Double Live Albums, and there have been a few are usually things of Gatefold beauty. Dear Readers we have mentioned many of them in the virtual pages of this here caring, sharing blog. The 1970s and greater part of the 1980s are thankfully lined with them.
I must pose a question, has there ever been a finer Side 4 in the realm of double live epics than the Side 4 of ExtraTerrestrial Live by The Blue Öyster Cult?
Riding on the crest of the Cultösaurus Erectus/Fire of Unknown Origin resurgence this live set is a true hair stander upper...
Side 4 offers a three song embrace of the most electrifying heavy music your ears are ever likely to encounter. Make no mistake it will enhance you!
It begins with Veteran of the Psychic Wars and as it stands the greatest, the most frenzied, and yea, the most sublime Buck Dharma guitar workout ever laid down on vinyl, probably.
This version of an already classic song is a truly magnificent marvel of transmitted treasures ever to assault me through a Marshall backline!
And then there is a ripping, rousing version of E.T.I (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) with a mid section that booms at your senses leaving you a grateful gibbering wreck in the midst of such a sonic sensation. The immersive sounds as they are brings out a Metallic Science Fiction soundtrack feel akin to an out of control and rather noisy StarGate, wholly appropriate given the themes here.
And then the grand finale, the AOR favourite and all round melancholic masterpiece wrapped in dark humour, the delightfully ageless (Don't) Fear The Reaper. It is an astonishing version and in some warped audio way brings the listener back to earth as the crescendo clears. One thing's for certain, you'll be back for more...so load up your Gramophone/8-Track/Tape-deck/CD Player/MP3/iPod and deliver the goods to your malnourished souls.
The world hath need for more BÖC such as Side 4 ETL!












