Agents of Fortune

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Agents of Fortune
BlueOysterCultAgentsofFortune.jpg
Studio album by
Blue Öyster Cult
ReleasedMay 21, 1976 (1976-05-21)
Recorded1975–76
StudioThe Record Plant, New York City
Genre
Length36:35
LabelColumbia
Producer
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
On Your Feet or on Your Knees
(1975) 		Agents of Fortune
(1976) 		Spectres
(1977)
Singles from Agents of Fortune
  1. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
    Released: July 1976 [2]
  2. "This Ain't the Summer of Love"
    Released: June 1977 (US) [3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[5]
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[1]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Agents of Fortune is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released by Columbia Records in May 21, 1976.[9][10]

The Platinum-selling album peaked at No. 29 on the U.S. Billboard chart,[11] while the cryptic single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart,[12] making it BÖC's biggest hit. The band became a bigger concert attraction after the release of the album, in part due to extensive airplay of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", to this day a staple of rock-station playlists.

This is also the only album in the band's catalog to have every original member perform lead vocals on at least one song, and the only to not feature any songwriting contributions from Eric Bloom. However, the 2020 live album 40th Anniversary: Agents of Fortune Live 2016 added Bloom's name to the writing credits on "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)".

Critical reception[]

Rolling Stone wrote that "Agents of Fortune is a startlingly excellent album — startling because one does not expect Blue Oyster Cult to sound like this: loud but calm, manic but confident, melodic but rocking."[13]

Cash Box said of the single "This Ain't the Summer of Love" that "growling guitars churn out this realistic message with brief and pointed expression" and that "a mood of evil created in a humorous fashion."[14]

Track listing[]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."This Ain't the Summer of Love"Albert Bouchard, Murray Krugman, Don WallerEric Bloom2:21
2."True Confessions"Allen LanierLanier2:57
3."(Don't Fear) The Reaper"Donald RoeserRoeser5:08
4."E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)"Roeser, Sandy PearlmanBloom3:43
5."The Revenge of Vera Gemini"A. Bouchard, Patti SmithA. Bouchard3:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Sinful Love"A. Bouchard, Helen WheelsA. Bouchard3:29
7."Tattoo Vampire"A. Bouchard, WheelsBloom2:41
8."Morning Final"Joe BouchardJ. Bouchard4:30
9."Tenderloin"LanierBloom3:40
10."Debbie Denise"A. Bouchard, SmithA. Bouchard4:13
2001 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
11."Fire of Unknown Origin" (original version)Bloom, A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard, Roeser, SmithA. Bouchard3:30
12."Sally" (demo version)A. BouchardA. Bouchard2:40
13."(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (demo version)RoeserRoeser6:20
14."Dance the Night Away" (demo version)Lanier, Jim CarrollLanier2:37
Total length:51:42

Personnel[]

Band members
Additional musicians
Production

Charts[]

Album[]

Year Chart Position
1976 Billboard 200 (United States) 29[11]
AUS 53[18]
UK Albums Chart 26[19]
RPM100 Albums (Canada) 28[20]
Swedish Albums Chart 10[21]

Singles[]

Year Title Chart Position
1976 "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" Billboard Hot 100 (United States) 12[12]
RPM Top 100 Singles (Canada) 7[22]
1978 UK Singles Chart 16[19]

Sales certifications[]

Year Country Organization Sales
1977 Canada CRIA Gold (50,000+)[23]
1978 US RIAA Platinum (1,000,000+)[24]

Accolades[]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
The Village Voice US The 1976 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll[25] 1976 10
NME UK Albums of the Year[26] 1976 6
Dave Marsh & Kevin Stein US The Best of the Album Chartmakers by Year: 1976[27] 1981 12
Kerrang! UK The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time[26] 1989 62
Q UK The Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever![28] 2004 No order

References[]

  1. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 128.
  2. ^ "Blue Oyster Cult singles".
  3. ^ "Blue Oyster Cult singles".
  4. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Blue Öyster Cult - Agents of Fortune review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 54. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  7. ^ The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. pp. 87–88.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 700.
  9. ^ "Blue Oyster Cult | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  10. ^ Buckley, Peter (March 14, 2003). "The Rough Guide to Rock". Rough Guides – via Google Books.
  11. ^ a b "Agents of Fortune Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  12. ^ a b "Agents of Fortune Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  13. ^ Tucker, Ken (July 15, 1976). "Album Reviews: Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  14. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 25, 1977. p. 20. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Farhi, Paul (January 29, 2005). "Blue Öyster Cult, Playing Along With 'More Cowbell'". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  16. ^ George, Eli (June 30, 2011). "Blue Oyster Cult cowbell ringer honored". WIVB-TV. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  17. ^ Sauro, Tony (September 17, 2009). "Blue Oyster Cult's innovative use of a cowbell will never be forgotten". The Record (Stockton). Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  18. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 38. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. ^ a b "Blue Oyster Cult Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  20. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 23, No. 5, October 30, 1976". Library and Archives Canada. 30 October 1976. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  21. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult – Agents of Fortune (Album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  22. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 26, No. 7, November 13, 1976". Library and Archives Canada. 13 November 1976. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  23. ^ "Gold Platinum Database – Search for Blue Oyster Cult". Music Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  24. ^ "RIAA Searchable Database - search for Blue Oyster Cult". RIAA. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  25. ^ "The 1976 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  26. ^ a b "Blue Öyster Cult - Agents of Fortune". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  27. ^ "The Dave Marsh Lists". Book Of Rock Lists - Albums Of The Year: 1976. Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  28. ^ "Q Lists: Q Special Edition – The Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever !". Q. Rocklist.net. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
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