demos

REVIEW: Paul Stanley – You Can’t Escape His KISS – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera (1999 Bootleg CD)

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA – Toronto Cast Recording featuring Paul Stanley (1999 Phantom Music bootleg CD You Can’t Escape His KISS)

Seeing Paul Stanley perform as the titular Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera was an experience I’ll never forget.  It was fall, 1999.  I remember hearing an ad on the radio on the way to work that the show was being extended due to popular demand – six more weeks!  I remember jumping around at the Beat Goes On (Cambridge location) chanting “SIX MORE WEEKS!  SIX MORE WEEKS!”  I knew I wasn’t going to miss Paul as the Phantom.  There were a lot of leather jackets in the audience.  A few Kiss shirts.  Not the usual Pantages crowd, but that’s what Paul did for Phantom of the Opera.  He crossed barriers with it.  A little later on, I was gifted a genuine Paul Stanley autograph from DJ Donnie D, who bumped into Paul on the streets of Toronto.  I had a program, an autograph, and the live experience.  All I needed was a CD of the show.

“They’d be stupid not to release a CD version of Phantom with Paul,” I reasoned.  The London and Canadian cast CD releases were bestsellers for us, despite their prices.  A Paul Stanley release would cross over to the rock crowd.  An official CD never came, but fortunately somebody in the audience was recording one of of those shows, and bootlegged it.  The date is unlisted, the CD says “Made in Japan” while the sleeve says “Printed in USA”.  (The number on the CD, 27/110/99 does not refer to a date as the ended on Oct 31 1999.)  This CD bootleg was gifted all the way from Australia, by the Mad Metal Man Harrison Kopp, who knew I had been seeking it a long time.  From Canada to Australia and back to Canada again.

A single CD release with unrelated bonus tracks, this disc focuses on the musical numbers that involved Paul and skips the rest.  This is probably sufficient for Kiss fans.

Being an audience recording, quality is all subjective.  There is some tape warble, which may or may not hinder your enjoyment.  There are people coughing in the audience; the usual sonic flaws.  You can clearly hear that Melissa Dye, Paul’s co-star playing Christine, is a professional while Paul is not.  He often resorts to a “rock frontman” voice to exclaim certain lines.  However, Paul also does an admirable job.  His tenor voice was no longer at its peak in 1999.  He was still up to the task, insofar as a rock star goes.  A tenor like Paul would never have made it to the starring role without his name marquee value.  That doesn’t actually matter when you consider that Paul helmed this show from May to October, to positive reviews.  Of course, there is more to it than just singing.  There is also the acting; the stage performance in costume and makeup.  You don’t get to see that here, but I can assure that Paul knew something about performing to music on stage in costume and makeup.  He brought the same bombast to the physical role as he did the vocal part.

The most memorable musical moments on this CD are the “Phantom of the Opera” and “Music of the Night”, which most people will be familiar with.  Paul’s performance on both is a knockout.  This bootleg recording serves as a reminder that Paul might have been an unorthodox Phantom, but he was still capable, and did the job well…even if you can hear the Kiss frontman in him, from time to time.

The track list on the back of the CD is incorrect.  There are 25 tracks total, provided below.  The bonus material includes four of the 1989 Paul Stanley solo demos:  “When 2 Hearts Collide”, “Don’t Let Go”, “Best Man For You” and the familiar “Time Traveler”.   These are followed by a 1978 interview in seven parts.  An odd potpouri of bonus material to be sure, but such is the liberty of bootleg recordings.

“When 2 Hearts Collide” belies the late 80s recording date with its ballady keyboard direction.  It sounds like a Journey ballad, but it wouldn’t have done Kiss much good back then, when fans were tiring of ballads.  Good chorus and would probably benefit from a quality official release so we can really appreciate Paul’s singing.  “Don’t Let Go” is another ballad, but more in that “power ballad” mold, with a blaring chorus.  Just like every band was doing in 1989.  It could have been a hit, or it could have been forgotten.  Either way, Paul should do his own “Vault” release and get this stuff out there in better quality.  “Best Man For You” is, you guessed it, a ballad.  It sounds like something related to “Reason to Believe” from Crazy Nights.  Fortunately, the last and best song “Time Traveler” did get an official release on the Kiss Box Set.  This one actually rocks!  In that late 80s way, with a drum machine thudding away where you wish it was Eric Carr.  The tape sounds slightly sped up from the official release.  (It happens when it’s tape-based bootlegs.)

