Reviews

REVIEW: KISS – Dynasty (1979, 1997 Japanese import)

Part 15 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

DYNASTY FRONT

KISS – Dynasty (1979, 1997 Japanese import)

Ahh, the disco years! Alice Cooper did it, so did the Rolling Stones. Kiss were bound to follow. Paul Stanley admitted that he used to go to disco clubs. He found the music simple but interesting enough to try to write. The result was the now-classic “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, a song which was a bit despised for a while.   Even though it was one of Kiss’ all time biggest hits, it dropped out of setlists in the glam-metal mid-80’s.

Dynasty was designed to be the biggest Kiss album yes, and indeed it did spawn their second biggest hit. Unfortunately, on the inside, the band were coming apart at the seams. In order to placate Peter Criss, his solo album’s producer Vini Poncia was chosen to helm the next album. Poncia then kicked Criss out of the proceedings, as his chops were judged to be not up to snuff anymore.  He appears on only one song, “Dirty Livin'”, a song he co-wrote.

Anton Fig, of Ace Frehley’s solo album (and David Letterman, and later Frehley’s Comet) was chosen to replace him in the studio. It would not be Fig’s last album with Kiss. This was all kept secret at the time.

On the bright side, Frehley had a bunch of lead vocals: the Stones’ “2000 Man”, “Save Your Love”, and the story of his childhood, “Hard Times”. All three are great songs, and probably better than Gene’s two on Dynasty. I find Gene’s songs to be dull and plodding: “X-Ray Eyes” and “Charisma”.

Paul, on the other hand, had nothing but great songs: the previously mentioned “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, the majestic “Magic Touch”, and the excellent, underrated single “Sure Know Something”. All three are examples of his increasingly skilled songwriting and singing.

“Dirty Livin'” would be Criss’ last songwriting credit on a Kiss album, and his last appearance on one for a long long time. It is not a great song by any stretch, and it is one of the most disco sounding tracks on the album. Still, it has a street vibe that Criss was known for, and his fans love it.

Despite the flaws, Dynasty holds together remarkably well. Even the filler fits in the groove for a seemlessly enjoyable listening experience. After all, all four Kiss members sing lead on it, which was a rare thing that only happened on only a handful of Kiss studio albums.*Ace had more vocals than ever before, and then had lots more on the next album too. The band was tighter than ever with Fig on ghost-drums, and they actually make the best of the overly compressed production sounds.

Dynasty might not be as great as the first six legendary albums, but although cracks were beginning to show, it was still a continuation of the mighty Kiss legacy. What should have happened next was the band getting back to a solid rocker of an album and restoring the faith of the fans who were secretly and openly questioning the integrity of the band. That didn’t happen, and the original Kiss as we knew it was destroyed forever, never to be the same again. The phoenix that rose from the ashes was a different, albeit still powerful, beast.

A word about the Japanese version pictured here:  When Kiss began remastering their albums in the late 90’s, the Japanese got to hear them first, packaged in mini replica record sleeves.  Unfortunately, it does not include a replica of the LP Dynasty poster.  It was the first Kiss remaster I bought simply because I found it here on import before the others came out.

Don’t pick it up Dynasty as your first, but do pick it up.

4/5 stars.

*(Love Gun, Psycho-Circus, and Sonic Boom.)

REVIEW: KISS – Paul Stanley (1978)

Part 14 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at the final of the four solo albums (and my favourite) released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Paul Stanley.

KISS – Paul Stanley (1978)

Paul Stanley’s contribution to the Kiss solo album quadrilogy was very much like what Paul was doingin within Kiss itself.  As such it was warmly received by fans turned off by Peter Criss’ and Gene Simmons’ records.  From Paul Stanley, it seemed clear that he was not creatively confined at all within Kiss.  Recruiting old friend Bob Kulick on guitar, Paul laid down an album of hot rockers and a few tender ballads.

“Tonight You Belong To Me” starts off with some lush acoustic guitars (maybe a 6 and a 12 string? I can’t tell), and Paul singing in his classic falsetto. It doesn’t take long though for this to stop however, before a killer angular riff kicks in. (The Hellacopters ripped off the riff for the intro of their song called “Paul Stanley”, actually.) The riff is pure Paul Stanley, and is augmented by loads of juicy feedback.  Bob Kulick just tears through the guitar solo.

