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Record Store Tales #600: The Vault
Disk 1 Review
Disk 2 Review
Disk 3 Review
Disk 4 Review
Disk 5 Review
Disk 6 Review
Some good and bad songs ahead. For those keeping score at home, this CD contains tracks 91-105 in the Vault box set.
GENE SIMMONS – The Vault – Disk 7 (2018 Rhino)
“No Conscience” comes with a Vinnie Poncia co-writing credit, which probably dates it back to the Hot in the Shade era. Not much else is said about its genesis. It’s an interesting hard rocker with what sound like drum machines. It’s very much in the mould of that late 80s Kiss sound and could have been a B-side. In the case of Hot in the Shade, a lot of the demos were polished up for the final album. This needs some polishing, but it’s a little like finding a lost gem. 3/5
Gene talks about writing “Suspicious” with Black ‘N Blue for In Heat, which dates this track back to about 1988. There’s a clear “Stayin’ Alive” reference with the “Ah, ah, ah” in the chorus. It’s not bad and would have fit very well on Hot in the Shade better than some of the songs that made it. There’s a cool solo (must be Thayer) and the hooks eventually bore their way into your head. Sounds a little like Trash-era Alice Cooper too. 4/5
“Everybody Wants” is a great song. This is another of the Silent Rage demos. The vocals aren’t recorded well enough to really make out the words, but the chorus has hooks. It has a bit of a Dokken vibe, in a good way. As we go through the Vault we keep running across songs that should have made onto Kiss albums. Here’s another. Which one would it fit on? That’s the trick. Maybe Kiss should have just made more albums. 4/5
“Promise The Moon” is interesting. The chords go back to a song called “Sentimental Fool” written with Bob Kulick. However, an instrumental (with prominent bass) was bootlegged as “The Unknown Force”. On the Creatures of the Night box set, another version is titled “Tell It To A Fool”. This isn’t information you’ll find in the liner notes. This is coming from me using my ears. Long have I loved that “Unknown Force”, demo and wished for a better version. Here it is, with full lyrics, guitar solos, and everything else. This song is stellar. There were plenty of albums this could have fit on. Gene reveals that he wanted Black ‘N Blue to do the song. That would have been a waste. This should have been Kiss. I am overjoyed to have this song in my collection at last. 5/5
“All You Want Is a Piece of My Heart” is an Adam Mitchell song featuring Tommy Thayer. It’s a bass groove, with some unexpected acoustic guitar overtop the metal riff. It needed to be properly fleshed out, but there is definitely the skeleton of an idea here that had potential. Sounds very Hot in the Shade with that acoustic. It’s difficult to rate because there’s a terrific chorus and some cool guitar work, but also some sections that sound unfinished. 3.5/5
“Pride” is an early 2000s song, but unlike the other Asshole material, this one is really good! Unbelievable! How does stuff like this end up buried on a box set? There’s a soulful chorus and a joyful arrangement. It’s hard to describe. It’s pop, not rock, with piano and a knack for a hook. It’s criminal for a great song like this to sit unnoticed on an 11 CD box set that very few people have. 5/5
“Through the Night” and “Sweetheart of the Radio” are two earlier Simmons songs that eventually transformed into “Mirage” during the early 90s. This Thayer demo has a strong beat and numerous hooks. Once again, how does stuff like this get left off albums? This song is all but finished, with “woah-oh-oh” vocals and some serious Thayer pyrotechnics. For those who love that 80s Kiss sound, this song is right up their alley. Gene says the bridge was later used in “Now That You’re Gone” and “I Wanna Rule the World”, but I didn’t notice. That’s five songs all connected together! 4/5
Gene’s Simmons Records protege Bag (just Bag) was responsible for “Dog”. It ended up on the Asshole album, unfortunately, because it’s garbage. I don’t know what Gene was thinking on that album. The only good thing about it is this big giant Jimmy Page-like guitar part that isn’t in the song enough. 1.5/5
“If I Had a Gun” is one of the few good songs on Asshole, and it’s another Bag song. This demo is a lot like the finished version, just less adorned with all the accoutrements. Some may like it, some hate it. I like the “Uh-oh, uh-oh” falsetto vocal hook. I think it’s a good song. 3.5/5
Onto Carnival of Souls. One of the most remarkable songs on that album was a Bruce Kulick / Gene Simmons song called “I Walk Alone”. Why remarkable? Because it was Bruce Kulick’s debut on lead vocals. This is an earlier version with a different chorus, and Gene on lead vocals. Sounds like Eric Singer on drums. It has ballady elements, but also slams quite hard on the chorus. It’s hard to rank compared to the album version. There are things to like about both. 3.5/5
“Seduction of the Innocent” is another Carnival demo. It’s quite remarkable, but the melody idea is the oldest on the box set. It dates back to 1964. Gene wrote it when he was 13 years old and called it “My Girl Brought Me Chocolate Ice Cream”. He finished it decades later with Scott Van Zen. In the liner notes, Gene spends a good amount of time talking about growing up as a poor immigrant. Not being able to speak English, and then gradually being able to understand Beatles songs. Using a broken TV speaker and cabinet as a makeshift amplifier. You can hear the Beatles in the song, but that may just be what Gene refers to as a “Middle Eastern” melody, a style familiar to him from his youth in Israel. Fascinating history, but also a pretty good song that made it to the final album much like this demo. 3.5/5
Suddenly we jump to Animalize. “Lonely Is the Hunter” should be familiar, but Gene takes a bit of a shot at Paul Stanley in the notes. He says he prefers the greasy feel of the demo, and says he wasn’t there in the studio when Kiss recorded their version, saying it was Paul’s project. Gene, of course, was busy filming Runaway with Tom Selleck. This demo does have a sleazier groove, and hits in a way that might have more vintage Kiss in style. Gene may have a point about Animalize, but it was his fault for not being there. 3.5/5
The next few songs go back to 1977 and a Motown influence. “Never Gonna Leave You #1” was recorded in a closet on a 4-track recorder. You can hear what Gene was trying to achieve. He didn’t. Perhaps some of it wound on Gene’s solo album. There’s a certain way he sings “Yeah” that is similar. 1/5
“I Ain’t Comin’ Back” is a better attempt from 1977 at the above sound. Marginally better. The beats are better. The chorus is something pretty smelly. Limburger. 1.5/5
“Never Gonna Leave You #2” is an update with Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer. Finally he got it right. This is a rock version. Gene seems to prefer the Motown version. I don’t. This could have been a solid Kiss B-side. 3/5
Average score by song: 3.06/5 stars
Disk 7 Track length and songwriters (from Wikipedia)
1. No Conscience (3:35) Simmons / Poncia
2. Suspicious (3:22) Thayer / St. James / Regan
3. Everybody Wants (2:24) Simmons / Damon
4. Promise the Moon (4:00) Simmons / Kulick / Thayer / St. James
5. All You Want Is a Piece of My Heart (3:53) Mitchell
6. Pride (3:11) McCormack / Simmons
7. Mirage (3:30) Simmons
8. Dog (3:32) Chuaqui / Simmons
9. If I Had a Gun (3:27) Chuaqui
10. I Walk Alone (3:27) Simmons / Kulick
11. Seduction of the Innocent (5:09) Simmons / Van Zen
12. Lonely Is the Hunter (3:02) Simmons
13. Never Gonna Leave You #1 (2:22) Simmons
14. I Ain’t Comin’ Back (2:57) Simmons
15. Never Gonna Leave You #2 (3:19) Simmons
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