 on 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:57.780 the Billboard 200 and actually stay there? Right. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:01.400 How do they bridge that massive gap between obscure 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:04.680 heavy metal and pop radio? Well, to understand 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:06.259 that leap, I think we have to look at where they 00:03:06.259 --> 00:03:08.460 were standing right before they jumped. Let's 00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:11.620 look at 1975. Yeah, 1975. They released On Your 00:03:11.620 --> 00:03:13.620 Feet or On Your Knees, and that was a live album, 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:17.460 right? It was, and man, it was gritty. Very raw. 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:20.900 Very raw. It captured their live energy perfectly, 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:25.039 which was chaotic and incredibly loud. It cemented 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:28.319 their reputation as a killer live act. But not 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:30.500 really radio friendly. No, it wasn't exactly 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.280 something you'd play softly at a dinner party. 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:35.159 It was, as some people called it, heavy metal 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:37.659 for people who read sci -fi novels. I love that 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:41.000 description. So then comes 1976. They go into 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.219 the record plant in New York City to record Agents 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:46.699 of Fortune. And when people finally heard the 00:03:46.699 --> 00:03:50.139 finished product, the reaction was... Well, it 00:03:50.139 --> 00:03:52.620 was distinct. Startling is the word that often 00:03:52.620 --> 00:03:54.599 gets used in the sources. Rolling Stone had a 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:56.580 review that I think just perfectly captures the 00:03:56.580 --> 00:03:58.379 vibe of the record. What did they say? They called 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:01.300 the album scardlingly excellent, but catch the 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:03.580 specific description. They said it was loud but 00:04:03.580 --> 00:04:06.599 calm, manic but confident, melodic but rocking. 00:04:06.979 --> 00:04:09.060 Loud but calm. I mean, that sounds like a total 00:04:09.060 --> 00:04:11.240 contradiction. It does sound contradictory, but 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.280 think about the best production of that specific 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:18.290 era. in the mid 70s, it's all about control. 00:04:18.430 --> 00:04:21.870 Right, reining it in. Yeah. They took that manic 00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:25.850 raw live energy from 1975 and they focused it 00:04:25.850 --> 00:04:27.589 like a laser beam. They didn't turn down the 00:04:27.589 --> 00:04:29.769 volume. They just cleaned up the signal. And 00:04:29.769 --> 00:04:32.029 that cleanup really paid off. Yeah. I'm looking 00:04:32.029 --> 00:04:33.509 at the numbers from the source material here. 00:04:33.850 --> 00:04:36.970 It peaked at now 29 on the U .S. Billboard 200. 00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:39.800 Which is huge. It is. I mean, that might not 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:42.199 sound like number one to you, but for a weird 00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:45.079 cult band like this, that is a massive achievement. 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:47.120 It's a total game changer. And the longevity 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.680 is the real story here. It achieved platinum 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.079 certification in the U .S. That's a million copies 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:55.420 sold. Exactly. A million units. And it went gold 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:58.180 in Canada. This album literally took them from 00:04:58.180 --> 00:05:00.319 being a band that played sweaty clubs in small 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:03.800 theaters to being a major arena attraction. They 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:05.660 were playing in the big leagues overnight. Suddenly 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:08.079 they were a stadium band. Okay, well, we really 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:10.139 can't dance around it any longer. You don't sell 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:11.860 a million records just because the production 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:14.199 is calm. No, you don't. You sell a million records 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.500 because you have a monster hit. Drac 3, Side 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:20.439 1. Don't fear the Reaper. It is the elephant 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:23.680 in the room. or I guess the Grim Reaper in the 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:27.519 room. This song didn't just chart. It embedded 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:30.420 itself in the cultural DNA. According to the 00:05:30.420 --> 00:05:33.300 Wikipedia page, it peaked at number 12 on the 00:05:33.300 --> 00:05:36.199 Billboard Hot 100. Which is just wild when you 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:37.699 actually stop and think about the subject matter. 