Enjoy. April 2013.
Thoughts? Sounds different, but still like Deep Purple. Lots of Don Airey in this clip.
bob ezrin
Most Anticipated New Releases of 2013 (?)
I was having an offline discussion with the mighty Heavy Metal OverloRd and The CD Whisperer about the albums we’re most excited about in 2013.
It’s easy to think back just one year and remember how we couldn’t wait to see if the new Van Halen would be a triumph or disaster. Now it’s the end of the year once again, and as long as the world doesn’t end on December 21, there are some cool releases lined up for the new year.
What are you most excited for? Is there something in particular that you KNOW you’ll be buying before you hear a single note?
I have five must-buys in 2013. Here’s my list.
5. QUEENSRYCHE
This could end up being a total disaster. Replacing a beloved (albeit knife-weilding) original frontman with a relative unknown is a huge risk. Kudos to the band for trying, I’ll play along. The key will be to walk a fine line between avoiding a retread of the past, and reminding fans how good they used to be. Not an easy task. Will Todd La Torre be up for it? Time will tell.
4. MOTLEY CRUE
Nikki has said the band is writing music to follow the lacklustre single “Sex”. They’ve got tour dates with Kiss lined up in the new year. I’ll admit I’m actually not that excited about a new Motley release, but I have been faithfully following this band through ups and downs through their entire career. I even bought New Tattoo!
3. VOIVOD – Target Earth
This one has a confirmed release date of January 22. Although some may say that the idea of a new Voivod album without the late guitarist Piggy is sacrilege, life goes on. This is the first album in over two decades with Blackie on bass. From what I’ve heard of the first single, “Kluskap O’Kom”, it does sound like Voivod. I’ll be supporting the boys in 2013, count on reading my review in the new year.
2. BLACK SABBATH
Some might say that the idea of an “original” Sabbath album without Bill Ward is sacrilege! Hell, I might be one of them! But I love this band, and I have to have faith that the combined might of Sabbath plus Rick Rubin will produce something worthwhile. Will “Scary Dreams” be on there? I sure hope so. First album with Tommy Clufetos on drums, a much more metronomic drummer, so I wonder if Sabbath can capture that loose vibe of the precious first 8.
1. DEEP PURPLE
Confirmed for an April 26 release. Confirmed that Bob Ezrin is producing. Confirmed song titles: “Out Of Hand,” “Hell To Pay,” “Weirdistan,” “Uncommon Man” and “Above and Beyond.” “Above and Beyond” is a tribute to late organist Jon Lord, who passed away far too soon. “Weirdistan”? I love it. That title can only come from Ian Gillan. Astoundingly this is the fifth album with Steve Morse and third with Don Airey. And some said they’d never last without Blackmore! I will most definitely be pre-ordering whatever cool editions the band has lined up.
What are you psyched about in the new year? I want to hear from you.
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REVIEW: Alice Cooper – Lace and Whiskey (1977)
Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012! Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at Sonic Boom Music for a measly $7.99! Thanks, Sonic Boom!
MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO
ALICE COOPER – Lace and Whiskey (1977)
I’m a big fan of some of these “lost” Alice records, the ones that might not be considered the big hits, from his late 70’s alcoholidaze. Alice Cooper Goes To Hell was a really cool record, one I like a lot despite its disco tendencies. Lace and Whiskey followed it a year later. This is actually Alice’s third solo record, post-Alice Cooper Band. (I talked about the disintegration of that band in a previous Record Store Tale, see the video blog below!)
Alice tends to write his albums in terms of themes: Alice in school, Alice having a nightmare, Alice horror. This time, Alice takes the guise of a heavy drinking detective!
It’s another diverse platter, from honky-tonk (“Damned if You Do”) to more disco and flamboyant balladry that Alice had become known for. I don’t find there to be a weak track on the whole album. I’m not a huge fan of the ballad “You And Me”, as it’s hard to compete with a tune like “Only Women Bleed” or even “I Never Cry”. But it was a hit for Alice, and it’s certainly not bad. It even made the Muppet Show. Who can forget Alice dueting with a peacock? Or whatever that is.
The whole album drips of Ezrin-isms, you can hear his touch on every track. From rich orchestras, horns, choirs, and the well-honed arrangements he was known for, this album could not have happened without Ezrin. Indeed, he co-wrote all but two songs.
“King of the Silver Screen” is a great example of a Cooper/Ezrin/Dick Wagner composition. It has that dramatic Ezrin touch, Alice’s Hollywood-homage lyrics, with a rock guitar riff that serves to anchor the whole thing. And what’s with those little musical segues there? I love when Ezrin does stuff like that!
