eric singer

REVIEW: KISS – Hot In The Shade (1989)

Part 27 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster! 

KISS – Hot In the Shade (1989)

When we last met, I was bitching about Kiss going pop and losing sight of its roots.  Hot In the Shade represents the first tentative steps back in the right direction.  It wasn’t a home run, but it did at least get a runner on base.

By this time, two important events had occurred:

  1. Paul Stanley confronted Gene Simmons about his lack of participation in Kiss.  Gene agreed with Paul’s diagnosis and was back on board creatively.
  2. Paul Stanley had completed a small solo club tour with Eric Singer, playing a lot of Kiss’ old music.

Kiss knew they had to get back to rock and roll, so Hot In the Shade represents a scattershot approach:  try anything, and see what works.  You’ll hear things as diverse as horn sections (“Cadillac Dreams”), female backing vocals (“Silver Spoon”), acoustic slide guitar (“Rise To It”) and speed metal (“Boomerang”).  All things rooted in rock, but not necessarily from the roots of Kiss.

It was with baited breath that I awaited the debut of the forthcoming new Kiss video on MuchMusic.  Would they finally get back to rock, and drop the keyboards and the dancing?

“Hide Your Heart”, the first single, had a more serious video with a storyline, and Paul was playing a vintage guitar again! He wasn’t posing with it, he was playing it!  The song was more rock, no keyboards in sight, and had that irresitable “Ahh ahh ahh, hey hey hey, do do do” chorus. It was a step in the right direction. I couldn’t wait for the album.  (Ace Frehley also released his own version of “Hide Your Heart” on his solo album Trouble Walkin’, almost simultaneously.)

I remember buying the cassette tape on a school field trip in grade 12, and listening to it on a Walkman in the bus. The first sounds I heard were Paul Stanley’s* bluesy slide licks as the intro to “Rise To It”. A positive start.

Then, the band kicked in, and “Rise To It” really impressed me. The drums courtesy of Eric Carr were loud and clear, the song a little heavier than previous Kiss tunes, and Bruce was wailing. I opened up the J-card and read the liner notes.

I was surprised to see that Vini Poncia, the producer who did the Kiss disco albums, was back as a songwriting partner with Gene and Paul. I also saw that Tommy Thayer of Black N Blue co-wrote two songs with Gene (“Betrayed” and “The Street Giveth”). This was only Tommy’s first writing credit with Kiss.  There would be many more.

I also saw a song written by Paul and Michael Bolton called “Forever”…uh oh, that couldn’t be a good thing.

But it wasn’t bad. “Forever” was an acoustic ballad at least, with only minor texture keyboards in the background.  Bruce nailed an absolutely perfect acoustic guitar solo, the kind you can hum the melody to.  I still relish Eric Carr’s drumming on it, which is unusually hard hitting for a ballad.

Moving along, I finally I got to the song that Eric co-wrote, called “Little Caesar” which struck me as an odd title. It took a few seconds, but I realized that Eric was singing it too! Finally, a proper original Eric Carr lead vocal. I always felt that Kiss needed to incorporate Eric Carr more in lead vocals, and his version of “Beth” from the previous album was a crappy way to give him his first .

“Boomerang” was and probably still is the fastest song that Kiss has ever done.  It’s obvious Kiss were trying to emulate speed metal, which was starting to happen at the time. It wasn’t a great song, but I was impressed that Kiss really were shedding the pop that we all hated so much.

In hindsight, Hot In the Shade breaks down to three good-to-great songs: the singles “Hide Your Heart”, “Forever”, and “Rise To It”. “Little Caesar” is also pretty good, but not up to the standards of the singles. Other songs such as “King of Hearts” have interesting parts or catchy bits, but by and large are filler.  Others, like “You Love Me to Hate You” and “The Street Giveth, the Street Taketh Away” are undeniably filler.

Hot In the Shade was bulked out at 15 songs, but probably could have been fine with just 9, like a classic Kiss LP from the 70’s.  As it stands, it’s pretty hard to make it through the whole thing in one sitting.Kiss get an “A” for effort most certainly.  The ship had been drifting for a little while and this album was turning the ship back around. They gave extra value with the length of the album, like it or lump it, and tried many different directions, which were at least rock-based.

Kiss also self-produced this time, and ended up using polished demos for much of the album.  As such it seems to have a flat sound, and Bruce Kulick’s guitar sound lacks warmth.  It would have been nice if they spent more time on the sound.

Sadly, Eric Carr would not live long enough to see the good ship Kiss right itself on Revenge. He passed away from cancer in November 1991.

