I don’t know exactly why, but some countries got four songs on this EP while others got five. Something to do with what would be considered a single vs an EP. Fortunately for me, Canada was one of the countries that got all five.
A cross section of the best songs from the first two albums, Maiden Japan (how can you not love the title?) was an almost instant love for me. Expertly recorded by Maiden and Doug Hall, the EP breathes new life into “Running Free” and “Remember Tomorrow”, two songs from Iron Maiden. Di’Anno’s screams are absolutely awesome. By and large I often prefer these versions to the originals.
This EP was relatively easy to find here when I was growing up, so it was my first exposure to early Maiden aside from the “Women In Uniform” music video. A lot of the time, if you hear a good live album first, that is the version that sticks with you through life.
This would prove to be Paul Di’Anno’s final release with Iron Maiden. The band were already planning his replacement. An early cover with Eddie decapitating Paul was quickly replaced with another, in light of these developments!
The original cover art
I know this was released on CD, I saw it myself. It was with the 2 CD edition of Killers, Japanese import version. Yet another item that I wish I’d splashed out for!
Lineup: Paul Di’Anno, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Clive Burr.
Changing vocalists proved to be the right move to Maiden; it launched them into a whole new world and tranformed them into a bigger, better Beast…
After the masterful introduction that was the first Iron Maiden album, the band jettisoned guitarist Dennis Stratton to get the guy that Steve wanted years before: Adrian Smith. An old buddy of Dave Murray, Adrian fit like a glove and the next album was recorded.
Written entirely by Steve Harris except for one Di’Anno co-write, Killers was also produced by Martin Birch. Birch had already helmed the biggest and best albums by Deep Purple, and was more than capable of capturing the Maiden sound in the studio, unlike former producer Will Malone.
Popular opinion is split on Killers. Some fans see it as a significant up-shift from the previous, others see it as inferior. Both aruments hold water. There is no denying that the partnership with Martin Birch created a better sounding album, one more consistent with the band’s live intensity. The addition of Smith on guitar meant that you’re hearing a more unified sound, two guitar players in great sync with each other. The songs are also harder and more intricate, with even more sections and changes.
While Killers is a good album in those respects, the songs were not as memorable this time out. There are two scorchers on this record that are among my all-time Maiden favourites: “Wrathchild” and “Killers” itself. Then you have some second tier goodies like “Murders In The Rue Morgue”, “Innocent Exile”, and “Drifter”. Beyond that, there’s little else here that would make my Maiden road tape. I don’t know why, but time after time, listen after listen, year after year, the rest stubbornly refuses to grow on me.
Killers contains one ballad (“Prodigal Son”, which is almost like Iron Zeppelin) and two instrumentals (“The Ides of March” and “Genghis Khan”). Oddly enough, one of those instrumentals, “The Ides of March” is identical to a song by rival NWOBHM band Samson, called “Thunderburst”. The song was originally an Iron Maiden idea; Samson’s drummer Thunderstick was very briefly in Iron Maiden during the late 1970’s. Samson’s singer was some guy called Bruce Bruce, known to his mum as Bruce Dickinson.
This picture disc edition of Killers came with a bonus CD containing all the associated non-album songs. “Twilight Zone”, included here, is actually an A-side of a non-album single. The US version of Killers had “Twilight Zone” on the album. Its selection as a single ahead of something like “Wrathchild” seems strange with hindsight. I never really liked the song that much, aside from Di’Anno’s screamy chorus. This one was a Dave Murray co-write as well.
Another non-album single, the infamous “Women In Uniform” is also included. This is the one that the band hated, a cover from a German band called Skyhooks. I liked it because of my early association with the cheesey music video. I wouldn’t call it a standout track, but I like it better than “Twilight Zone”. This single acually pre-dated Killers, and Dennis Stratton is still on guitar. Its two B-sides, “Invasion” and “Phantom Of The Opera (Live)” are both included. “Invasion” is an improved remake of the song from the first EP, The Soundhouse Tapes. It’s still not up to the standard of anything on album #1, but it’s still an entertaining tale of the Norsemen comin’, “raping and pillaging, robbin’ and lootin’ the land.” An early Maiden history lesson from Steve Harris.
I’ll have to say something about Derek Rigg’s artwork as well: Now we know what Eddie was up in that back alley on the last album! No good, clearly, as he’s weilding a bloody hatchet, as a man’s hands can be seen grasping his shirt. Behind Eddie, you can see a “kinky sex shop” and the Ruskin Arms, where many legendary Maiden gigs went down. Is that Charlotte in the red window?
