classic rock

RE-REVIEW: KISS – Alive! (1975)

The KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES Part 6:  

img_20170228_171256kiss-logo – Alive! (1975 Casablanca, 2006 remastered edition from Alive! 1975-2000)

Music fans consider it one of the greatest live albums of all time.  Its name is spoken in the same breath as Frampton Comes Alive, Cheap Trick At Budokan, and Deep Purple Made in Japan.  It spawned thousands of young new guitar players (particularly of the grunge era), eager to emulate the six string heroism of Ace Frehley.  There is really only one miniscule issue:  Kiss Alive! is not really live.

Oh sure, Kiss and producer Eddie Kramer did record live shows.  When they listened back to the tapes, there were no performances that satisfied them.  Kiss were too rambunctious live.  They were busy jumping around, entertaining the crowd, not paying attention to each and every note.  For the live album, they weren’t looking for perfection, just performances without glaring mistakes or noise.  They realized they didn’t capture that with the shows they recorded.   So they did what most bands do:  went back into the studio and try to fix it.  Lead singer and guitarist Paul Stanley explained it in his book: “Yes, we enhanced it – not to hide anything, not to fool anyone.  But who wanted to hear a mistake repeated endlessly? Who wanted to hear an out-of-tune guitar? For what? Authenticity?”

Authenticity is an important part of great rock music, but not the only important part.  If you can’t tell the difference, then does it matter?  Fans listened to Kiss Alive! for decades, blindly enjoying every detail, from Ace Frehley’s extended “Rock and Roll all Nite” guitar solo, to Paul Stanley’s unforgettable stage raps.  Few suspected anything was out of the ordinary, unless they heard original bootleg recordings of the same Kiss gigs.  Eddie Kramer and the band re-recorded approximately 70% of the album.  The only thing they didn’t have to touch were Peter Criss’ drums, which were already pretty solid.  Bass, vocals, and even lead guitar was touched up and fixed, all but seamlessly.

img_20170228_171207

The reason Kiss Alive! was and is considered great is that you can’t tell the difference.  Unlike a double live Poison album (or even Kiss Alive II), you cannot hear obvious fixes and overdubs.  Kiss Alive! might not be authentic, but certainly sounds it.

With 16 scorching tracks all sourced from the first three Kiss albums, Alive! is all killer and no filler.  Even the typical “slow” moments, such as a long Paul Stanley rap backed by a Peter Criss drum solo (“100,000 Years”) is an unforgettable highlight.  Importantly, the new live version of “Rock and Roll all Nite” became the definitive one.  Today, it’s not the studio original version that still gets ready airplay.  It’s the Kiss Alive! version.  Many of these tracks usurp the originals as the superior versions:  “Firehouse”, “Cold Gin”, “Watchin’ You”, “Nothin’ to Lose”, and just about everything from Hotter Than Hell.  For the first time, all the warmth and energy are captured on Kiss vinyl.  If any of their studio material sounded sleepy, then this was a shot of caffeine.  Any sonic issues with the first Kiss studio albums are quickly forgotten by these volcanic recordings, finally capturing Kiss’ full power…in a roundabout way.

Kiss Alive! saved the band, and saved their record label Casablanca records.  Casablanca were on the verge of bankruptcy, and manager Bill Aucoin had to put the band on the road using his American Express card for currency.  Alive! put everybody back in the black.  It also put Kiss on the map as a rock and roll band to be reckoned with.  The two LP set was decked out with a gatefold sleeve, photos, a booklet, and even written notes from the band members.  For the first time, it felt like Kiss had released an album that lived up not only to their show, but their larger than life image.

Whether you decide to pick up Kiss Alive! on CD or LP, you will be in for a “rock and roll party” as per Paul Stanley.  Our recommended edition:  The four disc 2006 box set Alive! 1975-2000.  The set contains four volumes of Kiss Alive, deliciously remastered, with each album fit onto a single CD without losing any songs.  Fire away.

Today’s rating:

5/5 stars

Uncle Meat’s rating:

4.5/5 steaks 

Meat’s slice:   I would approximate that it was probably somewhere around 1978 when I first heard this record at a friend’s place.  I sat there and stared at the inner booklet and the album artwork, and I just wanted to be there.  I actually did get there many years later, but since I was like nine years old at this time and had not seen any sort of concert, it was all I knew of what a rock show was.  The picture on the back of the album taken at Detroit’s Cobo Hall is an unforgettable one, and makes you almost feel like you are there.  You get the scope of what it’s like to be on the floor for an arena show.  Tracks like “She”, “100,000 Years” and “Cold Gin” shine on this record specifically because of the banter of Paul Stanley.  I think it’s what truly makes the album special.  It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that Bruce Dickinson may have learned a thing or two from the Starchild on how to connect with an audience.  Alive! is the most important album of Kiss’ career, and is especially significant for those who were lucky to be a Kiss fan at a young age, while their unstoppable takeover of the Earth was building and building.

Following the release of Kiss Alive! in September of 1975, the second half of the 70s became known as the “Live Album Era” of Rock and Roll. Not only were a lot of bands doing it, but they were having massive successes with them (At Budokan…Frampton Comes Alive...Unleashed in the East…If You Want Blood etc).  This pioneering album was able to make the listener feel like they were actually at a rock concert, better than almost any live record has since.  Kiss Alive! was truly the birth of what is now known as The Kiss Army.

However with all this good comes some bad.  It was revealed years ago what everyone had already suspected: Most of the record is overdubbed and even most of the crowd noise is dubbed in.  For this reason and this reason alone I didn’t give this album 5 steaks.  But I refuse to go lower than 4 ½ .

Favorite Tracks:   All of it.

Forgettable Tracks:  None

To be continued…

Original mikeladano.com review:  2012/07/03

RE-REVIEW: KISS – Dressed to Kill (1975)

The KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES Part 5:  

scan_20170224kiss-logo – Dressed to Kill (1975 Casablanca, 1997 Mercury remastered edition)

The band was expected to be huge, so what was going wrong?  They had the look and they had the stage show. They had two albums and both underperformed.  Casablanca label head Neil Bogart wasn’t about to give up, and took matters in his own hands. He brought the band back to Electric Lady in New York and economically produced the third album himself.

