Don’t waste your summer without visiting The Beaches.
With influences from the Go-Gos through alternative and surf rock, The Beaches have found an intoxicating sound perfect for summer partying. Their debut long player Late Show is chock full of fun, energetic and catchy songs. A couple of hit singles (“Money” and “T-Shirt”) are storming the charts, and a Juno win this year has raised their profile considerably. Armed with an album produced by members of Metric, it is now their time.
Singer/bassist Jordan Miller is the lynchpin. She can wail but tends to keep it subtle. The songs swing from slinky to punk. The Beaches are at their best when delivering sheer hooks caked in attitude. That’s what made “Money” such a perfect single. The simple, understated guitar hook works its way into your brain, and it’s topped with a punchy chorus. The Beaches can write songs. Most are credited to the four band members. Some bands are afraid to showcase candy-coated hooks, but The Beaches have the confidence for it. The hooks are paired with biting rock guitars, keeping the edges sharp. They never let the pacing slip, and they keep things fun. It’s right there in the lyrics to “T-Shirt”: “Don’t take me so serious. I just like to make a fuss.”
There are plenty of tunes that pack the goods. “Gold” has a knack for sticking. Even the slower tunes like “Highway 6” and “Back of My Heart” have an unexpected catchiness. “Keeper” is a like a blast from the late 80s, and “Sweet Life” is a jolt of caffeine at the end.
The first three-year gap between Kiss albums. The first Kiss record produced by Bob Ezrin since 1981. The first shared Simmons/Stanley lead vocal in ages. The first lineup change since 1984. And saddest of all, Kiss’ first album without Eric Carr since 1980. Revenge was a shakeup for fans and band alike.
The pendulum of rock had swung back to “heavy”, with Metallica scorching the charts and grunge pummelling everyone else with new sounds. It was obvious that Kiss had to go heavier, too. In 1992, most rock bands had to sink or swim. In order to swim, bands tended to heavy things up. A lot of the time they called it “going back to the roots”.
Kiss began making tentative steps back that way. Hot in the Shade(1989) toned down a lot of the keyboards and 80s trappings. On tour, they played more old material like “Dr. Love”, “God of Thunder”, and “I Was Made for Loving You”. Then, as an experiment, they got back together with Bob Ezrin for a song from a movie soundtrack. Everyone was writing, even the sick Eric Carr. The initial plan was to have Eric play on half the new album, so he could have time to recover from his cancer surgery. The drummer from Paul Stanley’s solo tour, Eric Singer, was available to play on the other half. Singer was on tour with Alice Cooper during the summer of 1991, but would be home soon enough. Then, on November 24, Eric Carr passed.
The most obvious choice to replace Carr was Eric Singer. He was already working with the band, he knew the songs, and he was a fan. Bruce Kulick found him inspiring to have around, as Singer loved his guitar work. In fact the only thing about Eric Singer that didn’t fit was his hair colour!
The energetic new drummer was a godsend. With albums to his name by Black Sabbath and Badlands, Kiss couldn’t have asked for a more technically adept player. He could hit hard (though Eric Carr takes the belt in that regard) and he could authentically do any era of Kiss. Be it the early, slippery Peter Criss material or the heavy metal of Eric Carr, Singer had it all covered. And he could sing! Though we wouldn’t get there quite yet.
It was the heavy metal side that was most immediately apparent. The first track and first video from Revenge was “Unholy”, something very unlike anything Kiss had done before. And it came about in a most peculiar way. Enter: Vinnie Vincent.
Those who say “Vinnie saved Kiss” will point to “Unholy” as one such song that saved Kiss. After years of estrangement (and preceding even more), Vinnie came out to write with Gene and Paul. “Unholy” was one of three songs he contributed.
With a fury unlike any before, Gene Simmons and company swirl in rage on “Unholy”. The closest they got to this kind of heavy before would be Creatures, but there’s something just pissed off about it that wasn’t there before. With a concrete riff and angry slabs of drum tribalism, Kiss announced their return loudly. Not to be outdone, soloist Bruce Kulick laid down his noisiest guitar assault yet. There isn’t an ounce of fluff to “Unholy”.
Thanks to Bob Ezrin, Revenge is Kiss’ best sounding album since Lick It Up or Creatures. It’s no Destroyer, and it’s no Elder. This time they cut the extras down to the bone, leaving the four Kiss guys to rock it themselves. Err, mostly themselves. That’s Kevin Valentine on drums for the second song, “Take It Off”. Strange that Kiss continued to have ghost musicians on albums when they clearly didn’t need to. An ode to strippers, “Take It Off” is lyrically juvenile, but gleams like stainless steel. Paul Stanley wrote it with Ezrin and ex-Alice Cooper guitarist Kane Roberts, and it could have been used as a single had Revenge needed another. A dirty, dirty single.
