RUSH – Grace Under Pressure (1984 Anthem, 2011 Universal remaster)
When Rush followed 1982’s synth-driven Signals, they said goodbye to producer Terry Brown. The band weren’t satisfied with the sonics of Signals and wanted to try working with different people. They chose Steve Lillywhite, who wasn’t available, and so used Peter Henderson. The album Grace Under Pressure was one of their most difficult to make. Perhaps this is why it has such a cold, dark aura.
Even if Grace Under Pressure has a downer vibe, the first side is excellent. Few albums have a strong an opener as “Distant Early Warning”. Rush’s recent penchant for keyboards is front and center. It also boasts one of their most catchy choruses: “I see the tip of the iceberg and I worry about you.” This single is a perfect storm of hooks, tension and biting guitars.
The album as a whole shows new influences. “Afterimage” has a contemporary 80s new wave sound, but “Rushified”.* Alex Lifeson in particular seemed to draw new influence from Andy Summers of the Police. Reggae and ska became a part of the band’s arsenal, with Lifeson deftly handling those enigmatic chords. “The Enemy Within” is one track that shows off these tricky new rhythms, in a frantically rocking way. Synths and sequencers are a part of the picture on “Red Sector A”. This post-apocalyptic track utilizes robotic rhythms to paint a picture of a future world. “Are we the last ones left alive? Are we the only human beings to survive?” The lyrics are actually inspired by Geddy Lee’s mother, a holocaust survivor. With the digital pulse beneath, you could just as easily imagine it’s about The Terminator.**
The second side also has memorable tracks such as “The Body Electric”. This number definitely has a Blade Runner-like future setting. “One humanoid escapee, One android on the run, Seeking freedom beneath the lonely desert sun.” And how many songs can you name with lyrics in binary? A lesser Rush song, “Kid Gloves”, is upbeat but not legendary. “Red Lenses” is also somewhat forgettable, except for Peart fans who will savour every little moment of exotic and electronic percussion.
Rush saved the longest track for last, “Between the Wheels”, a melancholy but challenging track that reminds of the old school progressive Rush. Backing guitars are exchanged for keyboards, but Lifeson uses the guitar to make unorthodox sounds.
It’s unfortunate that Grace Under Pressure has a brittle and icy production. While that definitely works on “Red Sector A” and “Distant Early Warning”, one wonders what side two would sound like if it were a little fuller.
4/5 stars
* “Rushified” is a word coined by Paul Rudd in the filmI Love You Man.
** Aaron Lebold will return tomorrow to discuss Rush lyric interpretation.
– In the Land of the Rising Sun (Big Boy Records bootleg from 1988 tour)
If you are in the mood for some live Kiss from the late 80s, then your journey might just come to an end here: Kiss at the Budokan, Tokyo Japan, April 22 1988. It’s not the last live Kiss from 1988 that we’ll examine, but it’s decent. This 2 CD set boasts a more extensive track selection than Monsters of Rock, recorded in Germany in August. It’s an audience recording, but above average quality. It sounds like it is sourced from a previous vinyl generation.
In Germany, Kiss opened with “Deuce”, but in Japan, they didn’t even play it. Instead they opened with “Love Gun”, chased immediately with some “Cold Gin”. Therefore, it’s cool to have a couple bootlegs from this tour, to get a broader range of songs. Japan also heard “Bang Bang You” from Crazy Nights. Not a highlight to be sure, but a rarity that Kiss fans will want in their bootleg collection. In a strange twist, “Fits Like a Glove” is split into two tracks, just like it was on the Germany CD, made by a completely different company.
Bruce Kulick’s solo before “No No No” is much longer, leading us to think that the solo on the Germany CD was edited for length. This is the one to check out, to hear what kind of solo Bruce was playing in 1988. Kulick is continuously impressive. He always does justice to the original Ace Frehley (or Vinnie Vincent) ideas, but by playing his own solos with the right feel. His technique is all but flawless. This disc also has the Eric Carr drum solo and Gene’s bass solo intro to “I Love it Loud”.
There are plenty of tunes here that either weren’t played in Germany or just weren’t on that CD: “Bang Bang You” (see above), “Calling Dr. Love”, “Reason to Live”, “War Machine”, “Lick It Up”, “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, “Shout it Out Loud”, and “Strutter”. “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” hadn’t been played live since 1980.
