RockHeart Records/Deko EntertainmentFounding Blue Oyster Cult drummer Albert Bouchard‘s reimagined version of his old band’s 1988 studio album Imaginos, aptly titled Re Imaginos, got its release today.
Imaginos originally was intended to be a solo Bouchard concept album based on a science fiction- and gothic horror-influenced story by late Blue Oyster Cult manager, producer and songwriter Sandy Pearlman. Albert began the album in 1981, but never completed the project, which eventually was finished by Blue Oyster Cult after he exited the group.
Bouchard points out in a statement that he recorded Re Imaginos so that fans “can hear a more properly realized version of the tale.”
Coinciding with Re Imaginos‘ release, Albert has debuted a music video for his new version of the Imaginos song “Blue Oyster Cult,” which was a reworked version of a 1974 tune by his old band called “Subhman.” The tune’s lyrics come from a poem written by Pearlman in the late 1960s called “Blue Oyster Cult” from which, surprise, the band took its name.
As Bouchard explains, the song tells the story of a sailor, Imaginos, “who has been put ashore and is discovered by the Blue Oyster Cult, non-human beings who nurse [him] back to health and give him a mission to find the mysterious black mirror.”
The enigmatic video features Bouchard sporting three different looks in three different scenarios — on a beach, in a forest and in a rural residential area. As the clip proceeds, all three characters come into possession of a mysterious pocketwatch.
Re Imaginos is available now on CD and digitally. A special bundle can be purchased at Merchbucket.com that comes packaged with a cowbell, CD and poster, all autographed by Albert, as well as a Re Imaginos T-shirt and a guitar pick.
Here’s Re Imaginos‘ track list:
“I Am the One You Warned Me Of”
“Del Rio Song”
“In the Presence of Another World”
“Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein’s Castle at Weisseria”
“Girl That Love Made Blind”
“Astronomy”
“Imaginos”
“Gil Blanco County”
“Blue Oyster Cult”
“Black Telescope”
“Magna of Illusion”
“Les Invisibles”
By Matt Friedlander
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.