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:41.259 It's a song about eternal love and the inevitability 00:05:41.259 --> 00:05:44.040 of death. Not exactly bubblegum pop for the summer. 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:47.180 No, it's super dark. It is, but it sounds like 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:50.459 pop, it's hypnotic, the melody is so smooth. 00:05:50.649 --> 00:05:53.750 And here is a really crucial detail for our deep 00:05:53.750 --> 00:05:55.709 dive. If you look at the writing credits for 00:05:55.709 --> 00:05:57.930 that track. It wasn't a group jam, was it? Not 00:05:57.930 --> 00:06:00.949 at all. It was written entirely by the lead guitarist, 00:06:01.149 --> 00:06:04.009 Donald Rozer, better known as Buck Dharma. And 00:06:04.009 --> 00:06:06.430 he sang it too. He did. He wrote it and he sang 00:06:06.430 --> 00:06:09.329 the lead vocals. That is so fascinating to me. 00:06:09.629 --> 00:06:11.589 Usually the front man, which is Eric Loom in 00:06:11.589 --> 00:06:14.490 this band, he's the voice of the big hit. Right, 00:06:14.529 --> 00:06:17.089 the face of the franchise. Exactly. But here, 00:06:17.250 --> 00:06:20.040 the lead guitarist steps up. writes probably 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:22.579 the catchiest riff in classic rock history, grabs 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:24.939 the microphone and just delivers their biggest 00:06:24.939 --> 00:06:27.480 song ever. That must have radically shifted the 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:29.899 dynamic in the band. It certainly changes the 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:32.560 center of gravity, you know? Yeah. When the guitarist 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:34.540 writes the check that pays everyone's mortgage, 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:37.240 things naturally change. Yeah, I bet. And that 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:39.540 song is the main reason we are still talking 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:42.120 about this album 50 years later. It's a total 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:44.259 staple. You cannot go a single day listening 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:46.600 to classic rock radio without hearing it. But 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:48.339 let's zoom in on the actual production of the 00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:50.579 Reaper for a second, because there is a very 00:06:50.579 --> 00:06:53.600 specific sound on that track that has become, 00:06:53.939 --> 00:06:56.240 well, it's basically a meme at this point. You're 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:58.269 talking about the cowbell. The cowbell. It's 00:06:58.269 --> 00:07:00.430 totally iconic. It's the literal heartbeat of 00:07:00.430 --> 00:07:03.449 the song. But here's where it gets really funny 00:07:03.449 --> 00:07:05.949 in the source material. Oh, the debate. Yeah. 00:07:06.389 --> 00:07:08.839 You'd think. For a song this incredibly famous, 00:07:09.060 --> 00:07:12.399 we would have historical consensus on who exactly 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:14.899 played the instrument. But looking at the sources, 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:17.220 it seems like nobody can actually agree on who 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:19.920 hit the thing. It is surprisingly contested history. 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:22.899 The liner notes and all the subsequent interviews 00:07:22.899 --> 00:07:26.120 over the decades have created this weird Rashomon 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:28.899 situation. So what does the source material actually 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:30.980 say? Well, we have three main suspects for the 00:07:30.980 --> 00:07:33.550 cowbell. OK, lay out the lineup for us. Who are 00:07:33.550 --> 00:07:36.269 the suspects? Suspect number one is Albert Bouchard, 00:07:36.550 --> 00:07:38.769 the drummer. Which makes perfect sense. Right, 00:07:38.810 --> 00:07:40.329 he's the percussionist. It's his department. 