I love “Ubangi Stomp” too. It’s a 1950’s boogie with Alice doing his best Elvis. Just great! Plus who else could possibly utilize the word “Ubangi” in popular music? Alice, that’s who.
Lace and Whiskey is surely one of the most diverse Alice records, and that is one thing I love about Alice. I even like the disco song. Yes, I like the disco song! No genre is sacred, nothing safe from his sabre. But it’s all in good fun. Nobody gets hurt.
Nobody but Alice, who checked into a mental institution shortly after this tour, to deal with his alcohol problems. But that’s another story.
The tendency from many mainstream music critics is to rate these mid-period Alice albums poorly. But why? The songs are good, they just don’t rock as hard. Disco? So what? One of Kiss’ best albums was a disco album.
So a middle finger to the mainstream critics. I like Lace and Whiskey and I’m glad I found it at a cheap price. Thanks, Sonic Boom!
4/5 stars
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REVIEW: KISS – Double Platinum (foil embossed CD reissue)
Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012! Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at HMV, in their 2 for $25 sale. What I came for was Japanese imports, which they apparently don’t carry anymore. Why?
MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO
KISS – Double Platinum (1978, 1997 foil embossed reissue)
For the record, until Record Store Excursion 2012, I’d never seen this before. It’s a pretty cool, pretty accurate CD reproduction of the original foil embossed LP. As far as appearances go, it’s superior to the usual jewel case version, and it’s even superior to the 1997 Japanese edition, which I also have. The cover is fragile, prone to scuffs and fingerprinting, so I’ve kept mine nice and safe in a sandwich bag.
I like that its embossed, not just flat cardboard. I like that the faces inside the cover are also embossed, just like the original LP. The photos don’t really do it justice. I wish I knew the story behind this. In all my years at the record store I never saw one, even though the year on the back clearly states 1997 (the same year as the other Kiss remasters). It even still has the same crappy 1997 liner notes by Robert V. Conte (who?).
I first heard this album back 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. It’s also still an excellent introduction even though most of the material has been remixed. (A lot of people can’t tell the difference anyway.) There’s also one “new” song, a disco-ish remake of “Strutter” called “Strutter ’78”. For me, these were the original versions that I heard!
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 was always in regards to the CD version. Since the original pressing of the LP had the Kiss logo embossed on silver foil, I felt the CD reissues were cheap and didn’t do it justice, even the Japanese, which just has a dull paper cover. The domestic jewel case CD is just printed in silver ink.
Where did this come from? What’s the story? No idea. Comment below!
5/5 stars
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REVIEW: KISS – Destroyer (Resurrected) (2012)
Thought I was done with Kiss reviews? Hah! It never ends! They keep putting this stuff out, and I keep buying it! Ain’t it the way?
KISS – Destroyer (Resurrected) (2012, originally released 1976)
Here it is, the much ballyhooed Bob Ezrin remix of Destroyer. Ezrin went back to the original master tapes and remixed the album himself, toughening it up while not tampering with the arrangements.
It is necessary? Nah. I don’t think so. I had high hopes for this remix, that it would shed some serious new light on these classic tunes. But, it really doesn’t. “Flaming Youth” sounds more or less the same. You can hear some more acoustic guitar on “Beth”. Other songs might have some echo where there wasn’t before. Perhaps in some cases, the layers of guitars are more individually audible. The drums are definitely heavier, which is and isn’t a good thing. I’m always a fan of big, big drums, but somehow they’re drawing too much attention to themselves in this version, especially on “Do You Love Me”. On the other hand, Peter Criss fans will be in nirvana to hear him bashing his kit like never before in “Sweet Pain”.
Bob Ezrin contributes liner notes to this package. He explains choices he made back then, and choices he made today on the album. He says that many of the effects such as echo and reverb were on the master tapes and could not be changed. The goal in this remix, he says, was making the album more “immediate and modern”. I agree that it is more modern sounding. I like that Ezrin included some alternate takes and forgotten moments here and there. I just find the whole thing to be a bit of a novelty, and a bit stingy.
Besides the entire album remixed, you also get another version of “Sweet Pain”: One with the original guitar solo, and one with a very different take. Seeing as Destroyer wasn’t a long album to begin with, I’m disappointed that the empty disc space isn’t taken up by something like demos. Ahh well.
We all know Gene. More is coming. You’ll buy it. Wait and see!