Paul, Bruce and Ezrin composed “Tough Love” with a slower, chunky riff. Kulick’s solo is remarkable, but it’s also just nice hearing Paul do a sex song that has some balls. There is no “X” in this sex, although there’s a little BDSM for the 50 Shades crowd. Then, teaming up with Gene, they do their first co-write and co-lead vocals together in the first time in a dog’s age. “Spit” is old school fun with a modern heavy edge. Bruce pays homage to Jimi Hendrix in his complex guitar solo, a composition all to itself. Eric Singer gets to throw down tricky beats and fills, making “Spit” one of the most deceptively clever songs Kiss has done.
“God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II” was released as a single the year before. It was the experiment with Ezrin that kicked off Revenge in the first place. It was the only song that Eric Carr was alive for, and you can clearly hear him on backing vocals. Singer handled the drums, though Carr did it in the music video. The album mix is different from the single or soundtrack, in order to better suit the sonics of Revenge as its sole anthem.
Gene tells a story about a girl who “kisses like the kiss of death” to end side one. “Domino” hearkens back to early Kiss, with a sparse arrangement and Gene playing rhythm guitar instead of Paul. This greasy rocker just screams “Kiss”. There is nobody else with songs like “Domino”. It was the third single from Revenge, sporting a nifty video with Gene cruising around in a convertible while Kiss plays as a trio! Paul Stanley: bass guitar.
“Heart of Chrome”, the second Vinnie Vincent collaboration, rocks with attitude. Once again, anger seems to be the emotion of the day. The 90s-look Kiss could deliver anger in spades. Then Gene takes the mantle on “Thou Shalt Not”.
He said “kindly reconsider the sins of your past,” I said “Mister you can kindly kiss my ass.”
These are not songs for the Kiss hits mix tape you’re making for your roadtrip. These are songs to be experienced in context of the album, where they deliver mighty riffs and enough hooks for the long-player. “Thou Shalt Not” has another one of those Kulick solos that could be a study in string manipulation, and Singer just keeps it kicking the whole way through.
You could choose from two schools of thought regarding “Every Time I Look at You”. As the album’s only true ballad, some see it as a mistake on a record as heavy as Revenge. Others see it as a reprieve from a fairly relentless onslaught. Indeed, it does sound as if from another album. With a string section, Ezrin on piano, and Dick Wagner on ghost guitar, one could even argue that it’s an album highlight. A little re-sequencing though, and you probably wouldn’t even miss it.
Gene makes it heavy again on “Paralyzed”, not an outstanding track but a little funkier than usual. “I Just Wanna” is far more entertaining, though it is a shameless and obvious rip-off from “Summertime Blues”. It was chosen as the second single, and lo and behold, it’s the third Vinnie Vincent song too. “I Just Wanna” is immediately catchy and memorable for days. Probably because you already knew it as “Summertime Blues”.
As a touching surprise, Revenge ends on an instrumental called “Carr Jam 1981”. Bob Ezrin dug up an old demo from The Elder with a hot riff and a complete drum solo. It had been bootlegged before, notably on Demos 1981-1983, but not with very good sound. Ace Frehley even recorded it as “Breakout” on his second solo album. Ezrin cleaned up the original demo for Revenge, edited it for length, and overdubbed Bruce on lead guitar. “Carr Jam” has become Eric’s signature drum solo. Placing it here at the end of Revenge was not only poignant but also just great sequencing.
Album in hand, now it was time to tour. Kiss would start with a short run in the clubs. More on that next time.
DEEP PURPLE – Purple Chronicle – The Best Selection of 25th Anniversary (1993 triple CD Warner Japan box set)
Here is something clearly designed for the archivist, not the casual listener. Purple Chronicle is a strange but in-depth collection of singles, album cuts, B-sides and rarities. With tracks spanning 1968 to 1976 (Deep Purple’s original run) there is much to cover. There are even two mono mixes that are still unavailable on CD anywhere else.
The first two discs comprise a chronological look at the most key Deep Purple tracks. Five songs are earmarked to represent the Rod Evans era, including the big one “Hush” and Neil Diamond’s “Kentucky Woman”. It’s a mere brief glance at the three albums they did with Rod, but there are more rarities on Disc 3.
