I Don't do Harry Potter.
Sorry, but It never entered my mindset, my vision. Not my thing as they say. Twas after the Blue Oyster Cult Kentish Town show that I became aware of Career Of Evil, of Cormoran Strike, and of the heavy connection, almost homage, by Robert Galbraith. But, I didn't do research and certainly didn't go back and read the first two novels in the trilogy - The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm - to get a feel for just what this book was all about.
No, I dived straight in. I'm not a big reader, certainly not of fiction anyway. You could say much of Hammer Of The Gods falls into that category, but generally aural and visual are my chosen entertainment feeds so to speak. but what of the novel? It's a dark, intense mystery/thriller centred around detective Cormoran Strike. Not having read the first two instalments, his character is already formed and largely assumed at the point when the story opens with the delivery of a severed limb by 'courier' to his assistant/partner Robin Ellacott. What I'm not going to do is review the prose, the story. My main interest, thrust, is the connection with Blue Oyster Cult, the way they fit into and shape the story, characters and mood.
Over 487 pages, 62 chapters, 52 Blue Oyster Cult songs are acknowledged. From a straight forward use of a song title like One Step Ahead Of The Devil as an anecdotal mention, the title alone creates the mood of the upcoming prose, to using lyrics that are ingrained in the story itself, that run deep. The note sent with the severed lower leg quotes from Tyranny & Mutation's 'Mistress Of The Salmon Salt' - 'A harvest of limbs, of arms and of legs, of necks that turn like swans, as if inclined to gasp or pray'. An Albert/Sandy composition sung by Eric that closes the second album, the title was tattooed on Strike's mother. She was a groupie, Eric Bloom her unsatiated muse and wannabe Rock Star conquest.
The complexities of the characters and the relevance of the music and lyrics elevate the story to a fascinating level. The title and opening lyric quote from the song Career Of Evil are of course by Patti Smith, and they are a scene setting, a character intimating insight into the ultimate perpetrator of the story, the serial killer out for revenge on PI Cormoran Strike.
With 52 songs quoted, used or at least nodded at, it's an indication of the depth and breadth of BOC's continuing body of work. Tracks from all 13 studio elpees are here. Curse Of The Hidden Mirror gets the most with 7 tracks, followed by Heaven Forbid, Secret Treaties and Fire Of Unknown Origin with 6 a piece. Imaginos gets the least, with only The Girl That Love Made Blind quoted. Now, eagle eyed and eared fans will spot this isn't on the official Imaginos set, but this Albert penned tune is included on the original pre-CBS polished version.
The end result for me is two fold. It's reopened some often lost or forgotten BOC songs I don't play often enough. With a large chunk of the last two studio albums brought into eye line, it's certainly a chance to reappraise the latter work, often overlooked and forgotten. And I really enjoyed the book. Dark, often shocking, it's rattles along and keeps the mystery afloat for a long enough time to keep the tension and drama taut. Now it seems filming has started on 7 BBC one hour episodes of the 3 novels, which will more than likely hit the small screen in the new year. Possibly earlier if it goes a pace.
Career Of Evil is also a more than welcome reminder to the general music fan of the importance and quality of Blue Oyster Cult's music. Taking songs out of their familiar comfort zone of the elpee they were first presented as being part of makes for a different slant on the song, the pretext, the mood. The songs are strong enough by themselves to be seen alone in the cold grey light of dawn, and sometimes it's good to do that, to take away the comfort blanket of the other songs of the moment. The 'golden era' if you will was a time when elpees were crafted, when the order and artwork was important and as compelling as the songs themselves. The whole thing had weight, momentum, gravitas.
Starting or finishing a side or a complete album with a song gave it a place, even if it was subliminal, with the listener. The digital age has given more time on albums, and therefore the added minutes are filled with the kind of throwaway fodder or not quite right for the mood songs usually surfacing on b-sides back in the day or latterly bonus tracks on remastered editions. I've always remained fairly stoical and suspicious of said tracks. As John Paul Jones wryly observed 'if they were good enough they made it onto the record'. Sure, a few gems escaped and have been revelations, but largely the throwaway or work in progress is the norm.
Blue Oyster Cult are enjoying another reappraisal. Thank God. Their timeless music will hopefully now be reaching a new audience, and I hope even more when the BBC production of Career Of Evil is broadcast and shown around the globe. Now go and explore those albums, enjoy Deadline, Searching For Celine, X Ray Eyes, Lonely Teardrops. They deserve your time.
