RECORD STORE TALES Part 241: Halloween, KISS style!
Our annual inventory count fell on October 31. For five years straight, I never got to dress up, hand out candy, or do anything fun on Halloween because I was too busy counting discs and CD towers! However in the early days, this wasn’t the case. Halloween 1996 was actually a pretty good one.
Like most malls, our mall had a few Halloween contests. T-Rev entered the store in the Pumpkin Carving category. He and I came up with the plan to do a Kiss pumpkin. T-Rev, the store owner’s brother, and myself gathered in my mom’s workshop in the basement. My mom had plenty of paint, and I was good at drawing the Kiss makeup designs. T-Rev had the idea to make the pumpkin Gene Simmons, and figured out how to make a pumpkin tongue stick out. I must say he did an amazing job.
The first step was to spray paint the pumpkin white. One of the guys did the cutting. Then, I drew the Demon design with a black magic marker. We thought the nose needed to be more three-dimensional, so I cut it out a bit. Together, we began colouring in Gene’s makeup. We needed something to define the eyes of Gene, and T-Rev thought of using pumpkin seeds. We added a wig, and voila!
T-Rev propped Gene up on the magazine stand outside the store. Immediately we started getting compliments, and the response was pretty unanimous: We had done the best job in the entire mall.
Unfortunately, the judges didn’t base their ratings on who had done the best job. They were only marking the results, whether the store employees did the pumpkins themselves or not! A store that hired a professional carver won first place. We came in second. There was no prize for second. T-Rev and I considered that to be cheating. Cheatie-cheatertons.
The contest was over, and not too soon: the pumpkin had begun to rot, as pumpkins do. That didn’t stop a customer from coming in on November 1st and offering him $10 for it. T-Rev accepted his gracious offer, even though the thing would be turning horrific in a day or two. A fool and his money, right T-Rev?
By 1997, the store had moved out of the mall. This was our last pumpkin carving contest, but at least we had the satisfaction of winning the popular vote. As far as I’m concerned, we went out on top. My personal consolation prize was later on, Halloween 2006. By this time I had moved on to United Rentals. They took Halloween very, very seriously at United Rentals! I dressed up as Paul Stanley, and this time, I finally won first prize!
Finally, the end! Part 9 of my 9 part series on Ace Frehley! Via this series, we took a comprehensive look at every significant Frehley solo release that I had access to. Here’s a directory to the whole thing in case you missed a part!
Ace had a pretty good backing band on this, only his fifth solo album! Anton Fig on drums, Anthony Esposito (ex-Lynch Mob) on bass, and a few guests here and there such as Brian Tichy. The overall sound is much heavier than anything Ace has done before. There are lot of chunky guitars, and a ton of riffs.
“Foxy & Free” is fine as an opener, but melodically a little awkward. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what I don’t like about it, but it’s not one of the better songs. Much better is “Outer Space”, Ace’s re-imagining of a song by a band called Shredmill. While that band originally conceived the song as a Danzig-esque prowl, Ace cranks it up. Pedal to the floor, this is the best song on Anomaly. Too bad it’s a cover because this is the kind of original that Ace needs. Unfortunately “Outer Space” is followed by “Pain in the Neck”, another one I find melodically annoying.
Another cover, “Fox on the Run”, restores the album. Much like “Do Ya”, I think Ace knocked it out of the park with this cover. His modus operandi seems to be taking catchy pop songs and rocking them up. He does it very well. Another thing he does very well is instrumental tracks, and “Genghis Khan” is a fascinating one. You don’t think of Ace as being influenced by Led Zeppelin so much, but this definitely sounds like Zeppelin for the most part! This is thanks in part to Anton Fig’s perfect execution on drums. But it’s not exactly an instrumental, as it does have a chorus! “So, long, Genghis Khan!” But that’s pretty much it in terms of lyrics!
Like a see-saw, the album swings back to melodically questionable territory. “Too Many Faces” is not a stand out. It’s heavy but lacks significant hooks. “Change the World” is a another high. Frehley’s an electric hippy praying for peace. It’s not the first time, but it’s a worthy successor to songs of the past such as “Remember Me”. Unlike many of the weaker songs, “Change the World” is catchy, singalong quality, and fun!
A punishing and cool instrumental called “Space Bear” is actually overshadowed by another version of the song later on, so I’m going to skip it now. “A Little Below the Angels” is a pretty good acoustic ballad. I really dislike the middle section, with Ace talking to the girl…wish that had been excised. It’s back again to heavy territory on “Sister”, one of the few really decent original Frehley heavy rockers on the album. This one features Scot Coogan (Brides of Destruction) on drums, and he really throws caution to the wind and goes for it! His drums are a highlight of a great Frehley rocker.