00:07:40.589 --> 00:07:43.389 OK, who's next? Suspect number two is David Lucas, 00:07:43.550 --> 00:07:46.149 who is one of the producers on the album. Producers 00:07:46.149 --> 00:07:48.649 often jump into the booth to add a little flavor 00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:50.870 or texture to a track. Sure, happens all the 00:07:50.870 --> 00:07:53.649 time. And suspect number three is Eric Bloom, 00:07:53.870 --> 00:07:56.750 the lead vocalist. I just love the image of these 00:07:56.750 --> 00:08:00.560 guys arguing over this. Decades later, you have 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:04.199 this incredibly profound song about the inevitability 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:07.740 of death. It's beautifully arranged. The guitar 00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:10.519 work is intricate and gorgeous. And the biggest 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:13.439 historical debate is who is clanking the metal 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:17.839 cup? Yes. It's so absurd. It really adds to the 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:21.139 mystique, though. It's this very human, slightly 00:08:21.139 --> 00:08:24.060 clunky element in an otherwise incredibly smooth 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:26.660 track. And the fact that we don't know for sure 00:08:26.660 --> 00:08:28.600 just lets listeners project whatever they want 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:30.300 onto it. It's like the ghost in the machine. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:34.580 Or the ghost in the percussion section. But honestly, 00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:37.600 that cowbell confusion actually points to a much 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.009 bigger theme on Agents of Fortune. The lines 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:43.950 between everyone's roles in the band were blurring 00:08:43.950 --> 00:08:46.629 all over this album. Yeah, a total shift in dynamics. 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:48.970 You mentioned earlier in the deep dive that this 00:08:48.970 --> 00:08:51.629 was a democratic experiment. I did. And this 00:08:51.629 --> 00:08:53.870 is, to me at least, the most fascinating part 00:08:53.870 --> 00:08:56.590 of the album's structure. If you look at the 00:08:56.590 --> 00:08:59.850 credits, it is completely unlike any other Blue 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:02.769 Oster Cult record. How so? Break that down. The 00:09:02.769 --> 00:09:04.830 Wikipedia article points out a really amazing 00:09:04.830 --> 00:09:07.549 statistic. It is the only album in their entire 00:09:07.549 --> 00:09:10.110 discography where every single original band 00:09:10.110 --> 00:09:13.029 member sings lead vocals on at least one track. 00:09:13.129 --> 00:09:15.649 Wait, really? Every single one. Even the guys 00:09:15.649 --> 00:09:18.309 in the back. Everyone. You have Eric Bloom obviously 00:09:18.309 --> 00:09:20.169 taking his turns. You have Donald Buck, Dharma, 00:09:20.330 --> 00:09:22.529 Rosa singing Reaper. Right. But then you have 00:09:22.529 --> 00:09:25.009 Alan Lanier, the keyboardist and rhythm guitarist. 00:09:25.210 --> 00:09:27.309 He takes the lead vocals on True Confessions 00:09:27.309 --> 00:09:30.049 and Tenderloin. Wow. Then you have Joe Bouchard, 00:09:30.129 --> 00:09:32.549 the bassist. He sings lead on morning final. 00:09:32.929 --> 00:09:36.090 That is incredibly rare. Usually the bassist 00:09:36.090 --> 00:09:37.809 might get a microphone for some light backup 00:09:37.809 --> 00:09:40.669 harmonies, and that is it. Exactly. And then 00:09:40.669 --> 00:09:42.950 there's Albert Bouchard, the drummer. He's not 00:09:42.950 --> 00:09:45.509 just singing one novelty song. He is all over 00:09:45.509 --> 00:09:48.110 this album. Really? Yeah. He sings lead on the 00:09:48.110 --> 00:09:51.570 Revenge of Virigemini, Sinful Love, Debbie Denise, 00:09:51.570 --> 00:09:54.370 and even a bunch of the bonus tracks from later 00:09:54.370 --> 00:09:58.250 reissues. That is just wild. The drummer is singing 00:09:58.250 --> 00:10:02.070 lead on three or four separate tracks. That sounds 00:10:02.070 --> 00:10:04.889 like a band that is either incredibly collaborative, 00:10:05.230 --> 00:10:06.789 or maybe they're having a bit of an identity 00:10:06.789 --> 00:10:08.830 crisis. Or perhaps they were just completely 00:10:08.830 --> 00:10:10.669 overflowing with ideas. Remember the context? 00:10:10.750 --> 00:10:13.330 This is 1976. Right, the transition period. They 00:10:13.330 --> 00:10:15.230 were trying to expand their sound. They didn't 00:10:15.230 --> 00:10:17.289 want to be painted into a corner as just that 00:10:17.289 --> 00:10:19.850 heavy metal band anymore. By letting everyone 00:10:19.850 --> 00:10:21.970 sing, they naturally brought in all these different 00:10:21.970 --> 00:10:24.490 textures. That makes sense. Alan's songs sound 00:10:24.490 --> 00:10:26.850 completely different from Buck's songs, and Buck's 00:10:26.850 --> 00:10:28.909 sound different from Albert's. It made the whole 00:10:28.909 --> 00:10:31.009 album feel like a variety show, but in the best 00:10:31.009 --> 00:10:34.129 way possible. But there is a flip side to all 00:10:34.129 --> 00:10:36.909 this democracy. We really have to talk about 00:10:36.909 --> 00:10:39.289 Eric Bloom for a second. The front man. Yeah. 00:10:39.389 --> 00:10:40.929 He's the guy in the leather. He's got the stun 00:10:40.929 --> 00:10:43.929 guitar. He's the definitive face of the band. 