No, I dived straight in. I'm not a big reader, certainly not of fiction anyway. You could say much of Hammer Of The Gods falls into that category, but generally aural and visual are my chosen entertainment feeds so to speak. but what of the novel? It's a dark, intense mystery/thriller centred around detective Cormoran Strike. Not having read the first two instalments, his character is already formed and largely assumed at the point when the story opens with the delivery of a severed limb by 'courier' to his assistant/partner Robin Ellacott. What I'm not going to do is review the prose, the story. My main interest, thrust, is the connection with Blue Oyster Cult, the way they fit into and shape the story, characters and mood.
Over 487 pages, 62 chapters, 52 Blue Oyster Cult songs are acknowledged. From a straight forward use of a song title like One Step Ahead Of The Devil as an anecdotal mention, the title alone creates the mood of the upcoming prose, to using lyrics that are ingrained in the story itself, that run deep. The note sent with the severed lower leg quotes from Tyranny & Mutation's 'Mistress Of The Salmon Salt' - 'A harvest of limbs, of arms and of legs, of necks that turn like swans, as if inclined to gasp or pray'. An Albert/Sandy composition sung by Eric that closes the second album, the title was tattooed on Strike's mother. She was a groupie, Eric Bloom her unsatiated muse and wannabe Rock Star conquest.
The complexities of the characters and the relevance of the music and lyrics elevate the story to a fascinating level. The title and opening lyric quote from the song Career Of Evil are of course by Patti Smith, and they are a scene setting, a character intimating insight into the ultimate perpetrator of the story, the serial killer out for revenge on PI Cormoran Strike.
With 52 songs quoted, used or at least nodded at, it's an indication of the depth and breadth of BOC's continuing body of work. Tracks from all 13 studio elpees are here. Curse Of The Hidden Mirror gets the most with 7 tracks, followed by Heaven Forbid, Secret Treaties and Fire Of Unknown Origin with 6 a piece. Imaginos gets the least, with only The Girl That Love Made Blind quoted. Now, eagle eyed and eared fans will spot this isn't on the official Imaginos set, but this Albert penned tune is included on the original pre-CBS polished version.
The end result for me is two fold. It's reopened some often lost or forgotten BOC songs I don't play often enough. With a large chunk of the last two studio albums brought into eye line, it's certainly a chance to reappraise the latter work, often overlooked and forgotten. And I really enjoyed the book. Dark, often shocking, it's rattles along and keeps the mystery afloat for a long enough time to keep the tension and drama taut. Now it seems filming has started on 7 BBC one hour episodes of the 3 novels, which will more than likely hit the small screen in the new year. Possibly earlier if it goes a pace.
Career Of Evil is also a more than welcome reminder to the general music fan of the importance and quality of Blue Oyster Cult's music. Taking songs out of their familiar comfort zone of the elpee they were first presented as being part of makes for a different slant on the song, the pretext, the mood. The songs are strong enough by themselves to be seen alone in the cold grey light of dawn, and sometimes it's good to do that, to take away the comfort blanket of the other songs of the moment. The 'golden era' if you will was a time when elpees were crafted, when the order and artwork was important and as compelling as the songs themselves. The whole thing had weight, momentum, gravitas.
Starting or finishing a side or a complete album with a song gave it a place, even if it was subliminal, with the listener. The digital age has given more time on albums, and therefore the added minutes are filled with the kind of throwaway fodder or not quite right for the mood songs usually surfacing on b-sides back in the day or latterly bonus tracks on remastered editions. I've always remained fairly stoical and suspicious of said tracks. As John Paul Jones wryly observed 'if they were good enough they made it onto the record'. Sure, a few gems escaped and have been revelations, but largely the throwaway or work in progress is the norm.
Blue Oyster Cult are enjoying another reappraisal. Thank God. Their timeless music will hopefully now be reaching a new audience, and I hope even more when the BBC production of Career Of Evil is broadcast and shown around the globe. Now go and explore those albums, enjoy Deadline, Searching For Celine, X Ray Eyes, Lonely Teardrops. They deserve your time.
the thinking man's music (Desdinova69)
ReplyDeleteI'm a HUGE BOC fan, and I'm aware of the Imaginos thing but no idea what it's about... Some bizarre, Sandy Pearlman acid trip or something... I don't get it, but still love their songs and strange lyrics...
ReplyDelete