The classic Deep Purple Mk II era featuring Ian Gillan takes over on the next 11 tracks. From “Speed King” through to “Fireball” and “Strange Kind of Woman”, the big hits are here. Who Do We Think We Are from 1973 only has one track present (“Woman From Tokyo”). “Into the Fire” is pleasing to find here, as one of Deep Purple’s short and sweet heavy metal stomps.
Deep Purple Mk III and IV (featuring David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes behind the microphones) are given 12 tracks to stretch out. They don’t anything as long as Gillan’s “Child in Time” which exceeds 10 minutes, so this is still fairly proportional. The best songs, both rockers and ballads, are laid out from their three records. They include the unforgettable “Burn” and “Stormbringer”, the extended blues “Mistreated” and underappreciated gems such as “You Keep on Moving” and “Comin’ Home” with Tommy Bolin on guitar.
All of the songs on the first two discs would have been available on standard Deep Purple CDs at the time. The third disc has a bunch of tracks that were (and some that still are) harder to come by. It is dominated by B-sides, single edits and assorted rarities. “Black Night” appears for the first time, as a single edit and live B-side. Indeed there is a lot of repeat of Disc 3. “Speed King” for example is here twice more, with both of its extended intros (noise plus keyboards, or just keyboards). These weren’t on the typical CD release of Deep Purple In Rock at the time. There are single edits of “Woman From Tokyo”, “Highway Star”, “Lazy” and “Burn” (two edits!). And there are lots of rarities galore, culled from B-sides and Purple’s outtake album Power House. Some, such as Rod Evans’ “Emmeretta”, and Gillan’s “Painted Horse” and “Cry Free”, are true unsung Purple classics. “Coronarias Redig” is notable as the only instrumental of the Coverdale era.
The two tracks that are still true rarities today are the mono mixes of “Smoke on the Water” and its live counterpart. More versions of “Smoke”? Yes indeed, but unless you have heard them in mono before, you have not heard them all. These are not “fold down” mono mixes made by just converting the stereo track to mono. These are audibly different in subtle ways.
This is the kind of set that will be difficult and expensive to track down. If you spy it somewhere, be aware of the value to collectors. (I was fortunate that a copy in great condition just dropped in my lap for cheap.) Consider it if collecting Purple is your thing. Includes full booklet and poster with family tree.
This one comes from reader Harrison From Down Unda. Harrison, as you know, is a huge Iron Maiden fan. Recently on the subject of shaving my beard off, he suggested I do the half-beard, like Bruce Dickinson did in 1986.
Little did Harrison know that I was way ahead of him, having already done it (and my head) years ago!
“I loved you Vinnie…you were such a good guy, and so nice to me…always…always a great fuckin’ guy. And I think it’s bull SHIT that you’re not here.” — a tearful Sebastian Bach
We have no details, but we do know that Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Damageplan and HellYeah is gone. He has joined his brother Dimebag Darrell (1966-2004) in the Great Band in the Sky.
To say the metal world is in shock is an understatement. HellYeah began recording a new album late last year. Vinnie had shown no signs of slowing down. He has always just carried on.
Rest in peace Vinnie Paul Abbott, who inspired a new generation of metalheads to “Walk”.
Turn it up to 11! I will be LIVE at 12:30 AM (ET) Saturday morning with Robert Daniels on VISIONS IN SOUND. Tune in on your dial to 98.5 or internet to CKWR! You folks in the UK can tune in as you enjoy some morning java! Join Us THIS Saturday 12:30-2:30am (ET). Check out what Rob has planned this time:
This Week On Visions In Sound – The Mockumentary
This week we look at some mock documentary soundtracks. Featured music is from The Rutles, A Mighty Wind, FUBAR, Series 7 (Girls Against Boys) and This Is Spinal Tap. Join us THIS Saturday 12:30-2:30am (ET) Friday 9:30-11:30 (PT) on FM 98.5 CKWR. www.ckwr.com
We will also be live on Facebook to chat and talk about the music and films off air.
Be sure to listen in! Don’t be like Tron, not show up, and funkin’ blow.
ERIC CARR – Unfinished Business (2011 Auto Rock Records)
Even though 2000’s Rockology compilation released a treasure trove of unheard goodies for the fans, there is always more to sell. For the 20th anniversary of Eric’s passing, another batch of tracks were unearthed. Some are mere filler, some are pretty decent. Fans of the beloved drummer will have to sift through the bad to get to the good.