00:10:44.490 --> 00:10:47.289 And yet look at the songwriting credits on the 00:10:47.289 --> 00:10:49.950 original release of this album. It is a massive 00:10:49.950 --> 00:10:52.389 anomaly. According to the source material on 00:10:52.389 --> 00:10:55.190 the original vinyl release of Agents of Fortune, 00:10:55.649 --> 00:10:58.470 Eric Bloom did not receive a single songwriting 00:10:58.470 --> 00:11:01.340 credit. That is mind -blowing to me. The lead 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:03.399 singer didn't write any of the songs on their 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:05.419 huge breakthrough album. Not on the original 00:11:05.419 --> 00:11:07.779 printed credits, no. Which is really strange 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:10.179 because historically, Hugh was a primary writer 00:11:10.179 --> 00:11:12.039 for them. It definitely makes you wonder about 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:14.379 the internal politics at the time. Was he pushed 00:11:14.379 --> 00:11:17.220 out? Was he just experiencing writer's block? 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:19.899 It's hard to say. However, the source material 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:22.519 does note that history has been somewhat corrected. 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:26.120 Oh. Yeah. Did he eventually get his due? He did. 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:29.279 The Wikipedia entry mentions that on the 2020 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:32.039 live release, which was called 40th anniversary 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:35.600 Agents of Fortune Live 2016, Eric Bloom's name 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:37.779 was finally added to the songwriting credits 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:41.019 for ETI extraterrestrial intelligence. OK, that's 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:43.799 good because ETI is an absolute classic. And 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:46.080 honestly, it feels very Eric Bloom. It really 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:48.600 does. It has his fingerprints all over it. And 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:51.710 speaking of ETI and expanding boundaries. we 00:11:51.710 --> 00:11:54.049 have to look at the collaborators on this record 00:11:54.049 --> 00:11:57.230 because this album wasn't just made in a vacuum 00:11:57.230 --> 00:11:59.850 by the five of them. It was made in New York 00:11:59.850 --> 00:12:03.100 City and they brought in some friends who on 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:05.700 paper at least, had absolutely no business being 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:07.279 on a heavy metal album. You're talking about 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.519 the punk connection. I am, Patti Emmith. The 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:11.700 godmother of punk herself. Yeah. I mean, this 00:12:11.700 --> 00:12:15.360 is huge. In 1976, you generally had the established 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:17.840 rock stars in one camp and the gritty street 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:20.279 punks in another, and those two worlds did not 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:23.000 mix. It was a very hard line. But here she is, 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.559 right in the middle of a Blue Aster cult record. 00:12:25.899 --> 00:12:27.919 It really shows you how unique they were. They 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:30.039 were intellectual enough and open -minded enough 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:33.009 to hang with the downtown art crowd. Right. Patti 00:12:33.009 --> 00:12:35.769 Smith provides vocals on the Revenge of Vera 00:12:35.769 --> 00:12:38.809 Gemini, but she didn't just show up to sing backup. 00:12:39.450 --> 00:12:41.629 She co -wrote the track with Albert Bouchard. 00:12:41.710 --> 00:12:44.169 Wow. She also co -wrote the song Debbie Denise. 00:12:44.629 --> 00:12:47.950 That crossover is Just fascinating. It anchors 00:12:47.950 --> 00:12:50.929 the whole album in that very specific grimy New 00:12:50.929 --> 00:12:53.549 York aesthetic. It's a polished record, yes. 00:12:53.610 --> 00:12:56.610 Yeah. But it still has that CBGB's DNA buried 00:12:56.610 --> 00:12:59.330 somewhere in the mix. Precisely. It's bridging 00:12:59.330 --> 00:13:01.929 the gap between the massive stadium and the gritty 00:13:01.929 --> 00:13:05.110 street. And the crazy thing is, they didn't stop 00:13:05.110 --> 00:13:07.799 with punk rock. They went the complete opposite 00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:11.399 direction too, into jazz. Horns. The Brecker 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.940 Brothers, Randy and Michael Brecker. That's crazy. 