Brief explanation: After the #200wordchallenge, I was inspired to come up with an even more daunting task. Could I do a review in 0 words — without using any words at all? I invite you to the #0wordchallenge! Mine is below, but use your imagination and come up with something uniquely you! This review is a part of…
Bought somewhere in Taranna in a forgotten sale bin.
DUFF McKAGAN’S LOADED – The Taking (2011 Armoury)
Duff McKagan is one of those guys who is always doing something. He is not predictable except to be always active, usually in the context of a band. Loaded is one such band, featuring three of Duff’s Seattle buds. This is their third LP, a tight and focused affair with short and heavy songs. Duff’s sloppy punk roots come forth, crossed with a healthy slab of heavy-as-fuck riffin’. Duff’s shout-singing has never been more apropos, and there are even a few moments of guitar solo nirvana.
The music is all well and good; nothing in particular will rival Guns N’ Roses or even Velvet Revolver, but some tunes are pretty cool. “We Win” has a simple anthemic quality, Leppard-like, that endears it well in the memory. Better still is “Dead Skin”, a scorching punk rocker that would have set well with another of Duff’s bands, Neurotic Outsiders. “Lords of Abaddon” and “Follow Me to Hell” which open and close the CD are fierce numbers that could cause speaker damage if cranked loud enough.
You really can’t throw enough praise at Duff McKagan, but The Taking is not one of his must-have efforts. Save for a look in the cheapie bin.
2.5/5 stars
This was a 200 word review in the tradition of the #200wordchallenge.
“I think Unmasked is a pretty crappy album. It’s wimpy” – Paul Stanley, KISS Behind the Mask
Here we are at Unmasked, the very album that inspired the Kiss Re-Review series in the first place. It’s a polarizing platter. The band often trash it and shun it in concert. Meanwhile, some fans have grown to appreciate it, particularly in Europe and Australia. There is even a tribute CD on a German label with covers of the entire album. Indeed, Unmasked is not without strengths. Ace Frehley contributed another three songs of his own, continuing the growth he demonstrated on his solo album and Dynasty.
On the other side of the ledger, there were factors that fans see as a diluting of the Kiss sound. Co-writers were now the norm. Returning producer Vini Poncia had eight co-writes. They used a track by songwriter Gerard McMahon. Even ghost guitarist Bob Kulick had a co-write on Gene’s “Naked City”. Most importantly, but publicly unknown at the time, was that Kiss had effectively become a trio. Peter Criss’ substance issues had come to a head and he was not involved with the album at all. He was on the cover, and in the credits, but all Peter did was mime some drums for the “Shandi” music video. When that shoot was done, Peter was gone. Anton Fig (Dynasty, Ace Frehley) returned again to fill the gap behind the scenes.
The album demonstrated a slick turn towards pop rock. Not disco so much, although the compression on the drums and guitars gives it a disco sound. The keyboards and slick production sweetened the album to the point that the thunder of Alive! or Love Gun was completely absent. Kiss were becoming caricatures in pursuit of megahits.
The Gerard McMahon song “Is That You?” was selected to open Unmasked. This sexy grind is one of the best tracks, with Paul in peak voice showing off what he can do. The slow and dirty pop rock number gets the job done, with minimal loss of integrity. That’s Paul on lead guitar too, one of several songs on which he solos, though it is hard to tell. In fact Unmasked is one of those Kiss albums on which you can’t be sure who played what.
Only one Kiss member appears on the big single, “Shandi”, and that’s Paul Stanley. On bass was Tom Harper, and Holly Knight on keyboards. There is little doubt that “Shandi” is a fantastic song, and it worked particularly well live in the acoustic setting. While Unmasked blurred the lines between rock and pop, “Shandi” is pure pop joy — almost adult contemporary!
Frehley’s first track was a favourite called “Talk to Me”, a song many Kiss fans easily embraced. These first three songs were performed on the Unmasked tour, which demonstrates their worth. “Talk to Me” has a cool guitar riff and one of Ace’s most infectious choruses – an instant classic. Ace had really grown as a singer by this point.
The waters get murkier after the first three tracks. Gene’s “Naked City” is a grower. It possesses hooks and great verses, but the main guitar riff doesn’t hit the spot. Gene’s falsetto voice is employed to great effect. It takes a few spins, but “Naked City” has a cool darkness to it and a strange kind of class. That is followed by the very pop “What Makes the World Go ‘Round”, a keyboard-heavy Paul Stanley tune. It sounds very little like Kiss, but Paul’s performance (guitar solo included) is stellar. Falsetto must have been very popular at the time. Bee Gees, anyone?
Paul’s side two opener “Tomorrow” is just as pop as “What Makes the World Go ‘Round”. These would be great songs for somebody else’s album. Perhaps Rick Astley. Fortunately the side is quickly redeemed by Ace’s excellent “Two Sides of the Coin”. Notably, this song inspired the title of Michael Brandvold’s Kiss podcast, “Three Sides of the Coin“. Ace’s track is a fan favourite, upbeat and melodic with just enough guitar bite. If the production was meatier, as on Ace’s solo album, it would be an absolute killer.