“It’s a Great Life” is certainly interesting. It’s a funky 80’s sounding rocker, with Ace’s personality. The chorus could have been stronger. Imagine what a producer like Eddie Kramer could have done with the sound of this album! Sonically, Anomaly is disappointing for the most part. If Kramer had produced, I’m sure the closer “Fractured Quantum” would shimmer like the other three “Fractured” songs. Don’t get me wrong, I love “Fractured Quantum”, I just think it lacks a certain sonic shine that the others have. Like the other “Fractured” instrumentals, it consists of layers of acoustic guitars with some electrics here and there. It is melodically simple and it works.
iTunes offered their exclusive bonus track, “Return of Space Bear”. This song is either a) no longer available on iTunes, or b) not available on iTunes in Canada. Needless to say I was forced to acquire it in the shady underbelly of the internets, but find it I did. “Space Bear” is a reference to Ace’s hilarious drunken appearance on the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. On October 30 1979, Kiss appeared on the show, and Ace was pre-lubricated. A visibly upset Gene Simmons attempts to divert attention away from Ace and his “first space bear ever in captivity”, a little teddy bear version of himself! On this iTunes version, Ace’s dialogue is added, and this is the version I like best. Ace re-enacts some of his funniest drunken lines over some cool rocking riffs. To me, the tune sounds like early rocking Aerosmith, circa Rocks.
photo: heavymetal107
I will say that I don’t like the packaging. The cardboard case thing unfolds into a pyramid, but I’ve never tried. As a device to hold a CD, it’s annoying to get the disc in and out, and mine is pretty scratched. I did find a photo of the “pyramid” form at a cool blog called Heavy Metal 107 — click the thumb to see.
And that’s Anomaly, Ace’s first solo album in 20 years. By coincidence, just like last time (Trouble Walkin‘), Ace’s new album came at almost exactly the same time as a new Kiss CD, Sonic Boom. As before, fans compared and argued over who had made the better album. I think these fans miss the point. It doesn’t matter who made the better album, what matters is that both finally got back to making albums!
3.75/5 stars
When Ace returns for his next solo album, you can bet I will be here to tell you all about it. Thanks for reading this series! I hope you enjoyed.
So then an other odds n’ sods disc from John Regan of Frehley’s Comet arrived. Like 12 Picks, this one also came with an Ace guitar pick. The most appealing songs in this collection are the unreleased tracks “One Plus One” and “Give It To Me Anyway”. Both are complete Frehley’s Comet songs, produced by Eddie Kramer. My respected reviewer friend Jon holds these songs above many that made it onto the actual albums.
“One Plus One” is an excellent commercial rocker with that Ace “quirk” to it. This one might have been cut from 1987’s Frehley’s Comet album because it was considered too pop. That’s a shame because it’s great. Tod Howarth’s high backing vocal complements Ace’s lead for maximum hooks. I love it. This song is addictive.
“Give It To Me Anyway” is one of the oldest Comet songs, dating back to 1985, recorded for 1989’s Trouble Walkin’, and left unreleased. This is a tough, funky rocker, musically ambitious. Anton Fig’s avalanches of drum fills are always soothing, but Richie Scarlet’s raspy vocals are the real hook. Not that the chorus is bad either!
After these two valuable now-classics, Regan throws on three Frehley also-rans that didn’t make it onto the prior 12 Picks compilation. They are Ace’s excellent cover of The Move/ELO’s “Do Ya”, Tod Howarth’s ballad “It’s Over Now”, and “Shot Full Of Rock” from Trouble Walkin’. I like all three songs, but I question the wisdom of including “It’s Over Now” on this compilation. Ace didn’t write it, didn’t sing on it, didn’t play the guitar solo…
A smattering of live tracks makes up the next section of the CD. Some of these are from the Live + 4 VHS release, others are from the same gig that the Live + 1 EP was recorded at. “Stranger In A Strange Land” (from Frehley’s Comet) is from this show, and has Anton Fig on drums. Not the greatest song but you can actually hear where it would fit into Live + 1 (right before “Something Moved”). Up next is “Separate” which Ace introduced as “Separate the Men from the Boys”. I’ve admitted to liking the song, but this is especially cool as this is the very first performance of it. I dig the vocal and Ace’s chugging guitar and I think it actually works live, surprisingly.
