This is an excellent set if you want a good overview of BÖC’s best work.

It’s not a greatest hits collection; BÖC only had one hit, 1976’s classic “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” “Burnin’ For You” just scraped the Top 40, while “In Thee” and “Shooting Shark” hit the lower reaches of the charts. All are present and accounted for on this set, which features a total of 31 songs drawn from 14 albums; from Blue Öyster Cult to Club Ninja.

BÖC’s songs had a decided literate edge to them, due to the lyrical talents of Sandy Pearlman, future rock critic Richard Meltzer, and Patti Smith. But they clearly had instrumental chops from the start as well, as a spin through “Buck’s Boogie” (named after lead guitarist Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser) readily demonstrates. Dharma’s fancy fretwork is a delight throughout, whether scorching his way through “Hot Rails To Hell” to providing a more atmospheric touch on “I Love The Night.”

The first disc is the harder hitting side of BÖC; the second CD has the (somewhat) lighter numbers like “I Love The Night” and the synth-based “Shooting Shark”; they even veer over into pop on “Goin’ Through The Motions” and lush harmonizing on “In Thee.” But the band also shows they know how to have some fun on their live covers of “Born To Be Wild” and “Roadhouse Blues” (the latter tune also featuring The Doors’ Robbie Krieger on guitar). You’ll find all sides of BÖC on this set.