Kiss’ Dressed to Kill was their third LP in 12 months.  It was not a drastic change of direction. It offered the same basic rock and roll that Kiss presented on the first two.  Bogart provided a clean production, a better sound but not too dissimilar from the first Kiss.  It was miles away better than the sludge of Hotter Than Hell, and it was a shorty (just half an hour).  Like the first two albums, it recycled some old Wicked Lester songs and Kiss-ified them.

Kiss was touring relentlessly so it was no surprise to hear songs like “Room Service” among the new tracks.

I’m feelin’ low, no place to go,
And I’m a-thinking that I’m gonna scream,
Because a hotel all alone is not a
Rock and roll star’s dream.

But just when I’m about to shut the light and go to bed,
A lady calls and asks if I’m too tired or if I’m just to dead for…

Room service, baby I could use a meal,
Room service, you do what you feel,
Room service, I take the pleasure with the pain,
I can’t say no.

An upbeat workmanlike Kiss song about sex on the road?  Just what Dr. Rock ordered.  The jangly rock and roll of early Kiss is omnipresent, and so are the cat-like pitter-patter drum rolls of Peter Criss.  Ace Frehley’s solo is multitracked for extra harmonic punch.  Then the album goes for a slow groove on “Two Timer”, a Gene stomp powered by his melodic basslines.  Kiss’ voices blend consummately for a nice memorable monster chorus.  The “Ladies in Waiting” arrive next, and according to the lyrics, “You’ve been to the market, and the meat looks good tonight.”  He’s not singing about Porterhouse steaks (or Uncle Meat).  The groove has kick, and plenty of Ace’s guitar fireworks.

Peter Criss had only one lead vocal on Dressed to Kill: “Getaway”, written by Ace.  The guitarist hadn’t started singing lead himself, and he knew that Peter needed more material to sing.  “Getaway” is a traditional rock n’ roll lick with Pete’s rasp and smooth style.  There is nothing wrong with an enjoyably simple Kiss song, especially when it’s one of Ace’s.  That goes double if Peter Criss is singing on it.  “Getaway” might not be a classic but it’s a deeply enjoyable album cut.

Dressed to Kill‘s first side had a brilliant closer in “Rock Bottom”, a song in two parts.   In the years since, Ace Frehley has quite competently come up with some beautiful acoustic songs.  On his solo and Frehley’s Comet albums of more recent years, he usually has an acoustic instrumental in his “Fractured” series.  The “Rock Bottom” intro might be considered a prequel to the “Fractured” series.  A piece like this came out of left field on a Kiss album.  He and Paul Stanley created a lovely blend of acoustics, and Neil Bogart captured it warm and clean.  As long as the intro is “Rock Bottom” itself, another one in a series of classic Paul Stanley rockers.  Paul has a knack for punchy and memorable rock and roll guitar songs, and “Rock Bottom” gets you right between the eyes.

It’s actually two Paul songs in a row that deserve the “classic” tag.  Not just “Rock Bottom”, but the side two opener “C’Mon and Love Me” is as brilliant as a 100 watt bulb right in the face.  Paul is probably not recognized enough for his riff writing.  Iommi, Page and Young are icons of riff, but Paul has really written some corkers over the years.  “C’Mon and Love Me” remains so awesome today because of that biting riff.  Not quite so with the pop rocker “Anything For My Baby”.  It’s too similar to the forthcoming (and superior) “Rock and Roll all Nite”.  However side two is quickly redeemed by the heavy-as-fuck “She”.  Yes, “She”, the same “She” that sounded like Jethro Tull on acid when recorded for Wicked Lester (1973).  Kiss transformed a corny hippie experiment into Sabbathy metal shrapnel.  Instead of a wanky falsetto, Gene employed his deep monster voice on “She”.  Combined with Peter Criss’ tribal drums, “She” slams you to the wall so turn it right up.

“Love Her All I Can” is goofy filler, another old Wicked Lester remake.  Not one of their finest moments, but important to the history of the band.  It is notable as being another fine example of Gene and Paul blending their voices for a nice thick chorus.  Frehley’s solo smokes so hot it’ll set off your fire alarm, but the song itself ranks low.  This matters not, because “Rock and Roll all Nite” was held back as the final track.  When Gene and Paul wrote together, they created magic.  But it’s not just Simmons and Stanley that can take all the credit.  Peter Criss’ cat-groove is unmistakably integral to the song.  Neil Bogart did a better job of capturing the band than Kerner and Wise did.  He also pushed the band into writing an anthem for themselves, and write it they did.  Notably, for the first time outsiders were brought into the studio to appear on a Kiss album.  In this case it was just friends and roadies, but it was also the first Kiss “gang vocal”.

There we go.  Hit written.  Or was it?

“Rock and Roll all Nite” failed to scorch the charts as it was designed to do.  Bogart and Casablanca Records were in dire straits now.  They had unwisely banked on a Johnny Carson comedy album to sell millions, and were sitting on all that unsold product.  (It would not be the last time Casablanca got cocky and made that mistake.)  If the record label were in trouble, by extension, so was Kiss.

Dressed to Kill will always be fondly remembered for rocking and rolling us all nite, for the very first time.  It’s also a beautiful record jacket to look at.  The black and white photo of Kiss in ill-fitting suits, surrounded by embossed Kiss logos, was quite striking.  Simmons looks particularly demented, only deepening his Demon image.  It’s a good Kiss album, but if they were to survive they had to make a serious statement.  Most importantly, they had to capture that thunderous sound at its full potential, something every producer thus far had failed to do. It was time to come Alive!

