Jump to content

The Revölution by Night

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs) at 18:16, 24 January 2021 (add authority control). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Revölution by Night
Cover art by Greg Scott
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1983 (1983-10)
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" / "Feel the Thunder"
    Released: November 1983
  2. "Shooting Shark" / "Dragon Lady"
    Released: February 1984
  3. "Take Me Away" / "Let Go"
    Released: May 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

The Revölution by Night is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in October 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.

In contrast to the success of Fire of Unknown Origin, the album failed to go Gold in the United States.

Songs

Lead single "Shooting Shark" was modestly successful on radio, reaching #83 and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock charts, respectively.[4][5] 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. 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.[6] The song reached #11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[7] A music video was created for the song and was featured on MTV.

Track listing

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

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)[8]
  • Steve Schenck – management

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1983 Billboard 200 (United States) 93[9]
UK Albums Chart 95[10]

Singles

Year Title Chart Position
1983 "Shooting Shark" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) 16[11]
"Take Me Away" 11[11]
1984 "Shooting Shark" Billboard Hot 100 (US) 83[12]
UK Singles Chart 97[10]

References

  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Blue Öyster Cult The Revolution by Night review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Shooting Shark Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  5. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Shooting Shark Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  6. ^ "Aldo Nova Explains His Blue Öyster Cult Connection". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  7. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Blue Oyster Cult Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Blue Öyster Cult Chart History: Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2018.