ALBERT BOUCHARD “Imaginos III: Mutant Reformation”
By Dr. Abner Mality
And now the strange, sprawling saga of “Imaginos”, which had its beginnings as far back as the late 1960’s, finally comes to an end. Or so ALBERT BOUCHARD, former BLUE OYSTER CULT drummer and current BLUE COUPE member, tells us. He should know, as he was there at the very beginning.
I spoke to ALBERT in 2020 after the release of “Re-Imaginos” and he did tell me that “Mutant Reformation” was on the way and would wrap the saga up. One thing’s for sure, this guy definitely does things his own way. “Imaginos III” features many tunes that have appeared over the years in BOC’s catalogue, but you will have trouble recognizing them here. ALBERT is not a guy who is content to let a cover song sound much like it’s original form. He is an alchemist, a tinkerer who mutates and transforms familiar songs into new forms. This is not a record for those who are looking for mirror images of CULT favorites. Nor is it for those expecting only heavy metal and hard rock.
The songs here undergo a lot of mutation. Often only lyrics and a vocal line are all that’s left. “Career of Evil” is unrecognizable musically, turned into a spooky tune with a robotic beat, exotic keys and acoustic guitar. A lot of the tunes become poppier...”Godzilla” is a shocker, much more laid back and dreamy yet still recognizable. Once you get used to the change, it works pretty well, but the thumping heaviness is gone. The song “Take Me Away” becomes “Aldebaran Alien Take Me Away” and undergoes the same kind of transformation. But cranking guitar solos remain in both songs.
The album is so strange you could devote a book to it. But it’s fascinating anyway. “Redeemed” is straight up country/Southern rock with pedal steel guitar...something BOC would have never attempted and which I never could have believed would be successful. But it works somehow. “Arianna of Earth” is a lush pop song with female vocals, dream-like and spacy. “Mountains of Madness”, which you would think would be a dark and heavy song, is very cinematic and almost AOR in approach, with current CULT member Richie Castellano on vocals.
Speaking of which, there are tons of guest performers here, including the DICTATORS, who play a reasonably faithful cover of “Transmaniacon”. Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma pop up, showing that broken fences can be mended, and brother Joe sings lead on “E.T.I.”, which is probably the one old BOC song that sounds the most like the original. The likes of Kasim Sultan and Kenny Aaronson also put in appearances.
As far as lyrics go, God only knows how all of this ties together and I suspect ALBERT is the only man who can make sense of the story. “Imaginos III” is best if you think of it as a pure rock album with tons of influences, not just a metal or hard rock effort. Not everything here is 100% successful, but it’s a fascinating album, especially for CULT fans, and ALBERT is a ferociously creative mind.