Blue Öyster Cult—Live ‘83

For the first time, Real Gone Music Resurrects Blue Öyster Cult’s Limelight Bootleg

Blue Öyster Cult
Live ‘83
Real Gone Music

Link: Real Gone Music

Before The Revölution at Night album was released in 1983, Blue Öyster Cult marked a major transition for the band away from their classic sound and into a 1980s pop aesthetic. Longtime drummer Albert Brouchard was fired from the band and replaced by roadie Rick Downey. Before that happened, they embarked on a rigorous tour that gave us the dimensional Extraterrestrial Live album. During that summer, their July gig in Pasadena, California, was to make radio airplay. What happened was that it ended up being Blue Öyster Cult’s most beloved bootleg. Real Gone Music has authoritatively released the album in physical form for the first time.

Not as elaborately produced as Extraterrestrial Live, Live ‘83 is a raw and expressive documentation of their electric performance that is impossible to pass up. Here we find the last monument of greatness from their glory days that takes from the philosophy of Kiss’s Alive and launches us into “Stairway to the Stars.” You want the best and you got the best, this song is pure rock and roll friction. From the gate, Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser’s guitarwork is the star. Immediately they power into “Harvester of Eyes.” It’s like jet fuel. This is a pure rock and roll party in classic Blue Öyster Cult style.

I know you are like me; how does “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” sound? Dominated by keyboards seeping into the sound board, it competes with the great harmonies that capitalize on the song. The band handles the live version better than they do for “Burnin’ For You,” which falls flaccid compared to the rest of the setlist. Even “Born To Rock” feels like they are going through the motions. With the hits, expectations are always high and what ends up happening is that the more niche songs stand out. Even the cover of “Born To Be Wild” is more explosive.

To end the set, they roar through ten minutes of “Roadhouse Blues” that also pepper in “Love Me Two Times.” They set fire to this classic rocker and turn it into a party jam. “I woke up this morning. . . “ The audience reacts appropriately. It’s a great punctuation to a set that is gritier than the more accessible selection on Extraterrestrial Live.

Tracklist:

1. Stairway to the Stars
2. Harvester of Eyes
3. Workshop of the Telescopes
4. Before the Kiss, a Red Cap
5. Born to Rock
6. Hot Rails to Hell
7. 7 Screaming Dizbusters
8. Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
9. Burnin’ for You
10. Joan Crawford
11. Born to Be Wild
12. (Don’t Fear) the Reaper
13. Roadhouse Blues