C.K. LENDT – Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup (1997 Billboard Books)
Chris Lendt used to be an accountant for Kiss’ management company (from ’76-’88), and according to him, quite close to the band. He spent a lot of time on the road, with the band, keeping track of the money. The story he tells is amusing at times, off-topic at others, but also often critical of his former bosses.
Lendt distills Kiss’ legacy to profit/loss diagrams. At the same time, he tells a lot of stories about excess, touring, and groupies, but not a lot about rock and roll. If you are looking for the nitty gritty details about Kiss and the music, this is not the book for you. For that book, check out Black Diamond by Dale Sherman. If you want one person’s account of the inner workings of the Kiss business, then read on.
Lendt describes parties, extravagent budgets, and stage shows. Where things get really interesting in this book is when things start to go sour for Kiss, right around the time of the Dynasty tour in ’79. He desribes Gene’s plan for “Kiss World”, a traveling amusement park that was to play outside of Kiss’ concerts on that tour. Needless to say it never happened, but it’s not something that’s well covered in other books, at least in this level of detail. He talks about recording budgets, about Ace Frehley building a gajillion dollar home studio that was never used (and later turned into a swimming pool), about wigs (Gene’s), about gurus (Paul’s), and about desperately copying every move Bon Jovi made when they hit it big in ’86, before his company was fired by Kiss in ’88.
He also spends a bit too much time talking about Diana Ross, whom his company was also managing. There are too many pages about investments, stuffy boardroom meetings, profit margins, and budgets. While this book is very insightful, covering many details that nobody else was privy to, it’s not enough about rock and roll. I can’t even tell if Lendt really likes rock and roll. Certainly, he liked working for Kiss in the early years, and the touring, but the later years are marked by constant criticism. (A bit like my own Record Store Tales, I guess.)
Pick up Kiss and Sell cheaply, read it and enjoy it; but please also pick up Dale Sherman’s Black Diamond, and Kiss’ own Behind The Mask. Both books are more about the music, and both books are actually surprisingly critical as well. All three together will be a very well rounded reading of the hottest band in the land.
3/5 stars. More if the author would stick to the topic!
ACE FREHLEY – Space Invader (2014 E One/Victor Japan)
Ace Frehley doesn’t exactly crank ’em out anymore, but the five year break between albums isn’t too bad by today’s standards. Anomaly surfaced in 2009. I think it could have delivered more than it did, but Space Invader is more immediate.
The title track “Space Invader” opens the album; a solid rocker with a strong chorus. The guitar solos absolutely smoke. Ace has lost nothing over the years, even his voice has barely changed. His singing could be more melodic, but he has character. This song takes me back to when I first heard Frehley’s Comet back in ’87. Hearing Ace’s guitar front and center doing things I had forgotten he could do. Awesome.
“Gimme a Feelin'” (hilariously labelled a “radio edit” even though it is also the album version) is plenty catchy enough, with a vintage Frehley vibe. A song like this could have been on any Kiss album in the 70’s, although I find the production a bit…cluttered. It fades abruptly, but “I Wanna Hold You” returns to that vintage Kiss vibe. This time, it’s the pop side that albums like Dynasty explored, but with the heaviness that fans expect. There’s nothing wimpy about “I Wanna Hold You” even though it could have come right from 1979-80. Ace goes into a more ominous vibe for the strong “Change”. Now it’s 1982 and it’s Creatures as if Ace was on it. It really makes you wish for what might have been. Then “Toys” feels like it’s aping the “She” riff, but in an obvious way. It also shares characteristics with 1988’s “The Acorn in Spinning”.
“Immortal Pleasures” is a change of pace, allowing Ace to play some acoustic guitar. It’s a fairly simple song, and it took a bit to grow on me, as I didn’t like it at first. “Inside the Vortex” is trademark Ace, and again I think what works is simplicity. The riff is tricky, so Ace keeps it simple with the robotic vocal and it’s perfect. This one might be an early runner for “personal favourite”.
A nice traditional rock riff is what I need next, and “What Every Girl Wants” hits the spot. This one reminds me of…[gasp] Poison! I don’t mean that in a bad way really. It is true that Space Invader is not exactly innovative (“Inside the Vortex” notwithstanding), but it does deliver on rock and roll. That’s all you can really expect from Ace Frehley, and that’s just fine. “Past the Milky Way” has an appropriately spacey vibe, as Ace gets his acoustic out again. The lyrics are cool: “Now I’m runnin’ out of oxygen, but I’ve still got my guitar.”
Heading into the home stretch, “Reckless” stomps in a nondescript kind of way. You may have heard Ace’s cover of Steve Miller’s “The Joker”. Some love it, some don’t. I am undecided. I can’t say that I needed to hear the song anymore. The standard album closer is the 7-minute “Starship”, which sounds at first as if it could fit in Ace’s “Quantum” series. Then it goes in a number of different directions, all cool. It’s a long instrumental that holds interest, and is an album highlight. Bravo Ace.