Rating Killers is very difficult. It’s still better than most band’s best albums, yet it’s one of my least favourite. Trying to be objective here, I will rate Killers:
3.5/5 stars
Also pictured below: A bootleg CD from the tour called Another Live.
Ferrell Mitchner, an amature filmaker, wants to look at two locals who live the party life, fast and hard. Terry and Deaner are two “bangers” living in Calgary Alberta. They shotgun their beers, vandalize stuff, and avoid getting a real job, and to them that’s just fine. They live a worry and care-free lifestyle with a killer soundtrack behind them: AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Thor, and original metal music too.
All’s not well in partyland though: Terry and Dean’s best friend, Tron (Troy) isn’t hanging out with them anymore. Things seem pretty dull in Calgary until Terry blabs to Ferrell that Dean’s got cancer.
And it’s bad cancer, too. Testicular cancer. While Dean acts like it’s a joke, his on-and-off girlfriend Trixie convinces him to get treatment. For the sake of their daughter Chastity, Dean decides to go. But not before one last massive blow-out party weekend. Camping. And Ferrell’s going to film the whole thing.
While the cancer aspect doesn’t sound funny, it does lend itself to many lines about Dean’s “giant nut”. It’s the dense but lovable Terry and Dean who make this comedy work. Eternally quotable, Fubar is equal to or better than Trailer Park Boys’ dialogue.
Even though he cast some nasty fuckin’ evil shit on people, Merlin went to Heaven. That stuff’s real. Merlin was in King Henry’s court.
I liked this one, too.
Some of the best burgers I’ve ever had came from bowling alleys. Bowling alleys have some of the best cooks. Just because they work at a bowling alley, doesn’t mean they’re not gonna put some pride in their fuckin’ burgers.
The fact is, anybody who grew up in the 80’s knew somebody just like Terry and Dean. Dumb, but lovable and loyal, finding amusement in the simplest activities like farts, jumping fences and play fighting. Terry and Dean are not unlike that guy down the street who wore his jean jacket even on the hottest summer days. Along the way, they encouter real Albertans like themselves, (like, actually real, as in these people didn’t know it was for a fictional movie) . Guys who drink hard and party hard all weekend, waking at the crack of noon to do it all over again. While some would like to live in denial that such people exist, they’re out there, and they don’t give a shit what you think.
A big part of why this movie works is Paul Spence and David Lawrence. Somehow they manage to give the characters of Dean and Terry just enough pathos, while keeping them genuine.
This is a truely awesome Canadian cult classic. It is a comedy with a real heart beating inside. Most importantly, it is only the beginning. Hopefully, you’ll want to see what adventures Terry and Deaner are up to when they move to Fort McMurray in Fubar II!
Bonus features are extremely high quality, with deleted scenes that should have made the final cut, and some hilarious commentary tracks. I’m always a big fan of character commentaries. The character commentary in this movie is hilarious. Just as a sad scene is about to take place, commentary Deaner says:
I know I’m supposed to be sad because of what’s gonna happen…but this song’s so good, I can’t be sad. (“Run To The Hills”)
Note: You gain absolutely nothing by owning this on blu-ray vs. DVD. The movie is supposed to look like they shot it with no money (which they basically did), and blu-ray actually looked worse in my opinion.
IRON MAIDEN: Iron Maiden (1980, 1996 bonus CD, EMI)
Straight out of the gates, Maiden galloped onto the international scene, with their own sound and a debut album as strong as anybody’s. An incredible album in fact, Iron Maiden had the benefit of containing songs that Steve Harris had been playing for years, in various incarnations of the band. They were road tested and taut as muscle.
The cover by Derek Riggs depicts a prototypical, haunting version of Eddie. But there he is still, roaring under the streetlight of some London back alley, probably up to no good. This cover was re-painted for the 1998 remastered edition, but I think an original is always best.
Revised 1998 artwork
Although Harris despised punk rock, Iron Maiden is punk-like in its delivery. While plowing through intricate riffs and time changes, they do so with the intensity of their punk rivals, feeling like they’re about to fly off the rails. But they never do; Maiden were absolute pros even then.
Producer Will Malone did not capture the full-on Maiden sound, sonically. It is however a step up from their EP, The Soundhouse Tapes. Maiden would not find their studio sound until hooking up with Deep Purple/Rainbow producer Martin Birch, next album.
