Part 1 of 2 — First the tale, tomorrow the review! This tale itself is a direct sequel to Aaron’s story “Mail From Jedi Master LeBrain”.
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale #397: Face the Heat (Mail From Sydenham)
I collect Japanese imports, especially when there are bonus tracks afoot. A year ago, I found a Japanese copy of Scorpions’ Face the Heat CD with two such bonus tracks. I bought it from one of my favourite vendors, at the Toronto Musical Collectibles Record & CD Sale. It was $15 and complete with obi strip. A steal. (Who says Japanese imports are very expensive anyway?)
Because I try to avoid redundant copies in my collection, I donated my original CD of Face the Heatto Aaron. He reviewed it and called it “a collection of strong songs that gets better as it goes along”. I played my Japanese copy, and filed it away without giving the album much thought until recently. Martin Popoff’s excellent Scorpions tome, Top of the Bill, reminded me of an Elvis cover that Scorpions did as a hidden bonus track.
The Scorpions almost recorded “His Latest Flame” back in 1989 for their hits compilation, Best of Rockers ‘n’ Ballads. It was between Elvis and The Who’s “I Can’t Explain”. “I Can’t Explain” won out, but the Scorps gave it another go in 1993 for Face the Heat. (Incidentally both tracks were produced by the late Bruce Fairbairn.)
“His Latest Flame” was one of the first “hidden bonus tracks” in my collection. It’s very unlike anything the Scorpions had done before, but they did a damn fine job of it in my opinion. I love the horn parts. I’m sure that was Fairbairn’s doing, a trumpet player. It was buried unlisted after the end of “Lonely Nights”, the final song on the CD, as part of the same track. When I read Popoff’s book, I realized, “When I gave Aaron my original CD, I didn’t check if the Japanese CD retained that bonus track…”
Indeed, “LeBrain” the Bonehead did fail to check if “His Latest Flame” was on the Japanese CD, and it is not. It’s very rare to find a domestic CD that has a bonus track not included on a Japanese version, but it does happen, and it did happen on Face the Heat!
Gratefully, when “LeBrain” the Bonehead asked if he could have the disc back, Aaron immediately said “no problem”! He knows the kind of collector I am. He sent it back to me as a part of a recent parcel exchange that we enjoy doing from time to time!
I do appreciate that he was willing to send this “gifted” CD back. It just goes to show how two collectors understand one another! As for Face the Heat, look for my review of both CDs right here tomorrow!
Voice Of Reason marked the end of an era for Harem Scarem. It’s the last album by the original lineup before Mike Gionet departed, and the band got huge in Japan. I always found it difficult to understand how their home country of Canada could leave them obscure while the Japanese couldn’t get enough of them. In-the-know melodic hard rock fans point to Harem Scarem’s 1993 album, Mood Swings, as a high water mark for the band and genre. Although the band stretched out far and wide, Mood Swings remained the album that fans pined a return to. Voice of Reason had the difficult task of following that album. Harem Scarem had to both take it up a notch, and retain what made them great at the same time. Unfortunately that didn’t happen.
Mood Swings had a slightly progressive edge to its hard rock, with lush multitracked Queen-like harmonies and a diverse set of influences. They turned that up on Voice of Reason, attempting to become more Queen-like it seems. More vocal harmonies, more guitar layers and flourishes, more complex song structures. Those are all good qualities. I think one could do a lot worse than to be compared to Queen. But Harem Scarem weren’t able to summon forth another batch of perfect hard rock songs to go with it.
Although the direction this time out is mellower and more ballad-oriented, none of the tunes are particularly bad. You would not listen to Voice of Reason and point out bad songs. Instead it just goes through your brain like a foggy haze, without really retaining any of it. Perhaps they went too far with the layered vocals. This was self-produced so there would be nobody there to reel it in. There are still a few standouts, which are “Warming A Frozen Rose”, “Blue”, “Breathing Sand”, and “I’ll Be Brief”. These tracks are more memorable and stand out a little from the others.
The music video for “Blue” didn’t help matters.
MVP: Guitarist Pete Lesperance is the band’s Nuno Bettencourt. He is a skilled, creative player able to make his guitar do seemingly anything he needs it too. The wah-wah he throws into chorus of “Warming a Frozen Rose” helps make the song, and his shredding everywhere else is top drawer.
Those lucky fans in Japan got a bonus track on their version of the CD. “Candle (acoustic version)” is actually superior to the regular album version by being a little more unique and memorable. Very cool bonus track.