The Japanese version comes with three bonus tracks: an extended (4:44) version of “Reckless”, the radio edit (3:18) of “Space Invader”, and the “explicit” version (4:05) of “Gimme a Feelin'”. (The vinyl has a “different remix” (?) of “Reckless” and an extended version of “The Joker”. At least, I think that’s true, there’s conflicting info out there.)
I love the Ken Kelly cover art, which fits the classic sound of Space Invader. The album is not perfect but it’s a step up from Anomaly and a proud addition to the Frehley library. Any fan of the Space Ace who craves those licks and stuttery solos will find much to love here.
Alright people. I got a question for everybody here (and I didn’t forget about you people upstairs neither, woah yeah!). How many of you people believe in rock and roll?
If you believe in rock and roll, like you say you believe in rock-and-ro-oh-oll, then you know that 2014 is the 40th anniversary of the very first Kiss album. Gene Simmons believes in rock and roll. So does Universal music. They believe in rock and roll’s ability to fill their pockets again and again. As fans, we have learned to accept this. You don’t have to buy every re-package and reissue that comes out; we all choose which releases to buy based on our wants and budgets.
Unreleased music is a top priority for me, so seeing Kiss 40 coming out with a number of unreleased tracks, I was excited about this release. I bought the Japanese edition from the folks over at CD Japan, for the Japanese exclusive bonus track. I’ll talk about that track in a bit, for now I want to express how happy I am with Kiss 40, as a compilation aimed at fans both new and old.
Sets like this are tricky. You have to include familiar versions of familiar hits for the people buying their first Kiss CD. You have to include value to the cantankerous old fan, and present the old songs in novel ways. What Kiss and Universal chose to do was include one song from every Kiss album, including every live album. Sprinkled into that are the unreleased songs.
High points:
I love that they used the Paul Stanley version of “God of Thunder”, the fast one. Marko Fox has been using that as his theme song on his show for a while, and I’ve really grown to love this version. All four solo albums have a song included. (I would have preferred a harder song from Paul’s album, but “Hold Me, Touch Me” was the single after all.) Killers is represented, via “Down on Your Knees”. Not a bad song. I’m glad to have the radio edit of “Jungle”, finally. I never had that before, and “Jungle” probably wouldn’t be on the album if it wasn’t edited down from its full seven minutes. (Although not stated, “Psycho-Circus” is also edited to remove the “circus” intro.)
Low points:
The goal of including Kiss songs from every album also means that you have to hear “Let’s Put the X in Sex”. Although this would have been a great place to use a rarer remixed version, it’s just the same one from Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. Another total miss that is here is the dreadful “Nothing Can Keep Me From You”, from the Detroit Rock City soundtrack. Whyyyyy.
Nitty gritty details:
The first rarity is a 1977 Gene Simmons demo called “Reputation”. You can hear that aspects of this song later made it into other Gene Simmons compositions such as “Radioactive”. This is one of those song titles I’d read about for years, but have never heard until now. Cool. While the song is definitely a demo, and not quite as good as most finished Kiss songs, it does boast a cool dual guitar solo and rocking piano a-la “Christine Sixteen”.
On the second CD are the rare live tracks. In addition to live songs sampled from You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!, Alive IV: Kiss Symphony and The Millenium Concert, there are rare ones here from Instant Live CDs. Instant Live CDs are live albums you buy at the concert, immediately after the concert — a souvenir of the show you just saw. Extras are then sold online. I have a handful myself, but nobody has all of them (at least, nobody I know of!). “Deuce”, “Cold Gin”, and “Crazy Crazy Nights” are all from these Instant Live albums. “Crazy Crazy Nights” is the one I was most interested in. Live performances of that song are scarce in my collection. It is from the Sonic Boom tour, and it’s pretty solid. The song is played in a lower key to accommodate Paul, who does pretty good anyway. Eric and Tommy help him out on the chorus. Thayer simplifies the original Kulick solo, adapting it to his style and keeping the key hooks intact. The result is a tasty guitar solo which is a cross of both players.
Finally, those lucky lucky fans in Japan got a brand new live song: “Hell or Hallelujah” recorded at Budokan. Although the song itself smokes, Paul’s voice is really sore on this one. (Both the intro and outro, which could have been neatly edited out, are really harsh.) The song includes the line, “No lies, no fakin’,” and that is totally appropriate, because this sounds 100% live and untouched. Gotta give ’em credit for not trying to fix Paul’s voice in the mix.
Notable omissions:
“Love Gun”, “Creatures of the Night”, “Hotter than Hell”, “I Stole Your Love”, “Rocket Ride”, “Sure Know Something”, “Hide Your Heart”, “Domino”.
The verdict:
Buy this CD. The concept of “one track per album” creates some interesting listening results. The ratio of rarities to hits keeps it fresh all the way through. And if you’re a Kiss fan absolutely get the Japanese version. Just go to CD Japan and order it.