Tod Howarth…I’m sorry dude…you suck at introducing songs. I wish you said nothing in front of “New York Groove”. You’re no Paul Stanley, believe me. I ain’t gonna “clap those hands”. Thankfully the performance of the song is great, even if Jamie Oldaker butchers the drum part. “Rock Soldiers” is once again back to the Anton Fig lineup, and this time Ace does the intro himself. You can immediately tell it’s a different drummer, it’s like night and day. “Remember Me” is the last of the live tracks, and though it’s presented live, it’s the same version that is on Trouble Walkin’.
The final two songs are parts 2 and 3 of the “Fractured” tetralogy (though in 1998 still a trilogy). Part one, of course, was on Ace’s 1978 solo album, which is considered part of the Kiss catalog. Therefore, John Regan wouldn’t have been able to use it on Loaded Deck. It’s fine…a bit of a cop out way to end a compilation album I think. To me, it feels like, “We’re all out of good songs so here’s two instrumentals.” For the casual fan, it’s a “blah” ending. For the die-hards, well, we already have these songs…part one included…and could make our own tapes with all of them, should we desire to experience them like that. I’ve never had that compulsion. They were all individual album closers, that felt right ending the albums in that context. Together, it doesn’t work for me.
Sometimes a compilation leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If it’s a disjointed listening experience, I’m less likely to return to that compilation. Loaded Deck gets fewer plays in my collection than 12 Picks does. Even though they are meant to complement each other, like two discs of a double anthology, I think 12 Picks is a better album experience.
What Regan should have done is make an album of just the unreleased studio and live songs, without the stuff we already had on the studio albums. Megaforce figured that out, and in 2006 issued Greatest Hits Live, a compilation of these two compilations. After we already bought said compilations. Awesome.
2/5 stars for the album, just go ahead and get Greatest Hits Live instead.
Welcome back to WTF. Everything seen below is an actual search term that somehow took people here to mikeladano.com. In the public interest, today I thought I’d gather together health-concerned search items. (Missed the last installment? Click here!)
dr george morgan lebrain (I am only a doctor of Rock)
doctors names and phone number in canada @yahoo.ca “+1” -spam (but I am unlisted)
Part 7.5 in my series on Ace Frehley, sorta! Plenty of Ace related coolness here. For the last part of the Ace series,12 Picks, click here.
A World With Heroes – A KISS Tribute for Cancer Care – A 40th Anniversary Celebration
Cancer sucks. Kiss rules. Agreed? Buy this CD.
Mitch Lafon executive produced this sucker, and I suspect that means a hell of a lot of work. I have never in my travels discovered a cooler Kiss tribute album. Do you really need to buy another Kiss tribute album? Do you? Yes, you do. Why? For the following reasons:
Profits benefit the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Palliative Care Residence in Hudson, Quebec.
Obscure track selections.
Rare Kiss related gems, such as two Peter Criss Band demos with Phil Naro.
Superstar performers including Mark Tornillo of Accept, Russ Dwarf, Don Dokken, Bonfire, Sean Kelly, Vinny Appice, L.A. Guns, Doro, and many more.
Members of the Kiss family including Eric Carr, Peter Criss, Frehley’s Comet (minus Frehley), Bob Kulick and Phil Naro.
I can’t say enough good things about this compilation. Upon first sight, it had enough rarities from artists I liked, as well as Kiss obscurities, to make it a must-have. Hearing it, I’m blown away repeatedly. It is a heady brew of hits and deep, deep cuts. Since there are 51 tracks in total, I can’t go into too much detail. I’ll point out some personal favourite moments.
I’m a huge fan of the Revenge album, and I’m a huge fan of Accept. Hearing Mark Tornillo do his thing through “Spit” was awesome. I think the man’s vocal cords must be made of steel or something for him to sing like that. I also loved “Sure Know Something”, although I don’t know Chris Buck & Anthony Cardenas Montana. It’s a slinky version, very true to the original but with a Rod Stewart vibe. Jeff Paris does a pretty authentic “Shout Mercy” and I give him full points for doing a Monster tune, the newest Kiss song on A World With Heroes.
I’ve loved Brighton Rock since I was a kid, but I never expected them to unplug “Creatures of the Night”. This twist takes a moment to get used to, but their haunting arrangement is very original and cool! “Larger Than Life” from Alive II is revisited by Brian Tichy and friends, and they do it pretty straight to the original, almost lick for lick. It’s great. I love that Ron Young from Little Caesar sings “Little Caesar”, a nice wink and a smile there. A band called Shredmill contribute their original song “Outerspace”…which was later covered by Ace Frehley on his Anomaly album (giving himself a writing credit). Shredmill’s version is more Danzig, where Ace’s was more Ace.
