More guitars than most rock bands had back in 1970, the mighty Blue Öyster Cult.
 
Like the young Patti Smith, I am a huge fan of one of the greatest bands ever to slither out of Long Island, the Blue Öyster Cult. Since getting their start in the late 60s, BÖC has put out over 20 albums including three live records on which the band test drives tracks from the MC5, The Yardbirds, The Animals and the sleazy, acid-coated jam by The Doors “Roadhouse Blues” with Robby Krieger on guitar. Damn.

So full disclosure—I had never heard BÖC’s version of the adrenalin charged 1969 MC5 track “Kick out the Jams” before. Recorded in Atlanta’s historic Fox Theater in 1978, it’s a very strange oversight that I can’t really comprehend as not only is the MC5 rocker one of my go-to songs when I’m running but so are other covers of the track by Bellingham, Washington band Mono Men and Monster Magnet. So the fact that my rock-seeking radar somehow missed this gem from BÖC’s 1978 live album Some Enchanted Evening (which also features the band’s cover of 1965’s “We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place” by The Animals) is really beyond me.

The rest of the covers appear on On Your Feet Or On Your Knees (“I Ain’t Got You” by The Yardbirds and “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf), and Extraterrestrial Live on which BÖC’s cover of “Roadhouse Blues” appears—and the story of how that came to be goes like this. According to vocalist Eric Bloom, BÖC was playing a gig at the Starwood in LA when Krieger showed up and asked to “sit in” with the band. But instead of having Krieger play along to one of their own tunes, BÖC ran with The Doors 1970 classic.

I’ve posted all of the covers I jawed about in this post below including footage from 1981 of BÖC performing with Krieger, and the band belting out a version of “Roadhouse Blues” in their homebase of Long Island. If all this has gotten you wondering what BÖC is up to now the band (which still includes vocalist Eric Bloom and a guitarist whose riffs give me musical goosebumps, the great Buck Dharma) are currently on tour right now. Right on.
 

BÖC’s cover of ‘Kick out the Jams.’
 

Footage of BÖC’s cover of Steppenwolf’s 1968 anthem ‘Born to be Wild’ complete with vocalist Eric Bloom arriving on stage on a motorcycle.
 

BÖC’s cover of ‘I Ain’t Got You’ as made famous by The Yardbirds. The song written by record producer and songwriter Calvin Carter, 
 

BÖC’s cover of The Animals’ classic, ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.’
 

Robby Krieger performing ‘Roadhouse Blues’ with BÖC in 1981.
 

Live footage of BÖC ripping through ‘Roadhouse Blues’ in their hometown of Long Island, New York.

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Patti Smith’s ‘Career of Evil’ with Blue Öyster Cult