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:17.340 These guys are legendary jazz fusion players 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:20.200 and they are playing horns on a Blue Oyster Cult 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:23.320 album. That is such a bold move. because putting 00:13:23.320 --> 00:13:27.379 horns on a hard rock album in 1976 could so easily 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:29.559 sound cheesy. It could sound like a Vegas lounge 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:32.460 act. It was a massive risk, but it signaled to 00:13:32.460 --> 00:13:34.100 the audience that they were moving away from 00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:36.539 pure stripped down heavy metal. They wanted texture. 00:13:36.659 --> 00:13:39.120 They wanted that loud but calm sophistication 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:41.059 we talked about. The horns add a sophisticated 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:43.600 punch that just distorted guitars alone simply 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:45.860 can't give you. So we've got jazz horns, we have 00:13:45.860 --> 00:13:48.039 punk poets, and we have five different lead singers. 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:50.379 It sounds like it should be an absolute mess. 00:13:50.419 --> 00:13:53.000 A total train wreck. But it works. Yeah, it somehow 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.340 all works. Yeah, let's talk about the themes 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:57.779 though because despite all this new polish and 00:13:57.779 --> 00:14:01.740 these eclectic collaborators the lyrics are still 00:14:01.740 --> 00:14:05.299 Well, they're still blue oyster cult. Oh, absolutely 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:07.879 They definitely didn't start singing about sunshine 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:10.259 and rainbows just to get on the radio Look at 00:14:10.259 --> 00:14:12.460 the very first track. This ain't the summer of 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:15.799 love such a great title Very cynical it sets 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:20.480 the tone immediately Cashbox reviewed that specific 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:22.879 single back in the day, and they described it 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.919 perfectly. What did they say? They noted it had 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.320 growling guitars, and they said it had a mood 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:30.879 of evil created in a humorous fashion. A mood 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:32.860 of evil created in a humorous fashion? Yeah. 00:14:33.019 --> 00:14:34.519 Honestly, I feel like that should just be the 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:36.519 band's official motto. It really is their entire 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:38.240 brand. They always wink at the darkness. They 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:40.320 know it's theatrical and a bit ridiculous, but 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:42.759 they play it straight. And speaking of theatrical, 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.639 we have to discuss the song, Morning Final. We 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:49.259 mentioned earlier that the bassist Joe Bouchard 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:51.500 sang lead on this one. Right. But there is a 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:54.220 very specific production choice on this track 00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:57.059 that I just find hilarious and awesome. The Paperboy. 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:00.019 Yes. This is such a great little detail from 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:04.279 the sources. The song has this very urban noir 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:07.059 crime scene kind of vibe to it. And right in 00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:10.240 the middle of it, you hear Eric Bloom. But he's 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:13.740 not singing a melody. He is using what the source 00:15:13.740 --> 00:15:17.120 material describes as a paperboy voice. For you 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:18.740 listening who haven't heard the track in a while, 00:15:18.899 --> 00:15:20.559 paint the picture. What does it actually sound 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:23.860 like? Imagine an old black and white 1940s movie, 00:15:24.100 --> 00:15:26.419 you know, a kid standing on a street corner shouting, 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:29.840 extra, extra, read all about it. Right. Bloom 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:32.820 is literally shouting out tragic headlines in 00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:36.419 this highly stylized, almost old timey radio 00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:39.600 play voice. It completely breaks the fourth wall 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:41.740 of the song. I just love that. It's so campy, 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:44.759 but it fits the move perfectly. It turns a standard 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:47.039 rock song into a little mini movie. It reminds 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:48.820 you that this band isn't just about playing music. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:51.009 It's about deep world built. And that world building 00:15:51.009 --> 00:15:52.789 definitely extends to the visual presentation 00:15:52.789 --> 00:15:54.809 of the album, too. The cover art. Oh, the cover 00:15:54.809 --> 00:15:57.649 is iconic. It's not a picture of the band looking 00:15:57.649 --> 00:15:59.750 tough in an alleyway. Mm -hmm. And it's not a 00:15:59.750 --> 00:16:02.269 fantasy dragon or something. No. It's a painting 00:16:02.269 --> 00:16:05.129 by an artist named Lynn Curley, and it depicts 00:16:05.129 --> 00:16:08.730 a magician. Specifically, it's based on the famous 00:16:08.730 --> 00:16:12.210 Belgian magician, Servet Leroy. And he's standing 00:16:12.210 --> 00:16:14.389 there holding tarot cards, right? Yes, he's holding 00:16:14.389 --> 00:16:18.289 four tarot cards. It really reinforces that cryptic, 00:16:18.529 --> 00:16:21.230 occult aesthetic they were known for. So even 00:16:21.230 --> 00:16:23.029 though they were reaching for the mainstream 00:16:23.029 --> 00:16:25.850 pop charts with the Reaper, the actual packaging 00:16:25.850 --> 00:16:29.090 of the album told the fans, we are still the 00:16:29.090 --> 00:16:31.490 mysterious wizards of rock. Don't worry, we're 00:16:31.490 --> 00:16:34.389 still weird. Exactly. So the whole package was 00:16:34.389 --> 00:16:36.669 complete. The sound was evolved and polished. 00:16:36.789 --> 00:16:39.490 The visuals were totally on point. And the fans 00:16:39.490 --> 00:16:41.909 obviously bought it to the tune of a million 00:16:41.909 --> 00:16:44.519 copies. But what about the critics? The critics 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:47.700 loved it. Really? Because usually, when a weird 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:50.039 cult band suddenly goes big and gets on the radio, 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:52.399 the critics immediately turn on them. Do they 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:54.519 get accused of selling out? Surprisingly, no. 00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:56.720 The acclaim was actually very high, and it came 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:58.960 from very different corners of the music journalism 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:00.779 world. We already mentioned that glowing Rolling 00:17:00.779 --> 00:17:02.980 Stone review. Right. But look at the village 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:06.359 voice. Oh, wow. That's the cool, ultra -hip downtown 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:09.950 paper? Right. In their incredibly famous Paz 00:17:09.950 --> 00:17:13.690 and Jop critics poll for 1976, Agents of Fortune 00:17:13.690 --> 00:17:16.029 was ranked number 10. Number 10 for the whole 00:17:16.029 --> 00:17:18.630 year. Yes. And remember, that is a poll of the 00:17:18.630 --> 00:17:21.289 nation's snobbiest, most critical rock writers. 00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:25.390 To crack the top 10 on that list is a massive 00:17:25.390 --> 00:17:28.509 badge of honor for a heavy metal band. that completely 00:17:28.509 --> 00:17:31.130 validates them as real artists, not just commercial 00:17:31.130 --> 00:17:33.869 unit shifters. Exactly. And the praise extended 00:17:33.869 --> 00:17:36.269 across the ocean, too. And ME, the new musical 00:17:36.269 --> 00:17:38.769 express in the UK, they ranked it number six 00:17:38.769 --> 00:17:40.650 in their albums of the year. That's fascinating. 00:17:41.089 --> 00:17:42.970 The British press was usually very skeptical 00:17:42.970 --> 00:17:45.430 of slick American rock at that time. They were, 00:17:45.470 --> 00:17:48.250 but they loved this record. And it really stood 00:17:48.250 --> 00:17:50.730 the test of time, too. The source material notes 00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:54.150 that in 2004, Q Magazine listed it in their feature 00:17:54.150 --> 00:17:56.930 on the greatest classic rock albums ever. wasn't 00:17:56.930 --> 00:18:00.309 just a flash in the pan. It was immediately recognized 00:18:00.309 --> 00:18:02.769 as a quality piece of work, and it maintained 00:18:02.769 --> 00:18:05.029 that status. Absolutely. I want to circle back 00:18:05.029 --> 00:18:06.730 to something before we close out our deep dive 00:18:06.730 --> 00:18:09.569 today. We talked a lot about how Don't Fear the 00:18:09.569 --> 00:18:12.430 Reaper completely dominates the legacy of this 00:18:12.430 --> 00:18:14.750 album. It's unavoidable. But looking at the songwriting 00:18:14.750 --> 00:18:17.549 credits again, I'm really struck by just how 00:18:17.549 --> 00:18:21.049 much Albert Bouchard, the drummer, actually contributed 00:18:21.049 --> 00:18:23.789 to the whole project. He was incredibly prolific 00:18:23.789 --> 00:18:26.690 on this record. He wrote or co -wrote This Ain't 00:18:26.690 --> 00:18:28.869 the Summer of Love, The Revenge of Virid Gemini, 00:18:29.289 --> 00:18:31.730 Sinful Love, Tattoo Vampire, and Debbie Denise. 