On the second CD, surprises and highlights continue. Ron Keel and friends from Tesla and Cinderella knock it out of the park on “Rock N’ Roll Hell”, with a nod at the start to Keel’s own “The Right To Rock”. Rick Hughes of Quebec metal masters Sword helps blow the doors off “The Oath”, a favourite from The Elder. The L.A. Guns guys (Phil Lewis included) tackle the difficult “Master & Slave” from Carnival of Souls, and it smokes. They do it authentic to the grungy original but with Phil’s snarky vocals.
As a Killer Dwarfs fan, I’m always pleased to hear Russ Dwarf’s nasally twang, and he turns in a decent “Hard Luck Woman”. (Meanwhile, another bunch of L.A. Guns guys did their own version on disc one.) Bonfire contribute a live version of Paul Stanley’s unreleased song “Sword & Stone”, from their Live at Wacken CD. I don’t really know who American Dog are, but I love that they covered the Paul Stanley version of “God of Thunder”, not the Gene Simmons take from Destroyer. They do it the speedy rocked-up way that Paul originally demoed. Jim Crean does justice to “Magic Touch”. He’s almost Joe Lynn Turner style on this one.
The second CD ends with two takes of “Beth” (Chris VanDahl sounding like the hoarse Peter Criss on Alive II, and Phil Naro). This is in addition to Michael Lardie’s (Great White) version on disc one. Naro’s is easily the best of the three.
But wait, that’s not all, folks. iTunes are selling a 51 track version of A World With Heroes, including 11 exclusives. Thankfully, you can buy these exclusives separately if you already bought the CD (like I did). Once again, highlights are many. Doro contributes a 2013 re-recording of “Only You”, which she had a previous hit with back in 1990. Russ Dwarf returns with an outstanding “God Gave Rock and Roll To You II”. There are two previously unreleased demos by the Peter Criss Band with Phil Naro. These feature Peter on drums, but believe me, you can hear that it is the Cat Man and no one else. In addition, there’s a third song from this period, but recorded by Phil in 2013. There is also a second version of “Larger Than Life”, this time by somebody called Robot Lords Of Tokyo. I don’t know who Robot Lords Of Tokyo are, but I love “Larger Than Life” and I have no problem with another version of it. This one’s done quite differently, and heavier too.
But wait! There’s still more! Pledgers who pre-ordered the CD got four bonus tracks. I missed the boat on these, and you can’t get them anymore. I’m bummed about that, but for the sake of completion, the four bonus tracks are:
‘Calling Dr. Love’ – Performed by: Crash Kelly
‘Comin’ Home’ – Performed by: Sudden Flames
‘Heaven’s On Fire’ – Performed by: The Feckers (ft. Irene Slade)
‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ Performed by: Alain Pernot
I’d love to have these, especially Crash Kelly, but alas. The project is still awesome and worth your coins. Especially if you’re a self respecting Kiss fan. Get it.
5/5 stars
EDIT: I now have the tracks. Crash Kelly’s is awesome! Fun and awesome.
Disc 1:
‘Psycho Circus’ – Performed by: DDRIVE (Phil Naro, Don Mancuso, Dave Sessions, Jt Taylor & Bobby Bond)
‘Spit’ – Performed by: Ken Dubman, Jimmy Callahan, Scott Metaxas, & Mark Tornillo
‘Deuce’ – Performed by: Bill Leverty, Kevin Valentine, John Regan, & Russ Dwarf
‘Sure Know Something’ – Performed by: Chris Buck & Anthony Cardenas Montana
