Blue Öyster Cult - Club Ninja

A top 100 list without Blue Öyster Cult is unthinkable in my world. The question that is more difficult to answer is which of the US American's albums deserve to appear in this special. There are only a few bands that have such a high-quality back catalogue.

One release that should not be missing here is Club Ninja. It's no exaggeration to say that this 1985 work is one of the most controversial Blue Öyster Cult albums. Quite a few fans are likely to place it far down in their personal band ranking.

Well, that's basically understandable, as Club Ninja is stylistically quite far removed from earlier releases in places. Some songs deserve to be labelled pop rock or AOR – no trace of proto-metal. However, a good song remains a good song – and there are plenty of them here.

The first four tracks alone are hits for the ages: “White Flags“, “Dancin' in the Ruins“, “Make Rock not War“ and “Perfect Water“ should be on every Blue Öyster Cult best-of compilation. There are great melodies in both verses and choruses, just like on the band's earlier masterpieces. Club Ninja impresses with its variety and masterfully combines joie de vivre with melancholy. It's obvious from where Tobias Forge drew his inspiration...

To sum up, one could argue that Club Ninja has much in common with Judas Priest's magnificent, but also often spurned, Turbo (1986). In my opinion, it is the last major feat of Blue Öyster Cult, which can easily keep up with the monuments from the previous one and a half decades.

Note: As part of this special, I am posting my 100 favorite records. Full-length albums, compilations and EPs are all included. Live albums will be considered in another special. The first 75 records will be posted in no particular order. The top 25 will be ranked.