2.5/5 stars

Incidentally, Kiss put off touring behind this album until 1990, as they were reportedly trying to work on a reunion with Ace Frehley!  No deals were reached and all that happened was a Paul-and-Gene-in-makeup cameo in the “Rise To It” vid.

 

*Confirmed by Bruce Kulick, that’s Paul Stanley on the slide.

REVIEW: KISS – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (1988)

Part 26 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster! 

SMASHES FRONT

KISS – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (1988)

October, 1988.  Articles had been spinning through the rock magazines for months that this was the end:  Kiss was on the verge of breaking up.  Gene Simmons was still focused on his label and management company, the last album (Crazy Nights) was a disappointment, and the word on the street was that Kiss were no longer cool.

So, when Gene Simmons was to appear as co-host of the Pepsi Power Hour that day in October, they said it was for a special announcement.  I fully expected it to be an announcement of the farewell tour.

It was not.  It was to promote his new label, $immons Records, and his signing, the excellent House Of Lords.  And, to announce the forthcoming release of Smashes, Thrashes & Hits:  the new Kiss greatest hits CD with two new songs.  And a remake of “Beth”.  With Eric Carr singing.

I received the album for Christmas that year.  My feelings were quite mixed.

Both new songs were written, sung and produced by Paul Stanley, another indication that Gene was still off in la-la land.  “Let’s Put The X In Sex” is a pretty lame, pretty pop, pretty un-Kiss tune, with a somewhat redeeming horn section.  I was horrified that, in the music video, Paul wasn’t even holding a guitar anymore.  He was just dancing.  Dancing!  At least in the videos from Crazy Nights, he was holding a guitar while dancing.   Somehow I saw this as a symptom of what was wrong with Kiss in the late 80’s.  This was not the same band anymore.

The second new song, “(You Make Me) Rock Hard” (a double entendre that I missed completely), is a slightly more uptempo song which almost qualifies as a rocker.  It has an insanely catchy pre-chorus.  Which is something I’d actually like to draw your attention to.  See below, please:

Try to ignore the dancing, Paul hugging a very bouffant Gene, just skip to the 1:50 mark.  Watch Gene’s lips.

Paul sings, “You make me sweat, you turn me ’round,” but Gene can be clearly seen mouthing, “you turn me up.”  He doesn’t even know the words to the song, and that made it into the video.  He was clearly asleep at the wheel!

The rest of the album was filled with hits, none with Ace nor Peter singing.  Hence, “Beth”.  It’s always been said that Kiss have tried to erase Ace and Peter from their history and here’s a great example.  In addition, Eric’s voice is simply too sweet, it needs rasp to do this song.  It’s unfortunate that this was Eric’s first lead vocal.

You should know that many of the hits were remixed — virtually everything from the original lineup.  Some of the remixes are quite good (I love this version of “Love Gun” with the extended guitar bit), some are not.  “I Love It Loud” lacks the oomph of the drums, and the false ending.

Of note:  Not one song from Crazy Nights made the cut (except in the U.K., where “Reason To Live” was added).  I’ve always felt this was a subliminal message as to the quality of that album too.

Smashes, Thrashes & Hits represents the absolute lowest point of this era of Kiss.  The dancing, the pop, the terrible videos, I was fed up.  Fortunately, Gene got his brain back and the band began to steer the ship back in the right direction.  In my opinion the first real step began with Paul Stanley’s solo tour (with Bob Kulick and Eric Singer), where he reconnected with the fans and the music.

Better things were to come, but not yet.

2/5 stars

Editorial: Paul Stanley’s voice problems

I’ve been reluctant to post anything about this, but I’m an honest fan.  I’m no fanboy — when a band does something I don’t approve of, I say so.

Everybody knows I’m a huge Kiss fan.  I first started noticing Paul’s voice getting raspier on the 2004 DVD Rock the Nation Live!  Now, it’s…man it hurts to say this…it’s almost tuneless.  You can hear Gene and Eric Singer holding down the melody while Paul struggles to sing.

I read recently that Paul had vocal cord surgery in November 2011, and that he says he has simply done too many tours with not enough time off to rest his voice.  I think that is a real shame.  Paul, listen to me — I consider you to be one of the top five rock singer frontmen of all time.  Right up there with Freddie and Ronnie.  To hear the guy that I once saw in Phantom of the Opera croak like this, something’s clearly wrong.  Paul, if time off is all you need — take it!

We, the Kiss Army, would gladly, patiently wait years between tours if it meant preserving your voice.  In the meantime you guys could continue to issue box sets and DVD’s with worthwhile unreleased material, and we’d buy it.