‘Detroit Rock City’ – Performed by: Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, Rex Brown & Brian Tichy
‘Eyes Of Love’ – Performed by: Eric Carr, Benny Doro & John Humphrey
‘Shout Mercy’ – Performed by: Jeff Paris, Troy Lucketta, Eric Brittingham Jeff Labar
‘Creatures Of The Night’ – Performed by: BRIGHTON ROCK
‘Larger Than Life’ – Performed by: Rex Brown, Brian Tichy & Mark Zavon
‘Cold Gin’ – Performed by: Don Dokken & Tommy Denander
‘Love Gun’ – Performed by: Tony Harnell, Mark Kendall, Scott Snyder, Sean Michael Clegg, Kevin Valentine & Tommy Denander
‘Little Caesar’ – Performed by: Ron Young, John Regan & Tommy Denander
‘Hard Luck Woman’ – Performed by: Chris VanDahl, Stacey Blades & Adam Hamilton
‘Outerspace’ – Original demo later covered by Ace Frehley on his Anomaly album – Performed by: SHREDMILL (David Askew, Jesus Mendez Jr, Jaime Moreno)
‘Goodbye’ – Performed by: IMPERIA & BOB KULICK (J.K.Impera, Matti Alfonzetti, Tommy Denander & Mats Vassfjord) – Additional Guitars by Lars Chriss
‘See You Tonight’ – Performed by: TODD FARHOOD & MYSTERY (Todd Farhood, Michel St-Pere, Sylvain Moineau, Jean-Sébastien Goyette, Francois Fournier & Benoit Dupuis)
‘Beth’ – The Grand Piano Version – Performed by: Michael Lardie
‘Tomorrow’ – Performed by: DRESSED TO CHILL (Matt Bradshaw, Rav Thomas & Rhys Lett)
‘Anything For My Baby’ – Performed by: SLAVES ON DOPE (Kevin Jardine, Jason Rockman, Seb Ducap & Peter Tzaferis)
‘Unholy’ – Performed by: Fred Duvall, Glenn Belcher, Mark Slaughter (Guitar Solo), Rob Zakojc & Russ Dwarf
Disc 2:
‘Breakout’ – Performed by: Tod Howarth, John Regan & Kevin Valentine
‘Rock N Roll Hell’ – Performed by: Ron Keel, Troy Lucketta, Eric Brittingham & Jeff Labar
‘Nowhere To Run’ – Performed by: DRUCKFARBEN (Phil Naro, Ed Bernard, William Hare, Troy Feener & Peter Murray)
‘The Oath’ – Performed by: Rick Hughes, Chris Buck & Bob Richards
‘Master & Slave’ – Performed by: Adam Hamilton, Scott Griffin, Stacey Blades & Phil Lewis
‘Calling Dr.Love’ – Performed by: BURNING RAIN (Keith St John, Doug Aldrich, Sean McNabb & Matt Starr)
‘I Stole Your Love’ – Performed by: S.U.N. (Brian Thomas Tichy, Sass Jordan & Tommy Stewart) With Derek Sharp (Of The Guess Who)
‘Reason To Live’ – Performed by: Johnnie Dee & Derry Grehan of HONEYMOON SUITE with Michael Foster & Bill Leverty of FIREHOUSE
‘Hard Luck Woman’ – Performed by: Fred Duvall, Glenn Belcher, Rob Zakojc & Russ Dwarf
‘Forever’ – Performed by: Terry Ilous, Sean Kelly With Jeff Paris.
‘Sword And Stone’ – Taken From Bonfire Live In Wacken – Performed by: BONFIRE (Claus Lessmann, Hans Ziller, Chris Limburg, Uwe KöHler, Harry Reischmann)
‘God Of Thunder’ – Performed by: AMERICAN DOG (Michael Hannon, Steve Theado & Keith Pickens)
‘She’ – Performed by: RAZER (Chris Powers, Chris Catero, Jordan Ziff, Paul Sullivan, Eric Bongiorno & Chuck Alkazian)
‘New York Groove’ – Performed by: SLAVES ON DOPE (Kevin Jardine, Jason Rockman, , Elizabeth Lopez & Peter Tzaferis With Marty O’Brien)
‘Magic Touch’ – Performed by: Jim Crean, Phil Naro, Vinny Appice, Steve Major & Stan Miczek
‘Tears Are Falling’ – Performed by: Willie Basse, Bruce Bouillet, Scott Warren & Mike Hansen.
‘Rock N Roll All Nite’ – Performed by: Harley Fine, John Regan & Atom Fellows
‘Shandi’ – Performed by: Dani Luv, Scott Griffin & Matt Starr
‘Beth – Bonus Track’ – Performed by: Chris Vandahl & Scott Griffin.