Almost every bootleg CD I own has some amusing mistake or quirk that I enjoy picking out. This has a couple. The label can’t decide if it’s named “Big Boy” (inner sleeve) or “Big Apple” (disc itself). There are three “producers” and two “engineers” credited, for a bootleg CD. I guess Eddie Kramer wasn’t available. Kiss is credited on the disc as — not Kiss! — as the “Metal Boys of New York”! Finally, in order to appear that nobody was making money off Kiss’ back, it is claimed on the CD that this “promotional copy” is “not for sale”.
Here’s a very special story for a very special day. September 18th is the day I met my wife! Happy “meetaversary” sweetie.
GETTING MORE TALE #598: “Seven”
When dating, there are many rites of passage on the road to a long term relationship. For either sex, one of the usual hurdles is meeting the “best friend”. If the best friend doesn’t like you, your whole relationship could be doomed. It happened to me and it could happen to you!
I met Mrs. LeBrain on Sept 18 2005. We made contact like most people these days, first online and then in person. Meeting people online in 2005 wasn’t as mundane as it is today. Jen had never met someone from online before. We’ve told the tale of meeting before – from both perspectives. Mine was Record Store Tales #111: The Girl in the Sam Roberts Shirt. Her version was Getting More Tale #434: The Man in the Bob Marley Shirt. Needless to say, music is important to both of us.
There was one thing Jen failed to do, and that was inform her best friend Lara that she was meeting someone over the internet. She knew Lara wouldn’t approve. Once we started dating regularly, she had to come clean. As predicted Lara wasn’t impressed that she would go and meet some random internet dude without telling her. She was in trouble! And so was I, just for existing secretly!
Jen arranged a coffee meet up. We picked up Lara and her friend Dave, and headed over to the nearest Tim Horton’s. I was pleasantly surprised by Lara. Jen had made her out to sound evil and dangerous. She seemed anything but! Funny, smart, and clearly someone who cared deeply for her best friend. We got along immediately.
At one point in the evening, Lara asked me, “On a scale from one to 10, how pissed off would you be?”
I didn’t understand. “Pardon?”
“On a scale from one to 10, how pissed off would you be?” she answered.
“Well, I’m a pretty easy going guy, so I’d say about a three.” Hypothetically, of course.
Secretly, inside, Jen was worried what this meant. She said nothing, nor did Dave.
We continued to drink our coffee and chat. Lara liked science fiction, so we had that in common. In Canada, sitting around a Tim Horton’s all night drinking coffee (or tea in Lara’s case) is a pretty common pastime. My wife can really drink coffee like a champion. If there was a Stanley Cup of Coffee, she would win it every season.
We made tentative plans for a future meet up, when suddenly –
RRRRRRRIIIIIP!
Lara reached over, grabbed my soul patch hair, the part right below my bottom lip, and YANKED HARD. I looked wide-eyed to see my own facial hair in her fingers.
She asked again, “On a scale from one to 10, how pissed off would you be?”
My answer was immediate. “SEVEN! DEFINITELY SEVEN!”
And that is why to this day, all of Lara’s kids and their friends call me “Uncle Seven”. My nickname became Seven, irreversibly and permanently. It’s been over ten years and I’m still Uncle Seven. In fact, here is an actual conversation that I had with her son Tyler, and his girlfriend. It was Tyler’s 19th birthday:
Mike: “Tyler, you’re an adult now, you don’t have to call me Uncle Seven anymore. Just call me Mike.”
Tyler: “OK Seven.”
Girlfriend: “Wait…your name is Mike? I thought it was Seven.”
Mike: “…You thought my real name was Seven?! Who the hell would name their kids a number?!”
Girlfriend: “There’s a girl named Eleven.”
Mike: “Yeah! On a TV show! And it wasn’t her real name!!”
The fact that I took Lara’s little “test” as a joke meant that our friendship was solidly guaranteed. I passed! We’ve been tight ever since.
LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT – Liquid Tension Experiment (1998 Magna Carta)
Liquid Tension Experiment is a supergroup on Magna Carta, which should tell you much.
