Imaginos (album)

Imaginos

Artist	Blue Öyster Cult
Released	July 1988
Recorded	1982–1984 at Kingdom Sound, Syosset, NY Boogie Hotel, Port Jefferson, NY 1986–1988 at Alpha & Omega Recording, San Rafael, CA
Length	55:01
Label	Columbia Records
Producer	Sandy Pearlman Albert Bouchard

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Imaginos is the eleventh studio album by Blue Öyster Cult. It was released in July 1988 by Columbia Records, peaking at No. 134 on the Billboard 200 on August 26. It is the band's final record with Columbia Records, as the label dropped them soon after the conclusion of the Imaginos tour due to the album's commercial failure.

Imaginos was originally conceived as the first part in a trilogy of solo albums to be released by former Blue Öyster Cult drummer Albert Bouchard, who had been fired from the band in August 1981. In 1982, he and Sandy Pearlman began a lengthy production cycle that ultimately lasted for eight years. By the end of that time, Columbia had agreed to distribute the record only if it was released as a Blue Öyster Cult project. Upon release, it bore little resemblance to the original concept, having been remixed and overdubbed by numerous session musicians at different points in time and containing two fewer songs than intended. This would be the final album to feature the original lineup in some form, as Bouchard's relationships with both his former bandmates and Pearlman had soured after the perceived theft of his work.

This album spawned two singles, for the first time on CD rather than vinyl. The first, "Astronomy", peaked at No. 12 on Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart. The second, "In the Presence of Another World", did not chart.

Personnel

Blue Öyster Cult

• Albert Bouchard – vocals, guitar, percussion
• Eric Bloom – vocals
• Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser – guitar, vocals
• Allen Lanier – keyboards
• Joe Bouchard – keyboards, vocals

Additional musicians

• Tommy Morrongiello – guitars
• Jack Rigg – guitars
• Phil Grande – guitars
• Tommy Zvoncheck – keyboards
• Kenny Aaronson – bass
• Thommy Price – drums
• Joey Cerisano – vocals
• Jon Rogers – additional lead vocals ("Imaginos")
• Jack Secret – additional vocals ("Les Invisibles")
• Shocking U – backing vocals ("In the Presence of Another World")
• Daniel Levitin – guitar sounds (uncredited)

Guitar Orchestra of the State of Imaginos

• Marc Biedermann (lead guitar, "I Am the One You Warned Me Of")
• Kevin Carlson
• Robby Krieger (lead guitar, "Magna of Illusion," "Blue Öyster Cult")
• Tommy Morrongiello
• Aldo Nova
• Jack Rigg
• Joe Satriani (lead guitar, "The Siege and Investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria")

Production

• Sandy Pearlman – producer, engineer, mixing
• Albert Bouchard – associate producer
• Paul Mandl – chief engineer
• Corky Stasiak – basic tracks engineer
• Steve Brown – mixing
• Steven Marcussen – mastering
• Special thanks to Don DeVito, Denise Gatto, Andrea Finkelstein, George Geranios, Marsha Vlasic, Bruce Slayton, Nancy Evans, Neil Warnock, Jeff Jones, Paul Rappaport, Jim Delbalzo, Ron Timmons/A.I.C.
• Arnold Levine – art direction, lettering
• Constance Leete – lettering
• Simon Marsden – sleeve photo

Track listing

#	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
Side one
1	I Am the One You Warned Me Of	Pearlman, Roeser, A. Bouchard	Bloom, Jon Rogers	5:04
2	Les Invisibles	Pearlman, A. Bouchard	Roeser	5:33
3	In the Presence of Another World	Pearlman, J. Bouchard	Bloom	6:26
4	Del Rio's Song	Pearlman, A. Bouchard	Bloom	5:31
5	The Siege and Investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria	Pearlman, A. Bouchard	Joe Cerisano	6:43
Side two
6	Astronomy	Pearlman, J. Bouchard, A. Bouchard	Roeser	6:47
7	Magna of Illusion	Pearlman, Roeser, A. Bouchard	Roeser	5:53
8	Blue Öyster Cult	Pearlman, Bloom	A. Bouchard, Roeser	7:18
9	Imaginos	Pearlman, A. Bouchard	Rogers	5:46