Holly Knight

REVIEW: Gene Simmons – The Vault – Bonus Disk (Disk 11) (2018)

Previous Reading: 

Record Store Tales #600:  The Vault
Disk 1 Review
Disk 2 Review
Disk 3 Review
Disk 4 Review
Disk 5 Review
Disk 6 Review
Disk 7 Review
Disk 8 Review
Disk 9 Review
Disk 10 Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those keeping score at home, this bonus CD contains tracks 151-165 in the Vault box set, 15 more than originally promised!

GENE SIMMONS – The Vault – Bonus Disk (Disk 11) (2018 Rhino)

As Gene notes in the book, there are many different versions of “Feel Like Heaven”…the most notorious of which is not on this box set.  The “Vulgar Version” as we’ll call it is still just a bootleg.  If you don’t know what it is, don’t ask.  This demo of “Feel Like Heaven” is the most primitive, with Gene singing and playing bass over the sound of a vintage drum machine.  This song is getting a bit repetitive, but this version definitely belongs only on a bonus disc.  1.5/5

“Obnoxious” is a surprise.  It has a punky quality, but it also shares a chorus with “Reputation” which is an unreleased Kiss song from the 70s.  “Obnoxious” is pretty good, daresay I prefer it to “Reputation”.  The low-fi arrangement of bass and harmony vocals, with minimal guitar and no drums is really cool.   Clearly it wasn’t intended to be released as-is, but I wouldn’t really change much.  It sounds like Kiss.  Sometimes things are best left primitive.  Who knows?  4/5

Remember when the Kiss 40 compilations came out?  They featured a brand new Kiss song called “Samurai Son”, featuring a Japanese girl group called Momoiro Clover Z.  Although Kiss praised them at the time of the compilation album, in the liner notes here, Gene called them “basically dancers”.  Ouch!  Gene’s song submitted for the Kiss 40 compilation was “Mina-San, Mina-San”.  Though ultimately, “Samurai Son” works better, “Mina-San, Mina-San” has a vintage Kiss vibe that the other song lacks.  Really, the only thing wrong with this version is that Gene had to do all the vocals himself including the female backing vocals.  So, it’s not perfect, it’s a little cringe when the backing vocals come in.  Again, this is a demo – for demonstration!  The song was not chosen and therefore never properly finished.  3/5

“Just Begun to Fight” is a title long mentioned in collector’s circles.  Unbelievably, it’s really good.  Gene notes it uses the same chords as “Dr. Love”, which is something that comes up frequently in this box set.  The chorus shares commonality with “Burning Up With Fever”.  Strangely, this might be the best use of them!  “Just Begun to Fight” is vintage Kiss.  Slow, powerful groove and a killer upbeat chorus.  You can hear where Ace Frehley would lay down his solo.  Gene recorded this song in 1978 with forgotten studio musicians.  I would have liked to hear this song finished.  Solid!  4.5/5

“It’s Funny, But It Ain’t No Joke” sounds like a low quality early 80s Kiss song.  It’s fast and is fully written with lyrics and backing vocals, but it ain’t no good.  Pun intended.  There’s a pretty dreadful bridge to enjoy, and a caveman guitar solo to burn your ears out.  1/5

The song “Love By Invitation” was entirely written around one jazz chord that Gene liked.  That chord repeats a lot.  Gene doesn’t think this song was ever presented to Kiss.  It doesn’t matter.  Same results.  Sounds like Unmasked era.  Cool sax solo at least.  1.5/5

“Dorothy Lamour” also goes back to the Unmasked era, with Anton Fig on drums and Holly Knight on keyboards.  This has an oldies rock and roll feel, but heavier.  It has that 1950s sound with the bopping piano.  Anton provides a solid backbeat.  You can instantly hear a huge rise in quality over the previous drum parts on this disc.  This doesn’t sound at all like a demo.  This sounds like a finished album track with a great chorus accentuated by backing vocals.  A song like this could have worked with Kiss, had they wanted to go back to that sound.  Reminds me a bit of a toned-down “Bloody Luxury” by Whitesnake.  4/5

“Queen of Hearts” is not the Hot in the Shade song.  This is a keyboard demo written with Pepy Castro around the time of Unmasked.  It is truly dreadful, sounding like a lullaby for your nightmares.  If it were a song by Jan Terri, it would be her best track, but it could be Gene’s worst.  0.5/5