Every song is brilliant. The opening wah-wah guitar intensity of “Prowler” warns away the timid, before the song trounces forward, propelled by Steve Harris and new drummer Clive Burr. Paul Di’Anno is absolutely at his peak as a singer, with range, grit, and power to spare. He throws it all into “Prowler”.
“Remember Tomorrow”, co-written by Paul, is a slow-burner, along the lines of those old slow Black Sabbath songs. Paul sings his ass off, and if any one song was his showcase, I would say it has to be “Remember Tomorrow”.
The tempo picks up again with the first single “Running Free”, a song that I feel never peaked until released in a live verion. Live, it’s faster and more intense. In the studio, it feels like it never quite gets up to speed. However, a classic song it remains, with Maiden’s first undeniable sing-along chorus.
7 minutes of “Phantom Of The Opera” closes side one of the original vinyl. Steve’s first multi-part epic, this is the song that proved too difficult for many guitarists auditioning for the band. Long time axeman Dave Murray could handle the material no problem. Finding a second player proved difficult, until Dennis Stratton showed up and fit the bill. “Phantom” proved to be his undoing nevertheless. While the rest of the band were out, he overdubbed Queen-like choir vocals and guitar harmonies, which horrified Harris. It wasn’t so much that Stratton had initiative and ideas to present, it was that they were so far off what what Steve’s vision of Maiden was. Stratton proved to be the wrong fit, and this remains his only album with Iron Maiden.
Side two began with the instrumental stomper “Transylvania”. This fades into a spacey ballad, “Strange World”. “Strange World” is one of the most immediate songs on the album, perhaps because it’s different from the rest. If I had to compare it to something else, it might be “Solitude” by Black Sabbath, but with guitars instead of flutes! And solos too…Dave’s epic side of solo composition.
Dave’s first ever writing credit is up next, “Charlotte The Harlot”. This fast one introduces the character of Charlotte, who turns up again in future Maiden songs. This standout song is followed by the band’s signature closer, “Iron Maiden” itself. I think it’s likely that this song will remain in Maiden’s sets pretty much forever. Not only is the riff great, but the pace is absolutely perfect for headbanging!
The bonus CD comes with the associated B-sides for this album. From the “Running Free” single, there’s “Burning Ambition”. This is an early song that wouldn’t have fit on the album, as it is too much hard rock and not enough heavy metal for the album proper. The bonus CD also contains the non-album single “Sanctuary”, another classic up there with “Iron Maiden”. This song was slipped onto the US versions of the album. It’s awesome of course! Also from the “Sanctuary” single are live versions of “Drifter” and “I’ve Got The Fire”. “Drifter” was another earlier song that would show up in studio form next album. This version has Di’Anno’s reggae-ish “Yo, yo yo yo” singalong which I have always liked. “I’ve Got The Fire” is an excellent Montrose cover, and not the last time Maiden would cover Montrose (nor this song)!
With an album this this under their belts, the future for Iron Maiden would be bright indeed.
I do not own this EP in its original form, unfortunately. I probably never will — there were only 5000 made, independently. Maiden were one of the first metal bands to release an indi EP, and among the most successful. For now I’ll have to be content with the CD bootleg that I have, which is called The Soundhouse Tapes and More. It’s a physical format, at least. I think Trevor snagged this one for me, at his store.
The Soundhouse Tapes was Maiden’s first official release, a 3 song limited edition. Guitarist Tony Parsons had just left the band and Maiden did the EP as a four piece: Founder Steve Harris (bass), longtime guitarist Dave Murray, Paul Di’Anno on vocals and drummer Doug Sampson.
It sounds essentially like a well recorded demo. The songs lack the energy, speed and fire of their live counterparts, but they are flawless blueprints. “Prowler” is present with all its components intact, but without the cocky breakneck pace. It sounds like Maiden were warming up, and perhaps in a sense they were!
Tracks:
“Iron Maiden”
“Invasion”
“Prowler”
“Iron Maiden” and “Prowler” made the first album, and I probably don’t need to tell you how awesome these songs are. These versions are inferior, but having said that, they still smoke most of the NWOBHM releases of the time. “Invasion”, a somewhat lesser song, was destined to become a B-side later on. Steve would revive the subject matter (the Norman conquest of England) and some of the lyrics later on too….
A fourth song, an embrionic “Strange World” with prototypical solos, was recorded but left unreleased for the next 17 years. It finally came out on 1996’s Best Of The Beast. As an added bonus to vinyl collectors, Best Of The Best contained a reissue of the entire Soundhouse Tapes, but only if you bought vinyl. Which I had the opportunity to do, but not the balls to spend that much in one place, and I blew it. This remains the EP’s only official reissue, and will remain so for the forseeable future.