This is followed by fan favourite “Move On”, which was played live on the 1979 Kiss tour. It’s another rocker that would have felt at home on Rock and Roll Over or Love Gun.  “Ain’t Quite Right” is Paul’s first ballad of the album, and the first song I’d consider skipping. However Paul comes roaring back next, with the best song on the album.  “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me?” is fast paced and it rocks hard, and I think if Green Day did it today it would be classified as pop-punk, a genre which didn’t exist in 1978.  Side 1 closes with “”Take Me Away (Together As One)” which might be called Zeppelinesque. It starts off slow and acoustic, turns dark and electric in the very catchy chorus, and goes back to acoustic. Dramatic is a good word.  And Paul’s voice has never been stronger.  I believe he was singing at his absolute peak at this point, personally.

Side 2 starts off with another rocker, “It’s Alright”, which is very Kiss circa Love Gun. The guitar riff and chorus melody are the main selling features of this song. “Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We’re Apart)” is a title that can only belong to a ballad. As sappy as it is, I like this song. It’s a piano and strings ballad that might have suited the Peter Criss album, if not for the melodic and memorable guitar solo courtesy of Paul himself. “Love In Chains” follows this, a guitar oriented rocker with great singable verses. The album ends appropriately with “Goodbye”, a song which Paul used to close his 2006 solo shows. It is another stellar song, extremely catchy and well written.

Songwriting is the main selling point of Paul’s solo album. It is Paul’s song craft that makes this album special, that and Bob Kulick’s great guitar tones and talents. Paul had a lot to be proud, it is a gem of an album and one that no Kiss fan should be without.

It’s only a shame that the 2006 followup, Live To Win, didn’t even come close to reaching this level of quality.

5/5 stars


Paul performing “Wouldn’t You Live To Know Me” in 1989 with Bob Kulick and Eric Singer

“I got blisters on me fingers!” (VINCE NEIL Washburn GALLERY!)

I decided to dust off the ol’ guitar today to do some writing and recording.  I haven’t played a note in two years.  Needless to say my fingers hate me right now.  But I got the job done and a piece of music I don’t hate.

My weapon of choice (my only guitar) is the Vince Neil Washburn, a limited exition axe exclusive to Future Shop stores in Canada.  It was limited to 2500 pieces, numbered, and retailed originally for $299.99.  I got mine on clearance — $69.99, including the little practice amp, three Vince Neil picks, strap, and certificate of authenticity with Vince’s autograph.  A close inspection reveals that it’s actual pen, not just printed on.

When I told people about my purchase, they’d usually respond, “Wait…isn’t Vince Neil the singer from Motley Crue?”  Yes, he played guitar once in a blue moon live, but I guess that’s why I got mine so cheap on clearance.  And it wasn’t the last one; my buddy Chris bought one too and re-sold it for profit.

Currently, there are none on eBay, so I suggest if you find one at a decent price, may as well pick it up!  It’s a decent sounding guitar, the amp works as a practice amp but for me to record with, not so hot.  I’m not really a guitar player, I can basically just play my way around blues scales, so I can’t really really review it as an instrument — just as a collector.

         

A sample of how the Vince Neil Washburn sounds can be found below.  (Reminder:  I am NOT a guitar player!)

REVIEW: KISS – Gene Simmons (1978)

Lucky part 13 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at one of the four solo albums released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Gene Simmons.

KISS – Gene Simmons (1978)

I’ll admit it: I love much of Gene’s solo album. I didn’t always! I used to think it was too weird, too flaky, not rock enough. Too much annoying funky bass. Now with a few years behind me, I like it a lot more, due to some of the mellow, acoustic songs. When I was a kid I would have given it 1 star just because it’s not rock. There’s very little here that rocks.

The bass (by Neil Jason) is way too funky for my tastes and I never liked it, and I still don’t. But it was the late 70’s, and disco was happening, and we all know how Kiss responded to disco. There’s not enough guitar and too many backing vocals by assorted guests.