3/5 stars
NOTE: The mighty Heavy Metal Overload notified me of a flaw in “Flaming Youth”: about half a beat is missing near the beginning, about 4-5 seconds in. Once you hear it, you can’t un-hear it.
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REVIEW: KISS – Psycho Circus (1998, Japanese and Australian versions)
Part 38 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!
KISS – Psycho Circus (1998)
I have a really hard time rating Psycho-Circus. I played it every day when it came out, but I like it a lot less now than I did in 1998. Once I got over the novelty of “finally, a new album by the original Kiss,” I stopped listening to it. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that Gene and Paul are essentially the only members of the original Kiss on most of it. That’s the biggest problem.
On all but one song, drums are by Kevin Valentine (ex-Cinderella), a good studio drummer. Guitars are handled by Tommy Thayer (who fits into the story later) on all but two songs.
The other problem is it’s way too overproduced and I lay that blame at the feet of Bruce Fairbairn, rest his soul.
Fairbairn was a great producer for Bon Jovi and especially Aerosmith in the 80’s, but he was the wrong guy to produce Kiss. I think he wanted to make a dense, lush album as if it were 1998’s version of Destroyer, and he failed miserably. Paul wanted Bob Ezrin to produce…oh, the album that might have been. Paul and Fairbairn clashed in the studio regularly over the direction of the album.
The title track, though is amazing! Vintage, anthemic Paul Stanley. The solo is great, also very vintage…but it’s Tommy. I don’t mind Fairbairn’s production here, the circus noises suit the song, however the drums sound way too plastic. This is the case with almost the entire album. The drums sound like samples throughout.
Gene’s “Within” follows, which I believe was a Carnival Of Souls outtake. (Two other COS/Psycho-Circus outtakes, “Sweet & Dirty Love” and “Carnival Of Souls” itself ended up on Gene’s solo album.) “Within” is a slow dirgey ditty. It’s a good song with lots of atmosphere, but it has nothing to do sound-wise with the rest of this album. It would have been more suited to Creatures or Carnival, but not so much this album.
The cumbersome Paul title, “I Pledge Allegiance To The State Of Rock & Roll” is next. I hate this song. It’s a fast one, nothing special, a little stock, and to me is nothing but pure filler.
Then there’s finally a real Kiss song with all four members playing: Ace’s “Into the Void”. It is definitely one of the best songs on the album, with a riff that only Ace could play and the drums sound a lot better here. It’s quintessential Kiss. When I think of Kiss, I thik of songs that sound like “Into the Void”.
“We Are One” is a Gene song, and it sounds a lot like his 1978 solo album. It’s a nice song, I think it’s a tad slow, but it’s got that late 70’s vibe. Maybe like a “Great Expectations” too.
The second side of the album starts with “You Wanted The Best” which was clearly written by Gene as a Kiss “comeback” song. It’s neat in that all four members sing lead for the first time ever, but really that’s its only selling point. Fairbairn overproduced once again, and the guitars sound a lot more processed than they should. The solo is definitely Ace, though. I think “You Wanted The Best” is another one of those Gene songs that had been presented to the band and rejected from previous albums like “Within” was.
Paul Stanley takes the next track with “Raise Your Glasses”, which is yet again overproduced and also a bit too pop sounding. It sounds like something from Hot In the Shade or that general era. Paul sings some nice harmonies with himself in the middle, but the demo version of this is better (from the “Psycho Circus” CD single pictured below).
Since Peter Criss’ material was allegedly deemed too poor for this album, Paul and Ezrin wrote I “Finally Found My Way” for him to sing. It was meant to be the next “Beth” but I don’t need to tell you what happened there (nothing). It’s a piano ballad (that’s Ezrin on Fender Rhodes) and it’s a nice song, maybe it is was for Neil Diamond to sing. It’s just too darn soft, and Peter’s voice lacks the rasp. The rasp would have given it some edge like Kiss ballads of yore. He sounds great harmonizing with Paul on the bridge though.
Paul and Bruce Kulick wrote the next song, “Dreamin'”, which was ripped off of “I’m Eighteen” by Alice Cooper. It is basically the same song, and I believe Alice beat them in court too.
The most interesting song was saved for last, Gene Simmons’ epic “Journey Of 1,000 Years”. I don’t know what this could be compared to. Although it wasn’t popular with the Kiss fans I know, I think it’s the best song here. Overproducing worked on this song. It is loaded with strings and who-knows-what, and Gene’s chorus is just mindblowing. “Can you hear me calling, can you hear the sound? Can you hear me calling, or is the voice of the crowd?” If this song was on The Elder, it would have fit in better. It’s majestic and I think a good example of what Gene is capable of when he sets his mind to it.