‘Beth – Bonus Track’ – Performed by: Phil Naro, William Hare & Ed Bernard
iTunes exclusives:
‘No, I’m Not Afraid’ (Previously Unreleased Peter Criss Band Demo from 1991) – Performed by Peter Criss and Phil Naro
‘Wait For A Minute To Rock N’ Roll’ (Previously Unreleased Peter Criss Band Demo from 1991) – Performed by Peter Criss and Phil Naro
‘Back On The Streets’ (2013 Mix originally from Return of the Comet) – Performed by Richie Scarlet, John Regan, Tod Howarth, Arthur Stead & Steve Werner (The Comet Band)
‘Only You’ (2013 Recording) – Performed by DORO
‘God Gave Rock N Roll To You II’ – Performed by Russ Dwarf
‘I’m An Animal’ (2013 Mix originally from Return of the Comet) – Performed by the Comet Band
‘Let Me Go Rock N’ Roll’ – Performed by The Oddfathers
‘Surrender In The Name Of Love’ (Written by Peter Criss & Phil Naro) – Performed by 24K featuring Phil Naro and Mladen Alexander
‘Love Gun’ (Tommy Denander Guitar Solo Mix) – Performed by Tony Harnell, Kevin Valentine and Tommy Denander
‘Larger Than Life’ (2013 Remaster – Robot Lords Of Tokyo version) – Performed by Robot Lords Of Tokyo
‘Cold Gin’ (2013 Remaster from L.A. GUNS’ 1998 Wasted EP) – Performed by L.A. Guns
With Ace experiencing a second Golden Age back in Kiss, 1997 was the perfect time for various parties to cash in with compilations and re-releases. It made sense for Megaforce to put out a collection of Ace’s better solo work along with unreleased live tracks. With Frehley’s Comet bassist John Regan in the executive producer’s seat, at least 12 Picks has input from somebody on the inside.
This is a pretty logical collection. Since it has “Into the Night”, “Rock Soldiers”, “Words Are Not Enough”, and even “Hide Your Heart”, you could easily make an argument that casual fans can start and stop here. Sure, they’d miss great favourites like “Calling To You” and “Do Ya”…but leaving tracks off opens doors to sequels, no?
If you imagine an album still having two sides, then the studio tracks make up side one. Side two consists of live versions of Kiss favourites and others. These are all from the Second Sighting tour with Jamie Oldaker on drums, unfortunately not Anton Fig for these versions. They are however previously unreleased on any audio format. These are some (but not all) of the songs from the Live + 4 VHS video cassette. This video was never released in Canada, and I’ve never owned it. Unfortunately, “Something Moved” from the VHS tape is not included. To date it is still frustratingly unavailable. From the same gig (Hammersmith Odeon) but unreleased until now is “Deuce”. Other tracks from the concert would later trickle out elsewhere.
“Rip It Out” remains a stunning opener, although this version is hampered by the lack of Anton on drums. Jamie Oldaker has a different feel, laying back behind the beat and I don’t think that’s the way these songs are best presented. His fills are simpler than Anton’s, and things like the drums solos in “Rip It Out” and “Breakout” suffer for it. The rest of the set is Kiss-heavy: “Cold Gin”, “Shock Me”, “Rocket Ride” and the Simmons-penned “Deuce”. Frehley performs “Cold Gin” with the right groove, which Kiss had trouble nailing without him. I like the little touches, like the fact that the bassline doesn’t stray from the original much. It lends these Ace versions a Kiss-like authenticity. Tod Howarth backs up Ace’s lead vocals in a manner that recall’s Kiss’s multiple lead vocalists.
Although the setlist itself is pretty smokin’, the muddy drum sound and lack of Anton prevent the live portion from igniting. Thankfully Ace has plenty of fuel when he solos, but this live side is noticeably inferior to the excellent Live + 1. That’s too bad.
12 Picks came with a guitar pick in one of several (12?) colours. I got black!
I thought I would do something a little less hilarious this time, and more just…I dunno…interesting enough to read over a coffee? Sure, let’s go with that. Today I thought I would share with you my top ten search terms since I started in March 2012. All of these people ended up at my site. Counting up (what the hell eh?) from 1 to 10, here’s the most popular search terms at mikeladano.com. Note that some of them are essentially duplicates, too.
paul stanley voice problems
marillion radiation 2013
paul stanley voice
queensryche redemption
69porn
paul stanley’s voice
kisstory book
black sabbath paranoid deluxe edition
queensryche split
mike ladano
I MADE THE TOP TEN! High five!
Missed the last, much funnier installment of WTF?Click here!
A Tribute to Ace Frehley – Return of the Comet (1997 Shock Records)
Last time we talked about a tribute album with a new recording by Ace. This time, we’re talking about a tribute album with new recordings by the Comet! Return of the Comet even features some of the same artists that were on Spacewalk: Tracii Guns, Gilby Clarke and the brothers Abbott (Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul) are on both albums. And like Spacewalk, this one also comes with a guitar pick. This time it’s a Bruce Kulick pick, because the CD also features a cool bonus: Bruce’s debut solo track, “Liar”.
This is a pretty good tribute CD. Somebody called Bruiz does a faithful reproduction of the “Rock Bottom” intro, which seques directly into Brian Tichy’s “Rip It Out”. I was familiar with Tichy from Zakk Wylde’s Pride and Glory, but he sings and plays every instrument on this. Everybody knows today how talented he is, but this was a revelation to me in 1997. Do I need to say that he does an excellent job on it? He also nails Anton Fig’s drum solo.