But this is kind of the point of Gene Simmons’ solo album. He crammed in as many people as possible to make a cast-of-thousands record suitable to his ego. Cher, Joe Perry, Rick Neilson, Katy Sagal…you can google the credits yourself (or just click the album cover pic above). Interestingly, Gene also wanted Lassie the dog, and the Beatles. He couldn’t get the Beatles, so he got Beatlemania instead.  No kidding.

There’s some truly excellent material on this album. Those songs are:

3. See You Tonite
7. Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide
8. Man of 1, 000 Faces
9. Mr. Make Believe

None are rock songs. “See You Tonite” and “Mr. Make Believe” are Beatles-like acoustic tracks, gorgeous in arrangement and performance.  “Man of 1,000 Faces” is epic, with big orchestra and a point of view more suitable to the Demon’s. (“I can put on any face/You won’t see me but it’s no disgrace/The king of night, he understands.”) It was inspired by Lon Chaney so obviously there’s a little bit of the Demon in it. “Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide” starts off very quietly and then goes into the big “Nowhere to Hide” section, with orchestra and Gene’s falsetto, which I actually like a lot. A lot of this stuff was written pre-Kiss, pre-Wicked Lester.

“See You In Your Dreams” is a remake of the Kiss song. I don’t like it as much as Kiss’ version, and I find the backing vocals distracting and obtrusive. Most of side 1, I find to be too funky and not nearly as interesting as the acoustic stuff. “Radioactive” has some spark, but sounded better performed live by Kiss, with a little more reckless groove.

The final track, “When You Wish Upon A Star”, is exactly what you think it is – Walt Disney and Gene Simmons, together (at last?). Regardless of Gene’s intentions, it’s only there as a novelty. Something to play for your friends if you want to say, “Wanna hear something really funny? You gotta hear Gene Simmons meets Pinochio.”  Maybe something to throw on the end of a mix CD, when you only have 2 minutes left to fill on the disc and you want to end it with a laugh.

3/5 stars for the great material. Beware the rest!

 

REVIEW: KISS – Ace Frehley (1978)

Part 12 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at one of the four solo albums released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Ace Frehley.

KISS – Ace Frehley (1978)

The general consensus is that Ace Frehley’s solo album was the best solo album because it was the most rocking and Kiss-like. While I agree that it is a great achievement (and it sold the best, too) I prefer Paul’s.  Hey, just a personal preference.  Ace’s is still great.

Ace’s album was 9 tracks, which breaks down to 8 vocals and 1 instrumental. All but the instrumental were rockers. Anton Fig on drums! The standout songs include “Rip It Out” which would have made a great Kiss song.  Here, it is a strong opener:  a statement of intent, musically, from Ace.  It boasts catchy verses and choruses with a blazing guitar solo.  “Speedin’ Back To My Baby” and “What’s On Your Mind?” are a bit more pop and melodic but with Ace’s guitar they’re never too pop. They’re just rock enough. “Fractured Mirror” is the instrumental I menbtioned, and the first of a series of instrumental “Fractured” tracks for Ace. It’s great. It shows off some intricate fingering that Ace is capable of (think back to “Rock Bottom”) but less known for.

“New York Groove” was the hit single of course, but not a song I’m partial to. To me it sounded the like disco-Kiss that would emerge on Dynasty. I prefer the live versions that Kiss did later on, they had more thunder in the drums and more distortion in the guitars.

“Ozone” was a song that aurally sounds very “spaced” and you can guess what the subject matter is. Foo Fighters, incidentally, did a great cover of “Ozone” back in ’95. “Snow Blind” covers the same lyrical ground. Finally, “Wiped Out” spoofs “Wipeout” by its intro.  It again seems to be about being, well, wiped out. It has some challenging time changes and crunchy chords.

By and large this is a great album. I think some of the songs could have used more hooks. I still enjoy listening to it, and it does stand up as probably the best Ace solo album to date.  Ace’s guitar playing is heavily showcased, without it being a “guitar” album. Anyone who thinks Ace can’t play needs to listen to a song like “Wiped Out”.  It’ll blow their minds.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Motley Crue – “Sex” single (2012)

SEX

MOTLEY CRUE – “Sex” (iTunes, 2012)

Nikki Sixx – “Sounds like it could have been on our first album.”