MOMOIRO CLOVER Z vs KISS – “Yume no Ukiyo ni Saitemina” / “Samurai Son” (2015 King Records Japan CD singles, sold separately)
Here they are, the new singles featuring the Kiss vs Momoiro Clover Z collaboration. “Samurai Son” appeared on the current Best of Kiss 40 CD, billed there as the “U.S. Mix”. That meant there are other versions out there, so I ordered the singles (two separate releases) from Japan. Even if I did not like the other versions of the song, the single covers were cool enough to keep as collectibles. As it turns out they are printed on high quality textured parchment style paper, and have stunning inner and outer art. They also come with transparent outer shells with shiny embossed symbols and writing. For packaging, it’s 5/5 stars for these singles.
Between the two singles, there are four different mixes from the “U.S. Mix” of “Samurai Son”. All feature Kiss, to a certain degree. Here’s how the versions break down, from “Least Kiss” to “Most Kiss”:
5. “Yume no Ukiyo ni Saitemina”. This is the full-on Japanese version with the spotlight primarily on Momoiro Clover Z. They take the lead vocals and their elements of the song and style and brought up in the mix. It’s funny to hear Kiss singing background vocals in English, underneath the Japanese lead vocals! Who know if the words actually go together in any way.
4. “Yume no Ukiyo ni Saitemina” (instrumental version). Kiss are the backing band on this track and you can clearly hear Tommy soloing, but the Kiss and J-pop elements are mixed fairly equally here. These first two renditions of the song are on both versions of the single.
3. “Samurai Son” (instrumental version). From the CD with the artwork emphasizing Kiss. This instrumental is based on the Kiss rather than the Momoclo version of the song. Tommy is in the spotlight a bit more on this version, as the instrumental mix leaves more room for his guitar licks to take the spotlight.
2. “Samurai Son”. From the same CD as the above track, this is a Kiss-heavy version similar to the “U.S. Mix” on Best of Kiss 40…but not quite the same. It follows the same blueprint of Kiss being up front and the Momoclo girls audible in the background and on the chorus. It has vocal, guitar and J-pop parts that are not as apparent in the “U.S. Mix”. Gene’s vocals also sound higher in the mix. It’s audibly mastered way, way louder than Kiss 40, as you can see from the Audacity waveform below. Track 3 from the CD is on top, the “U.S. Mix” from Kiss 40 is beneath.
1. “Samurai Son” (U.S. Mix). The Kiss 40 version; the mix that is geared to appeal mostly to Kiss fans. Logically, it sounds the most like Kiss. It’s only on Kiss 40; neither of these two singles have this mix which makes it a little more special for Kiss fans.
There are more tracks, but I’ll be frank — I didn’t even rip them to the computer. These tracks are vocals and instrumental covers by Momoiro Clover Z of “Rock and Roll all Nite”. I listened to it; it’s cute. If you want to try and get your little niece into rock music, this might be the way to do it. It has some guitars but it’s very cutesy. (Probably still better than Poison’s version though, Mr. Rockett.)
Finally there is the Blu-ray containing the music video, that I cannot play due to region restrictions. That’s why they invented Youtube, I think….
I give Kiss credit for doing something different like this and making it accessible to different audiences. My favourite version is the one on Kiss 40, but that one was custom built for people like me. These two singles are fun additions to the collection. It’s one of those conversation pieces you can show that one guy you know who says he has “all” the Kiss CDs.
KISS – 40(2015 Universal Japan single CD Commemorative edition)
Wait a minute, I’m confused — did I just buy Kiss 40, again?
Wait a minute, it’s 2015 now — shouldn’t this be Kiss 41, or something??
Wait a minute, what the hell is “Kiss vs. Momoiro Clover Z”???
Eager to buy anything new from Gene and Co., I got this new single CD version of Kiss 40 without really knowing what it was about.
Now that the CD has arrived at the door, I discovered that Momoiro Clover Z is a Japanese all-girl pop group with similar intentions as Kiss themselves. They dreamed big dreams for themselves and aimed to entertain and bring a spectacle to the people. They have colour coordinated members and characters, so perhaps a Kiss collaboration seemed like the next step for them. I don’t know how the collaboration came to be, but the result was a brand new Kiss song written by Paul Stanley and producer Greg Collins.