Featuring not one, not two, but three guys from Dream Theater, plus Tony Levin, Liquid Tension Experiment is the progressive fan’s dream band. Granted, keyboardist Jordan Rudess wasn’t in Dream Theater yet when they did this CD, but that’s where people know him from today. Drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci are the other driving forces behind Liquid Tension Experiment.
To use phrases like “mind blowing”, “insane”, “incredible” or “the shredder’s wet dream” don’t even begin to touch what the album Liquid Tension Experiment is about. The liner notes by Mike Portnoy reveal that this project was assembled based on a wish list of players and their availability. Rudess and Levin were on the list but guitarists just weren’t available, so that’s how Petrucci stepped in. Together they had six days to write and record this album. That it turned out so incredibly well says volumes about these guys as musicians.
Liquid Tension Experiment is not just an instrumental album with wicked playing. The compositions are strong enough to make the album rise well above similar projects. Magna Carta is loaded with insane projects by the best players in the world, but how many of those albums are good for repeated listenings? The melodic and tonal sensibilities of Petrucci in particular really keep the album grounded, in a way that even lay people can enjoy. Levin adds the Chapman Stick and a new agey flavour to the lighter material. Check out “Osmosis” for a fine example of this.
Most of the album is heavy jammin’. It’s Mike Portnoy, and he does that so well. Together, they create a challenging sound but one with enough hooks that anyone can get into it. You might not realize how many time changes, weird chords and tempos you’re being exposed to, but you are, and you’ll be far better for it.
Together the album consists of nine songs and one spontaneous jam that exceeds 28 minutes! In fact, the tape ran out while recording, so the tail end of the song is from a DAT tape that Portnoy always runs when rehearsing. According to the notes, this piece ironically called “Three Minute Warning” was 100% improvised. “Not a single beat or note was discussed beforehand.” And no fixes or overdubs were made after the fact. It’s over 28 minutes of pure improvisation, and it came out brilliant. Everybody needs some of that in their life, to experience what pure free-form musical genius sounds like.
Must-hear pieces include “Paradigm Shift”, “Osmosis”, “Freedom of Speech” and “Universal Mind”. It goes without saying that the 28 minute jam is essential as well.
This self-produced album also just sounds incredible. The sonics are huge, but when the layers are peeled back, you can hear everything so clearly. The Chapman Stick also adds a huge palette, sometimes heavier than lead and others lighter than a feather. I’m sure the excellent audio is partly due to the mixing skills of one Kevin “Caveman” Shirley. Don’t hesitate to pick up Liquid Tension Experiment if you see it. There was also a second album made called 2, but this is the one to get if it crosses your path.
– Monsters of Rock (Mistral Music bootleg from 1988 tour)
Oh, live bootlegs! A fascinating and labyrinthine assortment of live Kiss bootlegs are out there, but don’t always expect the covers and song titles to match the actual contents! Kiss didn’t release a live album from the Crazy Nights tour, as was expected by many fans. An old Faces magazine from 1986 proclaimed, “Already there is talk of the next studio album, and Alive III.” Instead we have numerous bootlegs from this period to sift through.
This CD is without any notes, but fans pieced together that it’s Schweinfurt, Germany, August 27 1988. Kiss opened with “Deuce” rather than “Detroit”, and the energy is electric. Bruce Kulick did a fine job of adapting his style to the old Kiss songs, and “Deuce” demonstrates that Bruce really was the right guy for the band. He’s awesome but he plays for the song and not himself. “Love Gun” is next, truly an awesome song, and with Paul at the peak of his vocal prowess, it rarely sounds better. Meanwhile, Eric Carr sings the backing vocals impeccably, but there’s an annoying electronic drum that he hits at the end of it, a very 80s touch that wasn’t necessary.
The Kiss classics you’ve heard a million times are great as always, but what about the newer material from Crazy Nights? It takes a while to get there. “No No No” and “Crazy Crazy Nights” are crammed back to back in the middle of the set. “No No No” acts as Bruce’s big solo too, which is fantastic, but the song isn’t. It’s a shambles, as if they don’t know exactly how to play it. “Crazy Crazy Nights” is much better, almost a classic. They follow that up with the also-recent “Tears are Falling”.
