Blue Öyster Cult – On Your Feet or On Your Knees

In 1975, Blue Oyster Cult released their live album On Your Feet or On Your Knees which was a tribute to the band’s first three albums which were landmark recordings for heavy rock while also being a reliable testament to what kept this great band alive and true to their live performance.

The incredible power and fury of this album blows away most live albums that came before it. The feel of the songs isn’t so much about the melody as it is about the fact that each of the five members of the group gets their guts out.

The Tracklextended guitar solos that dominate the album are distinguished by a pure heavy rock passion and have a musical bond that few bands can achieve. A perfect example is “7 Screaming Diz-Busters” which has a sultry guitar solo against Albert Bouchard’s drums that culminates in a harmony between two heavy rock musicians. And when Blue Oyster Cult do hint at restraint, it’s as hypnotic as Donald Roeser’s aka “Buck Dharma” “Then Came The Last Days of May,” which is also one of the best songs ever written in their early days. A haunting yet deceptive tune about the futility and violence of drugs. The set closes with the appropriate track a cover of Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild” one of the songs that coined the phrase “classic rock”. Perhaps it was for the best that On Your Feet Or Your Knees has yet to be remastered.

The studio finish, all it will do is take away the raw sound that excites all the fans of the group and who support it because they consider it one of the most difficult and pioneers in heavy rock. With music that was anything but mainstream for the 70s, Blue Oyster Cult’s On Your Feet Or Your Knees managed to break into the top 30 for the first time, attesting to the innovations to come and marking the end of an era and the beginning of another.

Through this historic album I select the track “The Subhuman”.

Trackist

Subhuman 7:30
Harvester Of Eyes 4:55
Hot Rails To Hell 5:55
The Red & The Black 4:33
7 Screaming Diz-Busters 8:27
Buck’s Boogie 7:40
Then Came The Last Days Of May 4:35
Cities On Flame 4:08
ME 262 8:47
Before The Kiss (A Redcap) 5:05
I Ain’t Got You 8:59
Born To Be Wild 6:36