St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings

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Stalk Forest Group
Studio album by Blue Öyster Cult
Released 2001
Recorded May 1970
Elektra Sound Recorders, New York and Los Angeles
Genre Hard rock
Label Elektra Records
Rhino Handmade
Producer Dennis Murphy
Peter Seigel
Professional reviews
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings
(2001)		 Curse Of The Hidden Mirror
(2001)

St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings is an album by the hard rock band, Blue Öyster Cult. It was recorded in 1970, but it was not released until 2001.

The band (originally known as "Soft White Underbelly") had recorded a full album's worth of material for Elektra Records in 1969. When original vocalist Les Braunstein left the band, Elektra decided not to put out the album. (It remains unreleased to this day.)

Manager Sandy Pearlman convinced Elektra to give the band - now fronted by vocalist Eric Bloom - another shot. (The band had changed its name to Oaxaca, and would soon change it again to Stalk Forrest Group.) Ultimately, after being presented with two different versions of the album, Elektra Records decided not to release it, and dropped the band from the label.

  • The song "I'm On The Lamb, But I Ain't No Sheep" was re-recorded for the first Blue Öyster Cult LP in 1972. It was re-worked and recorded again for the 1973 Tyranny & Mutation LP, under the title "The Red And The Black".
  • Bassist Andrew Winters left the band not long after the "St. Cecilia" sessions. He was replaced by Joe Bouchard, brother of drummer Albert Bouchard.
  • The "St. Cecilia" album was finally released in 2001 by Rhino Handmade under the supervision of Roland Worthington Hand as RHM2 7716, in a limited, numbered edition of 5000 copies. It is now out of print. Radioactive Records have since reissued the album as "St. Cecilia: The California Album".

[edit] Track listing

  1. "What Is Quicksand?"
  2. "I'm On The Lamb"
  3. "Gil Blanco County"
  4. "Donovan's Monkey"
  5. "Ragamuffin Dumplin'"
  6. "Curse Of The Hidden Mirrors"
  7. "Arthur Comics"
  8. "A Fact About Sneakers"
  9. "St. Cecila"
  10. "Ragamuffin Dumplin'" (Original Version)
  11. "I'm On The Lamb" (Original Version)
  12. "Curse Of The Hidden Mirrors" (Original Version)
  13. "Bonomo's Turkish Taffy" (Original Version)
  14. "Gil Blanco County" (Original Version)
  15. "St. Cecilia" (Original Version)
  16. "A Fact About Sneakers" (Original Version)
  17. "What Is Quicksand?" (Mono Single Version)
  18. "Arthur Comics" (Mono Single Version)

[edit] Personnel

  • Eric Bloom aka "Jesse Python": Lead Vocals and Guitars
  • Donald Roeser aka "Buck Dharma": Lead Guitar and Vocals
  • Andy Winters aka "Andy Panda": Bass
  • Allen Lanier aka "La Verne": Keyboards and Guitar
  • Albert Bouchard aka "Prince Omega": Drums and Vocals

The nicknames in quotes were given to the band members by manager Sandy Pearlman. Nearly all of the members hated the nicknames, with the exception of Donald Roeser, who continues to use "Buck Dharma" as his stage name.