morganflag: ON THIS DATE (44 YEARS AGO) June 19, 1979 - Blue Öyster Cult: Mirrors is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4/5 # Allmusic 4/5 stars Mirrors is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 19, 1979. It reached #44 on the Billboard 200 Top LPs & Tapes chart and #46 on the UK Albums Chart. The single “In Thee” reached #74 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Mirrors is the first BÖC album not produced by long-time producer and manager Sandy Pearlman, instead being produced by Tom Werman. After the success of 1976's Platinum Agents of Fortune, 1977's Gold Spectres and 1978's Platinum live effort Some Enchanted Evening, the fact is that Mirrors struggled in its attempt to reach those levels. __________ COVER The cover of the album is not a photo of a rearview mirror, but a painting by Loren Salazar (according to Eric Bloom, "quite famous in the Seattle area"). If you look closely on the left side of the album cover, two sperm cells can be seen painted in the clouds and sky. __________ ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW By Mitchell Schneider, November 29, 1979 On a purely technical level, Mirrors is probably Blue Öyster Cult's best record. Produced by Tom Werman, the sound is generally immaculate, lush and tasty, not to mention diverse. Scattered throughout are strings, a synthesizer, acoustic guitars, a harmonica and soulful female voices crooning harmonies. Big deal. It'd be ridiculous to call the Cult's eighth album a major disappointment. Except for the classic "(Don't Fear) the Reaper," these guys never really made any promises with their heavy-metal repertoire—there was, in fact, nothing at stake. The band's alternating lead vocalists rarely projected as much danger and wickedness as the music did, and songs like "Cities on Flame" and "This Ain't the Summer of Love" always struck me as hysterical and shallow. Ah, but the bone-crushing chords and absolutely dizzying guitar lines! Neither of which is found on Mirrors, an LP that foolishly advances the sharp but sterile production values of Spectres. While the new record certainly rocks on occasion ("The Vigil," "I Am the Storm"), it never explodes, as some of last year's live Some Enchanted Evening did. What Blue Öyster Cult obviously had in mind was to make a nice album, and given songs as cheery as "You're Not the One (I Was Looking For)," "In Thee" and "Dr. Music," I guess you can say they've succeeded. Coinciding with the group's fascination for restraint and pleasantness, however, is an unprecedented lameness. The bargain-basement synthesizer and wimpily delivered narrative in "The Great Sun Jester" are right off a Styx LP. And lyrics like "In a purple vision/Many thousand years ago/I saw the silent stranger/Walk the earth alone" give Kansas' "Dust in the Wind" some mighty stiff competition. For Blue Öyster Cult, it's time to fear the reaper. (RS 305) __________ TRACKS: Side one 1. "Dr. Music" ( Joe Bouchard, Donald Roeser, Richard Meltzer) - 3:10 2. "The Great Sun Jester" (Bloom, Michael Moorcock, John Trivers) - 4:48 3. "In Thee" (Allen Lanier) - 3:48 4. "Mirrors" (D. Roeser, Bruce Abbott) - 3:44 5. "Moon Crazy" (J. Bouchard) - 4:06 Side two 1. "The Vigil” (D. Roeser, Sandra Roeser) - 6:25 2. "I Am the Storm" (J. Bouchard, Ronald Binder) - 3:42 3. "You're Not the One (I Was Looking For)" (Albert Bouchard, Caryn Bouchard)- 3:14 4. "Lonely Teardrops" (Lanier)