Alright folks, strap yourselves in and get ready for the ride. After the positive feedback from my series of Kiss reviews, I’ve decided to go with popular demand and do all the Iron Maiden next. We’re going to talk about every studio album, every live album, every compilation, and every rarity that I have access to. But why not start off with a Record Store Tale? Here’s how I acquired rare editions of the crucial first 10 albums….
RECORD STORE TALES PART 116:
IRON MAIDEN’s Gonna Get Ya…No Matter How Far!
My love of Maiden is well documented. The very first blog here at LeBrain’s Record Store Tales, Part 1, was called “Run To The Hills”. It describes the first time I ever heard the band. I don’t need to explain to you why I love Iron Maiden. If you’re reading this, chances are that you already understand. Iron Maiden are more than just a band. They are a passion. With a band like Maiden, the fans strive to own everything.
The setting: Early 1996, when we still carried new CD stock. One of our suppliers dropped off a brand new catalogue. Inside, was a new listing. An exciting new listing!
Iron Maiden were reissuing their first 10 albums in 2 CD editions, with a bonus disc of B-sides! Picture discs! Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number of the Beast, Peace of Mind, Powerslave, Live After Death, Somewhere In Time, Seventh Son, No Prayer, and Fear of the Dark! Knowing that Maiden usually released a minimum of two singles per album, with a minimum of 2 B-sides per single, this was a MUST for me. I didn’t have all the Maiden singles. Not even close. Some of these songs, like “Burning Ambition” and “Invasion”, I’d never even heard before! Now I was going to have the chance to own them on CD.
The discs were expensive, even with my staff discount. But there was absolutely no way I was missing these. As an added incentive, I didn’t even own all the Maiden albums on CD yet. Most of these albums I still only owned on cassette or vinyl! So really, it was a win-win situation. Not only was I getting the B-sides, but I was also getting all the Maiden albums on CD with a minimum of overlap with my existing collection. Plus, these were picture discs with Derek Riggs’ singles artwork. Picture discs were something of a novelty at the time. Today, most CDs are picture discs and nobody cares if they are.
My boss warned me: “If you order these, you better make sure you buy them all.” There was absolutely no question of that, I’m surprised he even mentioned it, knowing what a collector I am. It’s too bad we didn’t order more, for stock. The rarity of these discs has shown that we could have sold them quickly, or better yet, hung onto them for a couple years and jacked up the price once they were out of print.
The supplier we were ordering from, the name of which escapes me, was a small-time supplier, and usually couldn’t get everything we ordered. They had about a 50% success rate. Yet he listed all these European imports that our main supplier usually shied away from. The Maiden reissues were all from Europe. I crossed my fingers. I wanted all 10. Not “some”, but all! “Some” would not do it!
A week later, the first five Maidens arrived! The following week, another chunk of Maiden shipped! They only failed to get me one disc: Fear of the Dark. Resolving to get it somehow, it turns out I didn’t need to worry about it. Two weeks later, even that one arrived. Total expenditure: About $300 with taxes! I had all 10. My Maiden B-side collection: almost complete! [Note: When I go through the Maiden reviews, we’ll cover all the B-sides, including songs that are not on these deluxe editions.]
I settled in for some long, long nights of listening. I made a compilation tape of all the B-sides that I had (including up to the current album, The X Factor), and it ended up being 3 tapes, 100 minute cassettes, which I still have. To knock so many songs off my wishlist in one fell swoop like this was the kind of thing I lived for. This was the perk of working in a record store. What a score! Today, I don’t know anybody else who has the full set of 10.
Be sure to check back in the coming days and weeks for all the reviews, starting with The Soundhouse Tapes, to the present day…
IRON MAIDEN – Virtual Lights Strikes Over France (1998, bootleg CD)
This awkward title was a disc I was really looking forward to playing. I snagged it in early 2000 at a record show in London, Ontario. I remember wanting to look at the discs before I bought it, because cheap bootlegs on CD-R’s were becoming more common. I wanted to make sure this was an actual factory pressed CD, not a CD-R, and the seller pretended she didn’t know what a CD-R was!
I like the Blaze-era Maiden albums and I was eager to have a live document of those years of some kind. A quick glance at the back cover reveals this concert to be an excellent choice. Not only do they play 7 of the 8 songs from Virtual XI, but there are three bonus tracks from 1996’s X Factour as well. All in all, an excellent cross section of Blaze material, with a smattering of Bruce and Paul.