4/5 stars
Disc One
‘Nothin To Lose’
‘Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll’
‘C’mon and Love Me’
‘Rock And Roll All Nite’ (Live)
‘God Of Thunder’ (Demo)
‘Beth’
‘Hard Luck Woman’
‘Reputation’ (Demo) – Previously Unreleased
‘Christine Sixteen’
‘Shout It Out Loud’ (Live)
‘Strutter ‘78′
‘You Matter To Me’ (Peter Criss)
‘Radioactive’ (Gene Simmons)
‘New York Groove’ (Ace Frehley)
‘Hold Me, Touch Me’ (Paul Stanley)
‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ (Single Edit)
‘Shandi’
‘A World Without Heroes’
‘I Love It Loud’
‘Down On Your Knees’
‘Lick It Up’
‘Heaven’s On Fire’
Disc Two
‘Tears Are Falling’
‘Reason To Live’
‘Let’s Put The X In Sex’
‘Forever’ (Remix)
‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II’
‘Unholy’ (Live)
‘Do You Love Me?’ (MTV Unplugged)
‘Room Service’ (Live)
‘Jungle’ (Radio Edit)
‘Psycho Circus’
‘Nothing Can Keep Me From You’ (Detroit Rock City soundtrack)
KISS – Destroyer (Resurrected)(2012 Universal, replacement CD)
Good day, loyal LeBrain readers.
Back in 2012, Scott your Heavy Metal OverloRd informed me of a flaw in Kiss’ Destroyer (Resurrected) CD. As he noted then, on the song “Flaming Youth”, there seemed to be a skip or some music missing: “It’s only about 4 seconds in just before Paul sings ‘Whoa Yeah’. It’s like there’s a half beat missing or something.”
When I noticed what he was talking about, it did effect my enjoyment of the CD. Once you hear it, you cannot un-hear it. I haven’t played Resurrected much in the last year and a half. Even iTunes downloads were affected by the flaw.
Then, recently, Scott informed me that Universal were replacing defective CDs for those who bought them. I didn’t realize this, in fact I read nothing about it on the numerous rock sites I read daily. Scott found a contact email for a gentleman at Universal who was in charge of the replacement CDs. I contacted him, and he responded to me within 24 hours with instructions to provide a proof of purchase, which I also did. He then told me he would send out the replacement CD as soon as possible. No fuss, no muss!
I received my replacement copy today. I was surprised to see that Universal sent me not just a CD (as sometimes is the case) but a sealed CD in jewel case. This replacement copy was obviously different as soon as I popped into my computer: the track time of “Flaming Youth” is 3:00 instead of 2:59…and the skip is gone!
I’m enjoying revisiting Destroyer (Resurrected). It is less glaringly different sounding now than it was a year and a half ago. I think I’m actually enjoying it more, for what it is. I’m also enjoying the booklet and liner notes (by Bob Ezrin) once again. Now that I finally have a copy without that annoying flaw, I think this will become the version of Destroyer that I listen to most. The reason is, after enjoying the original Destroyer for decades, this sounds fresh and surprising to my aged ears. When you listen to music that you know and love, you expect every note and every sound exactly as they always have been. When an album gets a subtle facelift like this, the songs continually surprise me. Every time I notice a difference, it forces me to pay attention. When it’s a bad remix, that’s annoying. When it’s a good remix, it’s enjoyable.
One final note: Universal sent me an American pressing, and it is very different looking than my old Canadian version! I don’t know if the design of the CD art was changed specifically for the “fixed” pressing, or if all American pressings have always looked like this. Where previously I had a silver CD with a Casablanca logo and designed to look like an old LP, this version has a black CD — both sides! The Casablanca logo is still there, but the design is otherwise different. Instead of silver artwork with faux-LP grooves, it’s a plain black disc. It’s uber-cool looking and I like it a lot.
You had to know Kiss were going to come out with another Greatest Hits set to celebrate their 40th anniversary. This is in addition to the massive, beautiful Kissteria vinyl box set. I’m looking forward to KISS 40, since it will include some live recordings previously only available on Kiss’ Instant Live discs. It will also include “Reputation”, an early Kiss demo previously unreleased.
In addition, the Japanese will get their own exclusive bonus track, so I have pre-ordered that version from the fine folks over at CDJapan. I have been a satisfied customer there since 2008.
