"Ghost Stories"

Blue Öyster Cult: Farewell with archive material

(Bild: Frontiers Music, Freeman Promotions, Krone KREATIV)

The US rock band Blue Öyster Cult, who recently celebrated their 50th anniversary, have delved deep into their own past for what is supposed to be their very last studio album. The group, which, apart from a few cult hits such as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" or "Godzilla", never really arrived in the mainstream, has retrieved decades-old tapes from the archive for "Ghost Stories" that were thought to have been lost.

Similar to the Beatles, the recordings have now been dusted off using the possibilities of artificial intelligence and the songs have been completed. Almost all of the tracks on "Ghost Stories" were originally recorded in the group's golden era between 1978 and 1983.

Boost for the band legends
The singers and guitarists Eric Bloom and Donald Roeser aka Buck Dharma are the last remaining members of Blue Öyster Cult from this period. But the new album also features their ex-colleagues, drummer Albert Bouchard, his brother and multi-instrumentalist Joe Bouchard and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Allen Lanier, who has already passed away.

Former BÖC producer George Geranios, who had handled the controls on some of their most important albums, dug up the ancient tapes that he himself had been involved in recording. There were even several takes of some of the previously unreleased songs. Others were badly damaged, some were no longer usable at all. Long-time manager and co-producer Steve Schenck and multi-instrumentalist Richie Castellano, who has been part of the band since 2004, were primarily responsible for "Ghost Stories". They digitized the old tapes, dissected the soundtracks and filled in the gaps.

Deliberate additions
"There were fantastic piano passages where Allen just plays typical Allen-Lanier honky-tonk piano," says Castellano in a video on the band's YouTube channel. "Half of it was missing, but I could roughly hear what the passages were like." Castellano filled in the missing notes himself on the piano - true to the original, as he emphasizes. "I didn't put anything in that he didn't play." Here and there, Castellano also picked up the strings when the sound quality wasn't good enough. A few drum sounds were also added.

As a result, songs such as "Late Night Street Fight", "Soul Jive" or "The Only Thing" actually sound as if they came from a Blue Oyster Cult album from a bygone era. "Ghost Stories" therefore has a pleasantly nostalgic sound. The cover versions of "Kick Out The James" (originally by MC5) and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (Eric Burdon And The Animals) are also successful. The last track, "If I Fell", is somewhat out of the ordinary in terms of sound. No wonder, as it was the only one recorded in 2016. Even though "Ghost Stories" is the last studio album according to the band, Blue Öyster Cult want to continue touring in the future.