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

Part 77: Psycho-Circus

RECORD STORE TALES Part 77:  Psycho-Circus

If you think back to the late 90’s, the hype surrounding Kiss was enormous.  They’d just completed their successful reunion tour to rave reviews, what was left but an album?

I was excited too, but not as excited as “Kiss Man”….

I don’t remember his name and I never heard from him again, so heartbroken was he.  My staff had a habit of telling annoying customers, “Hey, if you really want to talk about Kiss (or insert-band-name-here) then you should call back and talk to this guy Mike.  He loves Kiss.”

One time, they told a lady I was interested in buying her original Whitesnake cover art painting.  Which I wasn’t.  Anyway, back to Kiss.

This guy had come in talking about Kiss with somebody, and they told him to call me.  So he did.  With two of my bosses standing in front of me, I blindly anwered the phone.  To the best of my recollection, this was the conversation.  Imagine two of my bosses standing in front me alternating between glances and glares.

Kiss Man:  Hi, is this Mike?

Mike:  Yes, speaking.

Kiss Man:  Oh hi, I was speaking with (insert whoever’s name it was) a couple days ago, and they told me you were a massive Kiss fan?

Mike:  Yes, yes I am…

Kiss Man:  Like really big Kiss fan?  Like they said you have the dolls.

Mike:  Yes…I do have some action figures… (the bosses both looking at me now)

Kiss Man:  Are they the vintage ones?

Mike:  Uh, pardon?

Kiss Man:  Are they the vintage ones from the 1970’s.

Mike:  Oh, no.  They’re just the MacFarlanes.

Kiss Man:  Cool, still.  So do you know anything about the new Kiss album coming out called Psycho-Circus?

Mike:  (thinking he was now asking when it was out, how much we’ll be selling it for, etc)  Well, it’s out in a couple weeks, and there’s some kind of special edition cover, and we’ll be trying to get that one in. 

Kiss Man:  So how many times did you see them live?

Mike:  Uhh, just once…I don’t really go to a lot of concerts…

Kiss Man:  Just once?  Like on this tour?

Mike:  No…just once.  I wanted to see them on the Revenge tour though.

Kiss Man:  Have you heard the new single, “Psycho Circus”?

Mike:  No, I haven’t yet.

Kiss Man:  On Q107?  No?

Mike:  No, I…

Kiss Man:  Wow, and they said you were a big Kiss fan.

That one hurt, admittedly.

I eventually brought the conversation to a close, got shit for taking a “personal” call, explained to my bosses that I really didn’t have a clue who that was, and then later interrogated the staff to find up who set me up with the Space Ace.

When I found out, they were disappointed that the conversation didn’t go well, as if they were trying to set with up with a new buddy.  “He’s probably really sad now,” they said.

“Yeah.  He’s probably never going to come back into the store again, because of you,” they helpfully added.

Yeah, well.  It was a lose-lose situation and I definitely lost that time!

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

Jon Lord: 1941-2012

When I was a (really) young kid hearing Deep Purple for the first time, I thought the keyboard player looked so cool, with his glasses and moustache.  So, naturally, I drew a picture of him.  With a machete.  And I called him Street Lord!

As an adult, Jon Lord’s playing and writing has shaped my experience as a music fan.  I shall dearly miss his musical contributions to the world.  I considered Jon Lord to be one of the most talented, if not the most talented, musician in rock.  It is truly a shame that now, 44 years since their inception, there can never be a reunion of Deep Purple Mk I, II, or III.

Rest in Peace Jon.

Part 76: Free Sh*t

You shall not pass, nor get anything for free

Record store employees get a lot of free shit.  From shirts to discs to posters to the oddest promotional merchandise you can think of, they get a lot.

Used record store employees, like myself, do not!

Reason being?  The word “used”.  The record distributors automatically assumed we would sell everything that we got for free.  Which we didn’t, because we didn’t want to hurt our already tenuous relationship.  This is where my personal experience differs from the average record store guy.  I got very, very little free stuff over the years.   

Sometimes you’d see the odd promo disc arrive, but it was either something completely unknown that nobody wanted, or something like Much Dance 2002, that nobody wanted.

I did get a few things.  Most of this stuff isn’t around anymore, either given away or wrecked.  Here’s a complete list of everything that I personally ever got for free from a record label during my 12 year tenure at the store, and it ain’t much!  This stuff would just show up in boxes of discs that we ordered.

  • A Jon Bon Jovi golf ball, to promote his solo album Destination Anywhere.  Ended up selling it at a garage sale for 25 cents.
  • A very nice Green Day Nimrod sweatshirt.  It too was green.  Don’t know what happened to it.
  • I had to fight for this one:  A nice black Kiss sweat shirt.  The higher-ups didn’t want me to get it.  (Don’t know what they wanted it for!)
  • A Jann Arden “Insensitive” baseball hat. 
  • A Vince Gill blue denim hat.
  • Two rolls of Star Wars stickers to promote the DVD release of the Original Trilogy.  These have lasted a long time and I still have a partial roll.  You’d be amazed how many things look better with Star Wars stickers on them
  • A bunch of Yoda buttons to promote Attack of the Clones.  Gave these away to kids.
  • A bunch of Lord of the Rings buttons, to promote Fellowship.  Also gave these away to kids.