L.A. Guns is next, but it’s not Phil Lewis. It’s Ralph Saenz. You might know him better as Michael Starr from Steel Panther. So how’s their “Cold Gin”? It’s perfect for this band and this singer. Eric Singer and Karl Cochran take a shot at “Strange Ways”, but I don’t like their take on it too much. Eric’s vocal doesn’t suit the song in my opinion, and this version is too chunk-chunk-chunk.
“Getaway” was always a bit of a throwaway Kiss track, but I like the lesser known songs. Seattle’s Tubetop speed it up a fair measure, but that’s not the problem. I always identify this song with Peter Criss’ gritty voice. Who doesn’t? The singer, Gavin Gus, takes a smooth approach to the song, but sometimes Kiss songs aren’t meant to be tampered with too much. It improves as it gets harder at the end.
Then we have the Presidents of the United States of America. OK band I guess, but their stripped back sound is totally wrong for “Shout It Out Loud”. Having said that, the brilliance of the song itself still shines through. The album is immediately redeemed by a remarkable performance from a remarkable guitarist: Dimebag. He and Vinnie Paul stomp through “Snowblind”, a sludgy Ace classic. Wisely, Dime changed nothing about the song, except adding some trademark Dime guitar shrieks on top. It’s a totally appropriate touch. Even though his singing voice is nothing like Ace’s (he’s more Zakk Wylde than Ace Frehley) he still lays down a lead vocal that fits. Then his guitar solo rips your head off, end of story. Mind blown, the album can end here thank you very much!
We’re not even half through yet. Tod Howarth (ex-Frehley’s Comet) turns up with his own solo version of “Dancing With Danger”. It’s a Streetheart cover that Frehley’s Comet also did on Second Sighting. Tod tries to update the song for the 1990’s but fails. His voice is also noticeably lower. Then, Karl Cochran and Eric Singer are up with “Love Her All I Can”, a song originally sung and written by…Paul Stanley? Why? According to the liner notes, Cochran used to sing this song when he was in Frehley’s solo band in the 90’s. Cochran and Singer perfectly nail this one, right down to the guitar solo and those Simmons/Stanley harmony vocals. A winner.
Filler is “Speedin’ Back to My Baby” by Lee and Dallas (?). As great as the original song is, I didn’t need to hear a jazzy country version of it. It’s old-school country, swinging and authentic, but no thanks. Thankfully Gilby Clarke comes to the rescue with the classic “Rocket Ride” fromAlive II. I love it. I like it better than his version of “Shock Me” from Spacewalk, actually.
Richie Scarlet from Frehley’s Comet teams up with Beatlemania’s Mitch Weissman on Ace’s “Remember Me”. It’s great and much like the original. Then the Presidents are back for a second term, this time adding members of Tubetop and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden to the mix. They do a cool campfire version of “New York Groove” that sounds live. This is much better than “Shout It Out Loud”. Well done.
A Frehley’s Comet reunion is the climax of the album. Alumni Richie Scarlet, John Regan, Steve Werner and Arthur Stead are back to redo two unreleased Comet classics. These songs are Vinnie Vincent’s “Back On the Streets”, which is, in a word, awesome. It’s a dark ominous song with balls. Then they do “Animal” which was written by Regan and Stead (perhaps the reason it was never released before?). It has a funky little riff before it breaks into a cool anthemic chorus.
It’s best to think of the last two songs as bonus tracks, because they have little to do with Ace. From a forthcoming Howarth album named Cobalt Parlor is a lacklustre song called “California Burns”. I wanted to like this, really I did. It’s just a really nauseating attempt at being modern and heavy, and no sir I don’t like it. Sorry Tod. “The Liar” by Bruce Kulick is much better. I am a real fan of Kulick as a solo artist. He is an articulate, skilled player with a knack for melody. “The Liar” is a great instrumental, alternating between light and heavy, but always very lyrical. Just sing a lead vocal of your own over Bruce’s guitar, and you can imagine this as a “I Still Love You” rock ballad. This song was Bruce’s first ever post-Kiss solo release, and according to the liner notes, it serves two purposes. One: to end the album with an instrumental as Ace always did. Two: to tip the hat to the guy who succeeded in filling Ace’s shoes for over a decade.
I would recommend this tribute album to any serious Ace/Kiss fan, simply because it has some great cover versions of some obscure classics. That to me raises it above most cut-and-paste tribute albums that are out there on the market. There is a real sense of passion to this CD. John Regan put it together and you can tell by the attention to detail. Kudos, John.