Japan got a bonus track written by Gene called “In Your Face”. He wrote it for Ace to sing, so it has become a little bit of special song, a lost Kiss gem. The production is a little more sparse and though it is not a great Kiss song, Ace’s vocal sets it apart a bit. Worth having.
I have a couple versions of this album. I bought the Japanese version first, for the bonus track, and it was not cheap! The packaging here is cumbersome, but superior to the fragile lenticular jewel case that North America got. It is a digipack whose front cover opens like doors to reveal the Psycho Circus “clown” inside in 3D. Typical gradiose Kiss and I love it.
Australia got a 1999 reissue with a 6 song bonus disc called Kiss Live. It contains 3 classics and 3 newbies. So, in other words, you can get versions of these songs played by the original lineup. This is worth having. Track list: “Psycho Circus”, “Let Me Go, Rock and Roll”, “Into the Void” (with guitar solo), “Within” (with drum solo), “100,000 Years”, and “Black Diamond”.
When you hear Psycho Circus, you can’t help but think that Kiss blew a monumental opportunity to create history. In the end, it’s “just another Kiss album”, and not a particularly great one. It certainly inferior to the first 7 studio albums at best. It has a leg up on some of the 80’s records, but it just doesn’t rock hard enough! The right producer could have made this sound like Kiss, not Aerojovi.
3/5 stars
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REVIEW: KISS – Revenge (1992)
Redemption! Part 30 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!
I still love this video.
KISS – Revenge (1992)
The death of Eric Carr at age 41 was a terrible tragedy. A guy who lived a healthy lifestyle, struck down by cancer, at the peak of his talents.
The initial concept of having Eric Carr play on half of Revenge and Eric Singer the other half was shelved. Carr was simply too sick, something he had a hard time accepting, according to Dale Sherman in his excellent Carr-centric book Black Diamond. When Eric Carr passed, bringing Singer into the fold was a natural step. Singer had already worked with Paul Stanley on his 1989 solo tour.
Eric Carr did manage to record background vocals to the preview single, “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II”, before passing in November 1991.
Kiss felt like they had something to prove on Revenge. After a series of poppy albums and lacklustre tours, they found their roots again. In addition producer Pop Ezrin challenged Bruce Kulick to better himself and make his soloing more aggressive. As a hard-fought result, Kulick’s guitar had never sounded better. It is mean, aggressive, like blood splattering on the railroad tracks. Wah-wah pedals and effects came to the forefront and it completely suited the music that Kiss had written.
“Unholy”, the first song and first single, was also the first Gene Simmons lead vocal in a Kiss single since “I Love It Loud”. It sounds like the demonic half-brother to “War Machine” from Creatures Of The Night. Indeed, if Revenge would be compared to any previous Kiss album it should probably be Creatures.
“I Just Wanna” was the second single, a Paul song. Sadly it is quite a transparent rewrite of “Summertime Blues”. It also has a silly chorus: “I just wanna fuh-, I just wanna fuh-, I just wanna forget you.” Despite this it’s also one of the catchiest tunes on the album, and quite irrestible despite its flaws.
Third single, “Domino”, was another Gene track, this one the most vintage-KISS of them all. It is a basic stripped down groovy rock track with Gene singing about a girl named Domino who “got me by the balls”. The video was quite unique in that it featured Kiss playing as a trio, Paul on bass, while Gene was out cruising in his car. Bruce’s soloing here is really good.
Fourth and final single from the album was “Every Time I Look At You” featuring Bob Ezrin on piano. It’s another power ballad, along the lines of “Forever” or the later “I Finally Found My Way”. Sadly in the era of grunge it was quickly forgotten, but aside from a very nice version with strings from MTV Unplugged it is largely forgettable anyway. Inferior to “Forever” despite the superior production values.
The rest of the tracks include “Take It Off”, Paul’s tribute to strippers everywhere, and very similar in style and tone to “I Just Wanna”. Paul’s “Tough Love” channels S&M, a bit and is a very cool heavier rock track with some great Bruce solos. “Spit” is quite possibly the album’s best song, and the most fun. Paul even quotes Spinal Tap: “The bigger the cushion, the better the pushin'”. Its vocals are split between Gene and Paul, a rarity in later Kiss. Bruce’s solo here is awesome. His technique is stunning, the solo is both amusing and jaw-dropping.