There are a couple Kiss songs here for the diehard fans. “No One’s Messin’ With You” is yet another demo of what would become “Little Caesar” from Hot in the Shade. A third called “Ain’t That Peculiar” was released on the 2001 Kiss Box Set. This is an almost completely different set of lyrics, although it does have the “Hey Little Caesar” chorus. In chronological terms, this version probably falls between the other two, with lyrics still a work in progress and a different verse melody. Then there’s “Shandi”, from Eric’s Kiss audition tape, with brand new acoustic backing music. Unfortunately, Eric’s shaky voice (or a warbly tape) makes this totally unlistenable.
One of Rockology‘s highlights was “Just Can’t Wait” which was crying out for a lead vocal to finish it off. This was completed by Ted Poley of Danger Danger. Though the backing track lacks the fidelity of a proper Kiss recording, the song has taken shape as the shoulda-coulda-been hit that it is. Eric would have been proud and very happy to hear it as a finished song.
The unfinished “Troubles Inside You” is a demo with regular Kiss collaborator and Beatlemania member Mitch Weissman. It was recorded at Gene Simmons’ house, but the old cassette must have deteriorated pretty badly. The music is barely audible, though hints of a good song shine through. Two more Kiss outtakes include the legendary “Dial L For Love” and “Elephant Man”. These were written for Crazy Nights and Revenge, respectively. Neither were finished by Carr. “Dial L For Love” has the bones of a good song with a unique riff. Eric only managed to finish the lyrics for “Elephant Man”, but here it is given music and life by a group of musicians including the late A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister, and ex-Europe guitarist Kee Marcello. Singer Bob Gilmartin did a great job of it, turning “Elephant Man” into a cross between ballad and rocker, and something Kiss totally could have done on Revenge. “Midnight Stranger” is another unfinished riff. Ex-Kiss guitarist Mark St. John was slated to overdub brand new solos for this instrumental, but he too passed before he could finish. This is the original cassette demo. The riff sounds like a brother to “Carr Jam”. They are definitely related.
“Carr Jam 1981” is, unfortunately, not the original unaltered Elder demo. It is a cover by drummer Joey Cassata, and a very authentic one at that. Same with “All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose”. Just a cover, not a demo, by Cassata’s band Z02. Pretty good stuff, at least. New backing music was recorded for “Eyes of Love”, a song previously released on Rockology. The Rockology version with Bruce Kulick on guitar is superior.
Finally, some real serious archival treasures: an Eric Carr drum solo basement tape (same as his live Kiss solo), and a 1967 recording by Eric’s first band The Cellarmen! That’s Eric on lead vocals too. It definitely sounds of its time. Added filler include a few interview bits and clips, including one with former Kiss manager Bill Aucoin about Eric.
If the first Eric Carr CD release was best left to hardcore fans, it’s doubly true of the second one. This is a fans-only release, period. It is highly unlikely anyone else would get much enjoyment from this low-fi set.
2/5 stars
Although Carr’s loss was devastating to both fans and the band, there was no question Kiss would carry on with imminent Revenge….
It’s back and picking up right where we left off: the death of Eric Carr. The previous chapter of this series was posted November 8 2017, with the intention to talk about Eric Carr’s demos next, before moving on to his replacement. When Eric died of cancer in 1991, he left behind several tapes of unreleased material that have since been issued on CD. Likewise, the Kiss Re-Review Series was derailed by Mrs. LeBrain’s cancer diagnosis, but will carry on now that she is well. Thank you for your patience!
ERIC CARR – Rockology (2000 EMI)
The late drummer Eric Carr was frustrated towards the end. He was writing good material, but it was always being rejected by Paul and Gene. In the press, Eric would tow the company line and explain that everybody else had such good songs, that there was no room for his. In his heart, he was hurt and felt shunned.
Eric Carr wasn’t just a drummer. He could sing lead, and he could write. Kiss’ single “All Hell’s Breaking Loose” was an Eric idea. He co-wrote “Don’t Leave Me Lonely” with Bryan Adams. Although his writing credits on Kiss albums were sparse, he had plenty of material in the can. 2000’s Rockology is a series of those demos, some in a near-finished state and some left incomplete. Much of this material was intended for a cartoon Eric was working on called The Rockheads. 10 years later, Bruce Kulick finished recording some guitar parts and mixed it for release. He also wrote liner notes explaining the origins and Eric’s intentions for each track.
Eric didn’t have a particularly commercial voice, falling somewhere south of a Gene Simmons growl. There’s no reason why Gene couldn’t have sung “Eyes of Love” from 1989, which has more balls than a lot of Hot in the Shade. This demo has Eric on drums and bass, and Bruce Kulick on guitar with a solo overdubbed in 1999. It doesn’t sound like a finished Kiss song, but it could have been tightened up to become one. Same with the ballad “Everybody’s Waiting”. It sounds custom written for Paul Stanley. But it was 1989, and nothing was going to displace “Forever” from the album, nor should it have.