Of these things, all I have left are the stickers and the Kiss sweatshirt, slowly fading from many washes.  Not a lot to show for 12 years of the record store grind, but as I said, the record companies really hated giving us anything for free.  The funny thing is, other people (DJ’s, employees at other record stores) would come in and sell us dozens and dozens of promotional discs that they got for free.  So the irony is, even though we played by the rules, we got stiffed.  The other people who broke the rules got free shit all the time!  Ain’t it the way?

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 75.5: Supplimental: Sausagefest 2012 Countdown & Pics
Gardenia Kyuss
Money For   Nothing Dire Straits
Dogs Pink Floyd
The Rime of   the Ancient Mariner Iron Maiden
Watermelon   Man Herbie Hancock
Simple Man Lynyrd Skynyrd
Holy Diver Dio
Aqualung Jethro Tull
One Metallica
NIB Black Sabbath
Fade to Black Metallica
Bark at the   Moon Ozzy Osbourne
Freebird Lynyrd Skynyrd
Ohio Crosby, Stills, Nash   and Young
Ophelia The Band
Into the Void Black Sabbath
Bring it on   Home Led Zeppelin
46 and 2 Tool
Time   Travelling Blues Orange Goblin
How Heavy   This Axe The Sword
Bullet in the   Head Rage Against the   Machine
Pick Up The   Pieces The Average White   Band
Postmortem/Raining   Blood Slayer
Jambi Tool
Sir Duke Stevie Wonder
Space Cadet Kyuss
School Supertramp
Green Machine Kyuss
Dazed and   Confused Led Zeppelin
Fool’s   Overture Supertramp
Suite: Judy   Blue Eyes Crosby, Stills, Nash   and Young
Aenima Tool
Lazy Deep Purple
Breaking the   Law Judas Priest
Hot For   Teacher Van Halen
Moby Dick Led Zeppelin
Immigrant   Song Led Zeppelin
Supa Stoopid Funkadelic
Helter   Skelter The Beatles
One of These   Days Pink Floyd
Ziggy   Stardust David Bowie
Love Gun Kiss
Highway to   Hell AC/DC
Golden   Slumbers/CTW/In The End The Beatles
Flight of   Icarus Iron Maiden
RearView   Mirror Pearl Jam
Number of the   Beast Iron Maiden
Hot City   Symphony The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Ramble Tamble Creedence Clearwater   Revival
Free Will Rush
Marquee Moon Television
Cant You Hear   Me Knockin The Rolling Stones
Stand By Him Ghost
Black Water The Doobie Brothers
Goin Up To   The Country Canned Heat
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath
Ritual Ghost
Angel of   Death Slayer
For Whom the   Bell Tolls Metallica
Sex Machine James Brown
Whole Lotta   Love Led Zeppelin
Floods Pantera
Working Man Rush
Tuesday’s   Gone Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sober Tool
Killers Iron Maiden
New Orleans   is Sinking The Tragically Hip
Nobody’s   Fault But Mine Led Zeppelin
Folsom Prison   Blues Johnny Cash
Walk Pantera
Pigs (3   Different Ones) Pink Floyd
Bombtrack Rage Against the   Machine
Misty   Mountain Hop Led Zeppelin
Denim and   Leather Saxon
Ball of   Confusion The Temptations
TRIBUTES
Sins of the Father Black Sabbath
The River Tea Party
Mr. Crowley Ozzy Osbourne
Resurrection   Shuffle Ashton, Gardner and   Dyke
Stinkfist Tool
A Lil Piece   of Heaven Avenged Sevenfold
Naked Eye   (live) The Who
Suzanne Leonard Cohen
Finding My   Way Rush
Gato Devin Townsend
Shangri-La The Kinks
Sleeping   Giant Mastadon
The   Unforgiven III Metallica
Captain Nemo The Michael Schenker   Group
Eulogy of the   Damned Orange Goblin
Inside   Looking Out Grand Funk Railroad
Sirius/Eye in   the Sky Alan Parsons Project
Darlene Led Zeppelin
Search &   Destroy Iggy Pop
Woman From   Tokyo Deep Purple
Funk #49 James Gang
Between the   Wheels Rush
Jessica The Allman Brothers
Strutter KISS
Fish On Primus
Little House   I Used to Live In Frank Zappa
Laid to Rest Lamb of God
Mannish Boy Muddy Waters
Texas Flood Stevie Ray Vaughan
The Sixteens Sweet
We Built This   City Starship

Part 75: 2012 Sausagefest Report part two

Haven’t read part one yet?  Click here.

Since pictures speak a thousand words, I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking this time.

The countdown resumed Saturday afternoon.  “Love Gun” from Alive II was my pick.  We were inundated with Mammoth, more Tool, more Maiden, and awesomely enough, “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock, light years ahead of its time.  We also heard from old stanby’s such as Rush (“Between the Wheels”), and others like Crosby, Stills & Nash, Dire Straits, and Starship (?)(thanks Zach).

The #1 song on the countdown was Kyuss’ “Gardenia”.  Oh what a beauty.  Must get.

Meat’s going to post the whole countdown when he’s back online (see: last installment) which should be soon.   Thank God for warranties.

Speaking of warranties, my car deck had to be replaced.  Sausagefest’s rainstorm killed it, I guess.  It took with it the new Tenacious D disc.  But the unit was covered on warranty so all is well.

It’s always sad when Sausagefest is over, and we always look forward to the next one.  It reminds me of what it was like to be a kid.  At the end of summer holidays, sometimes you waved goodbye to friends and said, “See you next summer,” and you just can’t wait for next summer to come.  That’s what Sausagefest is like.  I’d do it again next week in a heartbeat!