“Side 1” of the album ended with a remix of “God Gave Rock And Roll To You II”, previously released on the Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey soundtrack. Not really an outstanding song, it’s a semi-cover of an old Argent song and again features Gene and Paul splitting the lead vocals.
“Side 2” kicks off with the Vinnie Vincent-penned “Heart of Chrome”, one of Paul’s coolest titles and another outstanding track, somewhat similar to “Tough Love”. Gene’s “Thou Shalt Not” covers similar lyrical territory as “Cadillac Dreams” from the last album, but is a much better song. It is very catchy and has some cool licks on guitar. “Paralyzed” is another Gene track, only this time the verses are cooler than the chorus. There’s also a nifty spoken word bit in the middle as only Gene can do, kind of funky.
The album ends with “Carr Jam 1981”, an Eric song which had circulated in collector’s circles for a long time, except with Ace Frehley on lead guitar. It was recorded by Ezrin during The Elder sessions which yielded a ton of unused song ideas. Ace Frehley decided to use it himself in 1987 as “Breakout”, on the Frehley’s Comet album. This version however replaces Ace’s guitar with Bruce Kulick’s. Eric Carr plays the only drum solo he ever recorded in the studio. It is a very fitting tribute to the man who helped Kiss get through some very tough times, and didn’t live long enough to play drums on this fantastic album.
Some fans heard the heavier sound on this CD and accused Kiss of selling out to grunge. Not so; the album was released in early 1992 and was written before grunge took hold. Music was naturally moving in a heavier direction at the time, and Kiss were part of that. Kiss’ recent evolution had shown that Revenge was the only possible next step.
Well, other than a reunion. And Revenge would prove to be the last studio album released (though not recorded!) before the long-awaited return of the original Kiss.
4.5/5 stars
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REVIEW: KISS – “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II” single (1991)
Part 28 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!
KISS – “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II” (1991 CD single)
As part of their “Hey, let’s try anything!” modus operadi, Kiss decided to record a single with old producer Bob Ezrin. It was all a part of their greater scheme to drop the pop and get back to their rock roots. Working with Ezrin, who produced both their greatest commerial success (Destroyer) and failure (The Elder), was a tentative step to see what the chemistry would be like this time. The single was the perfect chance to test drive the partnership.
Released in conjunction with the movie Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, this new Kiss single was also a first in that Kiss were contributing a brand new song to a movie soundtrack. This version is actually a different mix than that later on Revenge, so this single still is an exclusive of sorts.
“God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II” (my God what a cumbersome title) is a reworking of an old Argent tune, hence the II. At the time I didn’t think much of it, and I still don’t. It’s not a personal favourite of mine. It’s a little slow, although very anthemic and perfect for the live setting. It does feature Gene and Paul singing lead together, a rare thing indeed and a first since…when? A long time anyway. It also has some sweet harmony vocals from Eric Carr…his last recording with Kiss before succumbing to cancer way too young at age 41. While he underwent treatment, Eric Singer played drums on the song. This was all kept secret in 1991 before Carr died; in hindsight you can tell it’s Singer on drums. Carr even gave it his all, playing drums in the music video.
The other two tracks were also exclusive to the movie soundtrack: “Junior’s Gone Wild” by King’s X, and “Shout it Out” by Slaughter. Both bands were experiencing increased success and fans were eager for new music. “Junior’s Gone Wild” sounds like something not too far removed from King’s X in-the-making fourth album. “Shout it Out” is a typical Slaughter party rocker, as good as anything on their debut. A bit shrill and and sweet by today’s standards though.
2.5/5 stars
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REVIEW: KISS – Music From The Elder (1981, 1997 remaster)
Part 17 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!
KISS – Music From The Elder (1981, 1997 remaster)
Exit Peter Criss. Enter Eric Carr.
Music From The Elder has grown on me a lot since I first heard it back in 1986. It will grow on you if you let it. Its reputation is that this is the worst album Kiss have ever made, but I disagree. It’s very flawed, but it does grow on you and it does have many redeeming values.
Here’s a brief version of the story behind The Elder: Kiss intended to make a rock album, after the way-too-pop Unmasked. The material they were coming up with (including “Nowhere To Run”, released on the next album Kiss Killers) was deemed to be too much like what Kiss had done before. Producer Bob Ezrin (Destroyer) was brought back into the picture, and he encouraged them to do a concept album (he had recently finished The Wall). Gene dug up a short story he wrote about a group of god-like beings called The Elder, who seek a hero in every time to fight evil. This hero, The Boy, is the protagonist of the story. Got that?