One cool surprise is a bit of “Heartbreaker” right before “Fits Like a Glove” which is strangely split up between two tracks. Another surprise is obtrusive keyboards. Since Kiss had an offstage keyboardist now, maybe they felt like they had to use him on songs like “Cold Gin” that totally do not need keyboards. In fact it’s like oil and water. The keyboards roll off the rock and roll like an annoying rain storm.
The CD has some audio issues, odd noises here and there. Ignore the track list on the back which is nonsense. You’ll find the real track information below for your convenience. At least the back cover credited keyboardist Gary Corbett, surely a rarity. For a real howler though, check out the front cover. That’s not Bruce, and that’s not 1988!
With all respect to Ace Frehley, the originator and influencer, I think Bruce Kulick is the finest guitar player that Kiss ever had. His solo career is certainly worth investigating, and so is live Kiss from his time in the band. Monsters of Rock is difficult to recommend over others, but if you find it within your price range, go for it.
JOHNNY HORTON – Battle of New Orleans (1981/1990 CBS Select)
I grew up with my father’s cassette of this compilation album, which only had the first eight songs. Each one was a keeper, and we rarely skipped any songs (though side one was stronger than side two). We played that tape every Saturday night in the car, when we were up at the cottage. When it was released on CD in 1990, it was expanded to 12 tracks of Johnny Horton’s greatest hits.
The banjo and marching drums of “The Battle of New Orleans” set the stage for an irresistible tune. I used it myself for a highschool project on the War of 1812. I learned that many Canadian historians do not consider the Battle of New Orleans to have been a part of the War of 1812, since it was a raid that took place after the Treaty of Ghent was signed. When reading American historical accounts of the war, I discovered that they included New Orleans in their books. Why? Because it was one of the few decisive American victories in that war, which is considered by Canucks to have been won by us and the British Empire. Neither here nor there: This song is unforgettable musically and lyrically.
Yeah, they ran through the briars, And they ran through the brambles, And they ran through the bushes, Where a rabbit couldn’t go. They ran so fast, That the hounds couldn’t catch ’em, On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
The British retreat enabled the United States to put a happy ending to their part in this war of empires.
The marching drums return for “Sink the Bismarck”, another story of history and victory, this time the Second World War. The Bismarck was the biggest battleship the world had seen yet, and when it sunk the British ship the Hood, the Royal Navy went in pursuit.
We’ll find that German battleship that’s makin’ such a fuss, We gotta sink the Bismarck ’cause the world depends on us, Hit the decks a-runnin’ boys and spin those guns around, When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down.
The song is ambiguous about how the ship went down. Filmmaker James Cameron and experts discovered that after a British torpedo (fired from a Swordfish biplane) damaged the ship’s rudder (jamming it and rendering it useless), the Bismarck was scuttled by her own crew.
The Great Sioux War of 1876 is the setting for “Comanche (The Brave Horse)”. Comanche was one of only three American horses to be given a full military funeral. Johnny does the horse proud with a sad but beautiful tune and minimal accompaniment.
Picking up the tempo, “Honky Tonk Man” is purely fun. When I think of country music, it sounds like “Honky Tonk Man”. I remember flipping the tape here as a kid, and hitting play on side two. “North to Alaska” tells of the gold rush with a catchy tune, but not quite as good as to those on side one. “Whispering Pines” is a pretty ballad that we didn’t have patience for as kids, but is a flawless song for grown ups. Marching drums and banjo returns as we visit the Civil War. “Johnny Reb” is a symbol of the south, a controversial subject in 2017, but a good song regardless. Our childhood cassette copy ended with “Rock Island Line”, a fun fast-talkin’ song performed live.
Four more songs included on the CD act like a “third side”, all a little less familiar. “When It’s Springtime in Alaska (It’s 40 Below)” is a actually ballad of love and murder. “All Grown Up” is a rock and roll tune, and unfortunately a skipper. “Sleepy Eyed John” is back to banjos and better for it. “I’m a One Woman Man” is a fine song to end the CD on, upbeat and easy to remember.
There are a few different Johnny Horton hits CDs to choose from, but for nostalgia and quality, Battle of New Orleans is still recommended.