Many of the demos have no words. “Heavy Metal Baby” features Eric scatting out a loose melody. This heavy and chunky riff would have been perfect for the later Revenge album, had Eric lived. In a strange twist, several of the best songs are instrumentals. The hidden gem on this CD is the unfinished “Just Can’t Wait”. It could have given Journey and Bon Jovi a run for their money. Eric, Bruce and Adam Mitchell wrote it for Crazy Nights, and you can almost hear a killer chorus just waiting to leap out at you. This potential hit could have been the best song on Crazy Nights, had it been finished.
“Mad Dog” has nothing to do with the Anvil song of the same name. The chorus is there but the verses are a work in progress. This hard rocker from 1987 was probably too heavy for what Kiss were doing, though it would have added some much needed groove. “You Make Me Crazy” is in a similar state of completion and boasts a tap-tastic solo by Bruce. Apparently this demo was originally called “Van Halen” and you can hear why. Two versions of a song called “Nightmare” exist, including a really rough one without drums. This incomplete song could have really been something special. It has a dramatic feel and different moods, and was probably too sophisticated for Kiss, though any number of 80s rock bands would have been lucky to have such good material.
The last batch of tracks show off the Rockheads material. Whether Eric’s cartoon idea ever would have happened or not, the advent of bobble-heads and Pops would have made marketing easy. The songs are virtually complete though the drums are programmed. “Too Cool For School” is a little cartoony, which is the point, right? For keyboard ballads, “Tiara” showed promise. It’s not the equal of “Reason to Live” but it demonstrates a side to Eric unheard before. Next, Bruce says that they always wanted Bryan Adams to cover “Do You Feel It”. It would have fit Adams like a nice jean jacket. Not that Adams really needed the help, it would have been awesome on Waking Up the Neighbors. The set closes with “Nasty Boys”, nothing exceptional. It sounds like a song called “Nasty Boys” would sound…or anything by 80s Kiss really.
Before you spend your hard-earned dollars, remember that these songs are definitely unfinished. They are as polished as possible given some of their rough (cassette) origins. Eric’s talent still shines, but you have to be a fan. Especially a fan of 80s Kiss. They will find it to be a crucial companion piece to their collections.
My parents were great to me. When it was time to move on to post-secondary education, They paid my way. My mom paid for my textbooks. Some of them could get really expensive. You’d be looking at over $100 each for some. I kept many of them. My Astronomy texts are still beautiful though outdated. I am fairly sure I still have my English translation of Herodotus’ The Histories (c. 440 BC) somewhere.
My first year of university, she came with me to the book store to help me find everything. Good thing she did, as it was an intimidating prospect for a first timer. One of my history courses had four novels assigned. I got all four, but only after class started did I learn that you didn’t need all four, you only had to choose one of the four. Rookie mistake. In the years that followed, we all learned to wait until class actually began before you bought every single book. Some might be optional. It was Russian history, and I chose Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons (1880). Not what you’d call a page turner but I worked my way through it. It introduced me to the concept of nihilism (which I still don’t really fathom) and that helped me at least understand The Big Lebowski later on. So I chalk that as a “win”.
The parents took good care of me through school, loaning me the car most of the time. On Thursday nights I only had an hour and a half between classes so I would go to my grandma’s house in Waterloo for dinner. Porkchops with mushroom soup.
I worked my way through my history degree, but in my final year I tried to pull one over on my mom.
My buddy Peter introduced me to Beavis and Butt-head a year prior. In Frankemuth, Michigan he rented a VCR just to tape some MTV broadcasts of the show. We didn’t get it in Canada (unless you had satellite). So when I saw the Beavis and Butt-head Ensucklopedia (1994) just sitting there in the actual school bookstore, I had to buy it. The mere sighting of Beavis and Butt-head sitting there in a school text book store was too hilarious for me to ignore.
Mom used to tell me, “Just put your books on your credit card, give me the receipt, and I will reimburse you with a cheque.” It was a sweet deal so why not throw Beavis and Butt-head there in the pile?
Well there was no pulling the wool over mom’s eyes. Of course she looked at the itemised receipt and questioned me.
“I’m not paying for Beavis and Butt-head!” she said, and true to her word, gave me a cheque for the total minus that book.
THE BEACHES – Late Show (2017 Universal)
ERIC CARR – Unfinished Business (2011 Auto Rock Records)
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