This edition of Kiss 40 commences with a Kiss-heavy mix of the new collaboration, “Samurai Son”. There are other versions available on two singles and on iTunes, but reviews for those will wait until they arrive at LeBrain HQ. The good news is that the “U.S.” mix of “Samurai Son” has no problem hanging out on a Kiss greatest hits CD. Musically, it’s not too much of a departure of the direction from Kiss’ last album, Monster. It’s just more produced, polished and embellished. The girls from Momoiro Clover Z come in during the chorus, but it’s not the first time Kiss have had female backing vocals on their albums. It’s the first time since 1989, but remember old classic tunes like “Tomorrow and Tonight” from Love Gun, and “Sweet Pain” from Destroyer? Female backing vocals. The new twists this time are the lines in Japanese, and the very slight J-pop slant. It’s not too far of a departure.
Collector’s card included inside Kiss 40
It may not be to your taste, but I love “Samurai Son”. The lyrics address Kiss’ experience of hitting Japan for the first time back in 1976:
“I took a flight into Tokyo, Into the Land of the Rising Son, I heard my song on the radio, Blowin’ my mind like a shot from a gun.”
Paul then proceeds to tear it up all over town, “Livin’ life with no regrets.” The words suit one of those fast paced Kiss rockers that they’ve been doing of late — think “Hell or Hallelujah”. There are some cool Thayer licks and you can tell that Gene Simmons showed up for the sessions, because you can hear him singing on the choruses. The overall impression is that “Samurai Son” is one of those solid Kiss catalogue rockers. It’s like the new material on side four of Kiss Alive II: pretty good but living in the shadow of the Kiss greats.
From this point on, Kiss 40 (the 2015 abridged version) continues with the “best” hits from the full length 2 CD version…but not quite. There have been some major tweaks to the tracklist, perhaps to maximize the listening pleasure of consumers who just need one CD of Kiss in their lives. The classic live version of “Rock and Roll all Nite” has been replaced with the studio version from Dressed to Kill. Same for “Shout it Out Loud” and “Detroit Rock City”, here in their original full Destroyer guises instead of live. I like the way the car crash ending of “Detroit” merges into “Calling Dr. Love”. “Dr. Love” and “Love Gun” were thrown into the pile here, even though they weren’t on the original Kiss 40 in any form. A little further down, a different song was plucked from Kiss Killers: The superior “I’m a Legend Tonight” replaces “Down on Your Knees”.
Moving on from the makeup years to the non-makeup 1980’s, the original version of “Crazy Crazy Nights” replaces that unreleased live version from the double Kiss 40. That sums up the song substitutions; the album still continues chronologically to the current era. I’m pleased that even though early songs from the first two Kiss albums were axed, songs from the last two Kiss albums were not. I think Sonic Boom and Monster are Kiss albums the band should be proud of, so you get “Modern Day Delilah” and “Hell or Hallelujah”, as it should be. Other albums excluded from this compilation are The Elder, (surprisingly) Creatures of the Night, Hot in the Shade, the live records and the solo albums.
With all these tweaks and alterations, the overall listening experience is enhanced albeit at the cost of some deeper tracks. It’s a give and take, so the overall score for the new Kiss 40 remains:
MOTLEY CRUE – Saints of Los Angeles (2008 Motley Records, Japan)
Man, if there was one band due for a comeback, it was the Crue. I mean, seriously! They went from the top of their game in 1991, coming off of Feelgood and Decade, only to have their lead singer abruptly leave. Then of course the awesome new album with the new singer flopped, because he wasn’t the old singer. Vince came back, Tommy left, and the band released the mediocre New Tattoo. After a hiatus, Tommy Lee returned again for a big successful reunion tour, and the Crue finally managed to put out an album. Saints of Los Angeles was better than expected, and did hearken back to the good old days.
You hear that a lot; “hearkens back to the old days”. Aside from the overly glossy production, this album sounds like the natural followup to Dr. Feelgood and “Primal Scream”. Of course, it was contrived that way. Nikki talks about this being a concept album following the the storyline of their book The Dirt, but really that is just an excuse to revisit the old (successful) Motley sound. Sure, why not? I’ll buy that.