Today’s rating:

4/5 stars

Uncle Meat’s rating:

5/5 steaks 

Meat’s slice:  Almost exactly half an hour of perfect Rock and Roll.  The shortest Kiss album is the best Kiss album in Uncle Meat’s opinion.   After a sophomore slide, Kiss’ third album somehow improved the sound by getting the president of their record company to produce?  What shouldn’t have worked, worked perfectly with Kiss under the gun and writing, recording and releasing Dressed to Kill in a ridiculous five months after Hotter Than Hell.  Why does it take Metallica 45 years to make a fucking album again?  Don’t say ego…because we are talking about the Donald Trump of egos in Gene Simmons by himself here.  Fuck Metallica’s bullshit!!!  (* I apologize…this is for another time to be determined *)    Anyway,  Kiss became tighter as a band and better musicians through constant touring.  This prepared them to brave these unlikely circumstances and produce not only some of my favorite all-time songs of theirs, but undoubtedly the song that would live on as the very flagpole the Kiss Army flag is attached to, “Rock and Roll all Nite”.

Short but sweet has never been so apropos to describe a record. The chorus of “C’mon and Love Me”. The cowbell in “Room Service”.  Then “She” takes off her clothes and I’m sold.  Best album of their career. Another interesting Kiss note…Only twice have Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley shared writing credits alone on a song together:  “Comin’ Home” and “Rock Bottom”.  The former being a song I have already mentioned I don’t really like much, and the latter being a Top 3 Kiss song for me.  Ironically a song titled “Rock Bottom” is the exactly the antithesis of that.  Top shelf Rock and Roll from the band that got me into Rock and Roll.  Also in my Top 3 album covers of all time.  Scared the shit out of me when I was a kid.

Favorite Tracks:  “Rock Bottom”, “Love Her All I Can”, “She”, “C’mon and Love Me”, “Room Service”

Forgettable Tracks:  None

To be continued…

scan_20170224-3

Original mikeladano.com review:  2012/07/04

 

REVIEW: KISS – Agora Ballroom 1974 (Cleveland broadcast plus bonus cuts)

The KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES Part 4:  A brand new BONUS review!

– Agora Ballroom 1974 – The Cleveland Broadcast – Plus bonus cuts (2015 Go Faster)

Radio broadcast CDs are common and cheap today.  They are a great way to get rare live recordings from bands you love, at a good price, with acceptable sound quality.  When this set was recorded at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland (April 1, 1974) Kiss only had one album out.  It’s a rare early glimpse at the band when they were just beginning to stretch their road legs.  Already, the performances on this CD were far more fiery than that on their studio albums — and that’s without Gene breathing fire.

The Agora set was a mere eight songs, and a strong representation of Kiss’ best early material.  Almost everything is from the first LP; nothing from the second that would be released a mere six months later.  The oddity is “She”, an old Wicked Lester holdover that wouldn’t come out as a Kiss song until 1975.  Also fascinating is that Gene Simmons even does some talking between songs, and you can see why he lets Paul do all the talking now.  “How many are you, a hundred?  Are you ready to rock?  Rock?”  Paul Stanley was clearly better at stage raps, and this CD offers a reason why Gene doesn’t do them anymore.

As with any radio broadcast CD, do not expect flawless audio.  This isn’t the greatest recording.  There’s hardly any bass.  What it is though is a great performance captured at the very beginning.  Tracks like “100,000 Years”, “Nothin’ to Lose” and “Cold Gin” have so much reckless energy that they make the originals sound sterile.   Kiss were a very active band on stage, and all that jumping around means bad chords, missed notes and vocals that drop in and out as Paul moves to and fro.  You wanted authenticity?  You got authenticity.  The most consistent member is Ace Frehley whose solos were often highlights of any Kiss song.

Best track:  “Black Diamond”.

But wait, there’s more!  From ABC In Concert (03/29/74) comes additional versions of “Nothin’ to Lose”, “Firehouse” and “Black Diamond”.  These are not flawless either, but they have more beef and a lot more bass.  The performances are just as ragged.  Then from their legendary appearance on the Mike Douglas Show (04/29/74) is the Gene Simmons interview and “Firehouse” once more.  “Let me spread my wings”, says an awkward Gene, not quite the character he’d become later, but quite the ham.  The audience (and guests) had no idea what to make of him. These are tapes that fans have had and loved for years, but to have them on a commercial CD is pretty cool.  Besides, these really are bonus tracks.  They’re not on other versions of Agora, such as the 4 CD Radio Waves 1974-1988 which only has the first eight songs.

Any Kiss fan needs the Agora show in some form. This CD may as well be your choice, since it’s affordably priced and has those lovely bonus cuts. Kiss is a band that evolved, year by year, from sheer touring experience. The early performances have a raw un-schooled edge, and that’s what makes them special.

3.5/5 stars

RE-REVIEW: KISS – Hotter Than Hell (1974)

The KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES Part 3:  

scan_20170223kiss-logo – Hotter Than Hell (1974 Casablanca, 1997 Mercury remastered edition)

Sunny California awaited Kiss, and producers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise.  Hotter Than Hell was an apt title for the album they were set to record, but nobody was happy.  Maybe it was homesickness, but Hotter Than Hell is sonically perhaps the very worst Kiss album ever released.  Brittle, thin and tinny are three appropriate words to describe its sonic flatness.  What are supposed to be drums sound more like wooden planks.  It sounds less like an human drummer and more like a clanking machine flailing away in a deep cave.

Production issues keep Hotter Than Hell off the tops of many lists, but the songs were all there.  It remains a favourite for many, a reminder of times both good and bad, as nostalgia helps wipe clean the lingering audio disappointment.  Kiss had little problem coming up with 10 great songs, mere months after their debut album Kiss (also 1974).  Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley had the usual goods, and Ace Frehley provided co-writes on three songs.  And what songs they were.