Written in 1966, but recorded in 1980, “My Lorraine” is…something.  Gene strums some pretty chords on acoustic and then breaks into a bad falsetto.  For the second verse, he goes back to his normal voice.  It’s a fine little folky song, but easily and justifiably forgotten.  2/5

“Leeta” is marginally better.  This bad Beatles-y ballad was previously released on the Kiss Box Set.  This old recording by Gene’s band Bullfrog Bheer reveals that Simmons had diverse tastes, but really hadn’t decided what he wanted to do.  He was, and still is, willing to throw anything at the wall and see what sticks.  However, if “Leeta” was a Beatles song, they would have given it to Ringo.  1.5/5

“Put on Your Slippers” originates in 1969, and Gene talks of the “folly of youth” in the liner notes.  He wanted to be like Paul McCartney, and write and play all the instruments himself.  He describes “Put on Your Slippers” as inspired by the Beatles’ “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”.  See above note about Ringo.  1.5/5

 

Back to 1978, drum machines and keyboards!  “Gypsy Nights” is so corny it’s hilarious!  It sounds like an AM radio song from the era.  It is fine, up until the bridge, which is just from another song altogether.  The smooth guitar solo is nice, but…wow.  Just wow.  2/5

Back in 1987 on the Kiss eXposed video, Paul Stanley teased Gene about writing songs such as “I Love Eskimos”.  Gene responded by saying, “That’s not too far off.”  And here we have “Eskimo Sun”…also known as “Only You!”  The melody is familiar, but the song is otherwise very different, and not very good.  It’s interesting to finally hear the “Eskimo” song that Paul was joking about, and it’s fascinating that it’s actually “Only You”, but wow, this is really not enjoyable listening.  2/5

Mercifully coming closer to the end, “Nancy” is another Bullfrog Bheer song.  You can imagine Gene writing this stuff, taking it so seriously, thinking he is the McCartney of the next generation.  Meanwhile, the song he wrote is utter crap.  1/5

And finally, written for Gene’s late uncle George comes one of the most surprising songs of all.  “My Uncle Is A Raft” goes back to the 10th grade, performed with friends.  It’s a delightful little folky jig that sounds like something from the 1930s.  It’s hard to say it’s a great song, because part of its appeal is its low-fi authenticity which lends of a comedic vintage quality.  It ain’t bad though.  The “yee-haw!” in the middle of the song says it all.  This is an upbeat little number that sounds like it’s from another era entirely.  Fascinating and delightful.  4/5

What a weird disc this was!

Average score by song:   2.16/5 stars, the lowest of the set.

Next time, we will sum up the box set and look at the extras.  The Vault isn’t finished yet.

Bonus Disk 11 Track length and songwriters (from Wikipedia)

1. Feel Like Heaven (3:07) Simmons
2. Obnoxious (2:37) Simmons
3. Mina’San, Mina’San (2:13) Simmons
4. Just Begun to Fight (3:27) Simmons
5. It’s Funny, But It Ain’t No Joke (2:32) Simmons
6. Love by Invitation (3:21) Simmons
7. Dorothy Lamour (2:31) Simmons
8. Queen of Hearts (3:14) Simmons / Castro
9. My Lorraine (1:58) Simmons
10. Leeta (2:25) Simmons
11. Put on Your Slippers (2:24) Simmons
12. Gypsy Nights (2:55) Simmons
13. Eskimo Sun (3:08) Simmons
14. Nancy (1:27) Simmons
15. My Uncle Is a Raft (1:16) Simmons

REVIEW: Ace Frehley – Trouble Walkin’ (1989)

Part 4 in a series on Ace Frehley!  Missed the last part, Second Sighting?  Click here!

TROUBLE WALKIN_0001

ACE FREHLEY – Trouble Walkin’ (1989 Megaforce Worldwide)

Gone was the Frehley’s Comet moniker, and gone was multi-instrumentalist and talented singer Tod Howarth.  I believe he toured with Cheap Trick after the Comet, on backing instruments and vocals.  In his stead came Richie Scarlet, certainly no slouch, and an alumnus from an earlier version of the band.  Not only did Scarlet write some of Ace’s best stuff, but takes a lead vocal on the album Trouble Walkin’.  Also back was drummer Anton Fig!