Two things happened in the summer of 1990 that changed my musical trajectory forever.
1. There were too many ballads out! It seemed the only thing rock bands were doing to have hits was write ballads. Some were good, such as the heartfelt “Something to Believe In” by Poison, or “More Than Words” by Extreme . Most faded into a generic, boring ballady backdrop. Remember Alias? With all these rock bands putting out ballads, something had to give. If it wasn’t the ballads, it was limp albums with weak, over-commercial production. I didn’t get into rock music for ballads. I got into it for that rock and roll rush!
2. Judas Priest were currently in court, fighting two families who blamed the band for the deaths of their sons.
It was a high profile case. Raymond Belknap and James Vance were two troubled young men who decided to take a shotgun to a park one night in 1985 and kill themselves. Both were into heavy metal music, but there was far more to the story. Abuse, drugs and alcohol certainly took their tolls on both. James Vance survived, horrifically disfigured.
Vance stated, “I believe that alcohol and heavy-metal music such as Judas Priest led us to be mesmerized.” And so, Priest were taken to court. (Vance did not testify, as he died in hospital in 1988 after a methadone overdose.)
The victims’ families blamed backwards messages on the band’s Stained Class album, which the two boys were listening to some time prior to the suicide attempt. Lawyers claimed there was a backwards “do it” embedded within the Judas Priest song “Better By You, Better Than Me”.
Given the fact that “do it” can mean anything from “do your homework,” to “get a gun out of the basement and shoot yourself,” that argument held little water. In 2015, Miley Cyrus released a single called “Dooo It!” Nobody died.
The band demonstrated in court that if you played another song backwards from the same album, you’d get a completely different message. The chorus of “Exciter” is “Stand back for Exciter, salvation is his task.” Played backwards, Rob could heard singing what sounded like “I asked for her to get a peppermint, I asked for her to get one.”
You could tell from the look on the judge’s face that he knew the backwards messages were hooey.
Another flaw to the plaintiffs legal argument is that there is no scientific evidence that backwards messages in music can be detected by the brain and understood, let alone command you to take actions against your will. Not to mention, as Ozzy Osbourne once observed, killing all your fans with hidden suicide messages isn’t a practical way to make a living as a musician.
That summer, the case made the newspapers daily, not to mention the evening broadcasts. It didn’t seem that Priest were likely to lose, but as a fan, I supported them vigorously. Trying to prove a point, I played the Stained Class album over and over again, without ever having the urge to get one of my father’s guns and put it in my mouth. It was bizarre seeing television broadcasts of Rob Halford wearing a suit jacket, on the stand defending himself. He even had to sing for the judge. The point of this was to demonstrate how exhaling at the end of each sentence creates an audible sound. “Better by you, better than meee-ah.” Of course the band conducted themselves with the professionalism that the situation warranted. None of that changed the headlines. In the year 1990, the words “metal band” and “suicide” did not make for good headlines if you happened to be in one of those metal bands. Being a fan was hard enough already, without seeing this stuff on TV after Cheers.
Arguments were wrapped and the verdict was revealed: case dismissed. Judas Priest resumed business as usual.
A week before school returned, Metal Edge magazine did a Priest article with loads of information on the forthcoming Judas Priest album. I bought the issue and devoured the article on my walk home. I remember running into Trevor the future Security Guard on the way, and we flipped through the pages together.
The Metal Edge article returned the focus back to the music. I knew that drummer Dave Holland was out, replaced by a guy named Scott Travis from Racer X. Travis was known for his speedy double bass work. The new album promised to be Priest’s heaviest yet. The trial had them seething. Songs like “Between the Hammer and the Anvil” were directly inspired by their court experience. In the interests of change and taking things heavier, long time producer Tom Allom was dropped. He was replaced by Chris Tsangarides who was an engineer on 1976’s Sad Wings of Destiny.
It was clear that Judas Priest were intent on turning the ship around. 1986’s Turbodivided the fans with its synth-metal. 1988’s Ram It Down underperformed, with fans slagging the weak songs and sound in general. Ram It Down was not the “return to heavy” that the band promised and the fans craved, though it certainly did have three or four good and heavy songs. They would have to do better to reignite the weary fanbase.
