Good, But They Are Much Better Than This Album Shows...
3
By @rasphd
Please do not mistake my tough critique with thinking the BOC are not amazing-- they are. Secret Treaties & Agents of Fortune are 5-Star efforts and many songs on weaker records get 5-star ratings. This is an overall weak album due to a set of mediocre songs. BOC lives off of a few hits, which is generally sad, because they have some brilliant music that would be highly successful if it didn't involve evil, deception, aliens or just plain weirdness. Their inaccessibility has prohibited greatness on a larger scale.
This album, unfortunately offers none of the greatness. This album really does reflect the oft-called "biker boogie" because of the strong rock grooves with a deep blues influence with lyrics running to the dark side to capture listener attention. Musically, it very much fits the rock/groove theme and you could easily see the early '70s: hard-edge bikers, stoners and punks drinking pop-top Budweisers and dancing knock-kneed in a small bar. Once past that imagery, the album is done. Overall, the songs are too long for what they were trying to accomplish and the lyrics are a mis-fit-- they lack the creativity seen elsewhere. The highlight is the title & album cover. Still, well worth owning listening and dissecting but I can assure you that if you put together your own iTunes BOC playlist, there won't be many songs from this album, if at all.
(1) = 1 star
1. The Red & The Black: (***) Very dramatic opening with a great groove and fun drumming...but devolves into a Bo Diddley song with rough & tumble lyrics. The song is fun but really does not go anywhere but to a guitar solo. It could be a 2:30min song and achieve the same results.
2. O.D.'d on Life Itself: (***) Intentional rip off of T.Rex's "Bang a Gong?" Don't know--copyright laws were looser then but again maybe the bands knew each other. That's the main peak of the song...after that it just talks away the stanzas and moans away the chorus.
3. Hot Rails to Hell: (***) Basic rock opening. You can start to see where U.S. punk gained inspiration. Otherwise, a hard rock song. Average over all.
4. 7 Screaming Diz-Busters: (****) Might be the best song on the album. Odd musical and lyrical phrasing, climbing guitars, strange lyrics, fun chorus...the only reason it isn't a 5-star song is that it fails bring all of these elements together at once for sustained excellence-- it just doesn't take you to that next level although all of the elements are there.
5. Baby Ice Dog: (**) Again. Nothing special. Just some rock that tries a bit hard too hard to put in drum fills, false anticipation, etc., which is why it is in my review, the weakest song on the album. If it would just stick with the album's overall push/theme, it would have been a simply better song but I respect the BOC for trying to break things up-- it just didn't work.
6. Wings Wetted Down: (***) A really good song because of the chorus. Other than that, the songs is just too dull despite really nice BOC-style lyrics. You spend the whole song waiting for take-off and it never happens.
7. Teen Archer: (***) Average. Might rate it lower if not for the consistency of the musical theme from the prior songs--groove rock with soft lyrical expression. Keeps things in line but definitely does not stand out as an example of excellence.
8. Mistress Of The Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl): (***) A nice closing effort. If the song had any purpose, meaning or relevance it would be a BOC fan staple. It isn't-- it is a forgettable set of empty musical calories. Fun to listen to but you'll never go seek it out. That is why it sits at only 3 stars, not 4...
Drop Baby Ice Dog, shorten the songs and it might jump to 3.5-4stars. You can tell that they are about to really and truly put it all together...