The slow riff for “Got to Choose” is a perfect opener, chunky yet melodic.  Paul sings lead, Gene harmonizes, and a Kiss classic is born.  “Ooh ooh ooh, got to choose who’s your baby!” they sing, and who doesn’t love “ooo ooo ooo’s” in their choruses?  They contrast well with the heavy Kiss guitars, much edgier than the jangle of Kiss. Yet that’s nothing compared to the machine gun tactics of “Parasite”, a Frehley signature track as sung by Gene Simmons.  When Ace does contribute his own material, it sounds like idiosyncratic Frehley.  “Parasite” powers its way through the sonic haze, forcing its way above the sludgy sound.  Ace’s solo remains a trademark, a stuttering classic you can hum in your sleep.  Guitarists the world over got their start trying to play “Parasite”.

This makes way for the first Kiss “ballad” if you want to call it that:  “Goin’ Blind”.  It’s really too heavy to be a ballad, but it’s also too slow and mournful to be a rocker.  This track goes back years, as Gene wrote it with his Wicked Lester bandmate Stephen Coronel as “Little Lady”.  Though the lyrics may not appeal to all (“I’m 93, you’re 16”), “Goin’ Blind” is one of Gene’s finest songs.  Ace’s solo just cries (loudly).

Paul Stanley’s title track is a favourite.  The groove is what Kiss call their “monster plod”, and you know it when you hear it.  It stomps, it rolls, and it takes its time.  “Hotter Than Hell” has not one but two amazing riffs, and some of Ace Frehley’s coolest wailing.  Frehley’s outro solo is multitracked, surely one of the earliest examples of this in Kiss.  Then Frehley burns it all to the ground on “Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll”.  Lightning licks and turbo charged rock n’ roll get the sweat pouring.  Anyone who wants to know what the fuss about Kiss is all about just need to play “Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll”.  Get past the sonics and focus on the adrenaline.

Dig that cowbell on “All the Way”, a Simmons rock and roll celebration.  Though it wasn’t on Kiss Alive!, and hasn’t become a Kiss mainstay, that is not a reflection on its quality.  Hotter Than Hell is often heavy and oppressive.  “All the Way” is just fun, blowing off steam, and having a good time.  “Watching You”, on the other hand, is one of those heavy Kiss grooves that Gene does so well.  Listen to his bass playing, too.  Cream were one of his big influences, and though Gene is no Jack Bruce, he composes melodic rolling bass lines.  Because of his persona, and because it is more about the act than the musicianship, Gene’s skills on the four string are often overlooked.  “Watchin’ You” places them front and center.  And just listen to Paul Stanley coming in screamin’ at about 1:35!  What a voice.  There were no slouches in Kiss.  Even hampered by the tinny drum sound, Peter Criss is ferocious, almost tribal.  (And with tasteful use of cowbell.)

Paul Stanley has come up with some very cool, simple and classic rock and roll riffs over the years.  Tracks like “Mr. Speed”, “C’mon and Love Me”, and more recently “All For the Love of Rock & Roll”.  Add “Mainline” to that list of great Paul Stanley guitar parts.  This song is given to Peter Criss to apply his rasp to.  Compared to the more aggressive material elsewhere, “Mainline” almost slips between the cracks.  It has become a favourite in fan circles.  So has “Coming Home”, a rare Stanley/Frehley co-write.  It is unfortunate that you cannot clearly hear the nuances of the rhythm guitars, because Paul and Ace blend their parts very well.  “Coming Home” is so upbeat and energetic that you just keep trying to hear it a little better.

A Sabbathy closer called “Strange Ways” was written by Ace and given to Peter Criss to sing.  This is an early example of Frehley’s loyalty to Criss.  Ace knew that Peter could use another vocal on the album more than Paul and Gene did.  Peter nailed it, and with Gene Simmons joining on the chorus, Kiss just flattened everything.  Kiss rarely got as heavy as “Strange Ways”, and “Parasite” too…both Frehley songs.

Hotter Than Hell could easily score a 5/5 stars, but the sonics are impossible to simply ignore.  Every time you listen to it, there are things that sound irritating.  Instruments that don’t sound like themselves.  Notes and beats you struggle to hear.  It’s unfortunate that such a potentially lethal album was neutered by the lack of magic in the studio.  But it was OK.  Casablanca Records weren’t about to give up.  A third album would be needed, pronto.

Today’s rating:

4/5 stars

Uncle Meat’s rating:

3  ¾/5  steaks 

Meat’s slice:  Some of the party/sex/sex/sex etc. songs Kiss  filled the first album with were replaced by songs with darker lyrical themes.  The sound on this album is, well…shit.  This seems fitting considering all the bad experiences the band had while making this record (Ace’s face was mangled in a car accident). There are some great songs here, especially on side one. But side two is murked up a bit with a some clunkers. 

Not only the first Kiss album I ever owned, but the very first rock record as well.  I think my second record was The Bay City Rollers Greatest Hits.

Favorite Tracks:  “Parasite”, “Got to Choose”, “Strange Ways”

Forgettable Tracks:  “Mainline”, “Comin’ Home”

To be continued…

scan_20170223-4

Original mikeladano.com review:  2012/06/29

RE-REVIEW: KISS – Kiss (1974)

The KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES Part 2:  

scan_20170222kiss-logo – Kiss (1974 Casablanca, 1997 Mercury remastered edition)

The recording contract was signed with Casablanca Records.  Management was retained with Bill Aucoin.  The live gigs were quickly becoming legendary.  All Kiss needed was an album.

They band convened at Bell Sound studios in New York with Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise (ex-Dust) producing.  They selected nine of their best originals and got down to the job of recording.  Within a few weeks, they had a fully mixed album in their hands.

Kiss’ 1974 self-titled debut was simple and to the point.  No ballads, no frills, no fluff, very little filler and all rock.  It was a lean debut that lacked the thunder of their live performances.  Guitar-based, yes, but restrained and underpowered.  There was more Keith Richards rock and roll jangle than heavy metal distortion.  Yet these songs have formed the backbone of Kiss’ live set for decades.