Gene continues chasing the ladies on “She’s So European”, a filler track with familiar themes. “She makes love on a brass bed, because her parents are still awake.” Not Gene’s finest moment. “Easy As It Seems” is a Paul track, and also not one of his finest, but the bouncy bass (by Paul) is quite great. But is that a bloody keyboard solo that I detect?
One of the most interesting tracks, and most instrumentally impressive, is Ace’s surf rock classic “Torpedo Girl”. This is just a fun summertime track with infectious ooh-ahh vocal hooks. His role within Kiss resulted in some of their more unique songs, and “Torpedo Girl” is unorthodox. Ace’s picking is enviable, and the lyrics are just pure fun. “Come on, get your feet wet.”
Album closer “You’re All That I Want” is one of Gene’s tunes, but Paul’s vocals on the outro sell it. It’s a little on the light side, as is much of Unmasked, but it remains a good song.
On a personal note, I have one very strong memory of Unmasked. I first heard it by taping it off a friend, my late neighbor George. George dropped the needle on the record, hit record on my tape, and then got out his bass and played bass along to every song. Unbeknownst to him, his bass playing bled onto the tape. From that point until I finally got a store-bought cassette copy, I always heard George’s bass on the fade-outs of every song. I can still hear it in my head. I suppose that’s one way that George is still alive, in my memory.
Unmasked was released on May 20, 1980, with a bright cartoony cover including Peter Criss. Meanwhile the band were already preparing for their first of many lineup changes, something that was kept quiet until the right moment.
In July, Kiss were ready to unveil the new member. Paul Caravello, from Brooklyn, impressed Kiss with his audition and humble personality. The story that everybody remembers is that Caravello asked the guys for their autographs in case he never saw them again. No worries there; the job was destined to be his. But Kiss couldn’t have another guy named Paul, and his last name was too “ethnic” (obviously Italian), so his name was changed to Eric Carr. (Fortunately, Gene’s suggestion of “Rusty Blades” was discarded.) The newly dubbed Eric was an energetic mighty-mite of rock, and the band quickly grew to love him. Everything was new to him.
“The Hawk”
A new makeup design was required. This was a big deal — a new challenge. A hawk concept was tried, but in the costume Carr looked more like Big Bird than a rock star. He drew up an inspired fox design which immediately clicked. The new character was born!
Carr’s first appearance with the band was at their only US date on this tour: New York on July 25 1980. The rest of the tour took place in Europe and Australia where “Shandi” became a hit. There were only 41 shows in total. Despite their best efforts, Kiss’ fortunes were shifting. Opening acts on the tour included Iron Maiden, which must have been quite the mismatch. Given Maiden’s reputation for blowing away headliners (much like Kiss when they started out), you must wonder how this went down. Girl, featuring future Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen and future L.A. Guns singer Phil Lewis, also opened a handful of gigs.
Unfortunately for fans, especially in North America, this was the last tour for a long time. It was also the only tour featuring this lineup. While Kiss had endured their first lineup change, that was only just the beginning of the problems to solve.
Today’s rating:
3.5/5 stars
Uncle Meat’s rating:
4.5/5 steaks
Meat’s slice:Unmasked was released in May of 1980. A couple of months later I had heard that Kiss was going to introduce their new drummer on a show called Kids Are People Too. Seeing Kiss in the Phantom movie on TV was one thing. But knowing they were being interviewed, and introducing their newest member…Eric “The Fox” Carr. I watch it today on YouTube, and it’s so…umm…not what I remember. But it was monumental at the time for me. At this point, I had heard Unmasked once at a friend’s place and was underwhelmed. But I loved the album cover and still think it is probably their best. My take on Unmasked is much different now, and was how LeBrain’s Re-Reviews started in the first place. First of all I will address this. Mike referred in the beginning of this series to the two “Disco” era Kiss albums of Dynasty and Unmasked. Dynasty has one Disco song. Unmasked does not have anything close to a Disco song. Some would say “Shandi”, but that is Kiss capitalizing on the Soft Rock success of the day. Unmasked may not be a typical Kiss album, but thanks to Vini Poncia it’s a great album of Rock tunes and one of my favorite Kiss albums.
The drumming on this album is a major high point. Anton Fig shines all over this disc. Ace also continues his consistent roll with great rock songs like “Talk To Me”. He has such a great Rock and Roll voice. The background vocals are great too. “Two Sides of the Coin” is another song with incredible drumming, and a single writing credit. Both this song and “Talk To Me” are the only two songs on the album that don’t have an outside writing credit. Subsequently these songs sound more like classic Kiss than the rest of the album. However “Torpedo Girl” is another story. This might be the shining moment of Ace’s career in Meat’s opinion. Unbelievable guitar riff and funky drum beat. I have had it in my head for days now.