Complete KISS 40 tracklist is below:
‘Nothin To Lose’
‘Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll’
‘C’mon and Love Me’
‘Rock And Roll All Nite’ (Live)
‘God Of Thunder’ (Demo)
‘Beth’
‘Hard Luck Woman’
‘Reputation’ (Demo) – Previously Unreleased
‘Christine Sixteen’
‘Shout It Out Loud’ (Live)
‘Strutter ‘78′
‘You Matter To Me’ (Peter Criss)
‘Radioactive’ (Gene Simmons)
‘New York Groove’ (Ace Frehley)
‘Hold Me, Touch Me’ (Paul Stanley)
‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ (Single Edit)
‘Shandi’
‘A World Without Heroes’
‘I Love It Loud’
‘Down On Your Knees’
‘Lick It Up’
‘Heaven’s On Fire’
‘Tears Are Falling’
‘Reason To Live’
‘Let’s Put The X In Sex’
‘Forever’ (Remix)
‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II’
‘Unholy’ (Live)
‘Do You Love Me?’ (MTV Unplugged)
‘Room Service’ (Live)
‘Jungle’ (Radio Edit)
‘Psycho Circus’
‘Nothing Can Keep Me From You’ (Detroit Rock City soundtrack)
I was a little surprised when I heard booing at Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer’s names. Not all fans are classy fans I guess, even if they had enough money to buy a ticket last night.
What I heard were four great speeches from four guys who absolutely, unarguably deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and as a lifelong Kiss fan I’m proud of my boys.
Finally, the end! Part 9 of my 9 part series on Ace Frehley! Via this series, we took a comprehensive look at every significant Frehley solo release that I had access to. Here’s a directory to the whole thing in case you missed a part!
Ace had a pretty good backing band on this, only his fifth solo album! Anton Fig on drums, Anthony Esposito (ex-Lynch Mob) on bass, and a few guests here and there such as Brian Tichy. The overall sound is much heavier than anything Ace has done before. There are lot of chunky guitars, and a ton of riffs.
“Foxy & Free” is fine as an opener, but melodically a little awkward. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what I don’t like about it, but it’s not one of the better songs. Much better is “Outer Space”, Ace’s re-imagining of a song by a band called Shredmill. While that band originally conceived the song as a Danzig-esque prowl, Ace cranks it up. Pedal to the floor, this is the best song on Anomaly. Too bad it’s a cover because this is the kind of original that Ace needs. Unfortunately “Outer Space” is followed by “Pain in the Neck”, another one I find melodically annoying.
Another cover, “Fox on the Run”, restores the album. Much like “Do Ya”, I think Ace knocked it out of the park with this cover. His modus operandi seems to be taking catchy pop songs and rocking them up. He does it very well. Another thing he does very well is instrumental tracks, and “Genghis Khan” is a fascinating one. You don’t think of Ace as being influenced by Led Zeppelin so much, but this definitely sounds like Zeppelin for the most part! This is thanks in part to Anton Fig’s perfect execution on drums. But it’s not exactly an instrumental, as it does have a chorus! “So, long, Genghis Khan!” But that’s pretty much it in terms of lyrics!
Like a see-saw, the album swings back to melodically questionable territory. “Too Many Faces” is not a stand out. It’s heavy but lacks significant hooks. “Change the World” is a another high. Frehley’s an electric hippy praying for peace. It’s not the first time, but it’s a worthy successor to songs of the past such as “Remember Me”. Unlike many of the weaker songs, “Change the World” is catchy, singalong quality, and fun!
A punishing and cool instrumental called “Space Bear” is actually overshadowed by another version of the song later on, so I’m going to skip it now. “A Little Below the Angels” is a pretty good acoustic ballad. I really dislike the middle section, with Ace talking to the girl…wish that had been excised. It’s back again to heavy territory on “Sister”, one of the few really decent original Frehley heavy rockers on the album. This one features Scot Coogan (Brides of Destruction) on drums, and he really throws caution to the wind and goes for it! His drums are a highlight of a great Frehley rocker.
“It’s a Great Life” is certainly interesting. It’s a funky 80’s sounding rocker, with Ace’s personality. The chorus could have been stronger. Imagine what a producer like Eddie Kramer could have done with the sound of this album! Sonically, Anomaly is disappointing for the most part. If Kramer had produced, I’m sure the closer “Fractured Quantum” would shimmer like the other three “Fractured” songs. Don’t get me wrong, I love “Fractured Quantum”, I just think it lacks a certain sonic shine that the others have. Like the other “Fractured” instrumentals, it consists of layers of acoustic guitars with some electrics here and there. It is melodically simple and it works.
iTunes offered their exclusive bonus track, “Return of Space Bear”. This song is either a) no longer available on iTunes, or b) not available on iTunes in Canada. Needless to say I was forced to acquire it in the shady underbelly of the internets, but find it I did. “Space Bear” is a reference to Ace’s hilarious drunken appearance on the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. On October 30 1979, Kiss appeared on the show, and Ace was pre-lubricated. A visibly upset Gene Simmons attempts to divert attention away from Ace and his “first space bear ever in captivity”, a little teddy bear version of himself! On this iTunes version, Ace’s dialogue is added, and this is the version I like best. Ace re-enacts some of his funniest drunken lines over some cool rocking riffs. To me, the tune sounds like early rocking Aerosmith, circa Rocks.
photo: heavymetal107
I will say that I don’t like the packaging. The cardboard case thing unfolds into a pyramid, but I’ve never tried. As a device to hold a CD, it’s annoying to get the disc in and out, and mine is pretty scratched. I did find a photo of the “pyramid” form at a cool blog called Heavy Metal 107 — click the thumb to see.