Upon first listen, however, I was horrified! Blaze is shockingly tuneless! The rumours of his voice being shot during the Virtual XI tour seem to be confirmed. Judging by his recent solo output, his voice is much stronger today. But in 1998, something was clearly very wrong. He misses notes more often than he hits them on this one. Neither Blaze nor Steve Harris have really elaborated on the why’s.
Gratefully, the 1996 recordings are much stronger. Blaze’s voice here was album-quality strong. These three tracks are truthfully the only thing on this disc that I can stand listening to. The rest is just tunelessly bad.
RECORD STORE TALES PART 108: Building the Store, Part 2
Last time, Statham posted something about a dream he had, of us putting together our own record store. I wish I could have had the experience of opening a store without doing work! The reality of it varied. On the couple of times I helped set up a store, it was hardly glamorous.
The first time was when we opened up the first store that I managed. It was the biggest one so far, lots of stock, all crap. Junk. Shite. Basically what we did was, maybe starting six months in advance, just buy lots and lots and lots of stock. Before long we had, I dunno, maybe 5000 discs, all garbage. Dozens of Jann Arden, Spin Doctors, Michael Bolton…I had so much Michael Bolton that he took up three fucking rows! I even had rare Michael Bolton. Nobody had rare Michael Bolton! Nobody wanted rare Michael Bolton! Then you’d go to the Metallica section, nothing. Kiss, a couple copies of Kiss My Ass. And we had soooo much country. We had buckets of country. And rap artists that you nor I have ever heard of.
Waltz back over to the rock section and browse the classics. Did we have any Floyd? Nothing. Led Zeppelin? Just the tribute album, Encomium. Meat Loaf? Bat 2, but not Bat. We had a couple of Rush discs, like Counterparts, but nothing from the 70’s. No Maiden. No Miles. No Dylan. No Hendrix.
We had no standardized pricing scheme back then. So, if I was pricing Eric Clapton’s Unplugged at $9.99, the guy next to me might have priced it at $11.99 because maybe he liked it more. It was very subjective. Sometimes you knew what a CD was worth brand new and based it on that, sometimes it was so common that it didn’t matter, and sometimes nobody had a fucking clue. We’d try to fix the pricing it as we went, but it was slow. After we opened, a customer would come up with three copies of the same album. “This one is $8.99, this one $9.99, and this one $11.99. Is that because one is more scratched?” Logical question! But no, we just cocked up.
It took weeks to manually input and price all those discs. Shelving them took a couple more days. Making the header cards, setting things up, all told we were at it for maybe a month. Then the big day came and we did our opening. We were only half-equipped: there was no second computer yet, and only half of our CD players for listening station had been bought. Signs were still arriving to be put up.
I’ll never forget our sign that showed up that said, “WE PAY CSAH FOR YOUR USED CDS!”
Regardless of how crappy the stock was, it sold! I couldn’t believe it! There were only a few decent albums and I figured once they were gone, that was it. That wasn’t the case at all. People kept buying the old rap and country discs. Tanya Tucker? Check! We had lots! And people were buying it!
Then, used stuff started coming in at a rapid pace. Crazy stuff too. I remember this one huge Tangerine Dream box set coming in, on the Thursday of the first week.
After we opened and good stuff started coming in by the box full, all the hard work seemed like it was paying off. But the setting up was long and tedious, and I couldn’t stand Todd, who was also on setup duty. But who gives a crap? I spent weeks doing nothing but data entry while listening to music (our own music, which we brought in – of course). I rocked a lot of Deep Purple those weeks. It was awesome.
I remember that I had just found two Purple albums that I wanted: Concerto For Group and Orchestra, and King Biscuit Flower Hour. I also rocked Purpendicular, which had just come out, as much as I could. Todd didn’t understand the music at all. All he was interested in listening to was Floyd, nothing else. He played Bush once or twice, but otherwise it was all Floyd. He really, really liked P.U.L.S.E. And he just murdered Floyd for me, for a long time.
When I listen to albums like Concerto and Purpendicular, it brings me right back to doing data entry in that store. Not a bad soundtrack to work to.
Even though half a decade has passed, sometimes I still get recognized from the CD store today. Just two weeks ago, I was at a lunch with some friends of my wife. One guy recognized me. “Do you still work at the CD store?” he asked as I said hello to everyone. He was an old regular. Not all regulars still recognize me. An older gentleman, Charles, my best classical customer, didn’t recognize me when he bought classical discs from my garage sale last summer.