It seems that the addition of Vini Poncia to the Kiss machine inspired Gene Simmons as well. Unlike Dynasty where his songs were mostly forgettable, a couple of his songs on this album shine here. “She’s So European” is “completely ridiculous” but a “great fucking tune” (according to my longtime Kiss-mate Scott) . That about says it all. “Naked City” sees the falsetto of Gene Simmons on display here in another catchy song. There are great hooks within this song, which is indicative of the whole album really. However the album closer, “You’re All That I Want” might be the weakest track on the album. I do though love the ending, which you hear Stanley screaming in his typical live-show style.
Paul Stanley’s contributions on this album are good as well, with a few curveballs thrown in. “Shandi” was a massive Australian hit, and even though the song is about as limp as it can be, I still love the song. Reminds me of the Little River Band and Ambrosia songs of the Soft Rock era that I still dig. “What Makes the World Go ‘Round” is a solid song, with some of the greatest solo guitar playing Paul Stanley has put to record. “Tomorrow” sounds a lot like .38 Special to me and is just OK. “Easy As it Seems” is a solid song that incorporates keyboards in an interesting way, and might be the best Stanley song on Unmasked.
Overall Unmasked is a misunderstood, understated classic. I am curious to see if time has changed LeBrain’s take on this album. All I can say is…this may be Kiss’s last truly great album. From here on in, the “Meat’s Slice” section will start to get a lot shorter, with a couple exceptions.
Favorite Tracks: “Torpedo Girl”, “Shandi”, “Is That You”, “Talk To Me”, “She’s so European”
Forgettable Tracks: “You’re All That I Want”, “Tomorrow” (both borderline)
DEEP PURPLE – When We Rock, We Rock and When We Roll, We Roll (1978 Warner)
When Deep Purple broke up in 1976, their back catalog was ripe for exploitation for compilation by record labels. One by one, out trickled Deepest Purple, Singles A’s and B’s, and When We Rock, We Rock and When We Roll, We Roll. 1978’s When We Rock is the least necessary of them all.
The only thing that When We Rock really has going for it is that did feature all the Deep Purple singers to date. Ian Gillan sings the majority of tracks, Rod Evans has two (“Hush” and “Kentucky Woman”) and Coverdale/Hughes have one (“Burn”). The shoddy package had no involvement from any ex-members of the band, and even has an incorrect track listing on the back. “Woman From Tokyo” isn’t live, but “Smoke on the Water” is (from Made in Japan).
If music shoppers in 1978 were just looking for a handy-dandy single record set of all Purple’s radio hits, then When We Rock almost fits the bill. “Hard Road (Wring That Neck)” is conspicuous by its inclusion, being a semi-obscure instrumental from 1969’s The Book of Taliesyn. Swap that one out for “Strange King of Woman” and you could have had a serviceable hits set, even considering the live tracks. After all, Made in Japan helped establish the live album as a viable hitmaker.
The only reason to own When We Rock, We Rock and When We Roll, We Roll is the cover art, which admittedly is pretty nifty.
HELIX – Live at the Marquee (1985 Capitol promo exclusive EP)
Gratuity goes to two people: Helix associate John Hockey who initially hooked me up with an mp3 rip of his copy of this Holy Grail rarity, and to Boppin for finding this original copy on vinyl! Helix’s Live at the Marquee EP is one of those releases that lots of people have heard of, but few have heard. First of all, it’s a promo, which means it was only distributed within the industry and never made available for sale to the public. Promos can be very desirable collectibles, especially when they contain exclusive music. Live at the Marquee was nothing but! In 1985, Helix had released nothing in terms of live product, not even a live single B-side. Live at the Marquee was the only one, and before the internet, few fans even knew about it.
For full disclosure, there is a rare Rock Candy reissue of 1984’s Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge, an unauthorized but valuable release that does contain three of the six Marquee tracks. That 2009 release includes “Young & Wreckless”, “Rock You”, and “Animal House” from this EP. The other three songs have yet to be reissued anywhere, so half of Live at the Marquee is still exclusive to the EP.
What you need to know about Live at the Marquee is that this is Helix at their prime. The classic lineup was in full swing: Brian Vollmer (vocals), Brent “Doctor” Doerner & Paul Hackman (guitars), Greg “Fritz” Hinz (drums), and Daryl Gray (bass). They were performing their most popular tracks from the Razor’s Edge and No Rest for the Wicked LPs. Starting with “Young & Reckless” and “Rock You”, it’s full octane in the tank and pedal to the metal. Helix were and are known as a loud band, and this EP sure sounds like it. They take a step back on the hit ballad “(Make Me Do) Anything You Want”. Helix could do love songs like that without sounding wimpy.
