St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings

St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings is a compilation album consisting of recordings by the American rock band the Stalk–Forrest Group, who would later be known as Blue Öyster Cult. It is a combination of two albums recorded by the group for Elektra Records – one in 1969 and the other in 1970 – as well as the promotional single "What is Quicksand?" released in 1970. Except for the single, the tracks were not officially released until 2001, although bootlegs had existed and individual tracks had been released as bonus tracks to other albums.

The band had originated as "Soft White Underbelly" in 1967 but went through several names under its creative director Sandy Pearlman. Soft White Underbelly had recorded demos for Elektra with its original lead vocalist Les Braunstein, and re-recorded them with new vocalist Eric Bloom in 1969, the re-recordings with Bloom forming the first half of the compilation album. Elektra, who had liked Braunstein, declined to release the album with Bloom despite its completion and mixing. In an effort to get Elektra to reconsider its position, Pearlman and the band – now named "Oaxaca" – traveled from their native New York to California in early 1970 to record more sessions, which form the second half of the compilation album, but the label was losing patience with the band and ended the contract. Despite these failures, the band – now the "Stalk–Forrest Group" – released a single for the label in July 1970.

The band continued to struggle without a recording contract, and under more names, for the next year. Columbia Records, which had rejected the band multiple times in the past, saw the need to compete with the likes of Black Sabbath, and promised Pearlman a contract for the band if it could change its sound to that end. The band, which had already started going towards a heavier direction, rehearsed new material and signed the contract in autumn 1971 under the name "Blue Öyster Cult". With this contract, the band recorded and released a true debut album in 1972, and would go on to find success in the metal scene in the next decades.