New thing: Deep Track of the Week! First entry: Blue Öyster Cults The Revenge of Vera Gemini So, Agents of Fortune ended up being Blue Oyster Cults most commercially successful album. They had been selling out venues for a few years at this point without a hit single, which is something of a miracle. Agents of Fortune was a VAST departure in tone for a band that had cut its tooth on intellectual heavy metal. The macabre elements were still there, but the productions became more layered, polished, and melodically diverse. That isnt to say that their previous albums lacked diversity, but Agents of Fortune showed listeners that they could produce dark and ominous songs that could get radio play. Cities On Flame with Rock and Roll was arguably their best known song before this point, and Agents introduced the world to (Dont Fear) The Reaper, the Buck Dharma penned masterpiece. The song would go on to receive constant airplay and endless comparisons to The Byrds, for some reason (seriously, Ive seen several people refer to The Reaper as inspired by The Byrds and I just dont get it). One of the unsung tracks in Blue Öyster Cults oeuvre, The Revenge of Vera Gemini is short and sweet, and a brilliant bit of composition. We are introduced by Punk GODDESS Patti Smiths distinctive voice and then led into the tune by a little roll of the bass into a sparsely layered tale of desertion, betrayal, and anger, unfolding with cryptic lyrics growled and whispered at turns by drummer Albert Bouchard. Is Patti Smiths part a memory, or is she still haunting him in person? My favourite part of all is the melodically impressive solo by Buck Dharma. Never one to just throw a solo out without a thought, Dharma creates a lead line that starts with simple quarter notes and minor intervals, all echoing the basic melodies already established in the song, and then works his way into some wonderfully George Harrison-esque diads and a haunting modal finale. That prechorus chord progression is one of my absolute favourites. No, this song is not their best, but it darn well deserves its share of the limelight, and that is the whole point of Deep Track of the Week. Ill be back with another one next week, and hopefully my text will be more than just heres the song. Enjoy. Peace. Ciao!
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 03:15:55 +0000
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