Blue Oyster Cult / Club Ninja
Album: Club Ninja   Collection:General 12"
Artist:Blue Oyster Cult   Added:Oct 2003
Label:Columbia  

Recent Airplay
1. Feb 02, 2014: Funk to Folk
White Flags
2. Jan 11, 2008: The Fifth Hour
Perfect Water

Album Review
Craig Matsumoto
Reviewed 2007-01-24
Probably the worst of the BOC albums -- and that's saying something -- but it also includes one of their best songs.

Some background: By 1986, the band was fraying. Drummer Albert Bouchard had left or been kicked out, and bassist Joe Bouchard was about to leave ... which might sound inconsequential, but they were responsible for easily 1/2 of the band's songwriting, with Albert penning a LOT of their earlier, more sinister stuff.

This was their second album without him, and in what I'm guessing was a forced move by Columbia (or a desperation dive to meet a deadline), they stacked it with songs by outside writers. Wretched, wretched idea.

"Dancin' in the Ruins," a dumb mall-pop ditty, was the single. "Beat 'Em Up," a song literally about starting fights, was as stupid as it sounds, as was "Make Rock Not War." Not one of these songs lists any BOC members as writers.

The good song? Track 4: "Perfect Water," written by Buck Dharma ("Don't Fear the Reaper") and Jim Carroll ("People Who Died," The Basketball Diaries). Yeah, it's simple-chord pop-rock, but it's got a nice minor key and a sweeping, grand feel to it. Great song. Give it a listen for your own sake; it's worth knowing if you happen to like this band.

Track Listing
1. White Flags   5. Spy In The House Of The Night
2. Dancin' in the Ruins   6. Beat 'em Up
3. Make Rock not War   7. When the War Comes
4. Perfect Water   8. Shadow Warrior
  9. Madness to the Method