Side two continues with the single “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” (Crazy Elephant cover) which sounds like a blast. Helix do not get recognition for the dual guitar alliance of Doerner and Hackman as perhaps they should. Check out “Animal House” for more of their stellar interplay including a bit of slide. Finally “Heavy Metal Love” closes the record, an enduring favourite today that sounds fantastic performed by the classic band.
Over the years, fans became widely aware of the existence of this release. It would be listed and pictured among official discographies, but never found in stores. Until/unless those final three recordings become available on CD, this record should be sought after by every serious Helix fan. I’m happy to have a copy signed by Fritz Hinz. Also awesome? John Hockley hooked me up with a CD copy of the Rock Candy release of Razor’s Edge, signed by all four surviving members of the classic Helix band. Thank you John, and rest in peace Paul Hackman.
Black Night: Deep Purple Tribute According to New York(1997 DeRock)
Produced and arranged by T.M. Stevens
This is one of the coolest and most different Deep Purple tributes you are likely to find. It’s also by far the funkiest.
Bassist T.M. Stevens (aka Shocka Zooloo) might be best known for his work with Joe Cocker, James Brown, Billy Joel and many others…but he first came to the attention of hard rockers via Steve Vai. He was a member of Vai’s Sex & Religion band, and immediately stood out on CD and on stage. Although his name doesn’t appear prominently on the front cover for Black Night: Deep Purple Tribute According to New York, it’s clearly his project. He produced it, arranged it, and is the only musician who appears on every track. He has a pocket full of well known friends to fill out the instruments including: Will Calhoun (Living Color, drums), Cory Glover (Living Color, vocals), Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple/Rainbow, vocals), Richie Kotzen (guitar, vocals), Al Pitrelli (Savatage, guitars), Vinnie Moore (UFO, guitars), Stevie Salas (guitars), Bernie Worrell (Parliament/Funkadelic, keys), Cindy Blackman (Lenny Kravitz, drums), and Tony Harnell (TNT, vocals). What a team!
Black Night is not for everyone. Each and every song is drastically changed. “Black Night” itself is slowed down and turned into a metallic bluesy grind. Dual lead guitars by Pitrelli and Moore ensure its metal credentials, and Joe Lynn Turner comes down with his raspy soul. Another raspy soul singer, Richie Kotzen, handles “Strange Kind of Woman” on guitar and vocals. This one turns the funk right up! The rhythm section of Calhoun and Stevens generates a punchy funk that can’t be stopped. A standout. Living Color’s Cory Glover takes over on the even funkier “Fireball”. The creative arrangement deconstructs the song. “Fireball” was one of the few Purple songs to feature a bass solo, so Stevens takes the opportunity to slap some bass. A Purple tribute without “Smoke on the Water” wouldn’t be a real Deep Purple tribute. It’s a hard track to funk up, so it’s more of a steamroller with funky verses. Kotzen turns in a hell of a soulful vocal, proving how versatile any music can be. An original and refreshing slant on a tired classic.
The most interesting arrangement is by far “Child in Time”. The epic soft/loud dynamic of Purple’s beloved classic has been replaced by reggae, and why not? Bernie Worrell does his best with Jon Lord’s original outline to create his own organ parts. T.M. and Tony Harnell share lead vocals: Tony singing the clean and high parts (with absolutely no difficulty!), while T.M. does his Rasta take on the rest. Sacrilege? Keep an open mind.
Keeping an open mind is the key for this entire album. If you cannot do that, you will probably hate Deep Purple According to New York. That title says it all. This is Purple according to Stevens and friends, and they do their own thing. The rest of the material — “Woman From Tokyo”, “Stormbringer”, “Speed King”, “Burn”, and “Space Truckin'” — are as different as the first five tunes. “Woman From Tokyo” is funky soul vocal nirvana, featuring four lead singers (Kotzen, Stevens, Harnell and Turner)!
In case you’re wondering what the closing track “Deep Purple NY” is, it’s just a funky shout-out to all the players on the CD. “New York is in the house, New Jersey, Bernie Worrell!” That kind of thing.
I’ve heard a number of Deep Purple tribute albums over the years. Yngwie did four Purple songs on his mediocre Inspiration album. Thin Lizzy did a Purple tribute under the name Funky Junction. There was the star-studded Re-Machined CD. There was even a 1994 tribute album called Smoke on the Water that featured three of the same guys on this album! (Joe Lynn Turner, Tony Harnell, Richie Kotzen, as well as another ex-Purple member, Glenn Hughes). None of those albums, even with all that star power, are nearly as interesting as Black Night. I chose that word “interesting” on purpose. It’s a very neutral word. Your reaction to this album could be wildly positive, violently negative, or simply passively unmoved. The listening experience will be anything but dull. Whether you like it or not, if you pick up this CD you’re going to hear some of the greatest rock and funk players on the planet, so get your dancing shoes on.