Peter Criss has the honour of having the first sounds on the first Kiss album – a drum roll to introduce Paul Stanley’s “Strutter”.  The jangling Stones-y rhythm guitars of Paul and Ace Frehley are intertwined to create the “Strutter” riff, while Paul sings of a girl that he knows “a thing or two” about.  She gets her way just like a child, but there is no bitterness in the song.  It’s simply a rock and roll celebration, timeless and perfect as it is.  When Ace Frehley arrives with his first guitar solo, it’s clear that he was always a talent to watch.  His licks are fluid and precise.

One of Kiss’ biggest musical strengths was the fact that they had three (later on, four) capable lead singers.  Gene, Peter and Paul take turns on “Nothin’ to Lose”, a simple rock and roller made perfect by Peter Criss’ raspy scat.  The lyrics have nothing to say except that some lucky young lady has nothing to lose.  Following this, Paul Stanley calls the “Firehouse”, a live favourite that loses a lot of its bite on album.  The fire truck sirens are intact, but the recording is under powered — it needed more crunch and a little caffeine.  Much tougher is Frehley’s “Cold Gin”, sung by Gene Simmons.  The tempo is a little sluggish but it really came to life in the live arena.  This classic was kept in the set long after Ace left the band, proving its mettle.  Hard party rock doesn’t get much better than this.  “My heater’s broke and I’m so tired, I need some fuel to build the fire.”  It’s rare to hear Kiss singing about booze, which usually wasn’t their forte.

“Let Me Know” was one of the first songs Paul Stanley wrote, under the name “Sunday Driver”.  It’s right there in the lyrics, “Let me be your Sunday driver, let me be your Monday man…”  There are some songs that should get more recognition, and “Let Me Know” is absolutely one of them.  Gene and Peter join Peter for an irresistible group effort.  It gleefully continues the jangly rock of the first Kiss album, although there is also a heavy closing outro riff.  This powerful riff has been recycled live over the years to end other songs.   “Let Me Know” closed the first side with this memorable piece of Kiss guitar thunder.

Gene Simmons’ “Deuce” has become one of the most identifiable trademark Kiss songs.  “You know your man’s been working hard, he’s worth a deuce.”  Gene says the words are meaningless, but lines like “Get up and get your grandma out of here,” had the attitude he wanted.  Still one of Kiss’ hardest rockers, and with a riff that kills (ripped off from the Stones, according to Gene), “Deuce” will likely be played live until the end of time itself.  You can see Gene up there on stage, tonguing himself for all eternity.

A bit of filler called “Love Theme From Kiss” (formerly: “Acrobat”) is one of their few instrumental tracks.  It doesn’t have much meat, and was dropped from the set before too long.  Live, “Acrobat” used to feature a fast and heavy part called “You’re Much Too Young” that is far better than “Love Theme From Kiss”.  The lollygagging guitars of “Love Theme” just don’t cut it.

“100,000 Years” is driven by a wicked Simmons bass lick, and Paul Stanley’s wailing vocals.  Its groove has kept it in the live set on and off for decades, a fan favourite often extended for concerts with a long Paul rap and drum solo.  Then finally there is “Black Diamond”, the biggest sounding and most dramatic of these early tracks.  It utilizes a sweet Paul Stanley acoustic intro, before it goes full electric and Peter Criss takes the lead vocals.  His sandpaper rasp kills it: “Black Diamond” is another Kiss classic that has stood the test of time (and even different singers) over the years.  The original album version is hard to beat.

Casablanca weren’t happy with how the album was selling.  Label head Neil Bogart rushed Kiss into the studio to record a “hit single”.  They decided on covering “Kissin’ Time” and promoting it with a “kissing contest”.  Attention achieved, although the single performed only moderately.  The track was added to the reissued album, as the first song on side two.  The band were never particularly happy with it, and even though it showcases lead vocals from Paul, Gene and Peter, it does not sound much like Kiss.  It sounds more like compromise.

Promoting Kiss meant keeping a constant stream of product on the shelves.  A few months later, they were off to Los Angeles with Kerner and Wise to record a followup.  Kiss would have two studio albums in 1974, mere months apart.  Fortunately they had plenty of old Wicked Lester material to dust off.  The Kiss debut remains a quaint sounding beginning.  While their songwriting was intact and has proven to stand the test of the ages, their knowledge of the recording studio was just beginning.  Kiss could have used a heavier edge, but it is what it is:  a start.

Today’s rating:

4/5 stars

Uncle Meat’s rating:

4 ¾/5 steaks  4-34-steaks

Meat’s Slice:  One of the best debut albums in rock history; there is not a bad track on the album.  You could potentially hear more than half this album at any Kiss concert.  Easily a Top 3 Kiss album for Meat.  Certainly the production could be better, but the songs are great and even the minimalistic sound makes it feel even more like a great Rock and Roll record.  Which is what most of 70s Kiss really is.  Classic Rock and Roll.  Even “Love Theme From Kiss” has aged well.

Favorite Tracks:  “Nothin’ to Lose”, “Black Diamond”, “Cold Gin”

Forgettable Tracks:  “Kissin’ Time” (Nitpicking here.  Wasn’t even really on the original album in the first place.)

To be continued…

scan_20170222-3

Original mikeladano.com Kiss review:  2012/06/12

REVIEW: Deep Purple – Time for Bedlam (2017 EP)

NEW RELEASE

DEEP PURPLE – Time For Bedlam (2017 Edel EP)

Has any band gone nearly 50 years with such integrity?  The only original member left is drummer Ian Paice, but that matters not.  Ian Gillan and Roger Glover are original members to laymen.  Steve Morse has been in the band for over 20 years, and Don Airey is at about 15.  There is no lack of authenticity to Deep Purple, no matter what preconceptions you may have.  This most recent lineup with Airey is now on its fourth studio album.  The new album Infinite (produced again by Bob Ezrin) will be out April 7.