Despite all odds, this album does succeed. From the opener “LA.M.F.” (which is an obvious homage to “In The Beginning” from the Shout album and “T.N.T.” from Feelgood) to the final track “Going Out Swinging”, there’s hardly any filler here. Just about every song kicks. No ballads, unless you want to count “The Animal In Me” (which I don’t). Hey, and think of it: Sharp fans will recall that Feelgood itself was originally conceived as a concept album with no ballads. Interesting.*
Guitar riffs are kicking, Vince is singing as good as you could hope, and all the songs shine. There’s even the odd female backing vocal, recalling the Nasty Habits. Only the production drags this down to a lower level, I simply find it too processed and glossy. Bob Rock would have added more thud, but that’s just my opinion. Song wise, winners include the title track and first single. Other highlights are the glam “Down At The Whiskey”, “Face Down In The Dirt” (see, The Dirt is in the title!), the swaggering “What’s It Gonna Take”, and the chugging “Just Another Psycho”. Those would be my favourites on an album of consistent song quality. All but “Welcome To The Machine”, which sounds like a transparent ripoff of Ace Frehley’s “Shot Full Of Rock”. I can’t believe I seem to be the only one pointing this out.
I was disappointed by one thing: look at those writing credits. Mick Mars has just one co-write, ditto Tommy Lee. Vince Neil: No writing credits at all. Instead, the album was mostly written by Nikki and his Sixx AM cohorts James Michael and DJ Ashba along with hired songsmith Marti Frederiksen. So, is this a Crue album or another Nikki Sixx solo album featuring Motley Crue? You decide. It sounds like Motley, but c’mon. Both Mick and Tommy were cornerstones of this band’s songwriting. It feels like Nikki just got his buds to write like Mick and Tommy.
There’s one item I’d still like to get, related to this album. I want to track down the CD single for “Saints of Los Angeles”, which lacks the CrueFest nobodies’ “gang vocal”. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think that a bunch of nobodies from Trapt or Papa Roach need to be on a Crue album. So I’d like to hear that one.
Other than these minor complaints, Saints wins. When you’re listening you’ll forget who wrote the songs, and you’ll just dig the fact that Tommy is back on drums and Mick is playing better than ever. God bless Mick Mars — that man is a rock and roll machine. He is the MVP on Saints of Los Angeles.
OH! And the Japanese bonus tracks, let’s not forget those. The liner notes tell us nothing about where or when they were recorded, but they are obviously more recent. “Kickstart My Heart” is the first, and Vince Neil sings with that annoying habit of singing every other word. He lets the audience take lines when he can’t. “Saints” slams, though.
4/5 stars. Crue fans will love it.
*It’s true. According to a 1989 Hit Parader interview, not only were the band considering a concept album, but Nikki Sixx stated that he wanted Feelgood to be all hard rock, no ballads. The ballads they had collected such as “Rodeo” and the newer “Without You” were to be included on a second new album to be released in 1990 called Motley Crue: The Ballads. Bob Rock reportedly talked them out of the “no ballads” concept. Then the concept was recycled for what would become Motley Crue (1994). Before Vince bailed/was fired, Nikki said there were to be no ballads on the next Crue album.
OZZY OSBOURNE – Best of Ozz (1989 CBS Japan exclusive)
Japanese releases are such interesting things. Sometimes they are chock full of bonus tracks and additional goodies, and sometimes they are not. This CD is one that is not.
Even though this album came out after No Rest for the Wicked (1988), this Best Of Ozz includes no songs from that album or with guitarist Zakk Wylde. The songs are drawn from the first four Ozzy studio albums only, and the CD contains only 10 tracks. You have to shrug your shoulders at some of the song selections. “Secret Loser” and “Centre of Eternity” are on this, but not “Suicide Solution” or “I Don’t Know”.
Those two aside, however, this ain’t a bad but brief run through the land of Ozz. “Crazy Train”: check. “Bark at the Moon”: check. “Mr. Crowley”: check. “Shot in the Dark”: check. They get some bonus points for deeper cuts such as “Diary of a Madman”, “Over the Mountain” and “Goodbye to Romance”. I’m also glad “The Ulimate Sin” was included, as that song has sort of been erased from Ozzy’s canon since then, in a manner of speaking. He doesn’t like reissuing any songs from that album.
Interestingly, each track alternates guitar players: Randy, Jake, Randy, Jake, through the whole album. The result is an uneven listen. I don’t know why they did that.
The tracks are most likely the original CD masters. There are no liner notes indicating they had been remastered and I think it would be highly unlikely. Since there is nothing exclusive to be had on Best of Ozz, and since it is limited to just 10 tracks and lacks Zakk Wylde, this CD is nothing more than a collectible to me. I don’t remember what I paid for it, but I bought it from T-Rev’s store. I probably paid about $16.99 or so. The CD itself is scratched a little bit, but not bad enough to skip or play defectively. Most appealing to me, the original obi strip was intact, and there’s a lyric sheet with Japanese writing and amusing sketches. Bizarrely, some of these sketches are of Zakk Wylde, even though he’s not on the album.