– Dynasty (1979 Casablanca, 1997 Polygram Japan remaster)
“The Return of Kiss”. It sounds quaint today, that after a two year absence they called it “The Return of Kiss”. Two years today means nothing. But for Kiss, who were doing two releases a year, it did actually mean something. Their last project was their series of four solo albums, one for each member, and unified by cover art. This project only reinforced the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The truth is, the original Kiss were already over. Peter Criss returned from his solo album and a car accident as a changed man, and not in a good way. Upon walking in the door he insisted upon seeing sheet music for the new tunes. That was a first. It was quickly apparent that Peter was not in a condition to perform. The band had even hired his solo album producer, Vini Poncia, to helm the new Kiss. Poncia deemed Criss’ current abilities inadequate and he was replaced for the album by Anton Fig. Anton was Ace’s solo drummer, and more than capable of filling in. Previously, when Bob Kulick was hired to replace Ace on side four of Alive II, he was instructed to “play like Ace”. Anton Fig was given no such instruction and was free to drum as he pleased. Some Kiss fans were able to pick up on that. Ultimately Peter Criss played drums on only one song, his own called “Dirty Livin’”. And that would be Peter’s final appearance on a Kiss studio album until 1998’s Psycho-Circus, on which he also played drums on only one track. Kiss was indeed broken, but few on the outside knew it. Peter would never play on a whole Kiss album again.
A lot had changed. Kiss’ massive marketing campaigns paid off, but was that a good thing? Little kids were now coming to Kiss concerts. Paul Stanley was actively seeking hits. Together with new songwriting friend Desmond Child, Paul wanted to write a dance single. Inspired by the clubs of New York, the pair produced “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, the song that gave Kiss the “disco” tag. The single sold a million copies. Needless to say, it was not the last Kiss single written with Desmond Child.
The album went platinum and became the hit it was designed to be. Inside the sleeve, the music was streamlined and more commercial than before. “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” led the way, demolishing the walls between dance and rock. Frehley had a hot solo in the mix, and the bouncy bass was performed by Paul Stanley. The song had all the right ingredients and though thin sounding by today’s standards, it’s still a great little dance rock number.
The real revelation about Dynasty wasn’t the turn towards slicker, highly compressed recordings. It was Ace Frehley coming out of his shell. Newly confident after his hit solo experience, Frehley had three songs to sing on Dynasty. Ace covered the Stones on “2000 Man”, a version that may be more beloved than the original. It certainly sounds at home. Ace rocks it up significantly. Ace also had lead vocals on “Hard Times”, a track about growing up as an aimless youth in New York. “We’d go to school, then we’d cut out, go to the park, and space our heads out.” “Hard Times” is not an exceptional song, but it’s interesting since it’s so autobiographical. Ace’s last song was the more aggressive “Save Your Love”. This track closes Dynasty with the kind of rock that people often forget is on the album. Ace’s tracks are the only ones that can be classified purely as “rock”. He has more guitar riffage on “Save Your Love” than the other songs combined. Without the Space Ace, Dynasty would have been a much weaker album.
The increase in Ace’s participation was balanced by a decrease in that of Gene Simmons. Gene only had two songs on the album, neither of which were singles. “X-Ray Eyes” and “Charisma” inhabit the same kind of compressed audio landscape as the rest. “Charisma” is the best, due to its unusual echoey vocals, fitting for the demon persona. Gene’s prime interest was still the opposite sex, and both songs have the demon’s stamp. The main hooks on both are delivered by the backing vocals during the choruses.
The dominant force on Dynasty — and as it turns out, for the coming decade – was Paul Stanley. Not only was “I Was Made for Loving You” a massive hit, but the second single “Sure Know Something” was also one of his. Paul wrote this dancey ballad with producer Vini Poncia. It’s not all simply dance floor moves though, as the chorus has the power chords and lung power that Kiss fans expected. Stanley also wrote “Magic Touch”, a lesser known album classic. “Magic Touch” burns slow, but hot. Paul’s falsetto was a sign of the times, but the power chords explode on the chorus.
And that leaves poor Peter. “Dirty Livin’” was written with Stan Penridge and Vini Poncia, and it was written as something more R&B in direction. It was Kiss-afied and included on the album as Peter’s only appearance. You can hear that it’s not the same drummer and that it’s a very different vibe.
For all outside appearances, Kiss maintained an image of solidarity. There was no mention of a session drummer, and Peter was there on tour for all 82 shows. However there were some cracks visible. Several shows had to be cancelled for poor ticket sales, in areas such as New York City and Pontiac Michigan. With the toys, comics and merchandise, Kiss were beginning to be seen as a kids’ band. Dynasty was the hit it needed to be, but the situation was not sustainable.
Today’s rating:
4/5 stars
Uncle Meat’s rating:
4/5 steaks
Meat’s slice: The first of the two supposed “Disco Era” Kiss records LeBrain referred to in the introduction of this series, Dynasty really just is a pretty solid rock and roll record other than the mega-hit, “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”. There really is not another song on the record that could be classified as Disco. But more on that when I talk about Unmasked.