LeBrain – “Bullshit!”

Don’t be fooled by the hype.  “Sex” is a good song, but it sounds nothing at all like anything on Too Fast For Love.  It sounds like it could have been on Saints of Los Angeles.   Which is fine, if you like that album.  I do like that album, I think it is a good Motley album.  Not a great Motley album like Too Fast, but certainly better than, say, New Tattoo.

I think what Nikki did with “Sex” was to try, on purpose, to write a single.  A single in a particular style, that being, hard rock Motley Crue.  And I think that is what I don’t like about it, it sounds contrived.

So, that’s what “Sex” is:  An overproduced single with lots of backing vocals, loud drums, and some guitar effects.  The chorus is fine, copping the “woah, yeah” from “Kickstart My Heart”, only not as good.  I’ve heard the song a few times now, for $1.29, it was painless to buy.   It just fails to excite me.  Not the way “Feelgood” did in the summer of ’89, and “Primal Scream” did in ’91.  Those summers, I could not get those tunes off my deck!  I don’t think I will be going back to listen to “Sex” too often, unless there’s something going on here that I’m just plain missing right now.

Having said that, Mick’s solo is cool and I think he’s an underrated player.

2.5/5 stars

(NOTE:  I hate downloads!  I like physical product!  I want liner notes!  Who produced it, who wrote it?)

REVIEW: KISS – Peter Criss (1978)

Part 11 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at one of the four solo albums released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Peter Criss.

KISS – Peter Criss (1978)

On September 18, 1978, Kiss became the first band in history to simultaneously release four solo albums.  Each was vastly different from one another.

Peter Criss is not a jazz album, it’s not a country album, it’s not an R&B album and it’s not a rock album. If it’s a failure in the eyes of Kiss fans, it’s only because it’s not a rock album. It falls under that dreaded catagory of “easy listening”: just enough of each genre to make it classified as (in the parlance of our times) “lite rock”.

In all honesty Peter Criss is not a bad album, there are some older folk out there who would love it.  When I was a kid I used to play it to my mom (not sayin’ my mom is “older”, just sayin’), saying “See, you’d like Kiss music too.” That’s what it is: music you can play for your mom.

Peter himself plays drums on most of the album, Allan Schwartzberg plays on the rest. The rest of the instruments are handled by studio musicians with Steve Lukather taking a solo. You can hear quite clearly that Peter loves playing this kind of music, and it suits his voice too. Peter has co-writing credits with his Lips bandmate Stan Pendridge on most songs.

The album kicks off with “I’m Gonna Love You”, a R&B flavoured rock number with a nice horn section and lush backing vocals. This is about as uptempo as it gets. “You Matter To Me” is rendered hard to listen to due to its big fat synthesizer riff. Very outdated and distracting. “Tossin’ and Turnin'” is the old rock and roll standard and similar in tempo and arrangement to “I’m Gonna Love You”. Peter does a great job vocally. “Don’t You Let Me Down” is the first ballad of the album, very 70’s, with more outdated keyboard sounds. Side 1 ends with “That’s The Kind Of Sugar Papa Likes”, a nondescript underwhelming uptempo album filler.

Side 2 begins with one of the best tune on the album, the acoustic ballad “Easy Thing” which goes into a strong string-laden chorus. It’s quiet yet epic at the same time. “Rock Me, Baby” is another R&B song, uptempo with lots of female backing vocals but otherwise filler. “Kiss The Girl Goodbye” is another acoustic ballad, a little too quiet and laid back, very folk sounding, and there are no drums on this track at all. “Hooked On Rock N’ Roll” brings the tempo back up before we go to the last and very best song on the album, Sean Delaney’s “I Can’t Stop The Rain”. It’s a piano and strings ballad, similar in scope to “Easy Thing”.