I’ve listened to Best of Ozz exactly twice: when I purchased it, and when I reviewed it.
OZZY OSBOURNE – Under Cover (2005 Japanese CD/DVD set)
I want to know who thought this album was a good idea to release. Sure, we know Ozzy will do pretty much anything. He even appeared on a tribute album to Black Sabbath (Nativity In Black Vol. 2). So why not have Ozzy cover a bunch of songs that, by and large, the world didn’t need him to cover?
“SHARON!”
I’ve never thought much of this album, and I think you can gather why on the first track “Rocky Mountain Way” (Joe Walsh). Why did this song need to be redone, metalized, and howled upon by Ozzy Osbourne? It’s awful. The female backing vocals are totally out of place, the changes made to song are unnecessary, and the vocal is stale. The only positive thing I will say is that Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) plays on Under Cover, and he’s the only thing redeeming it. His slide and talk box solos on “Rocky Mountain Way” are swampy and great.
Whether Ozzy covers the Beatles (a pukey echo-drenched “In My Life) or Cream (“Sunshine of Your Love”) or the Stones (“Sympathy for the Devil”), nothing of value is added to the song. It’s assembly line rock. There are no innovations or interesting slants. “Sunshine of Your Love” is altered to resemble Sabbath’s “N.I.B.” which doesn’t help matters at all. Ozzy even does two solo John Lennon songs (“Woman” and “Working Class Hero”). I get that Ozzy has a connection to the lyrics to “Working Class Hero” and is a huge fan of Lennon. That doesn’t mean he should try doing his own version. Most songs don’t benefit from being metalized. I’ve even heard a good metalized cover of “21st Century Schizoid Man” better than Ozzy’s.
Best tune (only good tune): “Fire” originally by the Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
Special guests: Leslie West plays some smokin’ axe on the cover of his own “Mississippi Queen”. Ian Hunter joins Ozzy on “All the Young Dudes” but doesn’t do much other than shout along. Others such as Gregg Bissonnette (David Lee Roth) and Joe Bonamassa are credited on the album, with no indication of what they did on which tracks. Maybe Bissonnette was hired solely to play cowbell. Who knows?
The final rip off to fans is that almost all of Under Cover was previously released on Ozzy’s Prince of Darkness box set earlier that year! Many Ozzy fans such as myself picked that one up for its numerous long-sought rarities. When Under Cover was released as its own album, four new recordings were added to make you buy it again: “Rocky Mountain Way”, “Sunshine of Your Love”, “Woman”, and “Go Now”. If you have Prince of Darkness, then you already own over 75% of Under Cover.
The Japanese bonus track was daughter Kelly Osbourne’s cover of Black Sabbath’s ballad “Changes”, with dear old dad singing with her, and lyrics adapted to suit. If you were one of those (I hope not) who bought Kelly’s 2002 album Shut Up, then you already have this. But like most Ozzy fans, I already have this song on the Prince of Darkness set. This version also comes with a bonus region 2 DVD: the music video for “In My Life” (whoop-de-do) and a long (about 45 minutes I think) feature called “Dinner with Ozzy and Friends”. You might recognize a couple of these friends. Road stories are shared, the funniest ones involving Ozzy being mistaken for Meat Loaf, and Lemmy for Willie Nelson. And there’s the infamous story of Zakk Wylde and a cork. Finally, the two sided DVD also has the entire album in “enhanced stereo”.
SKID ROW – Forty Seasons: The Best of Skid Row (1998 Atlantic Japan)
US cover
The Japanese fans always seem to get the coolest stuff. Look at this package: shiny silver, instead of the boring grey of the American release. Digipack with foil stickers! Bonus track! So much cooler than the standard release here. Hell, the Japanese title is even spelled F-o-r-t-y, where the American version has the briefer 40. Why? Not sure. Either way I’m glad to have this version, which fell in my hands thanks to customer Conrad in the late 90’s. He sold it to me with stickers intact and still sealed; all that is missing is the obi strip.
Whether you own Forty Seasons or 40 Seasons, the party starts with “Youth Gone Wild”. Any commemoration of the Sebastian Bach years should open with that track. Although “Youth Gone Wild” is Bach’s signature track today (along with “I Remember You”), he actually wrote neither. Some fans would be surprised how little Bach has written in Skid Row, and indeed he only has two writing credits on this greatest hits disc. What Bach brings to the party is his spirit, attitude, and incredible voice. When Skid Row came out in ’89, Bach was almost instantaneously a 21 year old superstar. He had the ego to deliver the rock star vibe in concert and in print, and he certainly had the vocal chops. This is why Bach has remained a thorn in Skid Row’s side today, 15 years since hiring Johnny Solinger to replace him.