This arrived in the mail today. Haven’t even taken off the shrink wrap yet! Thanks @mitchlafon!
A World With Heroes – A KISS Tribute for Cancer Care – A 40th Anniversary Celebration.That’s a buttload of songs, people! (I love that Ron Young of Little Caesar SINGS “Little Caesar”.)
Spacewalk – A Salute to Ace Frehley (1996 DeRock/Triage)
Just in time for the massive Kiss reunion tour came this tribute CD. There were several versions of this. I have the second-coolest of the three:
Least cool: Regular domestic 10 track CD.
Second coolest: Import CD (Europe?) with brand new bonus track by Ace Frehley himself, called “Take Me To the City”
Most cool: Japanese import CD with that and Sebastian Bach’s “Save Your Love”
This is one of those tributes made up of a mish-mash of metal musicians, no real “bands” so to speak, although all are great musicians. Scott Travis plays drums on most of it (lending an awkward Priest-like vibe to the drums), Charlie Benate plays with Scott Ian on “Rip It Out”, and Vinnie Paul of course plays with Dimebag Darrel on “Fractured Mirror”. (This site has all the information and credits for the CD. Enjoy! You’ll notice the backing band is basically Racer X on most tracks.)
I’m good with every track on here except one: Bruce Bouillet’s version of “New York Groove”. I’m not into drum loops in general, and although the track has a funky groove to it, it’s just not my bag. On the other hand, Scott Ian’s cover of “Rip It Out” is Anthrax-worthy. Frankie Bello’s on bass, and somebody named Zach Throne sings it with Scott. Zach nails an authentic Ace-like vocal, while Charlie’s relentless on the drums. The Anton Fig drum solo is almost exact note-for-note. As is the signature guitar solo.
Gilby Clarke’s “Shock Me” is one of the better tracks. I don’t usually think of Gilby as a soloist, since in GN’R he didn’t solo. His soloing style is unlike Ace’s, but he performs an original solo of his own that is appropriate to song. On the other hand I wouldn’t count “Deuce” by Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) as a favourite. The vocal (by somebody called Tom Gattis) is a tad overwrought. Another “blah” tune is “Snowblind”, performed in a too-modern metally sound by Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys) and Snake Sabo from Skid Row.
Ron Young (Little Caesar, the Four Horsemen) has a soulful but southern sound on “Hard Luck Woman”, an odd choice for a Frehley tribute. Written by Paul and sung by Peter, the original was created for Rod Stewart to sing! But it’s as good a cover as any, and I don’t have a lot of other stuff of Ron’s, so I’m cool with this. Jeff Watson (Night Ranger) is on guitar.
We all knew Sebastian Bach would knock it out of the park on “Rock Bottom”, and he does. “Rock Bottom” wasn’t written by Ace, but he did write the intro, performed here by Russ Parish of Fight/Steel Panther. Baz is obviously a huge Kiss fan and the song is in great hands, although the solo’s way too modern. Still, I wish I had “Save Your Love” too.
Tracii Guns is passable on “Parasite”, but again I think the song is done in a style too contemporary. Up next is John Norum of Europe, with “Cold Gin”! (Hey, two songs in a row written by Ace!) McMaster is back on lead vocals, not my fave singer in the world. John is a great guitarist, and this version of “Cold Gin” is heavy with fills. Some go with the song, some miss the mark.
Dime’s “Fractured Mirror” is perfect, even the production and sound of the acoustic guitar is eerily similar to Ace’s original. Dime may well have been the biggest Ace Frehley fan in the world. Darrell does throw some of his own personality into the song, but I think foremost on his mind was probably playing the song the way he remembered it. And he does.
Lastly, “Take Me To the City” is performed by Ace himself, with his crack band: Steve Werner on drums, Karl Cochran on bass, Richie Scarlet on guitar and backing vocals, and…Sebastian Bach is there too at the end! This Ace rarity is the best of all reasons to track down this CD. This is Ace back to a hard rocking Frehley’s Comet sound, with an anthemic chorus. When Baz shows up at the end, it’s icing on the cake (although you need to turn it ^UP^ to catch him in the fade).
I don’t really buy tribute albums anymore, because I find these mish-mashes of somewhat related artists to be a bit tedious. Still, it’s pretty solid, and definitely worthwhile to fans of bands like Pantera, Skid Row, or Anthrax. The Ace bonus track is pretty much a compulsory purchase.
3/5 stars
Soon, we’ll also be talking about another quality tribute album with some surprising guests and alumni. Stay tuned.
mikeladano.com 