“Time for Bedlam” is a great choice for a single.  It rocks a “Pictures of Home” (1972) vibe.  Gillan’s lyrics are as biting as ever.  “Sucking my milk from the venomous tit of the state…”  Meanwhile Deep Purple sound like Deep Purple, but always pushing outwards.  There is newness in “Time for Bedlam”.  The droning intro is nothing like Deep Purple past, with Ian in a low monotonous voice.  But whatever makes Deep Purple sound like Deep Purple, it’s on “Time for Bedlam”.  For most people, the organ is the most identifiable ingredient, and Don Airey continues to pay tribute to the original, Jon Lord, in every note.  The solo sections from Airey and Morse are jawdropping.

This great CD single has three additional tracks.  “Paradise Bar” is a new non-album track, a laid back summer time groove.  It has progressive keys and a lazy easy going vibe.  It remains to be seen how it ranks among Infinite‘s album tracks.  It’s nice to buy a single and get an actual new unreleased track, and “Paradise Bar” isn’t mere filler.  Fans will enjoy Steve and Don’s solo trade-offs.  An unreleased instrumental version of “Uncommon Man” (from 2013’s Now What?!) will also be of interest to fans of the musicians in Deep Purple.  For such a long track (6:59) it’s amazing how well it works as a simple instrumental.  You have to hand that to this great band, and producer Bob Ezrin for capturing such great ambience.

The last track “Hip Boots” is an instrumental rehearsal of a track that will be on Infinite.  It’s a funky jam, a lot like what Deep Purple have always done.  It remains to be seen what the album track is like (will it have vocals, will it be a jam?) but this is an intriguing look at a song in a state that we don’t normally get to hear.  It whets the appetite for what could be coming.

Kudos to Deep Purple for still utilizing the singles format (something they also did with Now What?!), and in doing so, giving the fan some added value.  They’re creating a buzz for Infinite, so let’s hope that pays off in April!

4/5 stars

RE-REVIEW: KISS – Wicked Lester & Eddie Kramer demos (1972 & 1973)

The KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES Part 1:  

For once, it did not all start with a kiss-logo.

scan_20170220-4Wicked Lester (1972 unreleased album) & the Eddie Kramer demos (1973) (CD bootleg “promo” with “Epic” logo)

Stanley Eisen and Chaim Witz were two young New York musicians who didn’t particularly care for one another.  They met via guitarist Stephen Coronel, a mutual friend and bandmate of Witz.  Chaim, who came to the United States from Israel at the age of eight, changed his name to Gene Klein.  Stephen Coronel told Gene that young Stanley wrote songs too.  Unimpressed, Gene commanded, “Oh yeah?  Play one.”  Stanley played a prototype called “Sunday Driver”, but the encounter left a foul taste in his mouth.

Coronel eventually succeeded in bringing his two friends together, when Stanley Eisen joined their band Rainbow.  In was 1971, and Ritchie Blackmore had yet to form the most famous Rainbow of them all, but even so they needed a more unique name.  They already knew of one other band using the name Rainbow.  Both Paul and Gene had their sights set on bigger things than just New York City.  They wanted something original, and settled upon Wicked Lester.  They’d also drop their “ethnic sounding” real names in favour of the handles “Paul Stanley” and “Gene Simmons”.  They collected together some material they’d written and focused on their originals.  The lineup consisted of Stanley and Coronel on guitars, Simmons on bass, Brooke Ostrander (RIP, FYC) on piano and horns, and Tony Zarella on drums.

Wicked Lester performed only two gigs before an opportunity was offered by Ron Johnsen, a resident sound engineer at Electric Lady studios.  He saw something in the band, and put up the funds for some demo recordings.  Eventually, Epic had their curiosity piqued enough to buy the demos and agree to do make an album.  They had only one condition:  Get rid of Stephen Coronel.  Thus, the man that brought Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley together was fired from the band he shared with them.

Coronel was replaced by a player named Ron Leejack, and recording of the album commenced.  The majority of tracks were Simmons/Stanley (and sometimes Coronel) originals, with a handful of covers.  To cut a long story short, upon completion, Epic shelved the album and deemed it not good enough to release.

They were right to do so.

Only three tracks have ever been released officially, on the 2001 Kiss Box Set:  “Keep Me Waiting”, “She”, and “Love Her All I Can”.  The rest are only available on very poor sounding bootleg discs.  Even without the full fidelity of a proper release, one can tell from the available bootlegs that the album Wicked Lester was best left in the shadows.  When Kiss seemed to emerge fully-formed in 1974, nobody had witnessed their growing pains.

The running order of various bootlegs differ.  The red-packaged “Epic promo CD” (surely not) begins with the familiar “Love Her All I Can”, best known as one of Kiss’ early classics from 1975’s Dressed To Kill.  The unfocused Wicked Lester original sounds like a hippie commune on speed. Simmons today describes their sound as “like a cross between Three Dog Night and the Doobie Brothers.”  Throw in a healthy dose of acid.  Who knows where that came from, Simmons being so proudly anti-drug.

scan_20170220-3

An obscure cover “Sweet Ophelia” (Barry Mann/Gerry Goffin) really demonstrates how far out in left field everybody was.  It’s mildly disconcerting how well Paul Stanley fits the hippie vibe, far removed from his future Starchild persona.  A Stanley original “Keep Me Waiting” bears little resemblance to the style his is known for.  Though one could imagine the guitar solo section as part of a Kiss song, “Keep Me Waiting” is a delirious concoction of congas and horns.  Simmons’ “Simple Type” is more straightforward.  No annoying extra accoutrements.  No hooks either, or any balls, but it’s one of the earliest examples of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley sharing lead vocals on a song.  Even at this early stage, it was clear that Paul Stanley possessed a mighty throat.

