''Mirrors'' is the sixth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

, released on June 19, 1979. It was the first BÖC album not produced by long-time producer and manager

Sandy Pearlman Samuel Clarke "Sandy" Pearlman (August 5, 1943 – July 26, 2016) was an American music producer, artist manager, music journalist and critic, professor, poet, songwriter, and record company executive. He was best known for founding, writing for, ...

, instead being produced by Tom Werman.

Background

After the success of 1976's Platinum '' Agents of Fortune'', 1977's Gold '' Spectres'' and 1978's Platinum live effort ''

Some Enchanted Evening "Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Sing ...

'', the fact that ''Mirrors'' struggled to reach Gold status disappointed band and label alike. According to interviews with the band and production staff, the intent for this album was to make a high-charting record with glossy production; however, the backlash from this attempt led to the band's future pairing with Martin Birch and an attempt to return to a darker sound.

Artwork

The album front cover image is a

photorealistic Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can b ...

painting by Loren Salazar, of a

side-view mirror A side-view mirror (or side mirror), also known as a door mirror and often (in the UK) called a wing mirror, is a mirror placed on the exterior of motor vehicles for the purposes of helping the driver see areas behind and to the sides of the ...

. The album’s inner sleeve is an image from the

house of mirrors A house of mirrors or hall of mirrors is a traditional attraction at funfairs (carnivals) and amusement parks. It is a maze-like puzzle (made out of a myriad of mirrors). In addition to the maze, participants are also given mirrors as obstacle ...

scene in ‘’

The Lady From Shanghai ''The Lady from Shanghai'' is a 1947 American film noir produced and directed by Orson Welles and starring Rita Hayworth, Welles, Everett Sloane, and Glenn Anders. Welles's screenplay is based on the novel ''If I Die Before I Wake'' by Sherwo ...

’’.

Songs

Allen Lanier Allen Glover Lanier (; June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an American musician who played keyboards and guitar. He was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Early life and education Lanier was born in Birmingham, Alabama and later rel ...

's acoustic ballad " In Thee" charted at No. 74. The song's line "Jim says some destinies should not be delivered" references the Jim Carroll Band song "Day and Night." "The Great Sun Jester" was co-written by Eric Bloom, John Trivers, and British fantasy/science-fiction author

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

based on Moorcock's novel '' The Fireclown''. This would be the first of several songs that Moorcock would co-write with the band.

Critical reception

The ''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig an ...

'' deemed the album "a relative failure," writing that "the hooks come one after another, but with little power behind them."

Track listing

Personnel

Blue Öyster Cult

* Eric Bloom – rhythm guitar, vocals * Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser – lead guitar, vocals *

– keyboards, guitar *

Joe Bouchard Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage, based on the novel ''Joe'' (1991) by Larry Brown * Joe (2023 film), an Indian film * ''Joe'' (TV se ...

– bass, vocals * Albert Bouchard – drums, vocals

Additional musicians

* Mickey Raphael – harmonica on "Dr. Music" *Jai Winding – strings on " In Thee" *

Genya Ravan Genya Ravan (born Genyusha Zelkowitz; April 19, 1940), also known as Goldie, is an American rock music, rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of the Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive. Early life Genyusha Zel ...

and

Ellen Foley Ellen Foley (born June 5, 1951) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the hit NBC sitcom '' Night Court'' during its second season. In music, she has released five solo albums, bu ...

– background vocals on "Dr. Music" and "Mirrors" * Wendy Webb – background vocals on "Lonely Teardrops"

Production

* Tom Werman – producer *Gary Ladinsky – engineer, mixing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirrors (Blue Oyster Cult Album) Blue Öyster Cult albums 1979 albums Albums produced by Tom Werman Albums recorded at Record Plant (Los Angeles) Columbia Records albums