Finally the 1978 Paul interviews aren’t too action-packed.  They lack the question portions of the recordings.  The subject is Paul’s 1978 solo album, and what Paul was looking to accomplish.  (Sing more, apparently!)   He was also hoping to appeal to all Kiss fans, and new fans too.  He also hopes that none of the four solo albums would disappoint the fans.  That didn’t happen, but then there is some praise for the late great Bob Kulick and the other players on the record.  He also prophesizes that one day, Kiss will become an institution.  Was he right?  In total, it’s 8 and a half minutes of interview.

A worthwhile purchase if you can find a copy.  There isn’t much in terms of 1999 Phantom recordings out there, and this might be the best of them.

3/5 stars, balancing collectability and sound quality.  Still a must for Paul fans.

 

1. Overture
2. Angel Of Music / The Mirror / Phantom of the Opera
3. Music of the Night
4. I Remember / Stranger Than You Dreamt It
5. The Phantom’s Instructions
6. The Phantom Threats
7. The Phantom Attacks
8. All I Ask Of You
9. Masquerade
10. Wandering Child
11. Let My Opera Begin
12. The Point of No Return / All I Ask Of You
13. Down Once More
14. Finale
15. Paul Stanley – When 2 Hearts Collide
16. Paul Stanley – Don’t Let Go
17. Paul Stanley – Best Man For You
18. Paul Stanley – Time Traveler
19. Paul Stanley Interview 1978 Pt. 1
20. Paul Stanley Interview 1978 Pt. 2
21. Paul Stanley Interview 1978 Pt. 3
22. Paul Stanley Interview 1978 Pt. 4
23. Paul Stanley Interview 1978 Pt. 5
24. Paul Stanley Interview 1978 Pt. 6
25. Paul Stanley Interview 1978 Pt. 7

REVIEWS: Russian Blue – Demo #1 and #2 (1990-91)

RUSSIAN BLUE – Russian Blue demo #1 (1990), demo #2 (1991)

Russian Blue were a Toronto hard rock act fronted by the talented Jo E. Donner who, in a perfect world, would have been signed to a major label deal had not the roof caved in when grunge arrived.  They first rose to national awareness as part of the legendary Raw M.E.A.T Vol 1 compilation of Canadian indi rockers.  Upon hearing that first song, “Once a Madman”, I was immediately hooked on this band!  Donner had the pipes (often compared to a young Robert Plant) and the looks (also Plant), and the band clearly had the writing chops to crank out at least one world class rock song.  Its slow build was unusual in hard rock at the time, as was the lack of an actual chorus.  I had to hear more, so I wrote the band and ordered a tape.

RUSSIAN BLUE_0004Demo #1 (1990)

The first self-titled tape came in a professionally printed three colour J-card, with printed stickers on a white cassette.  Pretty pro for the time.  The J-card itself is a three panel fold out, with a black and white photo of the band and lyrics too.  Four songs, same both sides.  Let’s give’r.

The familiar tamborine and guitar licks of “Once a Madman” open the first tape.  M.E.A.T editor Drew Masters always advised bands submitting demo tapes to keep it short (three to five songs), professional looking, and top-loaded with the best songs.  Someone listening to a tape was likely to hit eject after the first half of the first song if they weren’t feeling it.  Russian Blue must have been paying attention because they hit all three marks.  (Masters’ other major beef with bands was not listing the song titles, the name of the band, or any contact info on a demo tape!)  The second strongest song “Likkin’ Dog” (ugh, come on, spelling) is suitably next in line.  Digging into a heavy groove and solid riff, I’m reminded of early Skid Row or Guns N’ Roses.  Donner truly had the voice of a rock star.  The other members (guitarist Richard Gauci, drummer Mike Willerding and bassist “Robo”) are also up to the task.  Gauci in particular boasts an impressive arsenal of tricks and licks for a guy you’ve never heard of before.

“Miss Precocious” enters with the same drum drum hook as “Dirty Weapons” by Killer Dwarfs which came out earlier that year.  Coincidence or inspiration aside, it’s a demo so it’s not a big deal.  “Miss Precocious” is an OK sleaze rocker that David Coverdale would have been comfortable taking a spin with.  This could have been on Slip of the Tongue as one of David’s randy odes to young ladies.  The generic “Had Enough” is the weakest of the four tracks, and is last on the tape for that reason.


A brief history of M.E.A.T Magazine

RUSSIAN BLUE_0005Demo #2 (1991)

Russian Blue added me to their mailing list and sent updates as to their current goings-on.  A second demo tape with four all-new songs was put up for sale and I ordered mine forthwith.  I was disappointed that the second demo didn’t come as professionally packaged as the first, but I suspect that the band spent all their money on that first tape and the spot on Raw M.E.A.T Vol 1.  The second tape came in a hand-made J-card with a photocopied band photo on the front and a sticker with the song titles inside.  Unfortunately the second song is misspelled “Balck” (“Black”) and this carried over to the sticker on the cassette shell as well.  The tape, a TDK D50 (50 minutes was a specialized length) was of good quality and has the same songs on both sides.  The tape also came with a little Russian Blue paper logo.  At least they tried.