This album sees the beginning of a couple new eras in Kisstory. The first being the band’s writing collaboration with Desmond Child. “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” was the first hit of many for Desmond Child. He has “songwriter” credits (and yes I am using that term loosely) on such deplorable pap as “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, “She Bangs”, and upcoming Kiss dung like “Let’s Put the X in Sex” and “Uh! All Night”. Basically when a band gets shittier, they go to Desmond Child. When Ratt got shittier, in came Desmond. When the Scorpions got shittier, he pops up again. When Aerosmith started becoming a glossy joke, here comes Desmond Child and “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”. Yes, as good as this album is, Kiss was starting to get shittier.
As George Costanza would say, worlds collide for me on this album. For years I had no idea Peter Criss only played drums on his own song on Dynasty. His phantom replacement turned out to be Mr. Anton Fig, who played drums in one of my favorite bands ever, Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band. Even Anton’s dry humor on the show was a high point in Late Night with David Letterman for me. I am a true Letterman head and always will be. Anton Fig went on to be Ace’s drummer in Frehley’s Comet, so maybe Fig’s presence somehow inspired the Space man, since he is a high point of Dynasty. The Rolling Stones cover “2000 Man” is a fucking great tune. “Hard Times” is just as good and a personal favorite of many Kiss fans.
There are a few weaker-ish songs on the album but nothing egregious here. Very good rock album with ONE disco song. Thank you Desmond Child for injecting Kiss with your “Bad Medicine”. (Yes, he wrote that too. As well as writing songs for such wonderful artists like Hanson, The Jonas Brothers, Lindsay Lohan and Clay Aiken.) Hey Desmond…in the words of Ricky…you are truly a FuckGoof.
– Paul Stanley (1978 Casablanca solo album, 1997 Mercury remaster)
With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, we know that Paul Stanley was capable of pretty much running Kiss by himself. During much of the 1980s, Gene Simmons’ participation in Kiss had a severe drop. Paul took the reins and the band more or less sounded like Kiss. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Paul’s 1978 solo album was also very Kiss-like. Of the four, Paul’s album had an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude. His solo songs sound very much like his Kiss songs. Co-producing with Paul was Kansas producer Jeff Glixman.
Paul had an “ace” in his pocket, so to speak. On lead guitar was shredder Bob Kulick. Previously, Bob auditioned for Kiss but was squeezed out at the last minute by Ace Frehley. He also played ghost guitar on the studio tracks of Alive II. Now he was out of the shadows on Paul’s album, and his work here absolutely stuns. It’s a feedback-laden monster of rock.
Paul’s songs are often overblown, and usually loud. “Tonight You Belong to Me” is one such track: melodramatic, riffy and loud. It rocks hard. It has loads of hooks, killer playing, and lead vocals that slay. Few singers could touch Paul Stanley in his prime. If that riff sounds familiar, the Hellacopters ripped it off for the intro to a song appropriately titled “Paul Stanley” (from 1999’s Grande Rock).
“Move On” is upbeat, Kiss-like rock and roll augmented with female backing vocals. It’s the only song that Kiss played live on their 1979 tour. It probably fits that standard Kiss mold better than any other tune on the album. “Ain’t Quite Right” brings things down with a dark acoustic ballad, quite different from past songs Paul has written. Its sad sound was fairly new territory for an upbeat rocker.
Hold on tight for “Wouldn’t You Like to Know Me”. If this song was covered by a pop-punk band (pick one: Sum 41, Blink 182, any of that ilk) it could be huge today. It’s loud, brash and incredibly rocking, but Paul outsings any punk-pop upstart. When Paul released his solo One Live Kiss album/video in 2008, “Wouldn’t You Like to Know Me” was one of its highlights. Kudos must be given to drummer Richie Fontana for kicking it in the nuts.
One of rock’s most legendary (and hardest hitting) timekeepers plays drums on the massive “Take Me Away (Together As One)”. You don’t associate Carmine Appice with Kiss, but there he is one of Paul’s songs. It’s a bombastic arrangement of electrics and acoustics, and one of Paul’s most devastating tracks. Carmine turns it from “stun” to “kill” with his dominating presence. At 5:26 this is the longest song on the album and as close as Paul gets to epic.
Side two is just as vigorous as side one. “It’s Alright” has a bright shimmer, plenty of hooks and guitars. It easily could have been a Kiss classic. “Girl if you want me to stay satisfied, girl if you want me to stay for the night, it’s alright.” Sure sounds like Kiss to me. The guitars have a very “rock and roll” vibe, a classic progression. Paul has a knack for riffs like this, and “It’s Alright” is one of the best.
Paul’s single was the schlocky piano ballad “Hold Me, Touch Me (Think of Me When We’re Apart)”. Fans will either love it or hate it. It’s a song that could have been an AM radio hit on a 70s light rock station. Lionel Richie could have recorded it. The guitar solo cooks, and that is all Paul. He handled all the guitars on this song. Love it or hate it, it was the second most successful solo Kiss single after Ace’s “New York Groove”.
