Flaming Telepaths

One of the first heavy metal bands, Blue Öyster Cult played with skill and precision, but with a wink, as they understood the absurdity of the genre. This song is a send-up of sorts, with over-the-top lines like "Poison's in my bloodstream, poison's in my pride" and "Yes I know the secrets of the circuitry mind. It's a flaming wonder telepath." This one tips its hand with the lines: Is it any wonder that the joke's an iron And the jokes on you Drummer Albert Bouchard explained in a 1976 interview with NME: "We tend to be too monolithic: the humor is lost. The joke's-on-you point in 'Flaming Telepaths' is often missed, so we have to ham it up."

The lyric was written by the band's manager/producer, Sandy Pearlman, with the music written by lead singer Eric Bloom, guitarist Buck Dharma and drummer Albert Bouchard. In our interview with Bloom, he said: "'Flaming Telepaths' was written I believe in either Eatons Neck or Dix Hills, en masse, in a collaborative fashion with all the band members in a room. I can't remember who came up with the germ of the idea, but when it came to creating the melody, I said, 'I think it should go this way,' and somebody said, 'It should go that way.' That's how all the credits came out. Sandy Pearlman wrote the lyric - it's one of those sci-fi impenetrable lyrics. He had a lot of influence from Lovecraft and a variety of sci-fi and fantasy influences."