“Simple Type” merges with the flutes and tambourines of “She”.  Flutes and tambourines, on “She”?!  Yes, this future Kiss grinder is set to the sultry sounds of more hippie instrumentation, to go with the organ and shakers.  As the song fades out, you can just hear the potential it had.  This potential is nowhere to be found on “Too Many Mondays” (Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil), light and flaky.  “What Happens in the Darkness” (Tamy Lester Smith) is all but indescribable.  Deep Purple Mk I gone terribly wrong,  but with Paul Stanley leading the choir instead of Rod Evans going it alone.  Tougher and better is “When the Bell Rings” (Austin Roberts/Christopher Welch) which again features Paul and Gene singing together.  This time, Gene utilizes his early high rasp, also heard on Kiss tracks like “Goin’ Blind” and “Let Me Go, Rock and Roll”.  Sounding a bit more like our beloved demon, “When the Bell Rings” is actually listenable.  Paul Stanley’s dainty “Molly” brings the flutes back into the picture, and the sooner it’s over the better.  A cover of The Hollies’ “(We Want To) Shout it Out Loud” is not bad.  And it lent its title to something much better later on.

The “Epic promo” CD has terrible tape bleed-through.  It’s clearly a copy of a copy, generations down.  The cheap paper cover belies its actual bootleg manufacture.  It’s also missing a song called “Long, Long Road”, a soft country track that was recorded but perhaps cut from the intended album. That’s right — soft country.

Epic passed on the Wicked Lester album, which was mixed and even had cover art selected.  The boy was their mascot, “Wicked Lester”.  The cover art was originally intended for another band called Laughing Dogs.  Now that the album was shelved (and since Simmons and Stanley were the clear leaders of the group) the fates of the others were pre-determined.  Paul and Gene began looking for new members, and experimenting with makeup.  They wanted a strong, singular image, not five guys who looked like the line at the local soup kitchen.  They also wanted a focused direction, and that was to be hard rock a-la The Who, Cream and Led Zeppelin.

An experienced drummer (his band Lips had an album) named Peter Criscoula was first to heed the call.  The new Wicked Lester was a power trio consisting of Peter, Gene and Paul, who rehearsed in a loft located at 10 East 23rd Street in Manhattan.  The sound was incomplete:  a lead guitarist was needed.  Auditions were held at the same loft.  Legend has it that Bob Kulick (who features into the story much later) was about to get the gig, when they were rudely interrupted.  A spaced out guy with one red and one orange sneaker had plugged in and started wailing away.  Paul Frehley snatched the gig at the last minute, and Kiss was born.

The loft where Kiss was born.   10 East 23rd Street, photos by Mike Lukas.

The new focus became apparent when the re-named band entered Electric Lady one more time, in March of 1973, with legendary producer Eddie Kramer.  The band cut five new originals:  “Deuce” (Simmons), “Strutter” (Stanley/Simmons), “Cold Gin” (Frehley), “Watching You” (Simmons), “Black Diamond” (Stanley).  Each of these songs later made it onto Kiss albums in 1974.  They had the goods.

The Kramer demos sound better on this CD than the Wicked Lester tracks.  A different, younger tape generation would be the probable source.  Only two of these demos (“Strutter” and “Deuce”) have been released officially, on the Kiss Box Set.  These ferocious tracks are almost completely faithful to the final album arrangements.  A few extended solos here, and some longer bits there.  Tracks such as “Deuce” are faster than they were later recorded, and more akin to what Kiss sounded like live.  Playing to their strengths, keeping things simple, and with Eddie goddamn Kramer at the boards, the band laid down one hell of a demo.  This is something that bands today would release officially as their first EP, to build buzz for an album.  That wasn’t the strategy in 1973, so the band instead stuck to a regular regimen of songwriting, rehearsals and unforgettable club gigs.

Nine months after their debut gig as Kiss at the Coventry, they signed with Neil Bogart’s Casablanca Records.  They had built up a repertoire of roughly 18 originals, including some holdovers from the shelved Wicked Lester: “She”, “Simple Type”, “Keep Me Waiting”, and “Love Her All I Can”.  These four songs were whittled out again in the process of coming up with the tracks to record for their first LP.

The Eddie Kramer demos and Wicked Lester album alike are important historical documents.  They are pieces of the puzzle coming together, and by the time they got with Kramer, the outline was in place.  The only way to go was up.

Today’s rating:

Wicked Lester – 1/5 stars
Eddie Kramer demos – 3.25/5 stars

 

Original mikeladano.com Wicked Lester review:  2012/08/14

 

REVIEW: Faith No More – “Cone of Shame” (2016 RSD single)

scan_20170303-3FAITH NO MORE – “Cone of Shame” (2016 Reclamation Recordings 7″ single for Record Store Day, gold vinyl)

All hail the mighty JHUBNER, decorated hard-core hunter…of records.  Raise your Romulan ale (or what have you)!  Somewhere somehow, the subject of limited edition Faith No More singles for Record Store Day came up.  Mr. Hubner kindly took note that he had seen some at his local establishment.  With great care and expense, he packed it well, armored in a shell of cardboard that could withstand any wayward bombardments.  Thusly, I have acquired “Cone of Shame” on limited edition clear gold vinyl.  Had I thought this through, I would have asked for green, to compliment this burning green alcoholic beverage that Scotty below is hoisting to Mr. Hubner.

scotty

This is a gorgeous 45.  The cover art is quite funny: a pug (with eyes blacked out for anonymity) wearing a doggie “cone of shame”.  Would have been better with a miniature schnauzer, but pugs are fine.   The vintage style label is starkly awesome in black & white.  The pristine yellow disc is a piece of beauty indeed, clean and clear and rich with awesome music carved into its grooves.

The A-side is the standard album version of “Cone of Shame” from Sol Invictus.  This is a song I have strongly warmed up to in the last year.  I didn’t care for it at first, but I have since fallen for its weirdness and Patton’s vocal heroics.  Flip over to the B-side and you will find J.G. Thirwell’s “Calcitron Mix” of “Motherfucker”.  I love what he did with it.  Most of Patton’s voice has been wiped leaving only Roddy Bottum’s hypnotic verses.  The word “motherfucker” is chopped and looped to become the main hook.  There is very little of the original song left.  Essentially a new song has been created with Roddy’s “get the motherfucker on the phone, on the phone” hook, chopped up and given the Max Headroom treatment.  The techno backing feels like a bunch of idiots at a rave, but that’s not my thing.  I’m easily amused so the rearrangement and repetition of the word “motherfucker” keeps me entertained.

