The Revölution by Night

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
ReleasedNovember 8, 1983
RecordedMay 1983
StudioBoogie Hotel Studios, Port Jefferson, New York
Kingdom Sound Studios, Long Island, New York
The Automatt – Studio C, San Francisco, California
Genre
Length41:44
LabelColumbia
ProducerBruce Fairbairn
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
Extraterrestrial Live
(1982)
The Revölution by Night
(1983)
Club Ninja
(1985)
Singles from The Revölution by Night
  1. "Take Me Away"
    Released: November 1983[1]
  2. "Shooting Shark"
    Released: February 1984[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[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

edit

Lead 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
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Take Me Away"Eric Bloom, Aldo NovaBloom4:31
2."Eyes on Fire"Gregg WinterBloom3:56
3."Shooting Shark"Donald Roeser, Patti SmithRoeser7:09
4."Veins"Roeser, Richard MeltzerRoeser3:59
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
5."Shadow of California"Joe Bouchard, Sandy Pearlman, Neal SmithBloom5:10
6."Feel the Thunder"BloomBloom5:48
7."Let Go"Bloom, Roeser, Ian HunterBloom3:28
8."Dragon Lady"Roeser, Broadway BlottoRoeser4:08
9."Light Years of Love"Bouchard, Helen WheelsBouchard4:05

Personnel

edit
Band members
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
  1. ^ "Blue Oyster Cult singles".
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 76. ISBN 9780862415419.
  3. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Blue Öyster Cult The Revolution by Night review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  4. ^ 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.
  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.
  6. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Shooting Shark Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Shooting Shark Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  8. ^ "Aldo Nova Explains His Blue Öyster Cult Connection". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  9. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "Blue Oyster Cult Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.