Track two is a little too soon for a mellow song in my opinion, but “18 and Life” works in this slot due to its dark vibe and powerful choruses. The singles “Piece of Me” and “I Remember You” are the other representations from album #1, although I definitely could have done without “Piece of Me”. Skid Row have written much better heavy rockers since. “I Remember You” is a song I still haven’t really tired of, thanks to Bach’s timeless performance. Every time Baz sang this tune in Toronto, the place went insane, as Bach always sang it for his old stomping grounds. Rachel Bolan and Snake Sabo may have written the song, but when I think of “I Remember You”, I think of Toronto.
Skid Row’s second album Slave to the Grind blew away the first. I’m glad “The Threat” was included. It may not have been a single, but it was one of the outstanding album cuts. Equally solid was the bass groove of “Psycho Love”, which is relentless. Skid Row really turned up the octane on that second album. I think both tracks outshine the single “Monkey Business”, but nothing can overpowerful the thrash metal of “Slave to the Grind” itself. When it was released, I couldn’t believe how full-on Skid Row had become. This is a high water mark of heaviosity.
“Quicksand Jesus” represents one of the three slow tunes on Slave; I would have selected “Wasted Time”. “Quicksand Jesus” is an outstanding song, and so is the other slow tune not included here, “In A Darkened Room”. “Wasted Time” is so clearly above and beyond either of those two, that I can’t understand why it’s not on this CD. It has something special to it, like “I Remember You” did.
So the first half of the CD covers the first two Skid Row records with all the big hits. The second half covers the rest, plus rare and unreleased stuff. I love the third Skid Row record, Subhuman Race. I consider it a great metal record in the context of the mid 1990’s. For some reason, none of the Subhuman songs included here are the album versions. I know the band fought with Bob Rock over the production on that album, and maybe that is why. “Into Another”, which might be considered a slower song, is remixed making a little lusher. The single “My Enemy” is also remixed, perhaps to tame down the St. Anger-esque drums. My favourite Skid Row ballad, “Breakin’ Down” is remixed as well, but you have to know the song really well like I do to notice by ear alone. (Listen to the guitar accents.) Overall it’s more polished and finished, which is fine, because the album version was actually more or less just the demo version. Lyrically the song is a message from Sabo to Bach, about their failing relationship. Bach reportedly received the demo, sang to it, and that’s what was put on the record.
The excellent banger “Frozen” is presented in demo form, which is interesting but inferior to the excellent, slamming album version. Finally, “Beat Yourself Blind” (Bach’s favourite song from Subhuman Race) is live. What an awesome tune live. This is from the Japanese Subhuman Beings on Tour EP. As great as the stuttery album version is, the live one is more fluid. I’ve heard Rachel Bolan say the Subhuman album “sucked”. I don’t understand how he can say that, and I think the five songs here prove my point.
The album closes with a pair of treats: unreleased songs! “Forever” from the first album’s sessions is better than many of the songs on that record! Who chooses these songs? Perhaps it was a bit too derivative of other popular 80’s bands, but Sebastian makes it sound like nobody else but Skid Row. This not only should have been on the album, but could have been a hit single. Then there’s “Fire in the Hole”, a great little slammer that didn’t make the second album. This time I agree. That second album is incredible and “Fire in the Hole” isn’t up to those high standards. It’s definitely better than many bands’ album tracks, but not Skid Row.
Last of all, the lucky Japanese got the Ramones cover “Psycho Therapy” from the B-Sides Ourselves EP (1992). This is the only inclusion from that EP, and it’s a gooder. Rachel sang lead (with Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat backing him). We all know Rachel’s a punk guy, and I think that’s the side of Skid Row that clashed with Bach’s metal tendencies. Just my theory.
ACE FREHLEY – Space Invader (2014 E One/Victor Japan)
Ace Frehley doesn’t exactly crank ’em out anymore, but the five year break between albums isn’t too bad by today’s standards. Anomaly surfaced in 2009. I think it could have delivered more than it did, but Space Invader is more immediate.
