Track Listing

1. Godzilla
2. Golden Age of Leather
3. Death Valley Nights
4. Searchin' for Celine
5. Fireworks
6. R.U. Ready 2 Rock
7. Celestial the Queen
8. Goin' Through the Motions
9. I Love the Night
10. Nosferatu
11. Night Flyer [#][*]
12. Dial M for Murder [#][*]
13. Please Hold [#][*]
14. Be My Baby [#][*] - Blue �yster Cult,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19890 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2007-02-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Customer Reviews

Slightly improved sound
Spectres is not my favorite BOC album, or even top three favorite but, I was so pleased with the previous BOC remasters I had to get it. For $10.99 it was money well spent.
The remaster slightly improves the overall sound and clarity of the album and while the packaging is slightly less robust than the remasters of the first 4 BOC albums, it certainly has more to offer than the original cd release.
The bonus tracks are leftovers from the same recording sessions that yielded the album so I wasn't expecting anything fantastic. That said, I actually think Night Flyer is a stonger track than one or two of the tracks that made the original Spectres. Also, M For Murder is decent as is their cover of Be My Baby (surprisingly).
Overall a very solid remaster. I have already ordered the Legacy Edition of Some Enchanted Evening and as someone mentioned earlier...

Where is the remaster of On Your Feet Or On Your Knees???

Raise your can of beer on high and seal your fate forever...
Coming off their immortal hit "Don't Fear The Reaper" and the classic album "Agents Of Fortune," Blue Oyster Cult decided that "if it was worth doing, it was worth overdoing." I always thought the similarity to the title "Spectres" and the wall-of-sound production style of the legendary Phil Spector was not a coincidence, as the band layered it on like never before. As they posted on "RU Ready To Rock," "I only live to be born again." So what the heck, since they had just become one of the hottest touring rock acts of the seventies, why not go all out?

That they did. "Spectres" is crazy with variety. From a monster (yes, pun intended) riff rocker that opens the album with "Godzilla" to the dark double whammy the closed the original album via "I Love The Night" and "Nosferatu," the band let their imaginations run wild. The allusion to Spector comes through loud and clear on "I Love The Night," with atmosphere and density for miles. There was even an unrecognized hit single co-written by Eric Bloom and Ian Hunter, "Going Through The Motions." Why there wasn't another radio breakthrough ala "Reaper" amazes me to this day. The mood was often dark, but it was more a thrill-ride than a slasher-flick. The cinematic sci-fi boys' choir on "The Golden Age Of Leather" would have made Queen proud.

In the Blue Oyster Cult's second act of their illustrious career (the knockout first three albums, then the seventies arena period from "Agents" through "Fire Of Unknown Origin" to the mixed line-up albums that followed), "Spectres" is probably second or third on my list of favorites. (Number one is "Agents.") I am quite pleased by the re-mastering, more so for the repackage job than the slapdash original CD. Here is hoping "Mirrors" and "Cultosaurus Erectus" get the same respectful treatment. While we're at it, how about finally giving us "Imaginos" on CD?

PS: The Bonus Tracks. Like on "Agents Of Fortune," I really could have done without the expanded material here. Only "Night Flyer" is of any merit, and the odd-ball take on "Be My Baby" is novelty at best. "Spectres" held together really well as an entity; tacking these afterthoughts on as a "bonus" is like altering a Picasso with a sharpie.

Gets better with time...
My previous review of BOC's mediocre "Spectres" met with such contempt that your leather pants wearin' friend from NYC has decided to placate all you ghouls and rework a more pleasing version. No doubt, "Spectres" still could have been better......but with this new remaster and additional bonus songs, I must admit I am intrigued. Alas, I will contain my frequent urge to trash this gem, lest fellow hardcore fans fly through my bedroom window at night and suck my blood dry. Down, Down I say! You Dogs!

"Spectres"

Production values on this collection are indeed much better than any previous recording. The opening track, "Godzilla" sets the house on fire with Roeser's blistering lead guitar work over dual harmony vocals. The signature vocals have always worked real well on this song, and perhaps the band should consider doing more Bloom/Roeser harmonies. Although this version of "Godzilla" is a bit campy in tone, it remains a classic. The real star of the show, however, is "Golden Age of Leather". Everything good about BOC is in this song, and it never gets tired. It's all there, guitars, vocals, lyrics, etc. "Death Valley Nights" is next and is a natural fit after "Leather". Some other highlights are the lush "I Love the Night", (one of my fav BOC tunes) and "Nosferatu". The rest of this collection is very pop in tone, and sounds outdated. What balances out weak songs such as "Searchin' for Celine" and "Celestial the Queen" are the new bonus additions such as "Night Flyer" and "Dial M for Murder" which are just as good if not better than anything else Cult did in this period. Perhaps not surprisingly, "Be My Baby" makes it onto this as a bonus; back in '77, probably sounded like a great idea.. but today considered a corny song for BOC to cover.

This collection is worth buying, if just for "Godzilla","Golden Age of Leather", "Death Valley Nights" and "I Love the Night". "Spectres" holds its own with the classics, although it doesn't hold up to BOC's other works in the 1970's. Due to the passage of so many years, many of the things that so displeased me about this record seem to slowly fade away, and some of the cheesy pop tunes become forgivable when thought of in the context of the time period: Disco was hot, rock was not.