As the album draws to a close, “Love in Chains” hits hard with punchy drums and choppy guitars. But it’s just a jab, compared to the closer “Goodbye”, which finishes things off with a flourish and hot riffing. There is a cool descending guitar part, a superior chorus, and some seriously cool and busy bass by Eric Nelson. “Goodbye” is a brilliant closer, and it held that slot on Paul’s 2006 solo tour.
Paul’s was the second shortest of the solo albums (only Peter’s being shorter), but it packed more punch than any except Ace Frehley’s. Everybody has their favourites, and Ace’s album is always held in high esteem. Ace stepped out of his box and delivered. Meanwhile, Paul stuck to what he does best, and nailed it. It’s a “safe” solo album, but lethal when it clicks with you.
– Gene Simmons (1978 Casablanca solo album, 1997 Mercury remaster)
Given Gene’s demon persona, certainly some fans would have expected his solo album to be the heaviest and darkest. Imagine their shock upon finally hearing the finished disc! Musical flights of fancy and whimsical songs dominate Gene’s record, as the demon was determined to do something very different. His album has the most guest stars, the most diverse songs, and the most split of personalities.
Even the “evil” sounding choirs that open the album are more whimsical than demonic. This soon gives way to a guitar riff, and the first song “Radioactive”. The audio compression gives it a disco-like beat, but “Radioactive” is a rock and roll track. It is one of the songs featuring guests Joe Perry and Bob Seger, not to mention a slew of backing vocalists. It’s also the one track that Kiss played live on tour in 1979.
The demon sounds like he’s prowling for ladies on “Burning Up With Fever”. If you’re wondering about that funky bass line, it was played by Neil Jason. In a surprise move, Gene didn’t play bass on his solo album, only guitar. This lends the whole LP a funkier-than-expected sound. This plus the ample backing vocals almost makes Gene Simmons sound like an R&B/rock hybrid from time to time. “Burning Up With Fever” is a bad tune for a sexed-up demon, but not one of his finest either.
Some of Gene’s solo songs were oldies that predated Kiss. Others were of more recent vintage. The folksy ballad “See You Tonite” sounds like one of the older tunes. It’s a good one; good enough that Kiss recorded it live in 1995 for their MTV Unplugged appearance. In a strange twist, some of the best tunes on Gene’s solo platter are the ballads. Jeff “Skunk” Baxter played on this one and “Burning Up With Fever” as the cavalcade of guest stars continues. Even Katey Sagal (Married With Children) sings on the LP.
“Tunnel of Love” and “True Confessions” are two of Gene’s non-descript exploits, fairly ordinary songs given a huge boost by the larger than life production (by Gene and Sean Delaney). The backing vocals are immaculately arranged. “Tunnel” features Joe Perry and Donna Summer. Helen Reddy sings on “True Confessions”. Unfortunately these two songs are more notable by who appears on them rather than how good they are.
Gene was dating Cher at that time, so it’s not really a surprise that Cher appears on “Living in Sin” (as the groupie on the phone). This side two opener has a bit of that rock and roll spirit missing on other songs, though very corny. The ballads on side two are better. “Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide” has some of Gene’s best singing, showing off that high falsetto. Gene couldn’t get the Beatles to appear on his album, so he did the next best thing and had Mitch Weissman and Joe Pecorino from Beatlemania sing on “Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide”. This melancholy song is one of Gene’s most ambitious.
“Man of 1000 Faces” is big and bombastic, orchestrated for maximum impact. It has more in common with Destroyer than anything else Kiss has done, but even more overblown and bombastic. It also suits Gene’s persona perfectly. “I can put on any face, you won’t know me but it’s no disgrace. The king of night, he understands!” Then “Mr. Make Believe” is laid back and acoustic, and also another fantastic song. Gene’s ability with ballads should not be understated. “Mr. Make Believe” is the most Beatles-esque of Gene’s solo tracks.
“See You In Your Dreams” is a remake of the Kiss song from Rock and Roll Over. Apparently Gene thought it could have been recorded better, but the more basic Kiss version is much more appealing. Rick Neilson from Cheap Trick plays guitar on it, but Michael Des Barres’ backing vocals are obtrusive and irritating.
And that leaves only the final track. Some stop playing the album before track 11, others consider it an indispensable part of Gene’s solo statement. But there it is: “When You Wish Upon a Star”, the song whose lyrics meant so much to Gene that he recorded it for the last track of his album. It was not intended as a joke, but many see it as such.
Gene’s solo album can’t be dismissed as garbage, not with the great tunes it has (especially the ballads). However it’s so scattershot and just plain strange that it’s hard to really just enjoy. It’s interesting to study and dissect. Not so much fun to play in the car.