And that’s Anomaly, Ace’s first solo album in 20 years. By coincidence, just like last time (Trouble Walkin‘), Ace’s new album came at almost exactly the same time as a new Kiss CD, Sonic Boom. As before, fans compared and argued over who had made the better album. I think these fans miss the point. It doesn’t matter who made the better album, what matters is that both finally got back to making albums!
3.75/5 stars
When Ace returns for his next solo album, you can bet I will be here to tell you all about it. Thanks for reading this series! I hope you enjoyed.
So then an other odds n’ sods disc from John Regan of Frehley’s Comet arrived. Like 12 Picks, this one also came with an Ace guitar pick. The most appealing songs in this collection are the unreleased tracks “One Plus One” and “Give It To Me Anyway”. Both are complete Frehley’s Comet songs, produced by Eddie Kramer. My respected reviewer friend Jon holds these songs above many that made it onto the actual albums.
“One Plus One” is an excellent commercial rocker with that Ace “quirk” to it. This one might have been cut from 1987’s Frehley’s Comet album because it was considered too pop. That’s a shame because it’s great. Tod Howarth’s high backing vocal complements Ace’s lead for maximum hooks. I love it. This song is addictive.
“Give It To Me Anyway” is one of the oldest Comet songs, dating back to 1985, recorded for 1989’s Trouble Walkin’, and left unreleased. This is a tough, funky rocker, musically ambitious. Anton Fig’s avalanches of drum fills are always soothing, but Richie Scarlet’s raspy vocals are the real hook. Not that the chorus is bad either!
After these two valuable now-classics, Regan throws on three Frehley also-rans that didn’t make it onto the prior 12 Picks compilation. They are Ace’s excellent cover of The Move/ELO’s “Do Ya”, Tod Howarth’s ballad “It’s Over Now”, and “Shot Full Of Rock” from Trouble Walkin’. I like all three songs, but I question the wisdom of including “It’s Over Now” on this compilation. Ace didn’t write it, didn’t sing on it, didn’t play the guitar solo…
A smattering of live tracks makes up the next section of the CD. Some of these are from the Live + 4 VHS release, others are from the same gig that the Live + 1 EP was recorded at. “Stranger In A Strange Land” (from Frehley’s Comet) is from this show, and has Anton Fig on drums. Not the greatest song but you can actually hear where it would fit into Live + 1 (right before “Something Moved”). Up next is “Separate” which Ace introduced as “Separate the Men from the Boys”. I’ve admitted to liking the song, but this is especially cool as this is the very first performance of it. I dig the vocal and Ace’s chugging guitar and I think it actually works live, surprisingly.
Tod Howarth…I’m sorry dude…you suck at introducing songs. I wish you said nothing in front of “New York Groove”. You’re no Paul Stanley, believe me. I ain’t gonna “clap those hands”. Thankfully the performance of the song is great, even if Jamie Oldaker butchers the drum part. “Rock Soldiers” is once again back to the Anton Fig lineup, and this time Ace does the intro himself. You can immediately tell it’s a different drummer, it’s like night and day. “Remember Me” is the last of the live tracks, and though it’s presented live, it’s the same version that is on Trouble Walkin’.
The final two songs are parts 2 and 3 of the “Fractured” tetralogy (though in 1998 still a trilogy). Part one, of course, was on Ace’s 1978 solo album, which is considered part of the Kiss catalog. Therefore, John Regan wouldn’t have been able to use it on Loaded Deck. It’s fine…a bit of a cop out way to end a compilation album I think. To me, it feels like, “We’re all out of good songs so here’s two instrumentals.” For the casual fan, it’s a “blah” ending. For the die-hards, well, we already have these songs…part one included…and could make our own tapes with all of them, should we desire to experience them like that. I’ve never had that compulsion. They were all individual album closers, that felt right ending the albums in that context. Together, it doesn’t work for me.
Sometimes a compilation leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If it’s a disjointed listening experience, I’m less likely to return to that compilation. Loaded Deck gets fewer plays in my collection than 12 Picks does. Even though they are meant to complement each other, like two discs of a double anthology, I think 12 Picks is a better album experience.
What Regan should have done is make an album of just the unreleased studio and live songs, without the stuff we already had on the studio albums. Megaforce figured that out, and in 2006 issued Greatest Hits Live, a compilation of these two compilations. After we already bought said compilations. Awesome.
2/5 stars for the album, just go ahead and get Greatest Hits Live instead.
Part 7.5 in my series on Ace Frehley, sorta! Plenty of Ace related coolness here. For the last part of the Ace series,12 Picks, click here.