I fully expect the new album, Monster, to be good.  I have no doubt that in the studio, a controlled environment, Paul nails it.  But live, Paul, you need to give your voice a rest and take some time.  We’ll still be here when you come back.  For yourself, please think about it.

LeBrain

LeBrain as Paul

More KISS at mikeladano.com:

Complete KISS reviews + Complete ACE FREHLEY reviews + 

PETER CRISS – Criss EP review + GENE SIMMONS – Asshole review

Record Store Tales Part 3:  My First KISS + Part 8:  You Wanted the Best +
Part 77:  Psycho-Circus + Part 151:  24kt KISS…cheap at twice the price +
Part 152:  Carnival of Lost Souls + Part 173:  Gene Simmons’ Asylum Demos + 
Part 179: Phantom of the Opera + Part 241:  Halloween, KISS style!

REVIEW: KISS – Paul Stanley (1978)

Part 14 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!   This time, we’ll look at the final of the four solo albums (and my favourite) released under the Kiss banner in 1978:  Paul Stanley.

KISS – Paul Stanley (1978)

Paul Stanley’s contribution to the Kiss solo album quadrilogy was very much like what Paul was doingin within Kiss itself.  As such it was warmly received by fans turned off by Peter Criss’ and Gene Simmons’ records.  From Paul Stanley, it seemed clear that he was not creatively confined at all within Kiss.  Recruiting old friend Bob Kulick on guitar, Paul laid down an album of hot rockers and a few tender ballads.

“Tonight You Belong To Me” starts off with some lush acoustic guitars (maybe a 6 and a 12 string? I can’t tell), and Paul singing in his classic falsetto. It doesn’t take long though for this to stop however, before a killer angular riff kicks in. (The Hellacopters ripped off the riff for the intro of their song called “Paul Stanley”, actually.) The riff is pure Paul Stanley, and is augmented by loads of juicy feedback.  Bob Kulick just tears through the guitar solo.

This is followed by fan favourite “Move On”, which was played live on the 1979 Kiss tour. It’s another rocker that would have felt at home on Rock and Roll Over or Love Gun.  “Ain’t Quite Right” is Paul’s first ballad of the album, and the first song I’d consider skipping. However Paul comes roaring back next, with the best song on the album.  “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me?” is fast paced and it rocks hard, and I think if Green Day did it today it would be classified as pop-punk, a genre which didn’t exist in 1978.  Side 1 closes with “”Take Me Away (Together As One)” which might be called Zeppelinesque. It starts off slow and acoustic, turns dark and electric in the very catchy chorus, and goes back to acoustic. Dramatic is a good word.  And Paul’s voice has never been stronger.  I believe he was singing at his absolute peak at this point, personally.

Side 2 starts off with another rocker, “It’s Alright”, which is very Kiss circa Love Gun. The guitar riff and chorus melody are the main selling features of this song. “Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We’re Apart)” is a title that can only belong to a ballad. As sappy as it is, I like this song. It’s a piano and strings ballad that might have suited the Peter Criss album, if not for the melodic and memorable guitar solo courtesy of Paul himself. “Love In Chains” follows this, a guitar oriented rocker with great singable verses. The album ends appropriately with “Goodbye”, a song which Paul used to close his 2006 solo shows. It is another stellar song, extremely catchy and well written.

Songwriting is the main selling point of Paul’s solo album. It is Paul’s song craft that makes this album special, that and Bob Kulick’s great guitar tones and talents. Paul had a lot to be proud, it is a gem of an album and one that no Kiss fan should be without.

It’s only a shame that the 2006 followup, Live To Win, didn’t even come close to reaching this level of quality.

5/5 stars


Paul performing “Wouldn’t You Live To Know Me” in 1989 with Bob Kulick and Eric Singer

REVIEW: KISS – “Hell or Hallelujah” single! (2012)

Stepping out of continuity: Part 5 of my series of Kiss reviews, this time on the BRAND NEW SINGLE, leading up to the release of Monster!

Yes, I know I forgot part 3.  It’s coming.  I just forgot to publish Dressed To Kill!

KISS – “Hell or Hallelujah” single (download only, 2012)

If you’re still hung up on Ace and Peter not being in the band anymore, just go away.  Get over it.  This sounds like Kiss.  Pure and simple Kiss.  Like the 70’s crossed with the speed of the 80’s.  Picture a song like “Take Me” with the velocity of “Under The Gun”.

Sticking to the seldom-broken formula of having a Paul song be the first single, “Hell or Hallelujah” kicks ass from start to finish.  I can’t say I prefer it to the first single from the previous album, “Modern Day Delilah”, but it’s certainly heavier.  I love the sound of Gene and Paul singing together.  The riff is retro-Kiss, and Paul is singing great.

