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Secret Treaties

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For the concept, see Secret treaty.

Secret Treaties
Studio album by
Blue Öyster Cult
ReleasedApril 5, 1974 (1974-04-05) [1]
Recorded1974
StudioColumbia 30th Street Studio
(New York City)
Genre
Length38:14
LabelColumbia
Producer
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
Tyranny and Mutation
(1973) 		Secret Treaties
(1974) 		On Your Feet or on Your Knees
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Christgau's Record GuideB[6]
Classic Rock[7]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[8]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[9]
Sputnikmusic[10]
Tom HullB[11]

Secret Treaties is the third studio album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on April 5, 1974 by Columbia.[3] It features the same band members and production team as their previous album.

The album spent 14 weeks in the US album charts, peaking at No. 53.[12] It was certified gold by the RIAA in 1992.[13]

In 1975, a poll of readers of the British magazine Melody Maker voted Secret Treaties the "Top Rock Album of All Time".[3] In 2010, Rhapsody called it one of the all-time best "proto-metal" albums.[14]

It is the only BÖC album that does not feature a track with lead vocals sung by guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser. The band also did not write any of the lyrics to the album, handing that duty to producer Sandy Pearlman, rock critic Richard Meltzer and singer Patti Smith.[15]

Cover art

[edit]

The cover, with art by Ron Lesser, depicts the band standing beside and sitting on a German ME 262 fighter aircraft; this scene is inspired by the song of the same name.

While the LP cover has the band name in red (a darker red on the Japanese LP), on the CD it is in lime green.[15]

Songs

[edit]

Lyrics to the lead-off track "Career of Evil" were written by future punk poet Patti Smith, a longtime contributor to the band (and, at the time, girlfriend of BÖC keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Allen Lanier).

A few changes were made to "Career of Evil" on the single version. The vocals are different: only Eric Bloom is heard for most of the song, instead of Bloom and Albert Bouchard singing together. Also, one verse was removed ("Pay me..." to "...kneeling in the rain"). Part of the bridge was changed also, presumably to make the song more acceptable to radio: "do it to your daughter" became "do it like you ought to." The line "I want your wife to be my baby tonight" was changed to "I want your life to be mine, maybe tonight".[citation needed]

The transition between the tracks "Harvester of Eyes" and "Flaming Telepaths" is marked by a piece of classical music played on a music box. Members of the band recall that it was something the sound engineer had found on an unlabeled recording, but they could not identify it. The piece and its composer were uncredited on the album. It has since been identified as an excerpt from a waltz by Ion Ivanovici called Waves of the Danube (Donauwellen). The source of the original recording remains a mystery.[citation needed]

"Career of Evil" was the inspiration for the title of the 2015 novel of the same name written by J.K. Rowling under the pen name Robert Galbraith.[16]

The compilation Don't Fear the Reaper: The Best of Blue Öyster Cult contains a version of "Flaming Telepaths" without the music box intro. The original version with the complete sound effects is found on the compilation Workshop of the Telescopes.[citation needed]

The psychedelic folk group Espers covers "Flaming Telepaths" on their CD The Weed Tree in 2005.[citation needed]

Release history

[edit]

In addition the conventional 2 channel stereo version the album was also released in a 4 channel quadraphonic version on LP record and 8-track tape in 1974. The quad LP release was encoded in the SQ matrix system.

The album was reissued on the Super Audio CD format in 2016 by Audio Fidelity. This edition contains both the stereo and quad mixes.

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLead vocalsLength
1."Career of Evil"Patti SmithAlbert BouchardEric Bloom, Albert Bouchard3:59
2."Subhuman"Sandy PearlmanEric BloomEric Bloom4:39
3."Dominance and Submission"Sandy PearlmanEric Bloom, Albert BouchardAlbert Bouchard5:23
4."ME 262"Sandy PearlmanEric Bloom, Donald RoeserEric Bloom4:48
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLead vocalsLength
1."Cagey Cretins"Richard MeltzerAlbert BouchardEric Bloom, Albert Bouchard, Joe Bouchard3:16
2."Harvester of Eyes"Richard MeltzerEric Bloom, Donald RoeserEric Bloom4:42
3."Flaming Telepaths"Sandy PearlmanEric Bloom, Albert Bouchard, Donald RoeserEric Bloom5:20
4."Astronomy"Sandy PearlmanAlbert Bouchard, Joe BouchardEric Bloom6:28
2001 CD remaster bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLead vocalsLength
9."Boorman the Chauffeur" (outtake from the Secret Treaties sessions)Joe BouchardJoe Bouchard, Murray KrugmanJoe Bouchard3:13
10."Mommy" (outtake from the Secret Treaties sessions)Richard MeltzerEric BloomEric Bloom3:32
11."Mes Dames Sarat" (outtake from the Secret Treaties sessions)Allen LanierAllen LanierEric Bloom4:07
12."Born to Be Wild" (non LP single)Mars BonfireMars BonfireEric Bloom3:40
13."Career of Evil" (single version)Patti SmithAlbert BouchardEric Bloom3:00
Total length:56:07

Personnel

[edit]
Band members
Production
  • Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman – producers
  • Tim Geelan, Jerry Smith – engineers
  • Lehman Yates, Lou Schlossberg – recording
  • John Berg – cover design
  • Bruce Dickinson – production (2001 remaster)
  • Thom Cadley – mixing on tracks 10 and 11 (2001 remaster)
  • Vic Anesini – remastering (2001 remaster)

Charts

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Chart (1974) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] 54
US Billboard 200[18] 53

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

[edit]
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
NME UK Albums of the Year[citation needed] 1974 13
Dave Marsh & Kevin Stein U.S. The Best of the Album Chartmakers by Year: 1974[20] 1981 36
Kerrang! UK The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time[citation needed] 1989 22
Mojo UK Mojo 1000 - The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide[21] 2001 No order
Rolling Stone U.S. The 50 Coolest Records of All Time[citation needed] 2002 47

References

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  1. ^ "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^ Rock, Classic (February 25, 2021). "Blue Oyster Cult: Secret Treaties - Album Of The Week Club review". Loudersound. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c MOJO Magazine (November 1, 2007). The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion (4 ed.). Canongate Books. p. 334. ISBN 978-1-84767-643-6.
  4. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Blue Öyster Cult - Secret Treaties review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  5. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Blue Öyster Cult - Secret Treaties review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 22, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  7. ^ Rock, Classic (February 25, 2021). "Blue Oyster Cult: Secret Treaties - Album Of The Week Club review". Loudersound. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. ^ Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 53–54. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  9. ^ Miller, Jim (June 20, 1974). "Album Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  10. ^ Davis, Robert. "Blue Öyster Cult - Secret Treaties". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  11. ^ Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: Second Card". Overdose. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via tomhull.com.
  12. ^ "Secret Treaties Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  13. ^ "RIAA Searchable Database - search for Blue Oyster Cult". RIAA. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  14. ^ Farrar, Justin (June 22, 2010). "Classic Rock Crate Digger: 10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums". Rhapsody. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Secret Treaties (CD Booklet). Blue Öyster Cult. New York City: Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings. 2001. pp. 5–11. 502236 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Sims, Andrew (April 24, 2015). "J.K. Rowling's third Cormoran Strike novel titled 'Career of Evil' arrives this fall". Hypable. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5036b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Blue Oyster Cult Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  19. ^ "American album certifications – Blue Öyster Cult – Secret Treaties". Recording Industry Association of America.
  20. ^ "The Dave Marsh Lists". Book Of Rock Lists - Albums Of The Year: 1976. Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  21. ^ "Mojo 1000 - The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide". Mojo. Rocklist.net. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
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