Fire of Unknown Origin

Fire of Unknown Origin
Cover art by Greg Scott
Studio album by
Blue Öyster Cult
ReleasedJune 22, 1981 (1981-06-22)[1]
RecordedSpring 1981
StudioKingdom Sound Studios, Long Island, New York
The Automatt, San Francisco, California
Genre
Length39:06
LabelColumbia
ProducerMartin Birch
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
Cultösaurus Erectus
(1980) 		Fire of Unknown Origin
(1981) 		Extraterrestrial Live
(1982)
Singles from Fire of Unknown Origin
  1. "Burnin' for You"
    Released: August 1981 (US)[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal9/10[4]

Fire of Unknown Origin is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 22, 1981. It was produced by Martin Birch.

The album, which included the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You" (#1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart), represented a resurgence of the group's commercial standing after two albums with disappointing sales. It became the band's highest-charting studio album on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 24. Fire of Unknown Origin would be the final studio LP featuring the band's original lineup; during the subsequent tour, the band fired original drummer Albert Bouchard.

The album has been remastered and re-released on CD and vinyl several times, for example 2013 by Culture Factory USA and 2020 by Music on Vinyl, and 2011 as part of the box set Original Album Classics on Sony / Legacy.

Songs

Several of the songs were intended for the soundtrack of the animated film Heavy Metal, such as "Vengeance (The Pact)," the lyrics of which follow in detail the plot of the "Taarna" segment of the movie. However, only the song "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" (ironically not written for the film), co-written by science fiction author Michael Moorcock, ended up in the film's final version and soundtrack. The title track was used in episode 17 of season 1 of Supernatural entitled "Hell House," written by long-time BÖC fan Trey Callaway.

The album's closing track, "Don't Turn Your Back," marks Allen Lanier's final songwriting contribution to Blue Öyster Cult; it was played live by the group for the first time on June 17, 2016, at a special concert highlighting Lanier's music.[5]

The album's title track, "Fire of Unknown Origin," was originally considered for the band's fourth album, but was cut. The original version of the song is available through the band's 2017 compilation Rarities.

"Joan Crawford" was a moderate success, reaching #49 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[6] The subject of the song is the actress of the same name, who had died four years before the song's release. A music video was created for the song, which was banned by MTV for featuring a sexually suggestive scene.[7]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Fire of Unknown Origin"Eric Bloom, Albert Bouchard, Joe Bouchard, Donald Roeser, Patti SmithBloom4:09
2."Burnin' for You"Roeser, Richard MeltzerRoeser4:29
3."Veteran of the Psychic Wars"Bloom, Michael MoorcockBloom4:48
4."Sole Survivor"Bloom, Liz Myers, John TriversBloom4:04
5."Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver"Bloom, A. Bouchard, Sandy PearlmanBloom3:16
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Vengeance (The Pact)"A. Bouchard, J. BouchardJ. Bouchard4:41
2."After Dark"Bloom, Myers, TriversBloom4:25
3."Joan Crawford"A. Bouchard, Jack Rigg, David RoterBloom4:55
4."Don't Turn Your Back"A. Bouchard, Allen Lanier, RoeserRoeser4:07

Personnel

Band members
Additional musicians
  • Karla DeVito – background vocals on track 4
  • Sandy Jean – background vocals on track 9
  • Bill Civitella, Tony Cedrone – additional percussion on track 3
  • Jesse Levy – string arrangements on tracks 3 and 8
Production
  • Martin Birch – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Clay Hutchinson – engineer
  • Paul Stubblebine – mastering
  • Greg Scott – album artwork

Charts

Chart (1981) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[10] 29
US Billboard 200[11] 24

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[12] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[13] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "New Releases". FMQB. June 12, 1981.
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 76. ISBN 9780862415419.
  3. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Fire of Unknown Origin - Blue Öyster Cult | Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  5. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Setlist at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, New York". setlist.fm.
  6. ^ "Blue Öyster Cult Top Songs". VF Entertainment. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  7. ^ "BÖC MTV Style Videos". Blue Öyster Cult. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  8. ^ Popoff, Martin (March 2009). "Fire of Unknown Origin". Blue Öyster Cult: Secrets Revealed! (2 ed.). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Power Chord Press. pp. 169–170. ISBN 978-0-9752807-0-6.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0382". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  10. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  11. ^ "Blue Oyster Cult Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Blue Öyster Cult – Fire of Unknown Origin". Music Canada.
  13. ^ "American album certifications – Blue Öyster Cult – Fire of Unknown Origin". Recording Industry Association of America.