Today, I tend to get recognized not for my face but for my name. Rather, my nickname: LeBrain.
I never mentioned how that handle came to be. After winning my umpteenth 4 O’clock 4-play on 107.5 Dave FM, Craig Fee dubbed me with that name. “Mike Ladano and his massive brain…his massive LeBrain!” The nickname stuck, and that is how I became LeBrain. Next thing you know it, we had an entire “Stump LeBrain” week where I guested at the station for a week, and a full month (“LeBrainuary”) of my own 4-play quizzes.
I was first recognized in person by the owner of the local UPS store, while picking up a parcel. “Are you that guy from the radio?” he asked me. Turns out he was a fan. He’d listened to all of LeBrainuary in his store.
I was also recognized by some of the younger chaps at Sausagefest, who thought my voice was familiar. “I know that voice…is that LeBrain?” they said.
I buy a lot of stuff off eBay (you’ve seen much of it here on the blog!), and the girl at my local post office now knows me as LeBrain. She is always excited when my parcels come in. “What’s in this one?” she’ll ask.
“Oh, that one is a rare Maiden 12” single,” I’d say.
“Cool! That’s awesome!” One time, she knew one of my parcels had arrived immediately, because the seller had put a Kiss sticker on the box. I walked into the post office, and she said, “I know which parcel is yours!” with an excited tone in her voice. She explained that she heard me on radio earlier as LeBrain.
So, to Post Office Girl: Sorry, I don’t even know your name. I would like to dedicate this blog to you, and my 15 minutes of fame!
Part 31 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!
KISS – Alive III (1993)
I like Alive III, but I don’t think any fan can say it’s as good or better than I or II. How could it be? Artificial or not, Kiss Alive! is one of the greatest live albums of all time. Alive II was a contender. Alive III simply could not live up to either.
If it didn’t sell well, I don’t particularly blame Kiss. It was the summer of “live albums”. Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, and Iron Maiden all had double live discs out that summer, and that’s a lot of money to be spent by the devoted rock fan.
Although the first two Alives avoided song overlap, Alive III does contain some old Kiss songs that were previously played on one of the first two:
“Deuce”
“Detroit Rock City”
“Rock And Roll All Night”
“Watchin’ You” (given a funkier touch here by Bruce)
Everything else is a more recent vintage, and rightfully so. Kiss hadn’t done a live album in 16 years at this point, so there were lots of new songs to play. “Creatures Of The Night” had been a setlist staple for ten years at this point.
Performance wise, this is really good. With Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer in the band, Kiss had evolved to a sleeker machine. The songs were played much more expertly, and not as loose. A critic would use the word “mechanically” but it’s just different, and a matter of taste. Bruce Kulick at this point was not playing his solos with as much 80’s trickery, and was now much more suited to playing Ace Frehley’s songs. Eric Singer seemed to master a nice middle ground between Peter Criss and Eric Carr’s styles. He is in fact my favourite Kiss drummer because of his creativity on the kit.
All songs are sung by Gene and Paul, although Eric sings very nice backups. There is one instrumental, Bruce Kulick’s guitar showcase on the “Star Spangled Banner”, never recorded by Kiss in studio form!
On the negative side, I don’t like the production, once again by Eddie Kramer who also helmed the first two. It sounds too polished. The audience sounds artificial, pasted on. When Paul raps, the audience just screams through, there’s no reaction.
Interestingly, there are a total of five songs from Revenge (including the Japanese/vinyl bonus track “Take It Off”). That shows how strong the new material was, and why there aren’t more Kiss oldies. It is a shame that today Kiss doesn’t sprinkle that much new material into setlists.
A point of trivia, at one point the inclusion of a brand new studio song called “Carnival Of Souls” was discussed. It was finally released a decade later on Gene’s solo album, Asshole. So this is the time period from which that song originated. Astute fans will recognize it as the title of an eventual studio album.
A Gene song was even selected as the first and only single: “I Love It Loud”. Personally I feel that even Eric Singer can’t play this song like Eric Carr did. And it’s way too overplayed now.
Alive III is not as essential as the first two, but if you pick up the Alive Box, which is the route I stronly suggest you take, you’ll get them all (with the exception of the symphonic Alive). Listening to I, II and III in a row will reveal growth and a strong catalogue of songs not immediately noticeable otherwise.
4/5 stars
With the long-awaited Alive III now behind them, Kiss began work on a number of new projects, including their own tribute album, a studio album to be called Head, and an acoustic “konvention” tour. Check this space again for all that and more.
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