The 16th (and purportedly final) studio album by hard rock long-haulers
Blue Öyster Cult
was decades in the making. The 12 tracks that make up
Ghost Stories
were assembled from recordings originally made between 1978 and 1983 (with the exception of the
Beatles
cover "If I Fell," which was tracked in 2016), and in some cases added to, remixed, or otherwise refurbished. The end result is a somewhat disjointed, but entirely enjoyable collection of songs that sound plucked from different eras and transported via time machine to 2024. "So Supernatural" looks to the same eerie, mystical feel of some of the band's biggest hits, "Shot in the Dark" meanders from a drunken after-hours piano bar intro into an
Alice Cooper
-indebted sleaze rock anthem, "Late Night Street Fight" is a two-fisted romp with a slightly ridiculous sense of groove, and "Don't Come Running to Me" is an epic, angsty synth pop burner that sounds perfectly designed for a training montage of an '80s underdog movie. In addition to these originals,
also revives a few covers, like the
tune, as well as perennial favorites like
the MC5
's "Kick Out the Jams" and
the Animals
' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." Even with its odds-and-ends feel,
is a solid addition to the
BÖC
discography, and serves as a look back to the various ways they took their sound over the years. ~ TiVo Staff