A World With Heroes – A KISS Tribute for Cancer Care – A 40th Anniversary Celebration
Cancer sucks. Kiss rules. Agreed? Buy this CD.
Mitch Lafon executive produced this sucker, and I suspect that means a hell of a lot of work. I have never in my travels discovered a cooler Kiss tribute album. Do you really need to buy another Kiss tribute album? Do you? Yes, you do. Why? For the following reasons:
Profits benefit the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Palliative Care Residence in Hudson, Quebec.
Obscure track selections.
Rare Kiss related gems, such as two Peter Criss Band demos with Phil Naro.
Superstar performers including Mark Tornillo of Accept, Russ Dwarf, Don Dokken, Bonfire, Sean Kelly, Vinny Appice, L.A. Guns, Doro, and many more.
Members of the Kiss family including Eric Carr, Peter Criss, Frehley’s Comet (minus Frehley), Bob Kulick and Phil Naro.
I can’t say enough good things about this compilation. Upon first sight, it had enough rarities from artists I liked, as well as Kiss obscurities, to make it a must-have. Hearing it, I’m blown away repeatedly. It is a heady brew of hits and deep, deep cuts. Since there are 51 tracks in total, I can’t go into too much detail. I’ll point out some personal favourite moments.
I’m a huge fan of the Revenge album, and I’m a huge fan of Accept. Hearing Mark Tornillo do his thing through “Spit” was awesome. I think the man’s vocal cords must be made of steel or something for him to sing like that. I also loved “Sure Know Something”, although I don’t know Chris Buck & Anthony Cardenas Montana. It’s a slinky version, very true to the original but with a Rod Stewart vibe. Jeff Paris does a pretty authentic “Shout Mercy” and I give him full points for doing a Monster tune, the newest Kiss song on A World With Heroes.
I’ve loved Brighton Rock since I was a kid, but I never expected them to unplug “Creatures of the Night”. This twist takes a moment to get used to, but their haunting arrangement is very original and cool! “Larger Than Life” from Alive II is revisited by Brian Tichy and friends, and they do it pretty straight to the original, almost lick for lick. It’s great. I love that Ron Young from Little Caesar sings “Little Caesar”, a nice wink and a smile there. A band called Shredmill contribute their original song “Outerspace”…which was later covered by Ace Frehley on his Anomaly album (giving himself a writing credit). Shredmill’s version is more Danzig, where Ace’s was more Ace.
On the second CD, surprises and highlights continue. Ron Keel and friends from Tesla and Cinderella knock it out of the park on “Rock N’ Roll Hell”, with a nod at the start to Keel’s own “The Right To Rock”. Rick Hughes of Quebec metal masters Sword helps blow the doors off “The Oath”, a favourite from The Elder. The L.A. Guns guys (Phil Lewis included) tackle the difficult “Master & Slave” from Carnival of Souls, and it smokes. They do it authentic to the grungy original but with Phil’s snarky vocals.
As a Killer Dwarfs fan, I’m always pleased to hear Russ Dwarf’s nasally twang, and he turns in a decent “Hard Luck Woman”. (Meanwhile, another bunch of L.A. Guns guys did their own version on disc one.) Bonfire contribute a live version of Paul Stanley’s unreleased song “Sword & Stone”, from their Live at Wacken CD. I don’t really know who American Dog are, but I love that they covered the Paul Stanley version of “God of Thunder”, not the Gene Simmons take from Destroyer. They do it the speedy rocked-up way that Paul originally demoed. Jim Crean does justice to “Magic Touch”. He’s almost Joe Lynn Turner style on this one.
The second CD ends with two takes of “Beth” (Chris VanDahl sounding like the hoarse Peter Criss on Alive II, and Phil Naro). This is in addition to Michael Lardie’s (Great White) version on disc one. Naro’s is easily the best of the three.
But wait, that’s not all, folks. iTunes are selling a 51 track version of A World With Heroes, including 11 exclusives. Thankfully, you can buy these exclusives separately if you already bought the CD (like I did). Once again, highlights are many. Doro contributes a 2013 re-recording of “Only You”, which she had a previous hit with back in 1990. Russ Dwarf returns with an outstanding “God Gave Rock and Roll To You II”. There are two previously unreleased demos by the Peter Criss Band with Phil Naro. These feature Peter on drums, but believe me, you can hear that it is the Cat Man and no one else. In addition, there’s a third song from this period, but recorded by Phil in 2013. There is also a second version of “Larger Than Life”, this time by somebody called Robot Lords Of Tokyo. I don’t know who Robot Lords Of Tokyo are, but I love “Larger Than Life” and I have no problem with another version of it. This one’s done quite differently, and heavier too.