There is a reason we missed reviewing Season 10 of Trailer Park Boys when it came out last year. A dark cloud hung over the season. Mike Smith (Bubbles) was incorrectly arrested on domestic violence charges; charges that were swiftly dropped. The damage was done, and this caused Lucy Decoutere to leave the show. Even though Season 10 was quite great, we just couldn’t produce the gumption to write it up. Better late than never. With this long over and resolved, let’s take a fresh look at Season 10.
As usual, much has changed between seasons at Sunnyvale. Julian now owns the park and is happy with his two girlfriends (Bambi and Dakota — shades of Charlie Sheen here), and his own casino/bar. The house band: Bubbles and the Shitrockers. Ricky runs his Drugs Store, with all the weed and edibles you can imagine. His daughter Trinity has been raising baby Mo with Jacob Collins, proud parents now ready to get married and make it official. All this baby stuff has made Lucy itch for another one, so she’s been getting Ricky to bang her non-stop. J-Roc is raising his son M.C. Flurry, and has brought back a new girlfriend from Mexico. Randy’s supervising the park, and Lahey has left. He’s living in a camper in a park next door, and “pacing” his drinking. He’s using a breathalyzer to keep himself at a steady 0.120 blood alcohol level…but does he have the discipline to maintain that?
There’s a new three-headed nemesis in town. Fresh out of jail is former park owner Barb Lahey, and she has backup. Donna/Don (Leigh MacInness) has also been hardened by jail time. And they’ve brought the tough-as-nails Candy (Candy Palmater), with her bright pink baseball bat to make sure they get their way. They are determined to get the park back, and it looks like they have the legal means to do so. So now the boys need lawyer money.
It’s illegal schemes again, one involving ripping off a former caveman, now “Denture King”. This side-splitting sequence will leave you wondering how far they’re willing to go to save the park. They need money bad. Julian’s been letting everyone drink for free at his bar, and nobody’s paying the lot fees. Finally Julian decides to turn Sunnyvale into a “all-inclusive” vacation resort. Bubbles puts together an online ad, which goes viral and catches the attention of Jimmy Kimmel himself.
The first half of Season 10 is actually a little dull. It’s a bit of the same old, same old. Breaking the law, almost getting caught. Bad luck and dumb fuck-ups. Once the special guests arrive, the season takes on a whole new life.
A fleet of gangsta cars pulls into the park. It’s Snoop Dogg, Doug Benson, and Tom fucking Arnold! Snoop and Doug are there for the “all you can smoke” weed, but Tom has come for the superfan experience. Turns out he’s a huge fan of the show (remember, Trailer Park Boys is a “documentary” on Julian!) and has a bucket list of things he wants to do at Sunnyvale: driving the Shitmobile, sleeping in Bubbles’ shed, and banging Lucy! “I can’t believe it! We’re in Sunnyvale fucking Trailer Park! I’ve seen every episode of your show, man! It’s even shittier in real life! I love it!”
As for Ricky, he’s happy just to “get high as fuck with Snoopy Doggy Dogg Dogg”!
As you can imagine, the presence of Snoop and his posse leads to many hilarious scenes and encounters. Will J-Roc lose his shit completely upon meeting his idol? Will Ricky be able to say Snoop’s name right? The one thing fans would have expected out of a Snoop Dogg guest shot is seeing him rap with J-Roc or Bubbles, and you won’t be disappointed. Episode 8 “The Super Bling Cowboy” has the musical scene you’ve been hoping for. In fact it’s safe to say that Season 10 changes completely upon meeting Snoop. The arc of the season takes a back seat to the guest stars, and some of that big star millionaire money might resolve a few plots. However, at the same time, there is some ambitious writing going on. Early on, we learn that Jim Lahey has a secret that he’s been hiding all along, that only Barb knows about. This secret provides Barb some blackmail leverage, but it’s also setting up a storyline that will run for at least three seasons including this one. Jim’s secret was explored in Season 11, but not fully resolved, presumably leaving it to also impact Season 12, coming in 2018. (Post your fan theories in the comments!) This kind of multi-season story arc has never been attempted on Trailer Park Boys before.
Keeping a show like the highly formulaic Trailer Park Boys fresh can’t be easy after 10 years. Snoop, Doug Benson and Tom Arnold helped distinguish Season 10 as one of the most fun. You can always count on Ricky, Julian and Bubbles to put themselves in some pretty ridiculous situations, and usually drag everybody else into their web of shit. The guest stars offer a temporary pause to that, and allow our characters to have a bit more fun than usual. And when they have fun, so does the audience. However the ending has a sad note, accompanied by a familiar melancholy song. It’s a strangely emotional denouement. “There’s a voice, that keeps on calling me. Down the road, where I always seem to be. Every stop I make, I see my old friend…”
Maybe tomorrow, they’ll want to settle down…in the end, it’s about the characters, who are just a big family we’ve now known for 10 seasons. Randy said it best:
“I love you Ricky! I love you like a brother. I don’t like you at all, but I love you!”
– Best of Solo Albums (1979 Phonogram)
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