Painkiller was the right album for the right time. While bands like Poison were eager to say, “Our new album is our heaviest yet,” when Priest said it, it actually meant something. Painkiller really did live up to the hype. A magazine ad claimed it was “Awesome! Backwards or forwards.”
MuchMusic debuted the new Judas Priest video “Painkiller” on a fall episode of the Pepsi Power Hour, co-hosted by Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo of Queensryche. They were on hand promoting their new album Empire. The Priest video was a rapid-fire assembly of black and chrome images, unholy screams, and the fastest drumming heard yet on a Priest single. When the video concluded, DeGarmo said he had to catch his breath!
I hit rewind, and watched that video over and over again.
Nobody else seemed to get it. My sister, who was a New Kids fan, hated it. She already hated Judas Priest but “Painkiller” took it to a new level. To deserve that kind of hate, Priest must have been on the right track. A lot of my school friends and rocker buddies also disliked the track, preferring the likes of Cinderella and Winger. That too was a good sign. I thought that to stay relevant, Priest needed to stay as far as away from those bands as possible. Priest chose Megadeth and Testament to open for them, both bands supporting new albums (Rust In Peace and Souls of Black). The tour began in Canada, but when they came to the UK they brought with them a band with a big future called Pantera.
The Painkiller cycle ended where it began, in Canada. The final date was on a package called Operation Rock & Roll (the name was a spoof of Operation Desert Storm). The final date was Toronto, August 19 1991. Priest were second on the bill, following Motorhead and opening for Alice Cooper. Something strange happened that night. Rob Halford rode his Harley Davidson motorcycle on stage to start the show, but this time hit his head on a lighting rig. He was knocked out cold, while the band played the newly instrumental “Hell Bent for Leather”! Halford recovered in time for the second song, but it was Rob’s last appearance with the Priest for 13 years. Earlier that day, Rob told MuchMusic’s Michael Williams that Priest were planning a 1992 “greatest hits” album. This hits album would afford a nice well deserved break.
Rob didn’t plan on wasting his time, so he set to work on a new solo project, inspired by the heavy direction that metal was going on. If Painkiller was heavy, his new band Fight was even heavier. That Toronto show was the last time Rob saw his bandmates until the reunion. The solo project led to a management dispute, and ultimately Rob’s resignation.
As Priest fractured, my own musical life blossomed, thanks to the fallout from Painkiller. Priest cracked open a heavy, iron door. Thrash bands like Testament had the metal goods that was the exact opposite of the wimpy music that I was getting sick of. Grunge came soon after, with a new kind of heavy. I ignored new releases by Enuff Z’Nuff, Trixter, Danger Danger, and even The Cult. They weren’t going heavy like Priest did, and in some cases they went backwards. Other bands, like Skid Row, knew which way the wind was blowing and turned up the volume.
The 1990-1991 period of Priest history is one of the most interesting of their entire career. It featured a trial that could have had real freedom of speech consequences, if the verdict had gone the other way. The same time period introduced their longest serving drummer in Scott Travis, and Priest have since never recorded nor toured without him. Their music took a turn away from hard rock and back towards heavy metal, permanently. They toured with Megadeth (who were also on a roll musically), gave Pantera some exposure in Europe, and shared the stage with the legendary Alice Cooper. And it ended with a split that nobody saw coming; just one of many splits in 1992 that changed the face of metal for an entire decade. Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Judas Priest….
My own personal history was intertwined with Priest’s. It might be safe to say that in highschool, Judas Priest were my favourite band. Their turn back towards heavy in 1990 changed everything for me. It was exactly what I wanted, by the exact band that I wanted to deliver it. Perfect simpatico!
“Hello. The show we are about to see is a rousing docu-drama. It will disgust some, and titillate others. But whether it disgusts you, or titillates you, it is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but…the truth.”
Kiss were on to something here. The concept of a home video release that was more than just a compilation of clips was fairly new. Kiss took the bull by the horns and put together a video that was all at once extremely sexist and innovative, offensive and invaluable. Only fans need apply; anyone who is sick of Gene Simmons’ schtick will bore quickly of his oafish humour. But when Kiss play it “straight” in certain interview segments, light shines through. The old memories and the old friendships are fresh and vivid.