It’s a shame in a way that Peter was so out of touch with Kiss’ core audience, and had such an inflated ego, that he thought making this album was a good idea at the time. The record turned off Kiss fans in droves, although many have rediscovered it in the warm light of nostalgia.

I think the bottom line is this is a nostalgia CD. I can’t imagine new young Kiss fans getting into this at all, but they may want to play it for mom.

2/5 stars

GALLERY: ZZ Top – Eliminator Monogram model kit & Hot Wheels!

NOTE:  July 21, 2013 – I posted new pics with a better camera here.  Thanks!

I just dug up this old model kit I made in the 80’s.  It is, of course, ZZ Top’s old car Eliminator.  It’s been sitting for 25 years, so, quite dusty.  To clean it will take a lot of work.  Back then, I remember painting the engine logo was really tough. If you want to see a nice professionally painted rendition of this kit, click here.

The Hot Wheels toy, I’m sorry, I have no memory of where I got this!  It’s very cool too,  Definitely from the 80’s.

Video and photos below, enjoy.

REVIEW: KISS – Double Platinum (1978)

Part 10 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

A few months after posting this review, I found a cool foil-embossed CD.  Click here to see what that one was all about!

KISS – Double Platinum (1978)

KISS DOUBLE JAPANESE FRONT

Although there had been one Kiss re-pack before (a vinyl set called The Originals), Double Platinum was their first “greatest hits” disc.  The band was beginning to fracture internally.  Both Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were looking to break out with their own solo albums.  Instead, Kiss decided to record four solo albums and release them simultaneously.  This, a first ever for anybody, was a big project and would require six months to execute.  In order to satiate the fans, who had become accustomed to new Kiss albums twice a year, Double Platinum was conceived.

I first got this album in 1985 or 1986 and it was my first exposure to songs like “Hard Luck Woman” and “Makin’ Love”. For years I would often recommend this album as one of the first Kiss albums for people to get. It is still an excellent introduction despite the fact that the market has been flooded with approximately 15 different compilations (rough guess) since then.

One “new” song (a disco-ish remake of “Strutter” called “Strutter ’78”) and a boatload of remixes were quickly prepared. Sean Delaney worked on the remixes, and I don’t think they are as bad as they are made out to be by some fans. For me, these were the original versions that I heard!  And the cool thing in my own experience was, when I eventually moved on to collect the rest of the studio albums, I wasn’t familiar with those versions of the songs.  Everything was fresh for me on those albums.

The technical reasoning for the remixing was to make the band’s uneven catalogue sound more alike, when presented together in this fashion. The material produced by Bob Ezrin (Destroyer) sounded leaps and bounds different than the other stuff, so it was remixed to bring it to Ezrin’s level.

“Strutter ’78” was re-recorded with more compression on the drums. I still think it’s a great track, but it lacks the fire of the Kiss original. It’s more sleek. “Hard Luck Woman” has been remixed to highlight the acoustic guitars, leaving the band out until later in the song. “Rock Bottom’s” intro is presented here without the song itself, and it does work in that form, serving now as an intro to “She”. “Black Diamond” lacks the slow-down ending, and I kind of prefer this version: Instead, at the end, the song starts all over again and goes into a fade.

My only complaint about Double Platinum is in regards to the CD version. The original pressing of the LP had the Kiss logo embossed on silver foil. I paid a lot of money for a Japanese import CD and I wanted the silver foil cover. Instead I got dull paper. The domestic CD is not much better, although the cover is different yet again (printed with silver ink).

FYI, those with records for sale:  I would love a mint complete Double Platinum LP, please.

My guess is that one day we’ll get yet another load of Kiss reissues (it’s already starting with Destroyer/Resurrected)  Let’s get it right next time.

Still, 5/5 stars. Start your Kiss collection with Kiss Alive!, and then grab some studio versions here.

Part 74.5: The Best Part of Sausagefest (Clockwork Autographs)

Meat gave this to me.

“You’re the collector, not me,” he said.

That’s really not a good excuse to give away an autographed Rush disc, man.  But, as Burgess Meredith said so wisely in Clash of the Titans, “A divine gift should never be questioned, simply accepted.”  And are Rush not gods of rock?

Thank you Meat Man.