But wait! There’s still more! Pledgers who pre-ordered the CD got four bonus tracks. I missed the boat on these, and you can’t get them anymore. I’m bummed about that, but for the sake of completion, the four bonus tracks are:
‘Calling Dr. Love’ – Performed by: Crash Kelly
‘Comin’ Home’ – Performed by: Sudden Flames
‘Heaven’s On Fire’ – Performed by: The Feckers (ft. Irene Slade)
‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ Performed by: Alain Pernot
I’d love to have these, especially Crash Kelly, but alas. The project is still awesome and worth your coins. Especially if you’re a self respecting Kiss fan. Get it.
5/5 stars
EDIT: I now have the tracks. Crash Kelly’s is awesome! Fun and awesome.
Disc 1:
‘Psycho Circus’ – Performed by: DDRIVE (Phil Naro, Don Mancuso, Dave Sessions, Jt Taylor & Bobby Bond)
‘Spit’ – Performed by: Ken Dubman, Jimmy Callahan, Scott Metaxas, & Mark Tornillo
‘Deuce’ – Performed by: Bill Leverty, Kevin Valentine, John Regan, & Russ Dwarf
‘Sure Know Something’ – Performed by: Chris Buck & Anthony Cardenas Montana
‘Detroit Rock City’ – Performed by: Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, Rex Brown & Brian Tichy
‘Eyes Of Love’ – Performed by: Eric Carr, Benny Doro & John Humphrey
‘Shout Mercy’ – Performed by: Jeff Paris, Troy Lucketta, Eric Brittingham Jeff Labar
‘Creatures Of The Night’ – Performed by: BRIGHTON ROCK
‘Larger Than Life’ – Performed by: Rex Brown, Brian Tichy & Mark Zavon
‘Cold Gin’ – Performed by: Don Dokken & Tommy Denander
‘Love Gun’ – Performed by: Tony Harnell, Mark Kendall, Scott Snyder, Sean Michael Clegg, Kevin Valentine & Tommy Denander
‘Little Caesar’ – Performed by: Ron Young, John Regan & Tommy Denander
‘Hard Luck Woman’ – Performed by: Chris VanDahl, Stacey Blades & Adam Hamilton
‘Outerspace’ – Original demo later covered by Ace Frehley on his Anomaly album – Performed by: SHREDMILL (David Askew, Jesus Mendez Jr, Jaime Moreno)
‘Goodbye’ – Performed by: IMPERIA & BOB KULICK (J.K.Impera, Matti Alfonzetti, Tommy Denander & Mats Vassfjord) – Additional Guitars by Lars Chriss
‘See You Tonight’ – Performed by: TODD FARHOOD & MYSTERY (Todd Farhood, Michel St-Pere, Sylvain Moineau, Jean-Sébastien Goyette, Francois Fournier & Benoit Dupuis)
‘Beth’ – The Grand Piano Version – Performed by: Michael Lardie
‘Tomorrow’ – Performed by: DRESSED TO CHILL (Matt Bradshaw, Rav Thomas & Rhys Lett)
‘Anything For My Baby’ – Performed by: SLAVES ON DOPE (Kevin Jardine, Jason Rockman, Seb Ducap & Peter Tzaferis)
‘Unholy’ – Performed by: Fred Duvall, Glenn Belcher, Mark Slaughter (Guitar Solo), Rob Zakojc & Russ Dwarf
Disc 2:
‘Breakout’ – Performed by: Tod Howarth, John Regan & Kevin Valentine
‘Rock N Roll Hell’ – Performed by: Ron Keel, Troy Lucketta, Eric Brittingham & Jeff Labar
‘Nowhere To Run’ – Performed by: DRUCKFARBEN (Phil Naro, Ed Bernard, William Hare, Troy Feener & Peter Murray)
‘The Oath’ – Performed by: Rick Hughes, Chris Buck & Bob Richards
‘Master & Slave’ – Performed by: Adam Hamilton, Scott Griffin, Stacey Blades & Phil Lewis
‘Calling Dr.Love’ – Performed by: BURNING RAIN (Keith St John, Doug Aldrich, Sean McNabb & Matt Starr)
‘I Stole Your Love’ – Performed by: S.U.N. (Brian Thomas Tichy, Sass Jordan & Tommy Stewart) With Derek Sharp (Of The Guess Who)
‘Reason To Live’ – Performed by: Johnnie Dee & Derry Grehan of HONEYMOON SUITE with Michael Foster & Bill Leverty of FIREHOUSE
‘Hard Luck Woman’ – Performed by: Fred Duvall, Glenn Belcher, Rob Zakojc & Russ Dwarf
‘Forever’ – Performed by: Terry Ilous, Sean Kelly With Jeff Paris.