00:18:31.930 --> 00:18:34.569 It is a really significant observation. Albert 00:18:34.569 --> 00:18:38.589 was arguably the creative MVP of the entire album 00:18:38.589 --> 00:18:40.809 in terms of sheer volume and variety. He was 00:18:40.809 --> 00:18:43.670 the one really driving the weirdness and the 00:18:43.670 --> 00:18:46.089 experimentation. And it's almost tragic in a 00:18:46.089 --> 00:18:48.329 way. You have this guy pouring his creative soul 00:18:48.329 --> 00:18:50.890 into the record, writing all these cool edgy 00:18:50.890 --> 00:18:52.750 collaborations with Patti Smith. And then the 00:18:52.750 --> 00:18:54.809 guitarist writes one beautiful song about death, 00:18:54.849 --> 00:18:56.990 and that is the only one everyone remembers forever. 00:18:57.269 --> 00:18:59.670 Exactly. It's kind of sad. It is the ultimate 00:18:59.670 --> 00:19:02.250 paradox of the mega hit. It lifts the entire 00:19:02.250 --> 00:19:05.609 band up to superstar status, but it can also 00:19:05.609 --> 00:19:08.410 completely overshadow the intricate, weird work 00:19:08.410 --> 00:19:11.269 that supports it. The reaper is the sun, and 00:19:11.269 --> 00:19:14.230 the rest of the songs, the paperboy voices, the 00:19:14.230 --> 00:19:17.230 jazz horns, the Patti Smith duets, they are just 00:19:17.230 --> 00:19:19.730 the planets orbiting it. You can't see them as 00:19:19.730 --> 00:19:21.650 clearly because the sun is just so incredibly 00:19:21.650 --> 00:19:24.289 bright. That is a really great way to put it. 00:19:24.630 --> 00:19:26.410 So let's summarize what we've learned in this 00:19:26.410 --> 00:19:30.039 deep dive. Agents of Fortune wasn't just, you 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:32.200 know, the album with the cowbell song. Far from 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:34.319 it. It was a perfect storm of circumstances. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:36.779 You had a band that had honed their chops on 00:19:36.779 --> 00:19:39.980 the road for years and years. You had deliberate 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:42.900 shift in production to something cleaner, that 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:46.279 loud but calm aesthetic. You had a willingness 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:48.819 to experiment with crazy genres, bringing in 00:19:48.819 --> 00:19:52.559 jazz horns and downtown punk rock. And crucially, 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.680 you had a democratic approach where everyone 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.480 in the room felt empowered to step up to the 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.960 microphone. And the crazy thing is, it worked. 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:01.359 They actually crossed over without selling out. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.400 They basically brought the mainstream audience 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:06.440 into their weird little dark castle, rather than 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:08.380 leaving the castle to go pander to the mainstream. 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:10.660 That is the key to the whole album. They made 00:20:10.660 --> 00:20:13.299 the sound catchy enough for FM radio, but they 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:15.140 kept the soul of it dark enough for the cult. 00:20:15.420 --> 00:20:17.299 So here is the question I want to leave you with 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:18.960 today. And it's something I want you to really 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:21.799 chew on after you finish listening to us. OK. 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:26.630 We all know Don't Fear the Reaper. It is an undeniable 00:20:26.630 --> 00:20:30.529 masterpiece. But does the sheer blinding brightness 00:20:30.529 --> 00:20:33.950 of that one massive hit actually blind us to 00:20:33.950 --> 00:20:36.430 how weird and experimental the rest of the album 00:20:36.430 --> 00:20:38.910 truly is? Oh, that's a good question. Right. 00:20:39.490 --> 00:20:41.910 Does the average listener ever actually get past 00:20:41.910 --> 00:20:45.309 track three to hear the Paperboy voice or the 00:20:45.309 --> 00:20:48.200 Patti Smith poetry? Or does the overwhelming 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:51.460 success of the Reaper actually hide the true 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:53.880 democratic genius that made the band so special 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:56.259 in the first place? It's the blessing and the 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:58.819 absolute curse of having a signature song. Definitely 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:00.400 something to think about the next time you're 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:02.859 driving and that iconic guitar riff starts playing 00:21:02.859 --> 00:21:05.420 on the radio. Thanks for diving deep with us 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:07.759 into Agents of Fortune today. Until next time.