Interviewer Mark Blankfield strolls up to the “Kiss Mansion” where all four members live Monkee-like together in one house with dozens upon dozens of beautiful women. The doorbell plays “Rock N’ Roll All Nite”, and Paul Stanley is confused. He thought the interview was scheduled for…not noon, but 12 midnight! Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck.
The KISS Mansion
Some of the scripted bits are actually funnier than you’d expect. Paul and Gene are natural clowns, and playing the role of disinterested rock stars tickles the funnybone. Blankfield keeps chasing them around, trying to get them to do some interviews. All the while, he encounters scantily clad babes in various states of undress, and a butler intent on keeping him away from them. Subjects of discussion in the scripted bits include nutrition and fitness. Learn about Joseph Kiss Sr., who came up with the vision of Kiss in 1773. Check out Paul Stanley’s workout video! Meet his best friend, a monkey named Sonny Crockett. Cut to a music video!
The music videos are something. In a scripted bit, Paul is surprised that they have access to the uncensored version of “Who Wants to Be Lonely”, which neither MTV nor MuchMusic were willing to play. Censors were offended by images of women in bikinis spraying themselves with hoses, even though I’m sure George Michael did something similar a couple years later. Every music video that Kiss filmed from “I Love It Loud” (1982) to the Asylum album (1985) is included, except “Thrills in the Night”.* All videos from eras prior to this are live and unreleased!
“Deuce” in San Fransisco
Live in Rio, from Kiss’ very last concert in makeup, it’s “I Love It Loud” with Vinnie Vincent! This is good quality video and audio from a TV broadcast. From the now famous bootleg Kissin’ Time in San Francisco (1975), it’s a nuclear version of “Deuce” in black and white. It’s the first appearance of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in this feature, and the rawness of the old band is a delightful contrast to the new. Then it’s “Strutter” at Cobo Hall in ’76, an Ace guitar solo from 1980, and “Beth” in 1977 with Peter Criss (and a pretty bad final note). Gene’s got a bass solo/blood spitting clip to show off, but the most interesting clip of the batch could be “Detroit Rock City” in Australia, 1980. Paul did the verse melody with a slightly different twist. “Rock and Roll all Nite” is included from the same show, which had Eric Carr on drums. “I Stole Your Love” and “Ladies Room” have the original lineup from the Love Gun tour; Kiss at their bombastic best.
Of the best of the “straight” interview clips is the question, “How did you two get together?” Paul and Gene start busking to “I’ll Be Back” by the Beatles, and suddenly you can imagine what they sounded like in 1972. They even sing bits of Gene’s more…obscure early material. “I love Eskimos…” “My mother is beauuuutiful…” (Hopefully we will hear these songs on Gene’s upcoming 150 track box set, Vault?) Another good question, to Gene, is “Have you gone Hollywood?” which he answers with candor.
Incredible special features
The very large issue with this DVD is the absence of Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr. They only appear in brief cameos, and get a couple lines a piece. That’s very unfortunate. And then there is the excessive objectification of women. It’s done as an obvious satire of the rock star stereotype, but not particularly well. Too bad. This isn’t Spinal Tap.
Some of the diehards would have preferred a home video with more music and less gags. Fortunately Kiss got the message when they eventually got around to a sequel.
3/5 stars
* It appears that “Thrills in the Night” must have been intended for inclusion at one point, because it’s in the songwriting credits at the end of the video.
Balancing a music collection with a toy collection is expensive, but they do have a lot in common. For example, both feature “holy grail” items that you simply must have. In 2017, the holy grail category was won by toys for the first time. Behold! Enjoy the video at bottom.
Key points:
*Terminus Giganticus is FansToys’ version of a Masterpiece class Omega Supreme action figure, to fit seamlessly with your official Transformers Masterpiece collection. * Fucking huge. * Comes in two packs: Pack A (September 2017) and Pack B (November 2017). * Thanks to Madhaus Toys (facebook.com/madhaus.collectibles) for the pre-order!
RUSH – Grace Under Pressure (1984 Anthem, 2011 Universal remaster)
JOHNNY HORTON – Battle of New Orleans (1981/1990 CBS Select)
mikeladano.com 