‘Sword And Stone’ – Taken From Bonfire Live In Wacken – Performed by: BONFIRE (Claus Lessmann, Hans Ziller, Chris Limburg, Uwe KöHler, Harry Reischmann)
‘God Of Thunder’ – Performed by: AMERICAN DOG (Michael Hannon, Steve Theado & Keith Pickens)
‘She’ – Performed by: RAZER (Chris Powers, Chris Catero, Jordan Ziff, Paul Sullivan, Eric Bongiorno & Chuck Alkazian)
‘New York Groove’ – Performed by: SLAVES ON DOPE (Kevin Jardine, Jason Rockman, , Elizabeth Lopez & Peter Tzaferis With Marty O’Brien)
‘Magic Touch’ – Performed by: Jim Crean, Phil Naro, Vinny Appice, Steve Major & Stan Miczek
‘Tears Are Falling’ – Performed by: Willie Basse, Bruce Bouillet, Scott Warren & Mike Hansen.
‘Rock N Roll All Nite’ – Performed by: Harley Fine, John Regan & Atom Fellows
‘Shandi’ – Performed by: Dani Luv, Scott Griffin & Matt Starr
‘Beth – Bonus Track’ – Performed by: Chris Vandahl & Scott Griffin.
‘Beth – Bonus Track’ – Performed by: Phil Naro, William Hare & Ed Bernard
iTunes exclusives:
‘No, I’m Not Afraid’ (Previously Unreleased Peter Criss Band Demo from 1991) – Performed by Peter Criss and Phil Naro
‘Wait For A Minute To Rock N’ Roll’ (Previously Unreleased Peter Criss Band Demo from 1991) – Performed by Peter Criss and Phil Naro
‘Back On The Streets’ (2013 Mix originally from Return of the Comet) – Performed by Richie Scarlet, John Regan, Tod Howarth, Arthur Stead & Steve Werner (The Comet Band)
‘Only You’ (2013 Recording) – Performed by DORO
‘God Gave Rock N Roll To You II’ – Performed by Russ Dwarf
‘I’m An Animal’ (2013 Mix originally from Return of the Comet) – Performed by the Comet Band
‘Let Me Go Rock N’ Roll’ – Performed by The Oddfathers
‘Surrender In The Name Of Love’ (Written by Peter Criss & Phil Naro) – Performed by 24K featuring Phil Naro and Mladen Alexander
‘Love Gun’ (Tommy Denander Guitar Solo Mix) – Performed by Tony Harnell, Kevin Valentine and Tommy Denander
‘Larger Than Life’ (2013 Remaster – Robot Lords Of Tokyo version) – Performed by Robot Lords Of Tokyo
‘Cold Gin’ (2013 Remaster from L.A. GUNS’ 1998 Wasted EP) – Performed by L.A. Guns
With Ace experiencing a second Golden Age back in Kiss, 1997 was the perfect time for various parties to cash in with compilations and re-releases. It made sense for Megaforce to put out a collection of Ace’s better solo work along with unreleased live tracks. With Frehley’s Comet bassist John Regan in the executive producer’s seat, at least 12 Picks has input from somebody on the inside.
This is a pretty logical collection. Since it has “Into the Night”, “Rock Soldiers”, “Words Are Not Enough”, and even “Hide Your Heart”, you could easily make an argument that casual fans can start and stop here. Sure, they’d miss great favourites like “Calling To You” and “Do Ya”…but leaving tracks off opens doors to sequels, no?
If you imagine an album still having two sides, then the studio tracks make up side one. Side two consists of live versions of Kiss favourites and others. These are all from the Second Sighting tour with Jamie Oldaker on drums, unfortunately not Anton Fig for these versions. They are however previously unreleased on any audio format. These are some (but not all) of the songs from the Live + 4 VHS video cassette. This video was never released in Canada, and I’ve never owned it. Unfortunately, “Something Moved” from the VHS tape is not included. To date it is still frustratingly unavailable. From the same gig (Hammersmith Odeon) but unreleased until now is “Deuce”. Other tracks from the concert would later trickle out elsewhere.
“Rip It Out” remains a stunning opener, although this version is hampered by the lack of Anton on drums. Jamie Oldaker has a different feel, laying back behind the beat and I don’t think that’s the way these songs are best presented. His fills are simpler than Anton’s, and things like the drums solos in “Rip It Out” and “Breakout” suffer for it. The rest of the set is Kiss-heavy: “Cold Gin”, “Shock Me”, “Rocket Ride” and the Simmons-penned “Deuce”. Frehley performs “Cold Gin” with the right groove, which Kiss had trouble nailing without him. I like the little touches, like the fact that the bassline doesn’t stray from the original much. It lends these Ace versions a Kiss-like authenticity. Tod Howarth backs up Ace’s lead vocals in a manner that recall’s Kiss’s multiple lead vocalists.
Although the setlist itself is pretty smokin’, the muddy drum sound and lack of Anton prevent the live portion from igniting. Thankfully Ace has plenty of fuel when he solos, but this live side is noticeably inferior to the excellent Live + 1. That’s too bad.
12 Picks came with a guitar pick in one of several (12?) colours. I got black!
C.K. LENDT – Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup (1997 Billboard Books)
mikeladano.com 