The Revölution by Night is the ninth studio album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on November 8, 1983. The album was intended to capitalize on the success of Fire of Unknown Origin two years prior, hence the blend of straight-ahead rock and pop elements. This was the first BÖC album not to feature all of the band's classic members, drummer Albert Bouchard having been fired during the previous tour and replaced by roadie Rick Downey.
| The Revölution by Night | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by Greg Scott | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 8, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | May 1983 | |||
| Studio | Boogie Hotel Studios, Port Jefferson, New York Kingdom Sound Studios, Long Island, New York The Automatt – Studio C, San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:44 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Bruce Fairbairn | |||
| Blue Öyster Cult chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Revölution by Night | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
In contrast to the success of Fire of Unknown Origin, the album failed to go Gold in the United States.
Songs
editLead single "Shooting Shark" was modestly successful on radio, reaching #83 and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock charts, respectively.[6][7] Its accompanying video became one of MTV's most requested clips upon its release.[citation needed] The lyrics to "Shooting Shark" were based on a poem by Patti Smith.
"Take Me Away," co-written by Eric Bloom and Canadian rock musician Aldo Nova, also received significant airplay on AOR radio stations. An earlier version of the song, titled "Psycho Ward", was being written by Nova before Bloom offered to contribute some lyrics, coming up with the chorus.[8] The song reached #11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[9] A music video was created for the song and was featured on MTV.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Take Me Away" | Eric Bloom, Aldo Nova | Bloom | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Eyes on Fire" | Gregg Winter | Bloom | 3:56 |
| 3. | "Shooting Shark" | Donald Roeser, Patti Smith | Roeser | 7:09 |
| 4. | "Veins" | Roeser, Richard Meltzer | Roeser | 3:59 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Shadow of California" | Joe Bouchard, Sandy Pearlman, Neal Smith | Bloom | 5:10 |
| 6. | "Feel the Thunder" | Bloom | Bloom | 5:48 |
| 7. | "Let Go" | Bloom, Roeser, Ian Hunter | Bloom | 3:28 |
| 8. | "Dragon Lady" | Roeser, Broadway Blotto | Roeser | 4:08 |
| 9. | "Light Years of Love" | Bouchard, Helen Wheels | Bouchard | 4:05 |
Personnel
edit- Band members
- Eric Bloom – guitar, vocals
- Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser – lead guitar, keyboards, vocals, mixing (uncredited)[10]
- Allen Lanier – piano, keyboards
- Joe Bouchard – bass, electric and acoustic guitars, vocoder, vocals
- Rick Downey – drums
- Additional musicians
- Larry Fast – synthesizers, programming
- Aldo Nova – guitar and synthesizers on "Take Me Away"
- Gregg Winter – backing vocals on "Eyes on Fire"
- Randy Jackson – bass on "Shooting Shark"
- Marc Baum – saxophone on "Shooting Shark"
- Production
- Bruce Fairbairn – producer, mixing
- Dave Wittman – engineer
- George Geranios, Ken Kessie – additional engineering
- Chris Isca, Ron Coté, Ray Pyle – assistant engineers
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Sandy Pearlman – management, mixing (uncredited)[10]
- Steve Schenck – management
Charts
edit| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[11] | 95 |
| US Billboard 200[12] | 93 |
References
edit- ^ "Blue Oyster Cult singles".
- ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 76. ISBN 9780862415419.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Blue Öyster Cult The Revolution by Night review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
- ^ Somay, Errol (March 1, 1984). "Album Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult – The Revolution by Night". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 13, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Shooting Shark Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Shooting Shark Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "Aldo Nova Explains His Blue Öyster Cult Connection". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Popoff, Martin (March 2009). "The Revolution by Night". Blue Öyster Cult: Secrets Revealed! (2 ed.). Toronto, Canada: Power Chord Press. pp. 196–199. ISBN 978-0-9752807-0-6.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "Blue Oyster Cult Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.