Remixes are what they are.  You either like them or you don’t.  I usually lean towards the opinion that an original is better than a remix, 99% of the time.  There are the odd exceptions.  I think you need to use a different measuring stick when talking about remixes.  Instead of “did it make the song better”, perhaps the question should be “did it make the song different?”  In this case “Motherfucker” has been reimagined as something new, and that’s pretty cool.

3.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Stephen Pearcy – Smash (2017 with bonus track)

NEW RELEASE

scan_20170226-2STEPHEN PEARCY – Smash (2017 King records, Japanese bonus track)

Everybody needs a little Ratt N’ Roll in their lives.  How much is up to you.  It’s like salt & pepper — season to taste.  But it’s been a while since Ratt released the fine comeback Infestation (2010), and we’re getting the cravings again.  Ratt’s lead throat Stephen Pearcy must’ve known this, because here comes his excellent solo album Smash.

You can hear Zeppelin bleeding through the intro to “I Know I’m Crazy”, and the word “Zepp-ish” comes up again and again when listening to this CD.  Much of the time this is due to the big big performance by ex-White Lion drummer Greg D’Angelo.  “I Know I’m Crazy” has a bit of the new and a bit of the old:  modern drony guitars, but a punchy Pearcy chorus.  Stephen is wise to not just copy Ratt (there are enough people trying that), but to go beyond that sound and into something a little out of left field.  Then if you’re craving those big rawk guitar riffs, “Ten Miles Wide” offers one o’ those and a brilliant chorus to boot.  Guitarist Erik Ferentinos nails a cool George Lynch vibe on one hell of a smoking solo.  But then it’s fully down Zeppelin alley with slippery slide guitars on the impressively authentic “Shut Down Baby”.  “What Do Ya Think” also has that swampy Zep vibe, very Page-y.

With 13 tracks on the standard CD edition, there is plenty of rock, but an artist can always run the risk of an overly-long album.  Not so with Smash!  Stephen Pearcy has the goods, and a diverse batch of songs.  None drag or overstay their welcome; the standard album runs at 47 minutes of diverse rock.  Check out “Dead Roses” for a tune with a heavy Skid Row grind.  “Jamie” and “I Can’t Take It” too rock hard, with roots still in 80s metal.  Then there’s a sleazy Aero-Ratt called “Lollipop” that fits right in.  You can count on a thick, strong sound throughout — check out the slamming and riffy “Want Too Much”.  Bassist Matt Thorn co-produced the album with the band.  Track after track, expect meaty guitars, full sounding drums, and sassy signature Pearcy lead vocals.  There even a power ballad:  “Rain” is awesome, tough and would have been a massive hit in 1985.  Closer “Summers End” is less a ballad and more music for a dark sky.

Of course you don’t have to buy the Japanese version to get Smash, but when you just can’t get enough Pearcy, the import offers an acoustic mix of “What Do Ya Think”.  The song works very well as an acoustic jam session.  Fans would be advised to check it out and choose which version they like best.  However you get it, be sure to get Smash, a fine start to 2017.

4.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Duff McKagan – Believe In Me (1993)

scan_20170213DUFF McKAGAN – Believe In Me (1993 Geffen)

In 1993 Duff McKagan was not clean yet, at least not for good.  It would take a critical medical emergency for him to get close enough to death and stop drinking.  The cover of Believe in Me, a skeletal Duff bathing in a martini glass, reflects the last of the old Duff.  It was his solo debut, following Izzy but before Slash.  Guns’ own Spaghetti Incident? hit the shelves two months later, as the end of the original band creeped on the horizon.

Fans were probably experiencing a bit of Guns overload.  Two albums, two live concert video tapes, loads of touring and music videos…Guns were everywhere from 1991-1993 and then it was the dawn of Guns solo albums.

Duff’s solo debut was a grab bag of different styles:  punk, rock, funk, jazz and ballads.  It was also loaded with rock star guest shots:  Lenny Kravitz and Sebastian Bach sang one song a piece.  Dave Sabo and Rob Affuso from Skid Row joined Baz on the album while Slash laid down a couple trademark dirty guitar solos.  Jeff Beck dropped by, and just about every Guns member except Axl himself contributed.

Despite Duff’s ambition, the best tracks tend to be the rockers.  Opener “Believe in Me” was a very Guns-like single:  short, sweet, catchy and with a Slash guitar solo to hit it home.  “I Love You” isn’t a ballad despite the title, in fact it’s a rocker and perhaps the best tune on the album. “Just Not There” also rides the GN’R train, normally bound for hitsville.  Sebastian Bach’s “Trouble” is plenty of fun, and Lenny Kravitz gets angry on “The Majority”.  These songs would have made a fine basis for a Guns album, but Axl wasn’t looking for songs that sounded like Guns N’ Roses.

An angry “(Fucked Up) Beyond Belief” (a song birthed from GN’R rehearsals) is noisy punk-rap, while “Fuck You” itself is basically a rock rap song featuring a guy named Doc.  “Punk Rock Song” is exactly what it claims to be, but isn’t particularly memorable.  The biggest mis-step is the muted trumpet jazz number, “Lonely Tonight”.  At least Duff was trying something different, but his vocals and lyrics leave a lot to be desired.

During the period that Guns N’ Roses were inactive or just working behind closed doors, a lot of these solo albums really represented an alternate universe.  “What if the original members didn’t leave and instead recorded a new album?”  It’s possible these songs or songs like them could have been on that hypothetical album.  Instead, Believe in Me was a launch pad for plenty of Duff projects and albums:  Neurotic Outsides, 10 Minute Warning, Loaded, Velvet Revolver and many more.  Duff has proven that clean and sober, he can be one hell of a prolific songwriter.  Believe in Me is a good introduction to the many stylings of Duff McKagan.

3/5 stars

scan_20170213-2