The title track “Space Invader” opens the album; a solid rocker with a strong chorus. The guitar solos absolutely smoke. Ace has lost nothing over the years, even his voice has barely changed. His singing could be more melodic, but he has character. This song takes me back to when I first heard Frehley’s Comet back in ’87. Hearing Ace’s guitar front and center doing things I had forgotten he could do. Awesome.
“Gimme a Feelin'” (hilariously labelled a “radio edit” even though it is also the album version) is plenty catchy enough, with a vintage Frehley vibe. A song like this could have been on any Kiss album in the 70’s, although I find the production a bit…cluttered. It fades abruptly, but “I Wanna Hold You” returns to that vintage Kiss vibe. This time, it’s the pop side that albums like Dynasty explored, but with the heaviness that fans expect. There’s nothing wimpy about “I Wanna Hold You” even though it could have come right from 1979-80. Ace goes into a more ominous vibe for the strong “Change”. Now it’s 1982 and it’s Creatures as if Ace was on it. It really makes you wish for what might have been. Then “Toys” feels like it’s aping the “She” riff, but in an obvious way. It also shares characteristics with 1988’s “The Acorn in Spinning”.
“Immortal Pleasures” is a change of pace, allowing Ace to play some acoustic guitar. It’s a fairly simple song, and it took a bit to grow on me, as I didn’t like it at first. “Inside the Vortex” is trademark Ace, and again I think what works is simplicity. The riff is tricky, so Ace keeps it simple with the robotic vocal and it’s perfect. This one might be an early runner for “personal favourite”.
A nice traditional rock riff is what I need next, and “What Every Girl Wants” hits the spot. This one reminds me of…[gasp] Poison! I don’t mean that in a bad way really. It is true that Space Invader is not exactly innovative (“Inside the Vortex” notwithstanding), but it does deliver on rock and roll. That’s all you can really expect from Ace Frehley, and that’s just fine. “Past the Milky Way” has an appropriately spacey vibe, as Ace gets his acoustic out again. The lyrics are cool: “Now I’m runnin’ out of oxygen, but I’ve still got my guitar.”
Heading into the home stretch, “Reckless” stomps in a nondescript kind of way. You may have heard Ace’s cover of Steve Miller’s “The Joker”. Some love it, some don’t. I am undecided. I can’t say that I needed to hear the song anymore. The standard album closer is the 7-minute “Starship”, which sounds at first as if it could fit in Ace’s “Quantum” series. Then it goes in a number of different directions, all cool. It’s a long instrumental that holds interest, and is an album highlight. Bravo Ace.
The Japanese version comes with three bonus tracks: an extended (4:44) version of “Reckless”, the radio edit (3:18) of “Space Invader”, and the “explicit” version (4:05) of “Gimme a Feelin'”. (The vinyl has a “different remix” (?) of “Reckless” and an extended version of “The Joker”. At least, I think that’s true, there’s conflicting info out there.)
I love the Ken Kelly cover art, which fits the classic sound of Space Invader. The album is not perfect but it’s a step up from Anomaly and a proud addition to the Frehley library. Any fan of the Space Ace who craves those licks and stuttery solos will find much to love here.
Alright people. I got a question for everybody here (and I didn’t forget about you people upstairs neither, woah yeah!). How many of you people believe in rock and roll?
If you believe in rock and roll, like you say you believe in rock-and-ro-oh-oll, then you know that 2014 is the 40th anniversary of the very first Kiss album. Gene Simmons believes in rock and roll. So does Universal music. They believe in rock and roll’s ability to fill their pockets again and again. As fans, we have learned to accept this. You don’t have to buy every re-package and reissue that comes out; we all choose which releases to buy based on our wants and budgets.
Unreleased music is a top priority for me, so seeing Kiss 40 coming out with a number of unreleased tracks, I was excited about this release. I bought the Japanese edition from the folks over at CD Japan, for the Japanese exclusive bonus track. I’ll talk about that track in a bit, for now I want to express how happy I am with Kiss 40, as a compilation aimed at fans both new and old.
Sets like this are tricky. You have to include familiar versions of familiar hits for the people buying their first Kiss CD. You have to include value to the cantankerous old fan, and present the old songs in novel ways. What Kiss and Universal chose to do was include one song from every Kiss album, including every live album. Sprinkled into that are the unreleased songs.