On top of all that, producer Eddie Kramer was back working with Ace again, and they have great chemistry together.  Certainly all the elements were in place for a great solo album.  The critics and fans were pretty much unanimous in their praise of Ace’s latest.  Little did they know it would be his last solo album for 20 whole years!

Trouble Walkin’ was Ace’s heaviest solo album to date.  Take “Shot Full Of Rock”, the opener.  It is scorching from start to finish, but especially on the ripping guitar solo.  It has a great chorus to boot, and a fine lead vocal from the Ace.

Frehley has a knack for selecting great covers, and his take on The Move’s “Do Ya” is superior to the original in some respects.  As he has with other covers, Ace makes it his own.  I think Ace does very well when rocking up poppier, melodic material and “Do Ya” is no exception.  I always hoped it would be a bigger hit, but it wasn’t really.

“Five Card Stud” is co-written by Marc Ferrari of Keel.  It’s not an exceptional song, but it does boast a suitably heavy riff, and plenty of tasty Ace licks and solos.  It might not be the best song, but the guitar work makes it worthwhile.

This is followed by the weirdest song of all:  “Hide Your Heart”, a song written by Paul Stanley, Holly Knight and Desmond Child.  It had been demoed years before for Crazy Nights, but not used. Bonnie Tyler was first to record the song, then Robin Beck and then Molly Hatchet!   When Kiss recorded it for Hot In The Shade, they released it as a single mere weeks before Ace’s album came out.  By the time Kiss’ album came out (the week after Trouble Walkin’) the song had been released by no less than five different artists.  The common thread to some of those versions seems to be Desmond Child.  Obviously, Ace knew people would compare his version with Kiss’.  Gene Simmons spoke to him on the phone to warn him that Kiss were releasing it as their lead single.  Ace’s version, while harder, just is not as good.  That’s not to say it’s bad, because Kiss’ version is awesome.

TROUBLE WALKIN_0006“Lost In Limbo”, a Richie Scarlet co-write, closed side one on a pedestrian note.  Side two began with a better song, the title track.  This would be a good time to mention that Peter Criss sings backing vocals!  You can’t hear him, but he showed up.  That’s Richie Scarlet saying “Take it, Ace!” and singing the bridge.  This one’s a solid Ace rocker, guitar and cowbell heavy!

My favourite song is “2 Young 2 Die”.  It’s just so heavy!  I used to think Peter Criss was singing the lead vocal, because it’s so raspy.  It is in fact Richie Scarlet, though Peter is on backing vocals again.   This is an outstanding song, rhythmic and bass-driven.  Anton’s drums are tribal and dramatic.  The guitar solos are all over the place, but all of them are ear candy.

TROUBLE WALKIN_0003“Back To School” is a a fun song, and you can’t mistake who’s singing (screaming) with Ace on the chorus:  one of the biggest Frehley fans on the planet, Sebastian Bach himself!  He’s joined by Peter Criss, and Dave “Snake” Sabo and Rachel Bolan, also of Skid Row.  This one is more hard rock than anything else, but damn catchy.

I’m not sure if “Remember Me” is really live, but it’s mixed to sound that way.  A crowd is mixed in, and Ace says good evening to “Club Remulac, in France!”  It is important to remember that “Remulak” is home planet of the Saturday Night Live characters, the Coneheads.  Appropriate since this song is sung from the perspective of a space traveler, advising Earthlings to get some world peace happenin’.  Good song, though, kind of lazy and light.

The album closes with “Fractured III”, and much like its predecessors, it’s an instrumental.  The thing about the Fractured series is that they do sound all interconnected.  They all sound related at the hip, or the heart, and that’s cool.  I like all of them for different reasons.  “Fractured III” might be the hardest, most electric of them to this point.

After this, Ace seemed to lay dormant for a number of years.  In 1990 there was a rumour that Kiss were working on a reunion with Ace, Paul, Gene and Eric Carr which of course never happened.  A few years later Ace turned up on his Just 4 Fun tour, playing a Kiss-heavy set of classics.  Later came the Bad Boys of Kiss tour with Peter Criss, and finally the inevitable original Kiss reunion.  During the reunion, there were some interesting Ace Frehley releases, and we’ll be talking about those things next.

As for Trouble Walkin’?  Solid.

4/5 stars