Tommy Thayer shines, with a guitar solo that is less Ace and more Tommy.  Rather than rip off a bunch of Ace licks like he did last time, this solo reminds me more of something like Bob Kulick would have done back in the day.  Still Ace-like enough in general sound, but with much more dexterity.  Having said that I don’t think it strays too far from the classic Kiss sound, and it’s about time Tommy got to really show off his chops.

Clocking in at 4:06, and selling for $1.29 on iTunes, I can’t wait for a better sounding format.  The CD has to sound better than this!

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Black Sabbath – Seventh Star (deluxe edition)

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BLACK SABBATH featuring TONY IOMMI – Seventh Star (2011 deluxe edition)

The only Black Sabbath album with Glenn Hughes on vocals. The only one released under the somewhat silly name “Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi”. The first one to feature no original members except Tony himself, with Geezer and Bill departing after the disasterous hiring of a new singer named Dave “Donut” Donato, a male model. That bore no fruit, and Iommi instead toiled away on what he intended to be his first solo album….

Finally, Seventh Star has been given the Deluxe Edition treatment. I’ve been waiting for some kind of official release of the music video remix of “No Stranger To Love” for 25 years. Finally it is available on this Deluxe Edition, along with a pretty good live show featuring the late Ray Gillen on vocals. I already have a Ray show on bootleg (a very common one called The Ray Gillen Years) but this is a completely different show, with a different setlist.

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Seventh Star as an album probably never should have been released under the Black Sabbath name. It’s truly a solo album that Warner Bros didn’t want to release as a Tony Iommi album. So here it is, an official Sabbath album. If that didn’t occur, would Sabbath as an entity even have continued in the 1980’s? I doubt it. Sabbath here consisted of:

Tony Iommi – guitars
Glenn Hughes – lead vocals
Dave “The Beast” Spitz – bass  (*brother of Dan)
Eric Singer – drums
Geoff Nicholls – keyboards

Only Iommi and Nicholls remain from previous Sabbath lineups. You know Glenn Hughes of course from his soulful wail in Deep Purple, and Eric Singer from his later work in Kiss. Here, the five musicians coalesce into a more commercial version of Black Sabbath. The hard hitting riffs are still there, the frenetic solos, the mystical lyrics, the pounding drums. Yet these songs are more melodic. Glenn infuses them with a soulful touch never heard before on a Sabbath album. Whether that is to your taste, only you can decide. Personally I love almost every song on this album. I find the standouts to be “In For The Kill”, “Seventh Star”, “Angry Heart”, and “No Stranger To Love”. Only “Heart Like A Wheel” bores me, a slow blues that doesn’t really go anywhere.

As mentioned, the video version of “No Stranger” is included, which I have never found anywhere else. For years I had it on VHS and I thought there were female backing vocals. This remaster reveals that it’s actually Glenn — I could never hear them clearly enough before to discern this.

The remastering on this CD is quite excellent. The drums have a fullness that wasn’t there before. The guitar absolutely sizzles. The liner notes are nothing new, just recycled from a previous edition of the CD, as are the included photos.

The bonus live show with Ray Gillen on vocals exists due to Glenn’s vocal and drug problems.  Ray Gillen was hired when it was clear that Hughes was in no shape to tour.  This CD reveals that Ray was really trying to be Ronnie James Dio. Personally I find Ray’s renditions of the Sabbath classics to be very overwrought, especially on “Black Sabbath”. Only two songs from Seventh Star are played. (You can get Ray’s version of “Heart Like A Wheel” on the Ray Gillen Years bootleg, as well as “Sweet Leaf”.)

While Ray’s tenure in Black Sabbath was brief, it was still important historically.  Ray did one tour and recorded an album.  There are some singers in Sabbath’s history that are not documented at all.  (One TV broadcast exists with Dave Walker singing “Junior’s Eyes”, and there’s a demo of Dave Donato singing an early version of “The Shining” called “No Way Out”.)   This live show, while not stellar, is an important piece of the Sabbath puzzle. It is the first (but not final!) official release of any Ray Gillen material with Sabbath.  The sound quality is slightly better than bootleg which is fine by me.

This remaster is not for Sabbath snobs. You know the kind. “Sabbath suck without Ozzy!” or “Dio is the best!” Sabbath’s history is far longer and richer than that, and there’s room for all kinds. Just one question:   Is Headless Cross going to get the deluxe treatment too?…may as well wish for the moon!

4/5 stars

Yup…that’s Star Trek TNG’s Denise Crosby in the “No Stranger To Love” video!

NOTE: If you like this album, Hughes and Iommi hooked up twice more: On the Iommi solo albums The DEP Sessions, and Fused.