High points:
I love that they used the Paul Stanley version of “God of Thunder”, the fast one. Marko Fox has been using that as his theme song on his show for a while, and I’ve really grown to love this version. All four solo albums have a song included. (I would have preferred a harder song from Paul’s album, but “Hold Me, Touch Me” was the single after all.) Killers is represented, via “Down on Your Knees”. Not a bad song. I’m glad to have the radio edit of “Jungle”, finally. I never had that before, and “Jungle” probably wouldn’t be on the album if it wasn’t edited down from its full seven minutes. (Although not stated, “Psycho-Circus” is also edited to remove the “circus” intro.)
Low points:
The goal of including Kiss songs from every album also means that you have to hear “Let’s Put the X in Sex”. Although this would have been a great place to use a rarer remixed version, it’s just the same one from Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. Another total miss that is here is the dreadful “Nothing Can Keep Me From You”, from the Detroit Rock City soundtrack. Whyyyyy.
Nitty gritty details:
The first rarity is a 1977 Gene Simmons demo called “Reputation”. You can hear that aspects of this song later made it into other Gene Simmons compositions such as “Radioactive”. This is one of those song titles I’d read about for years, but have never heard until now. Cool. While the song is definitely a demo, and not quite as good as most finished Kiss songs, it does boast a cool dual guitar solo and rocking piano a-la “Christine Sixteen”.
On the second CD are the rare live tracks. In addition to live songs sampled from You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!, Alive IV: Kiss Symphony and The Millenium Concert, there are rare ones here from Instant Live CDs. Instant Live CDs are live albums you buy at the concert, immediately after the concert — a souvenir of the show you just saw. Extras are then sold online. I have a handful myself, but nobody has all of them (at least, nobody I know of!). “Deuce”, “Cold Gin”, and “Crazy Crazy Nights” are all from these Instant Live albums. “Crazy Crazy Nights” is the one I was most interested in. Live performances of that song are scarce in my collection. It is from the Sonic Boom tour, and it’s pretty solid. The song is played in a lower key to accommodate Paul, who does pretty good anyway. Eric and Tommy help him out on the chorus. Thayer simplifies the original Kulick solo, adapting it to his style and keeping the key hooks intact. The result is a tasty guitar solo which is a cross of both players.
Finally, those lucky lucky fans in Japan got a brand new live song: “Hell or Hallelujah” recorded at Budokan. Although the song itself smokes, Paul’s voice is really sore on this one. (Both the intro and outro, which could have been neatly edited out, are really harsh.) The song includes the line, “No lies, no fakin’,” and that is totally appropriate, because this sounds 100% live and untouched. Gotta give ’em credit for not trying to fix Paul’s voice in the mix.
Notable omissions:
“Love Gun”, “Creatures of the Night”, “Hotter than Hell”, “I Stole Your Love”, “Rocket Ride”, “Sure Know Something”, “Hide Your Heart”, “Domino”.
The verdict:
Buy this CD. The concept of “one track per album” creates some interesting listening results. The ratio of rarities to hits keeps it fresh all the way through. And if you’re a Kiss fan absolutely get the Japanese version. Just go to CD Japan and order it.
4/5 stars
Disc One
‘Nothin To Lose’
‘Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll’
‘C’mon and Love Me’
‘Rock And Roll All Nite’ (Live)
‘God Of Thunder’ (Demo)
‘Beth’
‘Hard Luck Woman’
‘Reputation’ (Demo) – Previously Unreleased
‘Christine Sixteen’
‘Shout It Out Loud’ (Live)
‘Strutter ‘78′
‘You Matter To Me’ (Peter Criss)
‘Radioactive’ (Gene Simmons)
‘New York Groove’ (Ace Frehley)
‘Hold Me, Touch Me’ (Paul Stanley)
‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ (Single Edit)
‘Shandi’
‘A World Without Heroes’
‘I Love It Loud’
‘Down On Your Knees’
‘Lick It Up’
‘Heaven’s On Fire’
Disc Two
‘Tears Are Falling’
‘Reason To Live’
‘Let’s Put The X In Sex’
‘Forever’ (Remix)
‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II’
‘Unholy’ (Live)
‘Do You Love Me?’ (MTV Unplugged)
‘Room Service’ (Live)
‘Jungle’ (Radio Edit)
‘Psycho Circus’
‘Nothing Can Keep Me From You’ (Detroit Rock City soundtrack)
Because I try to avoid redundant copies in my collection, I donated my original CD of Face the Heat to Aaron. He reviewed it and called it “a collection of strong songs that gets better as it goes along”. I played my Japanese copy, and filed it away without giving the album much thought until recently. Martin Popoff’s excellent Scorpions tome, Top of the Bill, reminded me of an Elvis cover that Scorpions did as a hidden bonus track.
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