If you have the original LP, cassette, or CD editions of Music From The Elder, the songs are in the wrong order. Y’see, the record label (Casablanca) wasn’t too confident in Kiss’ new music, so they decided to change the track order so that the album started with a rocker (“The Oath”). This makes the story completely jumbled and unintelligible. The 1997 remaster with the restored track order also has some Gregorian chanting at the end of “fanfare”, that was previously cut.
I won’t get into the story except that there’s a boy (“Just A Boy”) who is recruited by The Elder (“Under The Rose”) to fight the evil (“Mr. Blackwell”). There’s an escape (“Escape From The Island”) and some self-affirmation (“I”) and that’s about it. All the epic battles were to happen in Music From The Elder 2: War of the Gods. Ahh, but that’s another story.
Here’s a song breakdown.
“fanfare”: An orchestral bit by Ezrin based on Paul’s “Just A Boy” melody.
“Just A Boy”: Fantastic Paul ballad featuring his falsetto. Acoustic and powerful with epic verses and choruses. Great guitar solo too.
“Odyssey”: Paul sings this orchestral song as well. When I was a kid, I loved any rock songs with orchestras.
“Only You”: Gene’s first song, and the first tune that resembles a rocker. Starts off slow, then goes into a groove. Not a bad song, although not a standout. At the end it goes straight into Paul’s “Just A Boy” melody again, which recurs on the album. This has been covered by Doro, on a Gene Simmons produced solo album.
“Under The Rose”: Eric Carr’s very first songwriting contribution to Kiss. Gene sings this slow song, which has a very gothic chorus sung by what sounds like a men’s choir. Very odd, but I quite like it.
“Dark Light”: Formerly “Don’t Run”, this is Ace’s first song and only vocal on the album. It’s not as great as any of Ace’s songs on previous albums. Still, it sounds like basic stripped-down Kiss, and it’s Ace, and it is one of the few songs on the album that has noticeable Ace guitar.
“A World Without Heroes”: Formerly, “With Every Little Bit Of My Heart”. Paul’s excellent demo apparently impressed Gene, who rewrote the lyrics with Lou Reed. One of Kiss’ softest songs, it has since been covered by Cher.
“The Oath”: Finally, a real rocker of a song that showed off Eric Carr’s drumming for real. Possibly the best song on the album, “The Oath” was just epic. Kiss could play it live today if they chose. The riff is the main focus of this song. Paul sings in falsetto again on the chorus.
“Mr. Blackwell”: A Gene song, probably my least favourite.
“Escape From The Island”: A Frehley instrumental, and a firecracker of a song. Ace makes some interesting sounds on his Les Paul and the song just rocks along at a furious pace. Eric Carr had a hand in composing this one as well. This song didn’t make the Japanese release for some reason.
“I”: “I don’t need to get wasted, it only holds me down”. Obviously this is Gene’s baby, it is his philosophy on life. It is also a great song and a great single. A fast rocker, Carr doesn’t actually play drums on it. Allan Schwartzberg (of Gene’s solo album) does. I didn’t know that at the time. Ends with a spoken word coda.
Music From The Elder was thus named because it was supposed to be the first part of a series, perhaps a series of soundtracks to a movie. Thus, Music From something. It was so poorly received that all plans were cancelled, and the band never toured for it. The shame of it is, when they played on “Fridays” with Ace Frehley, these songs sounded great. Frehley complained that Ezrin cut out half of his guitar work, and live there were ample extra solos. It makes you wish for what could have been.
Frehley left the band, sick of being sidelined by Gene and Paul and The Elder was his last straw. The fans hated it because, frankly, it doesn’t sound like Kiss. I don’t know what it sounds like. It doesn’t sound like progressive rock because it’s a little too clumsy, a little too blocky. It is Kiss after all, not Genesis. They get an “A” for effort, and the truth is the songs are pretty good. Production could have been better and there could have been more guitar. It is what it is.
3.5/5 stars.
Incidentally there are some great demos and outtakes from this album that are worth checking out, and one track was later used by Ace Frehley on his first solo album as “Breakout”. The very same track was used by Kiss on Revenge as “Carr Jam 1981”. I have a CD (seen in the gallery below) called Demos 1981-1983. It features intrumental Elder outtakes such as: “Heaven”, “The Council of the Elder”, and “The Unknown Force”.
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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)
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.
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