The second demo showed the creeping influence of darker alternative tendencies.  “Mama’s Love” was different from anything on the first demo, taking a swampy minimalist approach to the verses.  When Donner rips out some rock shrieks, things kick up on a notch or two on the chorus.  The song is almost equal to “Once a Madman” in terms of quality, but traversing a different more menacing direction.  Keeping the stronger tunes up front, “Balck”…err, I mean “Black” is second in quality.  It opens with a psychedelic lullaby-like opening, before creeping into another swampy groove.  The vibe is nastier, including the first “F-bomb” of the album: “Nothing lasts forever, except the words to this fuckin’ song.”  It’s a good track and though it didn’t really last forever, it did get re-worked into “All”, a song on Russian Blue’s only full length CD, after they changed their name to Feel.  The album was called This (1994).

sam_1568“Child of the Ocean” has a drony, spare riff and a cool exotic sounding guitar solo by Richard Gauci.  It continues Russian Blue’s journey into less mainstream sounds, as this is a dreamy rocker.  The final song, which is the F-bomb  laden “Bleed”, is the most old school.  This one is basically a Guns N’ Roses B-side wannabe, but who gives an F-bomb?  Russian Blue had ability to pull of a ballsy song like “Bleed”, false ending and all, without sounding like douchebags.  Good on them.

In closing

A few years back, I posted a chapter of Record Store Tales (Part 146) about my cassette collection called Cassettes Part II – The Indi Years.  I showed off these old Russian Blue tapes, and less than a month later, a fellow enthusiast found the post and contacted me.  He was really excited about this second demo, because he had never seen it nor even heard of it before.  He didn’t know that Russian Blue had anything out between the first demo tape, and Raw M.E.A.T Vol 3 (1992), to which they contributed “Mama’s Love”.  It’s always a pleasure to be able to bring content like this to the internet, finally shedding light on the dark crevasses of rock and roll that were previously obscure.  The reader told me, “I was really into these guys back in high school. I pretty much bought a cowbell because of ‘Once A Madman'”.  How awesome is that?

Given that you have to allow for certain deficiencies in demos, especially from the cassette era, I am giving Russian Blue a grade based on the reasonable expectations from the period.  That considered, the Russian Blue demos come in at:

4/5 stars each.

Part 173: Gene Simmons’ Asylum Demos

RECORD STORE TALES Part 173:  Gene Simmons’ Asylum Demos

Back in 1994-95, when I was working at our original store, I would always proudly fly the Kiss flag.  This was before the mega reunion, and on the heels of the Revenge album, which I was really into.

I had a small online presence back then, I had created our very first online ads in 1994.  I was talking about music on every single BBS (Bulletin Board System) in the area, and on one board, called Wanderer’s Rest, I had a forum for my reviews.  I was going by the online name “Geddy” (hah!) back then, and I was extremely prolific.  Very little has changed since!

One guy, name long forgotten, messaged me.  “Hey, I’m a customer at your store.  I have some rare Kiss demos.  Do you want to do a tape swap?”  Of course I did.  For him, I made a copy of the March 25 1974 show in Washington at the Bayou club.  It was a cool show because they played an unreleased song called “You’re Much Too Young”.

For me, he made a tape of Gene’s Asylum demos, on one of our Maxell UR60’s that we sold in our store.  Gene is a very prolific songwriter.  Not everything he comes up with is gold (clearly!) but he usually submitted a dozen tunes or more for consideration on each album.  Judging by this cassette, Asylum was no exception, even though he was very distracted by Hollywood at that time.

The tape, which unfortunately did not survive the years very well at all, contains 13 of Gene’s demos, 3 being instrumental ideas, and a bonus track.  A couple songs made the final album.  I tried to listen to the tape, to see if I recognized any ideas.  Unfortunately, this tape now sounds terrible and is unlistenable.  I ripped only one song, which was “Russian Roulette”, to see if it resembled the version that later ended up on 2009’s Sonic Boom album.  From what I can tell, only the title survived to Sonic Boom.

Musically however, the song was recycled on the Monster album, as “Eat Your Heart Out”!  It’s the same riff.  Although you can’t make out the lyrics on the demo version at all, you can tell they are completely different.

See the pictures below for the tape made for me by the Mystery Kiss Fan back in ’94-95.   If you know any of these Gene songs, please comment below!  We can hope that good quality versions will come out on Gene’s “Monster” box set, if it ever comes out!