Former Blue Oyster Cult drummer Albert Bouchard draws his expansive Imaginos trilogy now closing out the random access myth where everything happens all at once with Imaginos III Mutant Reformation.
The Imaginos history is well documented of course so we won’t go in to that too much. Originally planned as a triple album by Albert, didn’t work out like that back in the day and the BOC Imaginos album from the late 1980s a sort of half-way house during a period the Cult were in what we’ll call a “transitional Period.
Over the past two or three years, Albert has been able to issue his versions of the Imaginos tale which was a running theme through various BOC albums. In 2020 we had Re Imaginos followed by Imaginos II Bombs Over Germany in 2021 and now in 2023 Mutant Reformation.
Each album very solid indeed and very interesting to hear how Albert has put together the story and reworkings of the versions across the BOC catalogue with how he envisaged them
Mutant Reformation is arguably the best of the trilogy. Eighteen tracks over around seventy minutes. A mixture of the reworkings of the BOC album versions in Albert’s form and some new songs too.
One of the features of the trilogy is as a BOC fan comparing the two. Impossible not to. Here on Mutant Reformation it is full of imagination and variation working in many twists and styles.
For example Flaming Telepaths is not too different from what appears on Secret Treatries though is given something of a spacey/psychedelic feel to it as is to some extent Transmaniacon. E.T.I and Heavy Metal Black and Silver both heavy and chunky whereas Career of Evil becomes generally slower and mostly acoustic, Godzilla taken back to bare bones (forgive the slight unintentional pun there…..) and Redeemed becomes a bit country and western.
Personally I very much like Queens Graveyard with it’s understated slightly creepiness and especially Mountain of Madness. That’s a glorious song. Melodic, sweeping, progressive folky, symphonic sea shanty beautifully sung by current BOC member Richie Castellano. Breath-taking. Have a listen:
Albert at the heart of it all of course and joined by a host of guests including past and present BOC members such as brother Joe, Eric Bloom, the aforementioned Richie Castellano many with BOC connections.
Mutant Reformation (forgive me another slight pun….) is a monster conclusion to Albert’s Imaginos trilogy. A must for all us BOC fans or for anybody who enjoys imaginative, varied and well-produced genre-spanning classic rock. Snap it up. Usual formats available.